This book was so good, but you need to be ready to buckle in for some turbulence on your emotions, it’s a rough ride but worth it for the feminine rage boiling underneath.
I originally received this book as a NetGalley ARC and was so excited, but with the personal issues I’ve been having on focusing on ebooks and the Irish names, I ended up waiting to read this one as an audiobook. Evanna Lynch did a phenomenal job and I fell into the story. I was so entranced, it was a perfect book for the long car rides I had in August. Almost immediately you are pulled into the powerful and dangerous world of the Masters and Channellers.
I knew going into this story I would be getting a class story with Éadha and Ionáin’s love story tangled with the power imbalance we learn about in the summary. However, I think I was unprepared for how deeply this novel delves into the challenges of class, power, and the dark side of a feudal system exacerbated by the existence of magic. It was brutal, beautiful, and complicated made even more by the confusing by exploring the facets of what it means to hide your true self inside the current social system to stay alive, and what parts of yourself are you willing to lose just to survive?
The complex character study of how people react to pressures differently, and how even moving forward with the best of intentions cannot always be enough. I was pulled into the old friendship and love of Éadha and Ionáin completely, however taking the story from Éadha’s point of view was so frustrating at times to see how she had to mask and sacrifice herself to save her love and his family. It was satisfying to have Gry as a character to remind her of her own worth.
Between the slow simmer of female rage against a cruelly injust system, the overall theme of inner strength and moderation of resources, coupled with a phenomenal academic backdrop with characters that leap off the page I am so excited that book two is out soon because this book ends with such a bang, that I need to know more!
Looking to find Her Hidden Fire? Here you go:
Bookshop.org ~ Libro.fm ~ Goodreads ~ Storygraph
The digital edition was provided to me as an advanced readers copy by NetGalley. All thoughts are my own. As a side note, some of the links to Bookshop.org or Libro.fm will either provide me or an indie bookshop I support a portion of the affiliate sales if you use them to buy a book I recommend!
Leave a comment