What a fantastic debut. This is an indie/small pub that reads like a big-budget new adult. It's warm and inviting enough for YA fans, and mature enough for adult fantasy fans- and really has a little something for everyone.

Elena is a princess soon to ascend to the throne. She is unable to wield fire- a skill that defines her family's rule. Yassen is an ex-assassin looking for a break. He finds that in his childhood friend and partner in crime Samson, in a plot that will lead both of them to court.

Meanwhile, war and conflict looms over all of them.

As the story progresses, you get a little bit of everything- what starts off as intrigue and court politics evolves into a super exciting and fast-paced adventure fantasy without ever losing that mystery touch. Aparna Verma pulled from a lot of Indian/SEA lore, but her world feels completely unique- a blend of fantasy and sci-fi that exists outside of culture and time. It's easy to get lost in, and its uniqueness begs you to keep digging through it to learn more.

The characters all had big personalities- and I consider it an especially impressive feat when you care for the non-POV characters as much as the POVs, no existing character is spared devoted development - both internally and externally. Characters will make questionable choices, and what really hit me was how measured the response of the people around them would be. It was great seeing people react to things like actual humans.

The character relationships are drool-worthy- there are so many good friendships and potential romances- all with their own merits. Intensity, codependency, longing, curiosity, and kindred spirits. It's all here.

One of the high points of my reading adventure, and it came from such a unique place. The Boy With Fire is proof positive that small pub authors should not be ignored or dismissed. Verma shows a clear understanding of writing what readers want in 2021 while driving a story that is all her own.

What a debut! The worldbuilding is unlike anything I've ever read before and very well done. I'm always looking for more fiction with morally skewed characters and there's some great ones in here. The multi POV was fantastic - It took me a minute to warm to Elena but once I did...wow she's exactly the type of character I enjoy. Leo was super interesting and I very much enjoyed Yassen and his arc as well.

A really well written debut with interesting characterisation and genuinely shocking plot twists. Definite recommend!

This was an epic I could not put down. I felt that if you liked THE POPPY WAR you will love this cultural fantasy that is brimming with history. Loved it. Thank you for the e-arc!

So GOOD. Takes a while to get into but worth it. I think if you like avatar the last airbender or the poppy war but with a more desi take i think this is the perfect read

To be forgiven, one must be burned.

When I started this book, I thought, “hey, not so bad.” Two days later, I’m lying in my bed, figuring out what to do next because this book broke me.

The Boy with Fire exceeded my expectations. The world-building was intricate that despite my mixing up of the terms used all throughout the book, I had no trouble figuring out how Verma’s world works. How she describes her places from the dunes to the Kingdom of Ravence was colorful and rich in detail. Verma did focus a little more on her world building then, which was not really a problem to me. Although three hundred pages in, that came with the thought of where was is the part that warns this is not for the faint of the heart. Just a few pages after, Verna delivers and here I am.

One thing that appalled me from the start was how the story was a mix of mythology and technology (hey, that rhymes). Badass people who wield fire and pulse guns and hoverpads? It boggles my mind all throughout at how Verma made these two work together at this devastatingly beautiful tale.

Now, my favorite, morally grey characters! Every character has an ambition of their own, that was made clear all throughout. The characters in play are a stark reminder that the ends do not justify the means. It took me two days to attach to these characters and Verma did a magnificent job of breaking my heart.

All in all, the book had ups that made me smile and more downs that kept me going all up until the epilogue. Let me add here that I am not so well-versed with Indian mythology, but this book inspired me to study more about Indian folklore. I am looking forward to its release on August 31, because this book will make you want to go to therapy.

This book had so many things I loved and didn’t know I needed.
Yassen, Elena and Leo are amazing and unique characters. This story drips with delicate and delicious worldbuilding, overall a shimmering debut.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with the copy in exchange of an honest review.
This book's prose was stunning and unique with an interesting world. I enjoyed getting to know the world and seeing Yassen's struggles being a mixed heritage child. This book has a definite potential but unfortunately I just couldn't connect with the characters. So far it veers towards a plot based fantasy and very little about the characters. It felt like too much is being described but very little time is given to connect with the characters. For now, I'll dnf the book, but I'll definitely get to it sometime later.

I didn't expect to enjoy this novel as much as I did.

The world-building was perfectly done. It was interesting and described in a way that was easy to follow without getting confused.

I simply adored the inclusion of Indian culture and mythology. The glossary was also incredibly useful.

But, I found it hard to read at the beginning because it was felt very slow-paced. While building up the events for the second half of the book, the beginning felt dull and dragged on.

okay i have so many thoughts upon finishing this book so bear with me.

When I first read the synopsis on Goodreads, truthfully, I had no interest in reading this book. However, I saw a tweet from the author marketing this as having a "corruption arc" and hell yeah, I immediately downloaded the e-arc and read it. Now upon finishing this book, I was left sorely disappointed that the marketing was kind of misleading. We will talk more about this later. For now, let's talk about the characters, shall we?

Yassen Knight: an ex-assassin, now offered a chance at freedom by protecting the heir of Ravence

Elena Ravence: heir to the throne; unfortunately, she does not know how to hold fire, which is kind of a requirement if you want to be a monarch of Ravence

And finally, my favorite, Leo Ravence (also known as the king or more popularly, the dilf): he is obssessed with stopping a certain prophecy that threatens to destroy his kingdom; and along the way, he kind of becomes a tyrant

Leo's chapters were easily one of my favorites. I've always wanted to see the perspective of a tyrannical ruler, instead of just painting him as this two-dimensional bad guy, in books. Because his chapters involved the most interesting plot point (the prophecy) as well as the perspective of a morally grey protagonist, the other two perspectives paled in comparison.

The start of the book was very interesting. The writing and world-building was very accessible to a person like me who knew very little about Indian mythology or culture. The prose is absolutely stunning. It's simple enough that I could follow along smoothly but also written in a way that is not too "dry". The world-building is unlike anything I've ever read before (well, except for Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao). It was a mix of both futuristic and ancient world elements. And a lot of the more modern things that we don't often see in an epic fantasy was incorporated here, such as the news. The lore and history is thorough and an absolute joy to read.

Unfortunately, my main issue is the pacing of the book. The first 50% was definitely slow in which nothing significant happened. Although, it is understandable since it was building up to the events that would happen later on, I just wish we had something more going on in the beginning of the book. Furthermore, I feel like several chapters could be condensed into one because some of the plot points dragged on and were repetitive such as Elena's training arc. Though, the first 50% was slow and less interesting, in my opinion, compared to the later events of the book, I was still able to finish it in a day. Towards the middle is where things started getting reallyyy interesting. It was so action-packed. This was also where the corruption arc slowly started taking place. Come third act, I was so ready for the corruption arc. Unfortunately, we didn't really get that? Until the very end, I was not entirely sure whether a certain character was going to go to the dark side or not, since at times it felt like the author was getting cold feet.

So like are we going corruption arc or not, y'know ??? And in my opinion, we need more development before this character undergoes a corruption arc for it to be actually convincing because as of now, they're too nice to become the bad guy (haha). Perhaps, we would see this come to fruition in the later installments. The revelation towards the end was also an interesting choice that I did not see coming.

All in all, I think this is a very solid start to an adult fantasy with a commentary on war and religion. It has a lot of potential to be a remarkable and memorable series in the next few books, so I will definitely be anticipating the sequel.

I adored this book. The characters, the writing, the romance and most of all the amazing indian representation. I rarely get to read about indian main characters and connect to the plot the way I did. I quite literally cannot wait for the next book in this trilogy to be released.

Wow. I requested this on Netgalley without even reading the blurb simply because I loved the cover, but wow! This surprised me in all the best ways.

I’m usually not a big fan of more than two POVs, but I think this book really made it work. I loved Elena’s chapters the most, but I enjoyed the other two as well and I think all of them contributed something unique to the story. The worldbuilding was so intricate and detailed, very unique, and honestly my favorite thing about this. I loved the little quotes before each chapter and how much we learned about the history of the world the author created, especially their concepts of religion, prophecy, and fate.

The characters were all very distinctly written, and they all had their own unique struggles to deal with. I connected the most with Elena, she was amazing and I’ve grown really attached to her throughout the story. I think Leo was easily the most fascinating character, and his chapters were the most fast-moving and interesting in terms of plot for me.

Overall I found the plot a bit hit and miss at times. The beginning was quite slow and heavy on the worldbuilding and although the world itself was well explained I sometimes struggled to understand the character relations and other small details which could have been relevant. It got less confusing the further the story processed, though, and I think overall the pacing and storytelling were well-done. I wasn’t bored during any part of the book and although it is not a short book, it managed to hold my attention the entire time. I especially loved the last 20% or so, the action scenes were really well-written and I was hooked the entire time.

Another thing I really loved was the writing style, it was really smooth and easy to read and just matched the atmosphere of the book so well. The characters all had their own distinctive inner voices and every POV had its own characteristics.

Overall this is an amazing debut that took me completely by surprise and was so much better than I would’ve expected. I’m so glad I picked this one up!

I’m mindblown 😳

The plot twists , the character development , the mystery and suspense. Everything about this debut novel was amazing. The scenery and world building was beautiful, and the essence of Indian mythology was seen easily. This book went beyond my expectations and I loved the mix of a plot driven and character driven novel. There was no room for confusion but the details were subtle and crafted/woven into the story expertly. I adore this book and every character - there was no character that you could hate because they were all complex and unique. Their histories linked in some way or another. Their pain and feelings so perfectly depicted.
How will I wait for the next book? 😭

4.5/5 ⭐

It's safe to say that The Boy with Fire's painstakingly fine-spun (and stunningly painted) backdrop and the subtleties of its ambiguously amoral protagonists blew me away, almost as profoundly as its startling twists stopped me in my tracks several times.

Ravence's immensely detailed and dedicated imagery of unforgiving deserts and frenzied infernos fit flawlessly with the fervor and fury of the inhabitants of this full-bloodedly futuristic and flame-fanatic sovereignty immersed deep amid the dunes. The trenchant play-by-play on religion-based rule, the indictment of the frightening manipulative scope of mankind, and the inclusion of different types of social structures and approaches to faith - paired with the innate political tensions that plague Ravence and its foes - are themselves an inventive and well-plotted feat of pseudo-satirical imitation, a scathing portrayal of the realities that inspired this fictional world.

The Boy with Fire's intoxicatingly passionate trio of focal perspectives manages to forge a troupe of intensely distinct protagonists and side-characters that have you doubting anyone's integrity or surety of motive. I feel attached to Elena and Yasseen's devoted plight and their impossible predicaments already (those slowed-down, super-soft moments between them were really precious) and I'm truly stoked to see where this trilogy goes - ideally the sequel will wind up with our poor former assassin and incited princess in faintly less dire straits 🔥

Thank you to NetGalley and New Degree Press for kindly passing on this ARC! 💫

"To be forgiven, one must be burned."

They said "Dune meets The Poppy War" and I said "let me see if I can get an eARC from Netgalley" and I'm so glad I managed to get it!

This book was told from the POVs of three characters with polar opposite personalities; Yassen, an ex-assassin on the run with nothing but a burnt arm and a tormented and anguished soul, Elena, a princess merely weeks away from her coronation and troubled by a crucial ability she still lacks, and Leo, the king willing to give up his humanity to get rid of the nightmares that threaten to plague his kingdom.
The words and sentences were really smooth and flowed by easily that I managed to finish the book in less than a day (the interesting plot helped with this too). I was curious to see if Elena will be able to learn how to hold Fire, and if the process will perhaps help her mature more, and the results were surprising but didn't disappoint. I wanted more of Yassen, he is my favorite yet I felt like his character deserved more exploration- similar to what Elena got in the last quarter of the book in particular- but all in all he was a genuinely interesting character that I can't wait to get more of. Leo's POV possessed so much emotion and depth that I feel bad for not being very interested in him as a character, but hey that’s just me. However, I have to confess that his pages and character might’ve even made the other two POVs pale in comparison. Also, Ferma is the loml.
The author's exploration of how Yassen, Eelna, Leo, Samson, and even the other side characters defined morality was intriguing. And the stark difference of the perspectives was refreshing.
The way some characters are referred to in the books was strange. In Elena's POV, her king and father is simply referred to as Leo. While Yassen also refers to the king and princess as Leo and Elena respectively in his POV. This language made the chasm that supposedly existed between the headstrong princess and the withdrawn ex-assassin seem shallow and fake. Imagine the angst if they refer to each other as "the princess" and "Knight" at the beginning (even inwardly) and then we see the transition in their language as they get closer and more intimate? That would’ve made it perfect. My biggest disappointment in this book was how Samson didn’t get his own POV, I understand why the author didn’t do it though. I really hope that we get an epic POV of a scheming Samson in the next book!
The title of the book confused me to say the least, and after finishing the book I understood the meaning but not why it was the last choice.
Overall, it was a story about Yassen's tentative hope, Elena's strong burning heart, and Leo's (perhaps justifiable) madness. And the plot-twist at the end?? So good. I hope that the next book will explore our characters and the relationships they have with one another with even more depth and I can't wait to see how the story progresses!

This book will make your heart bleed and burn, and want you to have it done all over again. A must-read.

Talk about an EPIC fantasy debut. The world of Sayon is so captivating and beautiful. I want to run in the dunes of Ravence and take the holotrains through the brass cities of Jantar. Also, the cloud cookies! I want one!

The book is written in 3 distinct, character POVs: Yassen Knight, Elena Ravence, and Leo Ravence. Yassen breaks your heart, Elena inspires you to burn your enemies, and Leo just scares you. I have to say that my favorite is (surprisingly) Leo. He's such a dynamic character. You know that what he's doing is WRONG (like hello!!), but you understand WHY he goes batshit crazy.

The author said on her Twitter that her book deals with themes of historical trauma and Indian mythology and damn, it REALLY does. The book can be dark and violent at times, but so is history. Every character is drowning in a sea of grief and unbridled rage. Sometimes, I just want to give them a hug, but I'm afraid I'll get burned.

All in all, I LOVED this book. I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy. I'm going to call it now - Aparna Verma will be one of the best fantasy writers of our generation.

Disclaimer: As a a beta reader, I've read an early copy of the book. I was not asked to write a review. This is my honest opinion.

Hi everyone!

Since this is my book, I'm a bit biased towards the 5-star review, but I wanted to take this chance to talk more about THE BOY WITH FIRE.

I started writing this book back in 2017. It was just a spark of an idea that didn't grow into a fire until the pandemic of 2020. The world was crumbling around me. People were dying. I was stuck at home, despairing about how our leaders had failed us. And then something inside me said, the world needs your novel now. Write it.

THE BOY WITH FIRE is, at its heart, a story about madness. It shows a world teetering on the edge of war, and the people who push it over. The book gets DARK. It's written in 3 character POVs, and each character must make brutally cruel decisions that put other lives at stake. There's genocide, terrorism, vengeful gods, and man's battle against fate. For the book politics, I was largely inspired by the geopolitical tensions in India, as well as the rise of nationalistic leaders in both America and India.

In short, the book is not for the faint of heart.

But, there are lighter moments! think: a subtle romance subplot. There are also badass female warriors inspired by the Hindu goddess Kali, a BIPOC cast, and, my favorite, cloud cookies. If you're a baker and you're reading this, please make cloud cookies an actual thing!

When writing, I drew inspiration from my own heritage. I was born in India, in the desert of Rajasthan. My mom raised me on the epic tales of the Mahabharat and the Ramayana. While THE BOY WITH FIRE is not an adaptation or retelling of Hindu myths, these stories certainly influenced my world-building.

I was also inspired by so many amazing books, so THE BOY WITH FIRE is a magical conglomeration of Dune, The Poppy War, Game of Thrones, and ATLA. If you love these comps, hopefully you'll enjoy THE BOY WITH FIRE.

Thank you for reading this. I really, really hope you fall in love with THE BOY WITH FIRE as much as I have. The characters have taken my heart. Hopefully, they'll take yours too. <3