Fast paced, adrenaline fueled Ya fantasy that throws you straight into the high stakes world of PHOENIX racing! The author blends magic and tech, which was really interesting, crafting a vivid setting where political intrigue, found family, and slow burn enemies to lovers romance take center stage. The characters are fierce and layered, especially Kel and Coup and the emotional twists hit hard! I have to admit although the slow burn was good, it was a bit much at times. But overall it was a good one!

If you like action, heart, and mythical creatures with a modern edge, then grab this one!

Imagine Fourth Wing but instead of dragons, it’s phoenixes, and instead of training for war, they’re training for races.

The world building is immaculate, even with the fast-paced, action-filled plot. I really liked that there was technology and also it was a different world than ours.

You’ve got political intrigue, enemies to lovers, and corruption.

Really excited for this ARC

The writing was so well done. The fire and burning imagery stayed consistent throughout, connecting the main character and her phoenix and serving the plot well.

The first few chapters are a bit long which is to be expected when introducing a story in a new world. Most of the chapters are the perfect length. It really lent itself to the danger and swift changes occurring in the team's environment.

I enjoyed the characters and team dynamics. Did I find one particular character [*cough* Dira] incredibly frustrating? Yes! I can see how a regular teenager could behave the way she did, however, I couldn't reconcile how easy it was for her to disregard her long-term friendship and place so much trust on her newest crush.

I will always go for the enemies to lovers, fake dating trope. Always. Do I wish the romance was more fleshed out and substantive? Yes. Do I understand that this is a YA novel and it was just enough for the targeted age group? Also, yes.

The twist caught me by surprise. I was too busy drawing parallels between Kel and her phoenix to piece together the random, and frankly, sparse breadcrumbs.

In the last few chapters I was a blubbering mess. A blubbering, yet still happy mess.

Finally, while I do wish we got an even longer epilogue, it was beautiful. I can't wait to read what happens in the author's next book.

Thank you to Macmillen and Mikayla Bridge for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3...2... 1...GO! This book takes off from the start and doesn't stop. If you like the Fourth Wing and Divergent series you will love this book!

Enter the world of phoenix racing, a deadly sport where if the track doesn't kill you the phoenixes may.

The story follows a young girl named Kel who, after her father died, is just trying to scrape by as a phoenix tamer for her team the Howlers. After the loss of their flyer in walks Coup, the best flyer around with a reputation for team hopping. Can they trust each other or will the constant bickering tear the team apart and bring down everything Kel has worked so hard for?

This book was fantastic! The chemistry and friendships between the characters and the world they live in was so well written you felt like you were right there apart of the action. I actually wanted to race along side them. There were also several plot twists I didn't see coming which kept me on my toes.

The ending was beautiful and I felt all the feels! I am curious to see if there will be a sequel, it ended in a way that begs you to use your imagination but that you could also add on to, which I loved, not many books do that anymore.
Overall very well written. Dynamic Characters, beautiful immersive world, action packed and I can not wait to read more from this debut author!

Release Date 7.15.25

-Phoenix Racing
-Enemies to Lovers
-Conspiracies/ Hidden Agendas
-Found Family

This was a phenomenal enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy.
The amazing world building, the journey, the characters made this book absolutely unputdownable!
The plot was creative. This book surprised me in the best way.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Mikayla Bridge, and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR)/Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely ate this up! Phoenix racing? Say less. The story draws you in from the jump, starting right in the middle of an ongoing race. The story is easy to follow, the pacing is immaculate and the characters are so loveable! You get some twists with a hint of romance and a touch of violence. This is YA fantasy at its best! I need the next book immediately.

Thank you netgallery for the Arc!! I read this book in less than 24 hours!!! It gave me fourthwing vibes which I loved!I enjoyed that phoenixs are wild creatures. My favorite is the enemies to lovers and the secrets!!!

I absolutely enjoyed the concept behind phoenix racing and the teams.

great world building with phoenix races! the book started off thrilling and fast paced. towards the middle, the pace slowed down but it does go back up towards the end and keeps you on your toes with its suspense and worry. overall, it is an enjoyable and entertaining read. however, i didn’t feel a connection to the characters.

hMs. Kelyn (Kel) was a tough cookie at the beginning of this book. She was bitter, mad and ruthless but giving her history it may be warranted. Coup came off as the cocky, obnoxious pretty boy. As they journey through the Phoenix racing they face having to being on the same team, getting to know each other but Kel is being difficult and unforgiving for what she perceives Coup to be. The action is slow, along with the dialougue between the FMC and MMC. Actions does happen about 85-90 percent and by that time its too late. Kels is still unsufferable but then its gets blamed on this AB plauge. ( where did that come from but ok) There will be a part 2 to this series. It was okay for me but it may be great for you. I will say that this would be a great high school grade read. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

Move over dragons, the phoenixes have arrived! This book went FAR above and beyond my expectations. It was fast paced, the writing was fantastic, and now I am sad that it's over. I highly recommend this book, and I cannot wait to tell every one of my bookish friends to RUN and get this the moment it comes out. 6 STARS. Thank you to Macmillan Childrens Publishing group and Netgalley for allowing me an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

The beginning of this book was a bit of a shock since it starts in such an intense moment, but it does a really good job of orienting the reader to the world, magic, and characters. This was by no means groundbreaking, but the author used the tropes well. I really felt the tension between the two main characters and felt satisfied with their romantic pacing. I loved the competition aspect of the book, but the bad guy felt very predictable. Although, it’s hard to find faults with a book about racing giant phoenix 🐦‍🔥
I felt a little confused with one of the plot points towards the end of the book; it just feels like it came out of nowhere.
The eARC did not include the epilogue so I can’t wait to read the conclusion when the book comes out!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher, for an opportunity to read Of Flame and Fury.
This was a great action packed novel with well liked characters and all together an enjoyable read from start to finish. It does have elements of other fantasy books, but the author’s concept of new ideas and new character ideas made this a fantastic read. It was easy to follow along with this new universe she created. I can see this book becoming a quick hit. And the main character being a favorite of mine in a long time.
From the start it was fast paced and hard to put down.
The cast of characters quickly made me want to read more and more to see how they would respond to all the action going on in the plot.
I would recommend this novel to all types of readers, but those who are into Romantasy .

4.5 rounded up.
This may be my new favorite Young adult fantasy novel.
The plot is fast paced and starts moving right from the beginning. The energy of the story is palpable. Due to so much of it being centered around racing, flying and fire, you always feel like you are there in those races. The author did an excellent job making those scenes come alive.
I would call this story a fantasy with romantic elements and those are done very well. the Enemies to lovers story intriguing and the banter is a lot of fun.
There are a couple of predictable elements that I could see coming and that did knock it down a half star for me, I still enjoyed those aspects of the story and felt that they were necessary to the plot.
Overall, this story was a really enjoyable read and I cannot wait for book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mikayla Bridge, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux (BYR) for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Of Flame and Fury will be officially published on July 15th, 2025!

This book single-handedly got me out of a reading slump. I've seen so many things about how Of Flame and Fury is going to be the hottest YA fantasy debut of the summer, and honestly, I think it lives up to the hype.

If I had only one way to describe Of Flame and Fury, I would say, "F1 racing but with phoenixes." The story had me hooked right away from the very first chapter and sucked me in until the very last pages. There was no buildup to the action, it just happened right away.

Kel Varra, along with her best friend, Dira, are members of The Howlers, a phoenix-racing team that's part of the larger CAPR organization, a phoenix-racing organization, on the island they live on. When they suddenly lose a bunch of their crew, including their main rider, Warren "Coup" Coupers and his older brother, Bekn, step in to help out. Kel and Coup constantly butt heads, but with Kel financially struggling to keep her family home, she reluctantly lets Coup and Bekn join. When she and Coup get propositioned by a billionaire tech mogul to get sponsored by him in exchange for the best training facilities for Savita, Kel's phoenix, a roof over their heads, and opportunities they'd never be allowed otherwise, the Howlers accept. When things start to get fishier after getting sponsored, Kel and her crew have to get to the bottom of a new conspiracy that could threaten everything they love and care for.

Let's discuss the vibes and what to expect in this book. Like I said earlier, if you are a BIG F1 fan, you're going to LOVE the phoenix racing in Of Flame and Fury! The vibes we get from the races, how CAPR is organized and set up, how the teams are set up, along with the idea of CAPR racing teams getting sponsored by larger organizations, are all extremely reminiscent of how an F1 race typically goes! There were plenty of racing scenes to go around, and just like F1 races, CAPR races are all set in totally different areas across the island, each with its challenges and obstacles. The phoenix races were so much fun to read, and I loved reading about the Howlers coming together to strategize on how to win and place in the top 3.

I wish we got to learn more about the other CAPR teams aside from the Howlers and how sponsorships come about and work though; I feel like the racing scenes solely focused on the racing itself and from the Howlers' perspective. I wanted to see rivalries! I want to know how teams even make it into CAPR! There's only 20 phoenix riders allowed in a race (again, JUST like F1 races are!), and I would've loved to see how people rise up through the ranks to make it there in the first place.

If you love a good found family trope, the Howlers are the friend group for you! There was a lot of animosity at first, considering Kel and Coup are enemies and can't stand the sight of each other, let alone training with each other. With Dira's sarcastic remarks, Bekn's constant need for making sure everything goes smoothly, and Rahn making sure Coup and Savita get the best gear for races (and nothing but the best), everyone in the group balances each other out so nicely.

As for the enemies-to-lovers aspect of the story that is talked about in the official blurb for the book, I wish it were more developed. I would also make the argument that this is NOT romance-focused in comparison to other romantasy books, which I thought was a good thing, but was also its downfall. Kel and Coup are the literal definition of enemies, and there is a specific way/trope the author uses to get them to the "lovers" aspect of the story, but I also feel like it came completely out of nowhere. Kel spends pretty much all of her remaining brain power hating Coup when she's not thinking about Savita, training with her, taking care of her, and making sure she's okay, and I personally felt like a light switch was flipped in her head when she started liking Coup.

Aside from them training together with Savita and a few cutesy scenes here and there, I didn't really feel like there was any real evidence that Kel was starting to warm up to Coup or even any instances of her starting to catch feelings for him. Again, it was as if a light switch went off in her head one day, and she woke up and said, "I kinda wanna kiss him." I think having Coup's POV would've added some more perspective on their relationship and would add some much-needed depth.

I also love the discussion that the story brings up about the phoenixes. Phoenixes were on the island way before humans were, and to live on the island, humans had to tame them by collaring them. There was a lot of debate throughout the story about whether or not to let phoenixes live free in the wild, or to tame them so humans have more control over them. I love that at the end of the day, the phoenixes answer to no one. No matter if you tame them, train them, or domesticate them, they're always going to do what's best for them, and phoenixes, and I suppose animals in general, don't owe humans anything. They're wild. They're free. They can burn you. They can do whatever they want, and they're completely unapologetic.

Some other minor things that I wanted to bring up:

A certain side character: without going into too much detail, there was a side character that was there that I didn't really feel like was entirely relevant other than to play a role in Kel's plot and character arc. They kind of came out of nowhere, considering they were barely mentioned in the story, and that's what I'll leave it at.

AB: For context, there's a pandemic on the island known as AB. It's a deadly disease, and the sideplot of the story is trying to figure out how to cure it. The theory behind how it manifests in what areas of the island is very interesting, but as a healthcare worker, I have a lot of questions about AB itself regarding how it spreads from person to person. I'm not sure if I just simply don't remember reading that, or it wasn't explained at all, but what I don't understand is how some of these characters just know people who have been infected and passed away from AB, but they're not personally infected themselves. I'm sure if there's more to come after this book, it'll probably be explained then, but that was something I couldn't get past as someone who works in healthcare.

If you're looking for a fast-paced romantasy read this summer and want to support a debut author, look no further than Of Flame and Fury. I can't wait to see what Mikayla Bridge has in store next (hopefully a sequel to this. Please let it be a sequel to this!!!)

Phoenix tamed?

A world of magic where the phoenix are tethered and raced. It’s not a gentle world. Kel Varra is a phoenix trainer whose phoenix Savita she’s had from infancy and trained to race!
When her racing team’s numbers (the Crimson Howlers) are reduced by the death of their rider, it seems to survive Kel will have to join with another team to form a new group. That group? Her “neck or nothing” rival and rider, Warren Couper “Coup” and what’s left of his team, The Star Chasers.
When the newly formed group is offered sponsorship from a huge tech company they accept, although Kel has misgivings. As the saying goes, beware of those bearing gifts.
Different treatment of a trope where powerful corporations corrupt, ecological factors are ignored, and magical creatures subdued.

A Macmillan Children’s Group ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I had a lot of fun with this! The premise of Phoenix racing was so interesting and I loved the found family of the Howlers. Kel and Coup were so cute; I enjoyed their relationship but also felt them realizing they had feelings for each other kinda came out of nowhere? I had fun with the fake dating aspect but wish they had more heart-to-heart conversations before Coup’s incident. And like … why were they about to have sex in a prison cell while Sav was literally being sentenced to death lmao that felt so outta wack

It was easy to see who the villain would be from the beginning, and though I was able to piece together his motives much faster than Kel, I did not expect that final AB twist. I do wish the worldbuilding was a bit more fleshed out—more about how regular people understand Phoenix power and their collars, how Fume fits into it, the other countries’ relationships … the book seemed fast-paced but thinking back on it I’m just not sure how much the world is truly laid out for you.

I see some reviewers saying this is a standalone? This ARC does not include the epilogue, so I’m not sure what it entails but I would hope there’s another book to come, especially with SO many things left unresolved. I’d definitely check out the sequel if it does come.

Of Flame and Fury is a fiery debut that blends phoenix racing, enemies-to-lovers romance, and political intrigue into a fast-paced young adult fantasy. Kel Varra is a fierce, determined heroine, and her chemistry with arrogant rival Coup delivers both tension and heart. The worldbuilding is immersive, the action thrilling, and while a few plot twists feel slightly rushed, the high-stakes drama and explosive ending more than make up for it. Perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, this book is a scorching start to a promising new series.

Rating: 5

This is a stand alone?? I could read a whole series in this world. If you love mythical creatures, in this case phoenixes, adventure, found family, and high stakes, you will absolutely love this one! I'm actually surprised I'm not hearing more about this book. I am absolutely obsessed!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Honestly, I cannot believe this was a debut novel. It was so good. I’m hoping when it comes out this week the epilogue has the answer to the cliffhanger or let us know there’s gonna be a second book. But it was such a different concept and unlike anything I have read before I can’t wait to read more from this author.

thank you netgalley for this arc !!!
soft dnf @ 45% chapter 22
im so sorry but this found me at a time where everything i read was boring 😭😭 also i made the mistake of applying for the arc super close to the publishing date without even noticing 😭
i might continue this still but we're on a break 😔
it's a rivals to lovers romantasy with racing phoenixes! a pretty interesting premise
tbh they kinda hate each other for no good reason and when they argue literally neither of them is right like 😭😭 they could just not argue like it's not like they have anything of importance to argue about it's just them throwing insults like you COULD get along if you just weren't doing all dat
will update when/if i continue 🙏🙏
overall i see how people like it !! if u like action and racing stuff with romance def try it