DNFed this, it was too slow paced for me, and I wasn't able to get into the writing the way I would have liked to.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

I was super excited about the prospect of this being a retelling of A Tale of Two Cities, especially with the added aspect of magic. With New York being divided between the Light and Dark sides, things got a little troublesome for our protagonist, Lucie, who was born on the Dark side but now lives in the Light side. Sarah Rees Brennan's writing continued to be as great as it always is, but I felt that the story was confusing and fell a bit flat. The characters were interesting and kept me going till the end. However I ultimately did not enjoy this one as much as I had hoped.

I requested this title back before my blogging break. I have ended up with a number of titles that are overwhelming to catch up on now I am back from my blogging break. I am regretfully not going to be reading and reviewing this title, but now I am back from my blogging break, I am looking forward to reading and reviewing some of your future titles. Thank you so much for the opportunity and apologies.

My interests have changed since I requested this book as I no longer primarily read YA. At this time, I won't reading or reviewing this title as it does not fit my current interests or the interests of followers of my blog/Instagram. Thank you.

I swapped my kindle back in 2018 and am unable to recover this title. I appreciate the opportunity that was given for review but sadly can't complete it for this title. However, based on the other works I know by this author I am awarding 4Stars.
Many thanks.

3.5 Stars
In a roundabout way I did enjoy this book. However I am left pondering so many whys? After the end I can easily say this book read more like a prologue, an opening to something bigger. I still don't know what the point of all the magic was since aside from Light and Dark, I didn't find it clear what the differences were aside from another form of bigotry and hierarchy. The way the book ends with the Dark side essentially taking over the Light side and eradicating all those in power was not necessarily a happy end either. Not to mention what the hell happens from here? I feel like I had half a story which is angering considering I really got into the story about a quarter of the way through. Lucie working with Ethan's doppelganger was a unique twist and while I'm glad she was able to save her boo and the doppelganger was actually a decent human being. But why did the doppelganger have to be so inherently good? The contradiction to his selfless act and the razing of the city was just wrong and in the grand scheme of things, it solves NOTHING. After becoming a symbol for the Dark side to use, I'm very glad Lucie took a stand and tried to use her power in ways she could. For her own family to manipulate that was just wrong and I wish we knew what her fate was? Hell was this the beginning of the end? Is the world now doomed because that's all I really get from this. The new "powers" that be got what they wanted at any cost and now will turn the fight amongst themselves for power. It'll be the same thing, different day and I guess I'd be happier if we had a little more from the end. Some type of conclusion or believable end when really I'm just left feeling sorry for Lucie and Ethan who really just want peace and no matter what it doesn't appear like that will be possible.

The book did not really work for me. I DNF'ed it. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the many characters in the book and I found myself putting down the book a lot because it was never really catching my attention.

Lovely work building, and a joy to read. The character development needed a bit more work but overall would recommend.

I unfortunately was not able to read this book. I was excited when ever I had chosen to download or pick this book up on Netgalley. However, time moves by so quickly and I never got to read it.

In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets.

It took me a couple tries to get into this book, but I'm glad I did. It wasn't my favorite Sarah Rees Brennan book, but once I got into the the rhythm of it I greatly enjoyed Lucie's journey over a short period of time felt significant but understandable, and the characters grew on me as the book progressed. The ending broke my heart, but it wasn't the first time that has happened in one of Brennan's books.

I received this book free for an honest review from netgalley.

Okay so I’ve had this one sitting around for awhile and honestly I think I requested it because I actually knew who the author was lol. I haven’t read any Dickens so I have nothing to compare this retelling to so that’s not an issue for me. My issue was 75% of the story was boring and had no build up of how and why things were happening. I still don’t really understand the dark and light worlds. Also the only character that I really like is Carwyn. The other were nothing special.

I don’t think I would recommend this one.

This book was hard for me to get into. I don't mind books that just start right off with the story and then build up their world around that, and I think that's what Brennan was trying to do here. But unfortunately, it just left me struggling to try to understand this world and the history behind why it became the way it was. And the info-dumping was strong with this one guys.

Going in, I knew absolutely nothing about this book. It's one I've had on my kindle for awhile now and I'm really trying to get better about reading books I already own. So I had no idea this was a retelling/reimagining of A Tale of Two Cities. Now, I've never actually finished the Dickens classic but I know the gist of it. Still, I was lost. The world is split into dark and light. Lucie, our MC, was born in the dark but due to an act of selfishness (she even says it was), she is now the golden child of the Light. Somewhere along the line she dates the Golden boy of the Light, Ethan and together they make the perfect couple. But of course Ethan has a deep dark secret that comes out and just throws everything in chaos.

The secret was easy to guess, the plot was predictable and Carwyn was creepy and chalk full of instalove - even though he was supposed to have no feelings. I didn't understand his attachment to Lucie. I actually didn't understand anyone's attachment to anyone because nothing was ever explained and we weren't given time to really immerse ourselves in this world. It was very disappointing because it had potential, but it just wasn't for me.

The premise seemed really excited. However, the execution is lacking. It's too slow paced and gets into too many details in its first half, cutting the overall interest factor of the book.
Will shelve and give it another try in the future

Unfortunately, TELL THE WIND AND FIRE is not the book for me. I tried to get into it, but didn't like the narration.

DNF
I didn't like the storyline or the worldbuilding
Thought I think this is a great idea, the execution didnt work for me. It felt to generic

Tell the Wind and Fire is a retelling of A Tale of Two Cities set in an unpleasant future. In Lucie Manette's world all of humanity is divided into the Light and the Dark. Dependent on the dark magicians, the ruling Light keeps them close in divided cities. Lucie escaped the Dark with her broken father and became a symbol for the both the Light and the Dark.

I found the setting of this book incredibly intriguing. It is very atmospheric and gritty. Lucie is kind of like Katniss in Mockingjay in that she is being used by all parties against her will, and the stakes are very high. I also really liked how Sarah Rees Brennan used doppelgangers to explain why Ethan had an exact lookalike (always a suspend-your-disbelief aspect of A Tale of Two Cities). The whole doppelganger element was very interesting--how they are created, the implications for Ethan's family, how the doppelgangers are treated. Also, I like that this futuristic, dystopian tale is not a series. It felt so good to have the whole story.

The biggest problem in this book is that the characters are pretty flat. Lucie is definitely the most fully developed, but I didn't love her interminable inner monologue. So much guilt about all her lies. Lots and lots of thinking, and it got repetitive, especially as the book was nearing the conclusion. Lucie and Ethan don't really have much chemistry. They just tell us over and over again how in love they are. Of the three main characters, I thought Carwyn was the most interesting, and he and Lucie were pretty entertaining together. I laughed out loud at some of their snipes.

In cases of retellings, the reader often knows where the plot is going (I've read A Tale of Two Cities twice), so the book's enjoyment is not necessarily in discovering what comes next, but in how the author recasts a familiar story and makes it new and interesting. There were a lot of interesting things about Tell the Wind and Fire, but, because I wasn't surprised by any of the plot twists, it made some of the weaker aspects of the story all the more evident.

I've wanted to read Sarah's books for years and since this is a stand-alone I thought it would be a good choice. It wasn't. The characters are cookie-cutter copies of every single YA character ever written, there's an awful love triangle, the worldbuilding was non-existent and the plot bored me to tears. I really hope her other books are better than this because I was so disappointed.

Opening line:
"It was the best of times until it was the worst of times."

I should have realized from the opening line that this book would be similar to one of my favorite Dicken's stories: Tale of Two Cities. That might be why I loved this story. Or maybe it's the storytelling, how the author wove love and war in between each other. Or maybe it's because of the main character, Lucie, and her journey to understand herself, her enemies and her destiny.

This story is literally light and dark battling each other. Lucie is from the Dark City, but because she freed her father from the "cages" the politicians in the Light City decided to hold her up as an example of someone from the other side choosing correctly. She always does what everyone tells her; she believes this is the only way to keep her loved ones safe. But what about her own soul? That is the Lucie's theme throughout the story. When is lying okay? And killing? And revenge?

About half way through the book, Lucie realizes she doesn't really know the people she loves. She will not trade secrets and therefore, doesn't know what hides behind her loved ones masks.

I did skim some of the info/backstory dumping but found it was part of the secrets.
i felt the ending was over too quickly but not sure how it would end otherwise.

For the sensitive reader: war, death, killings, kissing

Thanks to netgalley for the read!