I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"'Why are you always putting yourself in danger?'
'What do you mean why? My home is under attack. What would you do?'
He has no answer for that because he knows I'm right. There are some things that are worth your life."

"Together We Burn" is basically How to Train Your Dragon but with Spainairds instead of Vikings and more mature examinations of the themes, and I MEAN THAT AS NOTHING BUT A COMPLIMENT.

While not perfect, this is the best YA fantasy novel I've read since "The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea" back in January, and it pulled me out of a pretty massive reading slump. So - if you couldn't tell - I highly recommend it.

Let's get into some specifics. The summary does a good job outlining the concept of the novel, so I won't rehash that here. What really makes "Together We Burn" shine are 1) the characters, 2) the romance, and 3) the worldbuilding.

Let's start with the characters. Zarela is my queen and I love her immensely. She is stubborn and determined and often wrong but rarely in a way that made me roll my eyes and wonder why she was so stupid. It's just...human beings are wrong sometimes and she is a human. I also appreciated the way the author gave Zarela strong family and friend relationships. Our MC has her ups and downs with her loved ones but never questions that she is loved, and there's obvious trust and respect between her and her loved ones. This is actually kind of rare in YA novels and I found it very refreshing. Zarela's friendship with Lola was - in particular - realistic AF.

Okay, so the romance. "Together We Burn" has one of the best enemies to lovers relationships that I've read in a long time, and I'm not even limiting that comment to YA. Zarela and Arturo definitely start off on opposing sides of basically every issue, but neither one of them ever crosses a line into unnecessary cruelty, something I think we see a lot in EtL romances. The development of their relationship is super realistic as well since Ibanez takes the time to show them behaving admirably in front of one another, so it makes total sense how they'd slowly begin to respect each other, then like each other, then love each other. I also appreciated that neither character completely changed who they were because of their romance - it added to who they were instead of rewriting who they were. Plus the banter between them is just super fun to read.

Importantly, the romantic subplot supports the main storyline without pulling focus. This definitely did not feel like your standard YA fantasy, where the whole novel just becomes a romance once the love interest is introduced. We don't even meet Arturo until chapter 8, about 20% of the way in.

*Spicy content call-out* - Zarela and Arturo are on the older side for YA (18 and 20 respectively) and there are two scenes that were a little spicier than I was expecting in a YA novel. It's not particularly graphic but goes beyond just kissing, so do with that what you will.

I think some readers might be surprised that I'm including the worldbuilding as something I loved about this novel because it's not particularly in-depth. I think that's why I liked it though; the reader gets exactly enough worldbuilding to support the story without diving into anything unnecessary. I think this sort of ruthless worldbuilding is pivotal to keeping a consistent pace in a fantasy standalone, and the author did a great job with it. This is also a soft magic system in that the rules aren't clearly defined and none of the main characters are magic users, but magic is definitely present. There are spells that are bought and sold, a secondary character is a magic user, and I mean, the whole plot revolves around dragons... The Spanish-inspired atmosphere was really engaging as well and sent me down a rabbit hole of Spanish-inspired fantasy which I am currently enjoying.

Last but not least, some assorted thoughts (including a couple of the negatives that kept this from being a 5-star for me).

- There's a handy dandy guide to the various guilds and dragons referenced throughout the text in the beginning. I would've really loved a map as well, but there isn't one and I didn't see a placeholder for one to be inserted before its release.
- This book has a powerful first sentence and I was drawn in right away.
- Some of the metaphors are odd. Like, "I remember it was near an orange grove that tartly scented the air like a thick lemon wedge flavoring tea." Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand why you'd use lemons as a simile for oranges...Later on, there's one that says "The smell tastes like ashes in my mouth." Maybe it's just personal preference, but the figurative language game for this book was not quite on point.
- The prologue and first two chapters, while engaging and action-packed, are kind of repetitive. That does drop off in chapter three. Or "Tres," since all the chapter headings are in Spanish.
- There were some noticeable grammar and formatting issues, but I assume those will be corrected in the final release and I didn't factor them into my rating.
- There were some sections that were info-dump-adjacent, but I never found them pulling me out of the story.
- I appreciated that a good amount of Spanish was used throughout the text, but in a way that feels very accessible to non-Spanish speakers. Where I live in central Texas, most people speak some Spanglish, if not full-blown Spanish, and I was able to understand basically all the Spanish text included. If someone is less familiar with the language, you can typically understand what was said from the context or the response.
- Zarela's call to action - deciding to fight in the arena - makes sense. I feel like, in a lot of YA fantasy, the MC just decides to do something crazy when there are seemingly a lot of alternatives. It did not feel this way for Zarela.
- It was really interesting to see the "fall from grace" of a popular family after a tragedy occurs. "Before the massacre, he might have extended courtesy and respect. Now, he sees someone he can look down at." It definitely adds some emotional weight to the text and makes Zarela's determination to restore her family legacy that much more understandable.
- The "big reveal" towards the end was pretty predictable. I won't get into this more because of spoilers but yeah. I saw it coming pretty early on.
- So many novels today are about tearing down institutions and legacies that it was really interesting to read one where tradition and legacy are incredibly important to the MC. There is growth and Zarela's ideas on this topic do evolve, but they don't change completely as the legacy of her culture and family is an integral part of who she is. "What other artist faces death while performing? We take on the risk to prove victory is possible against monsters."
- The resolution was maybe a bit anti-climactic, but I thought it worked for the text and I felt satisfied when I closed the book. Well, closed the file on my Kindle, but you know what I mean.

Thank you for reading my dissertation - sorry this was so long.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.

This was....underwhelming. Maybe my expectations were too high because some friends had loved it, but this left me feeling disappointed and unsatisfied. The premise sounds so cool: bullfighting, but dragons! How to Train Your Dragon, but make it Spanish! But it just didn't execute well. It was a super easy read, but also the plot progression was slow, with little real action until the last 20%. The world-building left a lot to be desired; I wanted to know way more about the magic and the dragons, and some more backstory. I had suspected the baddie from the beginning, so that reveal wasn't very surprising. There was also another reveal that I'm sure was supposed to be shocking and emotional, but left me feeling completely cold. How Zarela didn't already know that information was super hard to believe, plus the conflict was pretty much immediately resolved. The shift from enemies to lovers for Zarela and Arturro didn't feel well-earned. Also, Lola tells Zarela how charming she is and how she can charm anyone and I just never saw it.
Ugh, I'm sorry for how negative this all sounds, but I just think this could have been so much better.

It took a few chapters for me to get on board with this, but then I was fully invested in Zarela's story!

I loved the Spanish-inspired world that this book took place in - all the descriptions of food and use of language really transported me! Zarela was such a strong, feisty MC, and I admired how brave she was throughout the book. Despite all the trauma she'd experienced in the past and her fear of dragons, she fought so hard to save the reputation of her family's arena. Arturo was a really interesting character too, willing to train Zarela to fight in the arena, in spite of it going against his own personal beliefs. The two of them had excellent banter, and I loved how their relationship developed! All the side-characters in this were also super fun (I definitely want to be friends with Lola!)

This was more romance/fantasy and did not have as many dragons as I thought; dragons were kind of an after thought IMO. The premise was so good too and I thought the overall plot would have more of story, especially with dragon. Disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley, Isabel Ibanez and St Martin's Press Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/31/22

Love, love, love! The writing is beautiful in its simplicity, and the world-building is so unique! Matador bull fights, but make it fantasy with dragons? SIGN ME UP! The slow burn romance is so good, and the progression of it hits at all.the.right.moments. Swoon! The stakes are high, and the payoff is so satisfying. I cannot read this book enough.

Oh perfect slow burn enemies to lovers! I loved the relationship between Zarela and Arturo! They are both so proud and it was nice to see that they eventually became supportive of one another and their beliefs.

The best friend Lola is one of the best side character that I have read in a while! She was so witty and fun but also super supportive. I want her to be my friend! 🥰

I felt that it was a little slow to start and the plot twists were a little predictable to me but I enjoyed reading the story and loved the Spanish heritage. It was refreshing to read a fantasy book that aside from a few major things like dragons, was true to the culture.

Read this if you like:
🔥 Enemies to Lovers
🔥 Spain and it’s culture especially bull fighting, the clothing and the food
🔥 A spunky, do anything best friend side character

First of all, can I say I SCREAMED when I found out I got approved for this ARC? I fell in love with Isabel Ibañez’s writing since I read Woven in Moonlight. Her debut novel impressed me so much with her lush descriptions of the environment, the food, the COLORS! Truly I think her prose is some of the best out there in YA right now, and TWB is no exception to that. The world she paints is magical and I want to get lost in it.

Zarela is also a great protagonist. She’s fiery, loyal, hardworking to a fault. We love a heroine who is bold and unapologetic but also full of uncertainty as she tries both to preserve and change the traditions of her heritage. And her chemistry with Arturo 👀 together we burn INDEED

The main reason this is a four and not a five star is because first of all: dragons. The dragons we get are lovely: again, we have gorgeous descriptions and a large range of types. I just wished there had been more of them. I won’t spoil it, I just thought there could have been more dragon moments.

I also thought the first… 40% of the novel was a bit slow. We open with a horrific event at Zarela’s Dragonador ring, and then proceed to have a lot of running around taking care of her father, doing administrative work - it kind of felt like running around in circles until we meet Arturo, and even some after. It starts to pick up a lot after that and is worth it, but I thought that could have picked up some.

Overall, it was a super fun and magical read that I recommend!

Eighteen-year-old Zarela Zalvidar is a talented flamenco dancer and daughter of the most famous Dragonador in Hispalia. Disaster strikes their arena, and now Zarela must become a Dragonador in order to save her family's legacy. She refuses to let the handsome Arturo Díaz de Montserrat turn away, and ensures his hire and help. She refuses to let her entire world burn down.

Hispalia in this novel has wild dragons in the countryside, and the sport of killing dragons in an arena mirrors bullfighting of our world. They speak Spanish and have similar foods and flamenco, but also guilds for mages, dragon hunters, dragonadors, and all the major aspects of industry. Zarela witnessed her mother's death in a dragon fight gone wrong, and another one years later led to her father's severe injury and massive fines as the guild master took out his hate for her father on the family legacy. She refuses to consider losing the arena or the reputation for her family name even as she sells items that her mother had been known for. Her sacrifice keeps the arena afloat, but she knows there is only so much that could be sold.

Seeing Zarela and Arturo bristle at each other from the start of their meet not-cute to how stubborn Zarela is when hiring him, I knew immediately there would be a romance as well as the fight to save the arena and her heritage. She must overcome her fear and loathing of dragons, and his own history with dragons must be engaged with. He has a secret that he fears would come between them, and there is the matter of whoever tried to sabotage the family arena. When the answer comes, Zarela fights it with every fiber of her being, just as she fought against the world trying to take her family's reputation from her. Her father is important to her, as Arturo becomes, and Zarela works to blend both halves of her family legacy.

Inspired by flamenco and Spanish culture, this book is an enemies to lovers romance with a taut ending that I had to race to finish. I simply had to know what happened next, even when I should have shut the book to go to bed. Reading this was worth staying up all night!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc.

Unfortunately I had a hard time with this one. While finding parts and specific pieces absolutely amazing I just could not focus on anything but the bull fighting/dragon fighting idea particularly at the beginning. There is much to be said for the cultural significance of this story, tho.

This one was not for me sadly. When I read about dragons I don't want them to feel like replacements for bulls. I do love taking Ilbanez family's culture brought into a fantasy setting.

I was interested by the words “dragon dance” and the promise of fantasy romance, however ultimately this book didn’t quite pan out for me, and I’ll explain why.

1. I did not realize (and this is on me) that this was inspired by the concept of bull fights. So…this means the dragons are dying for entertainment and the MC and her family are on board with it. That’s kind of hard to get behind. While it is eventually addressed, I didn’t feel like I could really get behind this idea.

2. The pacing in this book felt off. I was never fully drawn into the story, which made it that much harder when one of the MCs had some pretty unsympathetic motivations.

I think this had potential, but I don’t know if it was the story for me ultimately.

Isabel Ibañez flies us to another world in a way only she can. Her immersive world building will have you seeing, hearing, tasting, and feeling every ounce of her Spanish-inspired setting. Combining fantasy with real-world cultural arts like flamenco and matadors makes this fantasy both unique but also accessible. I appreciated going along the growth and personal discovery with her main character, and supported the all important moral lesson that it is ok to change your mind. An excellent, exciting, and inspiring read that had me doing all of the following: cheering, hiding under my covers, swooning in love, and nodding a ferocious “hell yeah girl”.

This was such a beautiful story! I loved the worldbuilding and thought the magic system was very unique. The concept of the dragonadors and the different guilds were so neat. I thought Zarela was a very passionate main character and I thought her relationship with Lola was so sweet. Zarela and Arturo had a very tumultuous relationship, but I'm happy with how everything turned out. They also had great banter! The ending reminded me of the drama in telenovelas 😅 It was a great story overall!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC and Libro FM for the early audio copy of TOGETHER WE BURN by Isabel Ibañez, available from Wednesday Books on May 31.

❤️‍🔥 What a mesmerizing book! Set in a Spanish-inspired fantasy kingdom, Dragonadors (dragon fighters) entertain crowds by facing off against captive dragons in arenas. Zarela is the daughter of one such Dragonador, but after two family tragedies, she finds herself managing the household and in need of more dragons and dragon tamers to uphold her family’s legacy. She recruits Arturo, a surly but handsome dragon tamer with a soft spot for the dragons he hunts, and sparks inevitably fly!

What I loved so much about this sunshine-and-grump-romance book is how feisty Zarela is, and she didn’t have to make herself less for love. Arturo succeeded in being protective without being controlling, which I applaud. And nobody writes mouth-watering food and gorgeous attire quite like Isabel.

For those curious about the steam level, I’d say quantity-wise, it’s about equivalent to Lakesedge, or a little less than Serpent & Dove. There is a lot of great tension and sizzle and build-up between our romantic leads. ❤️‍🔥

I was hooked from the very first line of this book.
The world building completely immersed me in the world and I loved the Spanish culture woven into the world and the plot.
Zarela was exactly the kind of strong female character I love to read about. I rooted for her every step of the way as she found her way in a male-dominated world.
I was completely drawn in by the enemies-to-lovers slow burn romance.
Isabel's writing style had me on the edge of my seat as I tried to connect the dots of the mystery undertone of the story, and she hit all the emotional points I was hoping for.
Overall, I loved this book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There are so many things I really enjoyed about this book, so I’ll get to a couple of them first. Our FMC, Zarela, is strong, responsible, stubborn, and motivated. I enjoyed the enemies to lovers progression with Arturo and that their relationship was truly prickly for longer than a few scenes. The misdirection before the twist was strong even if I could feel the twist coming.

That being said, I have a few gripes, as well. The magic system and societal divisions didn’t feel as fleshed out or pivotal to the story as I’d have expected. I felt the conflict of the climax was wrapped up incredibly quickly - the bow on top was neat, but it was over as soon as it started. I also felt like the way Zarela and Arturo found out that dragons make decent dance partners was pretty contrived. I can think of more organic ways for the two of them to have found themselves in a position to start strumming a guitar in or around a ring.

Overall, I liked the style of writing, the main and side characters personalities, and the story.

Wow. Just wow. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me an ARC copy, and this does not influence my review. This book took place in a rich Spanish culture, with Spanish style bull-fighting with a twist...instead of bulls there are dragons, who are <spoiler> killed at the end of the fight <spoiler>. This world <spoiler> hates and fears dragons (as they are untamed) and this story is How to Tame a Dragon mixed in a Spanish culture. Moving on in the story, it is discovered that the dragons love songs and dancing...yeah I didn't see it coming, but it makes sense in the Spanish culture. The humans and animals are part of the same culture:) Both Arturo and Zarela had a hand in figuring out this<spoiler>.
The world-building was great, with vivid descriptions of the Spanish-style food and culture. Both the romance and plot intrigued me from when I first read the synopsis, and I am glad to say I was not left disappointed. I was thoroughly invested in the romance, and Arturo was *swoon-worthy*. The romantic leads were a grumpy/stubborn trope, with Zarela being highly stubborn and Arturo being super grumpy. Additionally, another trope <spoiler> was "guy falls first" and it could be seen in Arturo's description of Zarela's dancing style when he was watching her (she was unaware). Even though he was mad at her, when he was taming the dragon in the pen, he glanced back to see if she was watching eeeek. He took her coffee cup after she took a sip and drank it. This was all when he seemingly hated her. I love the hate to love trope in this book, and Zarela is very observant. She noticed "...the looks he [gave] her when he [thought] [she] [didn't notice" aaaaahhhhhhhh. And the most embarrassing part of the book was when Zarela's best friend Lola, when introduced to Arturo, made it seem like Zarela was in love with him and talked about him. I died of second-hand embarrassment. Zarela confronted Lola about it when she thought Arturo left, and he was actually nearby...listening... "There's a sardonic curve to his mouth, as if he knew exactly what I'd been about to say, as if he has me all figured out." Like I can't with this man.<spoiler>

I tried to read Woven in Moonlight, but didn't get far. Thinking this story sounded more to my taste, I downloaded it when it was available as a Read Now arc. Unfortunately, I just can't get past the dragonfighting=bullfighting. That's a ridiculous idea. WHY and HOW would anyone, in any fantasy world, fight or kill a fire-breathing dragon this way? I also can't give much credit to an author who just changes Hispania to Hispalia (seriously, one letter difference?), keeps the Spanish culture but adds dragons and spells, and calls it fantasy. After the first few chapters, it just became too big of an ask for me to suspend my belief so heavily.

Rating does not reflect a full opinion.

Beautifully immersed cultural fantasy you will not want to put down. From flamenco dancing to fighting dragons to the death, this story is never boring. Something goes wrong at Zarela’s families show day and dragons become loose and wreak havoc. This causes severe consequences and now with her father injured she finds herself facing many challenges and not knowing who to trust and who is seeking to destroy her family and business. I loved every moment and can not wait for more!

The idea of a flamenco dancing, dragon-fighting female character, and an enemies to lovers, slow-burn romance had me ensnared. Plus, the cover is gorgeous.

However, once I started it, I wasn't pulled as strongly into the world of Hispalia as I'd hoped. The plot was slow to take off, with no significant developments until the second half, and even those were predictable. The romance was a very slow build, but the burn was there when things finally picked up. I wanted more of Zarela's inner monologue as she developed and realized her feelings for Arturo. Arturo's character was so well developed and layered that Zarela's felt a little lacking in comparison.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book. The author's vibrant descriptions transported me to the streets of Santivilla and La Giralda arena, and I felt as if I was fighting dragons alongside the characters. I loved the dragons and how Zarela's perception of them changed throughout the book. The alternative to dragon fighting was a beautiful resolution. Overall, this was a pretty good stand-alone fantasy read.