This is bloody brilliant. I've always been enjoyed light and darkness at play against each other in fantasy, but to see it literally done has been a treat I've long searched for, and this fit the bill so well!

Well written, unique, inspiring in so many ways, Ignite the Sun is a story I will return to over and over again (and that's pretty rare).

Look forward to more by this author.

I absolutely loved this book! I read it in a single day.

Sarai would like to be just like everyone else - she wants to love the safety of the Darkness provided by their benevolent Queen. Secretly she dreams of sunshine, something she can’t remember ever seeing. When she was little more than an infant, the kingdom of Luminor was defeated by Queen Izyabel, killing all of the magical sunchildren in the aftermath. Izyabel used she magic to bring forth a great darkness to shadow the land, promising the people that it was for their protection. The people loved her for it. Sarai loved her for it.

Every year the Queen hosts a Choosing Ball to pick the young ladies who will join her at court. It is a great honor to be chosen. Sarai feels blessed when she is separated from her classmates and given special treatment. She believes she will be one of the few chosen and finally make her parents proud. It isn’t until the ball starts that she learns the truth and must run for her life with an outlaw mage and wood nymph. She must survive long enough to discover some well hidden truths and find her true path.

My opinions:

First, Sarai’s character development in this is just fabulous. She doesn’t have a single “eureka” moment where everything suddenly becomes crystal clear. She encounters challenge after challenge and just rise to them or die. She is terrified and brave and weak and stubborn. She is not a typical hero but certainly earns that title.

Second, the supporting characters here were pretty brilliant. Lindon and Yarrow were both well flushed characters with solid backgrounds that allowed the reader to feel for them. The only character I didn’t love was Eamon. I felt that he was naive and unprepared to lead anyone, let alone a country.

I can see this being a stand alone story but I would love to see a sequel here!

I absolutely loved this book. The characters, the magic and the plot were just fantastic. I would have liked a little bit more world building but that is my only negative about this book.

~ I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~

Darkness overwhelms the kingdom of Umbraz that is ruled by an evil witch queen, who despises and fears the light-filled ways of the old. She deems the sun, and those who thrive within it, as evil and seeks to destroy anything that is a threat to her regime – including the last sunchild, a nymph with the ability to harness the powers of the sun.

Generally I enjoyed this story, particularly the mythology as it included some non-typical creatures and some fascinating lore; the most intriguing was that of witches, as their ability to steal powers and twist them into a sinister juxtaposition was undoubtedly horrifying yet exciting. Honestly, I’d love to have had more information on witches and ultimately, I would have liked to have seen more of the villains’ perspective throughout the text, as I believe it would have added more variety and depth that was missing in places. I simply felt that I misunderstood the motives and this addition would have made the character feel less two dimensional.

Often, I found that to be the problem with the majority of the characters – they lacked depth. This meant I didn’t gain a connection with them and therefore didn’t particularly care about their contribution to the story, because it felt like the narrative could have been accomplished even if they were absent.

In terms of the romantic side, it felt forced and uncomfortable, and overall just didn’t sit right with me. It wasn’t a gradual build up or discovery of emotions, Siria appeared to be obsessed with Linden straight away, with no obvious indication that the feelings were mutual, which created this stiff awkwardness. If perhaps this relationship had more development behind it, I would have been more interested in Linden as a character, it would have created more complexity.

Unfortunately the lack of depth of characters strongly influenced my enjoyment and rating; connecting to the figures within a text is exceptionally important and I just didn’t find myself strongly caring about them like I should. However, it was still eventful and exciting, and whilst not everyone grew as individuals, Siria went from being quite an irritating, whiny child, to a powerful and inspirational nymph, which I can say I took great pleasure in witnessing.

Rating 3/5

Ignite the Sun is an enjoyable fantasy read. The ‘world of darkness’ concept is intriguing and the fast pace means that we jump right into the story. The book does what it sets out to achieve but, to me, fell short of being a real standout.

The setting is the first thing that drew me to this book. A world covered by perpetual night evokes some great mental imagery and a creepy atmosphere! It’s used well, but I found myself craving more details about how daily life under perpetual darkness would be. There was also one really creepy creature that I would have loved to learn more about!

This book is story driven, and that’s reflected in the characters. Siria, the main character, grows over the course of the story, and it’s gratifying to see her gain confidence in herself. As for everyone else? They get the job done, but with the story happening around them, they don’t have time to develop much depth. As a result, I didn't get too emotionally attached to anyone.

In particular, I would have loved to learn more about the villain and her motivations. We’re given hints that she’s more complex than she seems to be, but nothing really substantial. As it stands, this is a straightforward good vs. evil narrative and that’s okay.

Recommended if you like:
Good vs. Evil plotlines
Story-driven fiction
Protagonists finding their confidence
Unique settings

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read an advanced copy. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was such an amazing book!!! Siria was just so lost but in a way not really. She had a solid foundation to be great and she certainly lived up to expectations.

Ignite the Sun has lovely, fascinating characters and I really loved their descriptions and how their magic worked. I was captivated by the idea of a Sunchild, a special kind of being, and how the dark Queen was afraid of it.

And while there are many great characters and an amazing idea, I sadly wasn't fully invested in the story. There was action, there was magic, there was character development, but the spark did not fully jump over.
There were bright moments, where the story managed to truly shine, but I also found myself skipping parts because I couldn't make myself care enough.

Overall, I think this book is better suited for younger readers, like middle grade and a few years up.
I still enjoyed it though, and would recommend it for young readers searching for a fantasy adventure and a tale of good vs evil.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book grabbed my attention from the beginning and I was completely drawn into this unique fantasy world. A world where a dangerous witch, Queen Iyzabel, has cast a spell on the kingdom shrouding it in darkness. Our main protagonist, Siria Nightingale, embarks on a perilous journey to bring back the sun. We encounter lots of colourful characters along the way and it’s bursting with magical beings of every conceivable kind. Admittedly, Siria’s character did frustrate me a little at first, with her naivety and constant self-doubting, but she transforms completely in the last few chapters and it’s wonderful to see her gutsy new character emerge.

The pacing is consistent and there is enough happening in every chapter to keep me fully invested in the story. There are some great action-packed scenes as well as some more gentle and tender moments. We learn a lot about the background of the world in the conversations between Siria and Yarrow and there is some great attention detail. The underlying romance in the story is okay, it’s kept very innocent, and although I do love a good romance, I would prefer a bit more sizzling chemistry. There are some beautiful descriptions of the scenery and the kingdom and I love the scene towards the end where Siria was on the cliff top overlooking the sea, that was a magical moment.

All in all a wonderful debut novel. The book is perfect for YA readers, maybe erring more towards younger YA readers. However, as an adult I did in fact thoroughly enjoy reading it too. There is a great cast of characters, wonderful world building and it’s the perfect escapism. I have to also mention the cover looks absolutely beautiful, and I look forward to seeing a physical copy in the shops when it goes on sale in August.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I will also be posting a review on my blog and Goodreads in due course.

5/5 stars.

Siria Nightingale longs to be chosen by Queen Iyzabel to be a member of her court.  The queen is loved by all and reigns over a kingdom completely shrouded in a never-ending night.  The sun is deemed evil and any connection the light, as well as the magic of mages, elf, and nymphs, is diminished or placed under the Queen's control.  On the night of the Choosing Ball, Siria discovers exactly why everyone is enamored with the queen and begins a journey against everything she has every been taught or believed.  

After reading the first few chapters of this book, I was completely hooked.  If I had one word to describe this book it would simply be "excellent".  The author did a fantastic job with world building and developing an enticing pace that consistently kept my interest. The character's and their connection to magic was very unique, especially witches and their power. In fact, I would love to hear more about witches and their motivations on why they choose to gain their power - sounds like a great idea for a book from the "bad guys" perspective!

Overall, this was one of the best books I have read so far this year. I could barely put it down and the book has very few lulls in the story line. This is Hanna Howard's debut novel and she as a, forgive the pun, bright future as an author. I look forward to reading her future novels.

While “Ignite the Sun” shares basic commonalities with other YA fantasy-type stories, I appreciated the world-building involved in this novel. The story is set in a world covered by the Darkness, which began after an evil queen conquered the Light fifteen years earlier. Siria, the heroine, must regain her powers and lead a group of rebels in a final showdown against the queen if she wants to save her people. I enjoyed the fast-paced story telling and the non-stop action, however the ”romance” was a little forced and obvious – of course Siria is in love with her childhood friend. The story would’ve been just as engaging without the love interest; there was plenty of action to hold the reader without the added weight of romantic confusion. Overall, I would recommend this book to middle school and early high school readers, especially if they’ve enjoyed similar books that deal with fairies, magic and rebellions, such as The Cruel Prince trilogy and the Throne of Glass series.