oh. my. gosh. wow. This book was highly anticipated for me as I loved the Twin Crowns series but this honestly blew me away by the end. As a very quick overview and decision maker - if you loved The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent as well as the Throne of Glass series by SJM then this is the book for you.

Now to get into the more nitty gritty of the review (Please note all details are confirmed to be in the books public synopsis and as such as not spoilers) -

First I want to start off by saying this is a magic system that I found rather unique. It definitely has a few elements that have been seen before but as a whole the magic system was one of a kind and definitely aids in my anticipation of the rest of the series as I cannot wait to see where it goes from here and what else there is to learn.

As for the characters, the two main characters are Seraphine (Sera) and Ransom. Ransom is the heir to the Order of Daggers and is hunting Sera. However Sera won't go easy and is driven by her need for revenge of the death of her mother. Honestly there were parts of this dynamic that weren't my favorite but there were also parts that had me kicking my feet and giggling and giddy. They were a TRUE enemies to lover romance as they spent much of the book literally trying to kill each other, their banter was TOP TIER. The part that I didn't like is that the romance did have an air of insta-love to it that I can by in books with things like fated mates or some other cosmic force drawing them in but that wasn't this book. If insta-love isn't your thing this book will definitely illicit an eye roll or two from you.

The side characters of the story were truly great - every single one of them. Some were cynical, some had golden retriever personalities, one was even actually a dog. They all fit very well not only into the story but also with the main characters they were along side. Overall the interpersonal relationships in this book were so realistic and believable that they added to the story in all the best ways and I am so excited to hopefully learn more about them in the rest of this series.

Now I feel it very important to call this out, you will spend 95% of this book thinking it has the most obvious plot on the planet and you will not be wrong or surprised by that 95% in any way (at least I wasn't). However, the last few reveals I NEVER saw coming, so much so that I feel as though the obvious plot was intentional and likely a red herring to keep you distracted from the last few reveals. My jaw ON THE FLOOR the last page of this book and I am already eagerly awaiting book 2 and love/hate that I have already read this book as it just means a longer wait for me.

I will also mention that I found the beginning of this book to be a little slow, however it was not in any way abnormal for the start of a fantasy series set in a fantasy world. There was a lot of world building that needed to happen to fully understand the book and I felt as though the world building did really pay off in the end.

All in all, I LOVED this book. It was fun and a great start to a fantasy series that I cannot wait to continue.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Content Warning: violence, death, domestic violence, abuse, profanity

I was looking for an enemies to lovers romance and I got it with this book! Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

I’ve been craving for an enemies to lovers romance and this one has banter, violence, and sizzling chemistry that had me riveted. Now I say this is new adult because there was steamy scene. But I loved the cat and mouse between them – and the sending notes to one another scenes? Loved it.
I enjoyed the world building and how the Cloak (thieves) and Daggers (assassins) are rival organized crime groups. Central to these two sides is Seraphine who’s mother was basically a drug manufacturer (the drug being Shade) and was killed by a Dagger. Now Sera is out for revenge and I like the twists in the story. It doesn’t help Sera’s dreams of revenge that Ransom is tasked to kill her.
I love Pippin, Sera’s dog.
Both Sera and Ransom have found families but Sera’s found family is tighter and more trustworthy whereas Ransom’s is a little more cutthroat. I definitely felt for Ransom, poor guy.

Dislikes:

I wanted more interaction between Sera and Ransom in the first half but it’s a slow burn between them.
The beginning of the story is slow but I’m glad I stuck it out.


My Thoughts:

I found this story pretty entertaining and I loved that it was enemies to lovers with some blood involved. This story has action, found family, a lot of chemistry between two rivals, magic and some interesting twists. I was rooting for Sera and Ransom until the end, so we’ll see what happens in book two!

This was a fun story. I love a good enemies-to-more! It was a gritty and well-paced story. I would have liked a little more world building, more of Sera’s journey becoming a Cloak. The interactions and banter with Ransom were so good! If you like morally-gray, you’ll like Ransom. I’m interested to see what comes next.

I would not classify this book as YA. There was a decent amount of physical longing and one brief open door scene, along with a sprinkling of language.

Massive thanks to the publisher and netgalley for granting me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Sad to say the only thing I really liked about this was the romance between the two main characters. A TRUE enemies to lovers story (you don’t see those often). Loved their tension filled moments and how they grew towards each other during the story (we don’t talk about the ending though).

Unfortunately the rest of the story was just lacking something? I really liked the beginning but I lost my interest somewhere before the half way mark and kind of had to force myself through it. The suspense I felt at the start was gone, and while lots of reveals happend towards the end, I was a bit overwhelmed by it all? Just a lot of information to process and it felt like it was dropped in for shock value rather than actually adding something to the story.

In my opinion this could’ve worked pretty well as a standalone, but due to the ending and this being marked as a series on Goodreads it was definitely set up to have a sequel (or two). Although this was not my kind of read, i’m still curious where the author is gonna take this story next

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I was extra pumped to get this since it’s my Fairyloot book next month!
This story was a fun ride and it was a true enemies to lovers tale, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The magic is unique and the ending left me excited to find out where the story goes next!

Thank you to @simonandschuster and @cat_doyle0 for this e-ARC!

The Dagger and The Flame is the first book in a new YA fantasy series. And it is DELIGHTFUL. I laughed, I squealed, I bawled my eyes out, and was on the edge of my seat.

A true enemies to lovers, found family, coming of age story.

We follow Sera and Ransom as they both deal with the fallout of Sera's mother's untimely death. Written from both POVs, our lovers are members of rival factions vying for control of the city's underground: the Cloaks (thieves) and the Daggers (assassins).

The Cloaks: "Take only what your cloak can carry, and your conscience can bear."

The Daggers: "Those who refuse to wield the dagger are doomed to die by its blade."

And when I say "true enemies to lovers", I mean attempted-murder-as-a-love-language.

But what I truly loved about this book was the friendships both of them have. True, unconditional, deeply wanting what's best for the other person friendships. Plus, those friendships play an integral role in the plot, which makes them all the more meaningful. I love it when relationships like those aren't just a fun side-story.

One critique I have is that the rivalry seems unbalanced, with The Daggers definitely have the upper hand.

All in all, The Dagger and The Flame is a joy to read. And I literally CANNOT WAIT to see how the story plays out in future books.

3.75/5
Interesting magic, fun plot, okay characters. This a dual pov fantasy with a more true enemies to lovers plot. The tension between Ransom and Sera is there it's just the pacing of this book is off. The book is suppose to be tense and mysterious and to me with the Ransom chapters it came off that way but the Sera chapters they seemed wordy and drawn out. The world is built very well and the magic system is explained so you understand what's going on. It's just side characters are don't really give much to the story. They are there but all of them seem kind of the same. I couldn't really tell you the difference between them. Overall it's a decent different story but it does seem drawn out at times.
I want to thank NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for opportunity to read this e-arc. This is my honest opinion.

Overall a really solid ya fantasy. I loved that Sera and Ransom were actual enemies to lovers. The pacing was as some others have said somewhat off but I enjoyed it. There were highly predictable plot points but I am interested to see where it goes in book 2.

4.25 stars!!

I already knew I loved Catherine Doyle’s writing going into this. I devoured this book so fast as it was paced so well and full of adventure and magic and characters you’ll love. This is a true enemies to lovers as well. This book took me to the magical landscape and feeling of being in a fantasy world. I can’t wait to see where this series goes. I will definitely be continuing it!

I really enjoyed this book. The world, the characters, the magic….it was all intriguing and had me hooked! The main characters were definitely closer to actual enemies than a lot of books who do enemies to lovers, which I appreciated. I love the dog side kick, too! The pacing was pretty good, though it dragged just a bit in the middle. There was a make out scene during a really inopportune time that I thought was pretty weird. There were a few times where scenes felt slightly out of place or like not consistent with the character. That being said, I definitely want to know what happens next and look forward to the sequel!

4.25 stars!! The enemies to lovers, the complex relationship between cloaks and dagger, as well as general personal conflicts made this such a fun read!!! From the very start the actions of even the side characters keep you invested and the world itself is so fascinating to think about despite being super easy to understand. I think my favorite part however was the relationship dynamics being formed between our FMC and those around her. She ends up being forced into the thick of conflict so fast and watching her adjust and find people she can trust was my favorite. I cannot wait to see where this story goes!!

This book was nothing like I expected and yet it was really good! I felt nostalgic while reading as if the story reminded me of something else I've read (but I don't know exactly what) and this gave me a super cozy reading experience. For me, it wasn't 5 stars because I found the beginning a bit slow, although some important things were happening, the reading lost me a few times.

If you like a slightly darker setting and rival groups, you'll love this one! In this universe we meet the Cloaks (thieves) and the Daggers (assassins), of course our main characters are from different sides (and he is sent to kill her 👀). Don't go into this book expecting a lot of romance, the characters (Sera & Ransom) barely meet at the beginning of the book, but don't worry because the rest of the book makes up for it. One thing that also made me lower the rating a little was that for me, it shouldn't be marked as YA. Although the language was ok, there’s a scene that was waaaaay far from being YA!

Anyway, it was definitely a worthwhile read and I'm sure it will be a very successful book when it's released 🫶🏻

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this great arc! The city of Fantome is a dark and magical setting, and I appreciated the unique spin on shadow magic. I LIVED for the witty banter between the main characters, Seraphine and Ransom. They had such great chemistry and really fit the enemies to lovers trope (as they start out as true rivals), which I absolutely love.

The romance was spicier than I was expecting for a YA novel, so young readers might need to be aware of that!

The magic, saints, and world-building were told/explained in the beginning a little more than I would have liked instead of letting me experience it, and I ended up skimming those parts a bit.

Overall I loved this story though and can’t wait to read the sequel after that cliffhanger! Definitely recommend this for fans of YA romantasy!

3.5 stars!! first i want to thank the author and publisher for receiving this as an ARC❤️

this was such a fun read and i loved that the magic was from a plant and not powers necessarily, i also really liked that it was true enemies to lovers but it felt kinda rushed to me, one thing that wasn’t my favorite was that the side characters didn’t feel that important like sera did a lot of the planning then told everyone what was going on idk but overall had a lot of fun with this and i’m so ready for the next book!!!

For fans of We Hunt the Flame, Six of Crows, and A Darker Shade of Magic (WHAT a collection of comp titles), a new sensation emerges. I am so excited to see this blow up on booktok in a month or two because it deserves it so much more than some of the romantasy that makes it on there. The enemies to lovers was IMMACULATE, the side characters were fantastic, the conflict was real and messy and fit perfectly in with the impeccable world-building, and DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT ENDING. I laughed, I cried, I kicked my little feet. Golden age of ya fantasy we are SO back. Immediately checking out the author's backlist while I impatiently wait for a sequel.

So this story was so fun. It's a fabulous series starter with great forbidden romance. The magic is so unique and I loved the characters. I was completely hooked right from the start.

But there were some intimacy choices made here that I absolutely do not agree with for a YA novel. I also didn't love the sheer amount of f-words places throughout, especially since it seemed to be almost the only curse word used.

That said, I'll probably still continue the series but with slightly different expectations now.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for my complimentary e-arc. All opinions here are my own.

The Dagger and the Flame is a dual POV fast-paced enemies-to-lovers romance filled with magic, mystery, and revenge. It has an intriguing premise and was a true enemies-to-lovers, including multiple murder attempts between our main couple! This book is a good match for anyone who enjoys the dark grittiness of Six of Crows but with a touch of the rivalry and monsters of These Violent Delights.

This story was a roller coaster read for me. I adored the beginning and was sure we were on our way to a solid five star read. In the last third of the book, however, the pacing was a bit off. By biggest issue is the last one hundred pages or so. We were flying through plot and the pacing was just too fast to appreciate what was happening. Because of this, characters started to feel a little all over the place. It was harder for me to buy into a lot of the conclusion since I ended up feeling very disconnected from our characters. I especially felt this with the Daggers – we don’t spend enough time with them to get that connection that was needed. It was unfortunate the ending didn’t really hit for me, since I really do enjoy the set up and premise of the story.

I really liked the relationship between our main couple, both in their murderous interactions and eventual banter. Sera and Ransom’s romance was a little insta-lovey and a lot of insta-lust, but it was fun regardless. I absolutely LOVED the window scenes; a few moments made me laugh out loud. Pippin the dog stole my entire heart and I hope to see even more from him in the next book. I liked the magic system and the city torn between the Orders of Cloaks and Daggers. I especially loved reading about House Armand – it was such a fun and whimsical building. I want to know more about the city itself – we hear about a king but do not get more information about him. I hope we see a little more of that world building fleshed out in the sequel.

Despite my criticisms, this honestly was a fun read. It was fast-paced and easy to grasp from the beginning. I was captivated and blew through it in 2 days. I am interested to see where this story goes, so I will absolutely be picking up the sequel with the hopes we get more of the magic I felt in the first half of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This one has a lot of potential. I felt like the pacing was off a little and sometimes seemed slow during important events. The relationships hit sometimes and other times didn’t. The heists were a bit repetitive but overall an interesting story. I love the word choice and the way the author writes. I think with a little refinement on the relationship interactions it could be amazing.

It took me a minute to get into this one but once I did… I was hooked. The banter, the romance, the rivalries and the reveals. I mean it had everything you could ask for bundled up into a story you just can’t stop reading. I will be not so patiently waiting for the next book because I need to know what happens next.

I was hooked from the beginning and I loved every second of it!

I really enjoyed Sera and Ransom's scenes together. The pacing of the enemies to lovers was so well done, just perfect!
The whole plot was just to die for. I loved all the magic, the angst, the assassins, just everything.

Also, dying at that ending. I need the sequel immediately!

I highly recommend to fans of fantasy!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.