this one is very good as long as you’re willing to contend with the fact that the ending is not as cozy as the rest of the book. i liked the ending a lot— as well as the rest of the book— bc going TOO cozy rarely works for me, but i can see this ending being a little controversial especially as this is marketed as a cozy fantasy.

to be clear; it is, for the most part! funny, cozy adventure. just that there’s a little more going on here than the usual cozy fantasy, which can be a strength or not depending on what kind of reader you are. definitely one to give a chance to regardless.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

I didn't realise how much I had been craving a good old-fashioned fantasy roadtrip until I read this!

The first part of the book shows us where our protagonists start out and how they get to deciding to embark on their journeys. While I did like getting to know Aleya and Kirby, I think the story really takes off when they meet for the first time. Everything—their initial impressions of each other, their (this makes me cringe but IDK how else to say this) grumpy/sunshine dynamic, the development of their relationship— is just chef's kiss.

I love character driven stories, so this book was right up my alley, but if you prefer plot, I cannot emphasise enough how slow the plot is. Majority of this book is spent travelling, and the main plot stuff only really happens in the last 90%. Of course, this isn't a bad thing, but just so you know. You know?

This book is equal parts dark and humorous. Objectively, this book is pretty heavy as many terrible things happen, but the happier, lighthearted moments of friendship and banter left more of an impression on me. Honestly, I would personally categorise this book as a cozy fantasy. (What I mean is that I felt cozy reading this. The characters are definitely not feeling cozy.)

We only really get to see a few gods, but I adored the concept behind it: gods being created by worship, and existing in physical objects that can be stolen. Pretty cool!

I had enjoyed the Floating Hotel from Grace Curtis and was invested in the way that was written. Idolfire was able to tell the story it needed to and was hooked from the first page. It had that fantasy world that I was looking for and was invested with the characters. Grace Curtis does a great job in writing this and was excited to read more in this world and author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Oh my god. I am so overwhelmed with how much I loved this. I laughed out loud as I read and by the end I was full on ugly crying. Snot and all.

THIS is what fantasy should be!! But also maybe I’ve reached the pinnacle of fantasy and I’m ruined for all other books.

Also:

Nylophon of Carthe, son of Daxxies, lover of Nachi 🥹😭🥺🥹🫶🫶

This was an utter delight! I’m so excited to read Curtis’ previous work!

Aside from the beginning being a little slow, I can’t think of anything bad to say about this book. The prose was lovely, Aleya and Kirby’s relationship was so real and sweet, the meditation on empire was thoughtful, and the ENDING!! I was almost crying in Itsu.

What really makes this book stand out to me is the pacing and the characters. The journey takes up most of the book, but it doesn’t feel padded or too short. It feels a lot like Katherine Addison’s writing in that way, though the road trip gives it a little more of a plot structure than Addison’s work tends to have. The main three characters, Aleya, Kirby, and Nylophon, are relatively simple, but they feel so lively and real. I loved all three of them. I think Curtis could have done a little more to differentiate their point of view, because sometimes I did lose track of whose point of view it was (particularly between Kirby and Aleya towards the end), but it wasn't a huge problem.

I've been doing a lot of repeating "people lived meaningful lives during the fall of the Roman empire" to myself as of late, and it was nice to read a book that was mostly about that. Just a wonderful book.

I received this book from Net Galley.

Apparently, the third time really is the charm because while I enjoyed Grace’s Frontier and The Floating Hotel, I absolutely adored Idolfire. I loved it!

This is a fantasy inspired by the Fall of Rome, but you don't need to know that going in and, quite frankly, the story stands well on its own without knowing any of that. It was fun to try and decipher what was loosely based on reality and what was entirely fictional, but it also wasn’t distracting in any way. And if you aren’t a fan of Rome, if I had to choose a culture that this book was focused on, it’s not Rome at all, but the outlying civilizations that survived after it. In fact, Rome is sort of made fun of in this book a bit, which I thought was refreshing.

My favourite aspect of the book is tied to the world-building, as it’s a quest narrative, and my favourite kind of quest: where the characters aren’t in a super rush to get home. They have a mission and a goal but it’s not a three-day adventure; it’s months. And they go to so many cool and interesting places, both in the cultures and odd magic they encounter. The different countries/places are described really well, with lush descriptions that aren’t afraid to take their time unfolding. I found it really immersive.

And the magic system is subtle to being almost rare, but when it does come up, it’s so fascinating. The book also has ancient ruins, a trope I love.

The book follows two main perspectives with a third coming in later. The two women, Aleya and Kirby are vastly different in temperament, skill, knowledge, and social position. They are pretty much as opposite as they could be, but they work well together and you get to witness their reluctant alliance and then relationship blossom over time. I will say, the only critique I have of the novel is that the “yearning” aspects of the slow-burn romance weren’t very intense. I know there’s a whole subset of readers who don’t want sex in their fantasy, thinking it should be reserved for romantasy, but as someone who can’t stand most romantasy tropes, I like romance and sex in my regular fantasy, because I’m not going to read a romantasy. I’m not even asking for a sex scene, just, in the case of this book, a bit more sexual tension would have worked nicely for me.

That being said, Curtis’ skill at characterization really shines in this novel because she’s able to make you care about the most officious little prick of a character, one that you really wish would get a comeuppance ... but then she humanizes them, and you like, "damn you made me like this person." That was fun. It also showed how most of the time, we’re assholes because of how we’re raised or where we live, which felt relevant to today in a lot of ways.

The action scenes are terse, exciting, and very fun. Kirby can’t fight, but Aleya definitely can, though she’s not infallible. She has had years of training, but she also is quick-witted. Kirby helps as best she can, and while she does come off as a bit “country bumpkin” at times, she’s endearing and cute. It is very much a grumpy sunshine story. And then a third chaos element to mix things up the last third.

The ending is one of the most interesting ones I’ve read and it was bittersweet and realistic. It’s also not a “save the world” story - it’s about two women doing what they need to do both for themselves and their communities. There’s a wider world that exists around them, and the book is great at showing how the world doesn’t revolve around them as main characters. I might be reading into it a bit much, but the book also seems to include the physical manifestations of the effects of colonialism or, perhaps the theft of cultural artifacts.

Overall, I loved this one. The length was perfect, the story didn’t follow a straight trajectory but also wasn’t meandering, the characters were excellent, and the worldbuilding and action scenes were top-notch. Highly recommended.

Idolfire is a sapphic roadtrip fantasy novel, written by Grace Curtis and published by DAW Books. A quest adventure with two characters from really different backgrounds with a slowburn romance that suits perfectly into a vibrant world inspired by the Fall of Rome, with very different cultures and with some bold craft choices, such as the second person used for certain POV.

On the one side of the world, Kirby from Wall's End, is searching for redemption, starting a journey leaving all behind to find what has been of their goddess, trying to fix the curse that tore her life apart; on the other, Aleya, written as a mistake by her family, has been given an opportunity to prove her worth and ascend to the throne. Both are set in the path to Nivela, a city that once had the power of conquering the world; fate has a strange way to act, and for both, the journey will change their lives, even if they initially resist to travel together.

Kirby was probably my favourite character in the book: intelligent, and a bit mad, but also with the determination to learn and persevere; in our pair, she's the golden heart. In comparison, Aleya is colder, really stubborn, but she grows so much across the journey, accepting that sometimes she's not sure of everything, and that asking is not weakness. The sapphic romance between our characters is the classic definition of a slowburn, but in this particular book, it fits super well, as it is so natural, especially with all the edges and small fights between them.
There's a third character that deserves a mention, Nylophon: the prototypical Spartan coded soldier. A character that is always ready for fighting, who doesn't see any other kind of life for him; however, Curtis paints an excellent character arc, even giving him an adequate ending that is also one of the highlights of the book.

The world itself is another aspect I would like to talk a bit: as we are travelling across it, we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves, the richness in the cultures, and how each place has developed in different ways, all coded into their rituals and lifestyle. The magic system is partly a cautionary tale and also a great narrative vehicle, as it points to how dangerous worshiping can become, but it plays well into the story; kudos for the originality.
The pacing lands on the slower side of the coin, but it suits well with the kind of epic roadtrip that our story is; and it allows us to enjoy a bit of the journey.

Idolfire is an excellent fantasy novel, perfect if you are looking for a story that takes its sweet time in favour of working on its characters, with a slowburn sapphic romance in the center of all and an incredible worldbuilding. Can't wait to read the next Grace Curtis' book!

This exceeded my expectations a lot! The world is mystical but well explained. The characters became friends to me during reading. I had a hard time putting it down. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the chance to read this book.