This book was a very interesting read and I enjoyed every minute of it! The cover caught my eye right away, the blurb pushed me forward, and I fell right into the story, not resurfacing until I finished the last page! What fantastic worldbuilding the author managed to bring to life, and I say from experience that is not an easy thing to well! Ignite the Sun was fascinating to watch unfold especially the characters themselves which were fully fleshed out and absolutely a delight to get to know!

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building, as complex as it is, never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I loved this!

I wasn’t sure for the longest time how I would rate this book. The storyline was very unique and the concept was cool, but the weak characters and pointless action scenes detracted from the novel and brought the rating from four stars down to three.

In the beginning of the book, our main character Siria was just plain annoying. Another character summed it up pretty well when she described Siria as “a pampered princess who has known nothing but privilege and excess! All she has done... is whine and cry and feel sorry for herself. Never once has she stopped to consider that she might not be the only one here whose life is impacted by this mess. Never once has she considered that there are more important things at stake than her feelings.” And those feelings were made blatantly obvious numerous times throughout the novel. I read in the book’s description that the light vs dark struggle was metaphorical for anxiety and depression. I wasn’t aware of how present and obvious this would be. Siria whined about how she would grow “tired of sulking” and become “oppressed” by her “self-inflicted anxiety”. In the beginning of the novel especially, she was a weak, spineless jerk willing to toss aside her loyal childhood friends to please her cold parents. It was enough to make me want to abandon the book at 23%.

The plot in the beginning was also a little weak. We also never really got to know the bad guy. The last 5% of the novel explained her motivations a little more, but by that point I didn’t really care. The fact that Siria kept passing out during the middle of action scenes was also a little disjointing. I think there were definitely better ways to write and resolve those high intensity moments.

Now, on to what I did like. The whole idea behind the novel was pretty cool. I can just imagine the entire kingdom cast in resolute darkness, waiting for a certain special someone to restore the light. I did think it was a little odd she was the only sunchild left, and therefore the only one with the power to defeat the evil witch. Surely there would be someone else with that power who survived. Regardless, I was appreciative of the character development Siria underwent. She matured to be quite adept at accessing and using her power, and I liked how protective and devoted she was to her friends.

Hanna Howard had a very fluid writing style. It definitely wasn’t difficult to read, and I can tell a lot of thought went into writing this book. I would recommend it if asked, on account of how easy it was to read after you got past the 30% mark and because of its unconventional plotline.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review, opinions are my own.

This book had so many of the things I love most: a creative and unique world, realistic characters, a fantastic magic system, and a plot that continuously kept me guessing and wanting more.

In a world where the sun has been buried away by a layer of shadow controlled by the Witch Queen, a young girl named Siria Nightingale is preparing for the choosing ball in hopes of being chosen to become a part of the ever-powerful Queen Iyzabel's court. After a wild turn of events at the ball, Siria ends up on a journey with her childhood best friend, her family's gardener, and a nymph who would rather be with just about anyone else.

I am always a sucker for a good adventure story, and this one certainly did not disappoint! I was enthralled by the twists and turns that the group encountered throughout the story. The author builds up wonderful tension as the group moves along in their quest and had me genuinely questioning how they would get out of the latest tangle. Their problems felt real to me, as they were complicated and difficult to work around, just as they would be in real life, which to me makes a book so much more enjoyable.

I was also very impressed with the character building in this novel. Our protagonist has such an interesting character arc that is exactly what I'm craving when reading a YA coming-of-age type story such as this one. She realised her flaws and grew from them accordingly, struggling along the way in such a realistic way that left me very satisfied. In the beginning, Siria wasn't really that likeable of a protagonist, but she made me care about her story, and watching her transform into a strong and powerful girl was beautiful to watch. Something else that also stood out to me was how accurately the author captured what the teen experience is. Siria read like a 16 year-old rather than an adult that was stuffed into a teenage body and I really enjoyed the authenticity of it.

I was a huge fan of the world-building in this book as well. The idea of a kingdom without a sun is not a concept that I've seen frequently in YA and it was very interesting to see the way that this impacted the characters and their journey. I would have liked to have seen a deeper exploration into the practical consequences of this, like how the lack of vegetation would affect people or more information on how they are able to feed the entire kingdom, but for a stand-alone, it had a relatively good start. I think that the perpetual darkness could have also lent very well to a more atmospheric and ominous tone, which was present in the beginning, but I would have loved to have seen the author go all the way with it. The magic system was very intriguing as well. I thought it seemed relatively well-balanced and it went beyond just a simple elemental magic into the other implications that each element would have. The one thing that did strike me as a bit off about it was the mages- every other power made sense in connection with the others, especially the witches, but I was confused as to where mages get their power from and how it fits into the overall scheme of the otherwise element-based magic of the story.

All in all, I found this story to be a quick and enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy adventure novels and lovers of unique fantasy worlds.

To be released 18th Aug 2020, Ignite the Sun By Hanna Howard, is a tale of a kingdom shrouded in darkness. 16 year old Siria Nightingale has never seen the sun, and has grown up believing it is dangerous, that everyone is safer in the perpetual darkness of the Kingdom. However on her 16th birthday she discovers a secret that will change everything...

I really enjoyed this book. The characters seemed a bit flat at the start, and actually kind of annoyed me, but there was a lot of character development as the story progress. It was lovely seeing the characters grow and change with events. The world is wonderfully built, and vivid, though again, the first part of the book seems to be spent in building it. The pace was perfect, slow to start then racing towards the end, as it progressed I couldn't put it down.

This book is about light and dark, and finding yourself amidst great despair. Its about self love, and self image, and the message it gives is so important and powerful

I will definitely be buying this one when it's out, and would recommend it. I gave it 4 stars

Siria lives in a world that has not seen sun in almost 15 years.

“Tell me about how the sun would light up the whole world, and about the trees being green and leafy, and about grass, and blue sky, and sunlight, and birds, and magic—”
“Once upon a time,” he said, turning back to us as the bowl glowed orange and a trickle of smoke crept from the corner of his
mouth, “there was something called the sun.”

This is a world full of darkness and cold ruled by an evil queen that killed her own sister to gain power and Siria finds herself in danger as the queen is after her because she is the last living sunchild.
In order to gain access to her full powers as a sunchild Siria must travel north where the darkness is weaker and sun is present. She travels with two friends she knows from childhood, Yarrow (mage and father figure) and Linden (an elf, the boy she loves), and also Merrall (a naiad). Along the way she discovers that she is also the lost princess and that she has an older brother who is alive and waiting for her.

"And I realized that Phipps Nightingale’s indifference was no longer an open wound in my heart, because he was not my father.
Yarrow Ash was my father. He had been since I was six years old, when he appeared at Nightingale Manor and took it upon
himself to love me as no one else ever had."

At the beginning she is a weak girl under the spell of the queen, with low confidence and scared of her new gained powers.
But during her journey and under Yarrow's supervision she gets stronger and learns to use her powers to grow plants, to heal and even fly.
This helping her to finally defeat the queen and restoring the sun in the kingdom.

A part of the story that I liked was the love story between Siria and Linden.
We don't get to see how the fel in love. The story begins with her already confessing her feelings for him, to herself tho :)))
She is so in love with Linden and he with her 😍. They are soo sweet ❤️❤️❤️
"But then his thumbs skimmed over the insides of my wrists, lighter than the brush of leaves, and just as quickly my head became muddled again. I looked up. In the glow of the lantern, his green eyes roved over my face. I could see uncertainty there, but for the first time I was sure I could also see his own longing, the mirror of mine.
I wanted him to kiss me more than I had ever wanted anything in my whole life.
My hands trembled as he slipped his fingers into my palms again, interlacing them with mine. I could feel his pulse against my wrist, as strong and wild as my own. His eyes softened so much they seemed to send spidery cracks through my entire body, breaking me into fragments held together by skin."
” The grin was back, and he released me to put his right hand over his chest, as though making a vow. “I therefore promise not to kiss you until you’re ready. Until you think it’s safe. Unless, of course, we’re going to die anyway.
Then I want a mercy death by burning.” 🤣

And I kept thinking about the falling star from Stardust. She was also glowing when in love:
“All those times you’ve lit up like a candle . . . Weedy, were those all because of me?” His grin was fiendish now, and it broadened as I flushed and glared at him. “They were, weren’t they!”

Loved the story and I give it 4.5 stars (for the slower start).

P.S.: Didn't like her real name. Glad she kept Siria 😁

This was a good read, easy and simple to follow. It’s one of those books that you can enjoy in an afternoon. It was fun and magical if not a bit predictable, but still good !

I thought this book was pretty good. My main issue was that it was so stereotypical. Girl finds out about her magical powers, somehow her childhood best friend (who coincidentally got hot in the past few years) is involved, and they have to overthrow a monarchy prejudiced against the protagonist’s powers. However, I did think it was good. There was a lot of character development and a great fantasy world built up throughout the story. I don’t love books that use this same trope over and over, but overall good execution. I wouldn’t buy this book, but I think I would get it from the library and recommend it to a friend or peer.

I would say to read this book if you liked Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Hanna Howard’s book to me was a different version of the same story. They have a lot of differences, but I do think that they’re similar enough that fans of one would enjoy the other. This is very much a classic(ish) fantasy tale that I think pleases readers of many types who enjoy the genre

Just finished this tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. Siria grows up with emotionally distant parents but the gardener and his son provide her with affection and companionship. They live in a world where the sun has been banished by their Queen to protect them from it's burning, evil power. On her 16th birthday, everything changes and Siria discovers even her name is a lie. Can she resolve her new reality with everything she had grown up believing to be true? As the story unfolds, we meet a growing cast of support in whom you become more and more invested. The book ends satisfactorily so if it is a one-off you are not going to be annoyed at questions left unanswered etc but equally the ending does give potential for a second book - and if so, I will definitely be reading it.
#ignitethesun

In a world where the sun has been extinguished, the only hope to bring back Light is the lost sunchild. When Siria Nightingale discovers that she is that lost child, a world of adventure is opened up to her. I enjoyed Ignite the Sun by Hanna Howard because of its engaging plot, cool fantasy world, and relatable characters. However, some of the parts seem a little hasty and lacking in detail. I felt that the beginning especially was a little weak. It seemed far too rushed, and I did not really have enough time to acclimate to Siria’s everyday life. Even though throughout the book, her life before she transformed is referred to, one does not have a good grasp on what that is. In spite of that, the biggest appeal to me was the plot. It was very creative and interesting, and that was what kept me reading. In addition, one can vividly picture the dystopian fantasy world, once one is about halfway through. This book has potential to be very, very good, if only the author elaborated on some parts.

Any enjoyable fantasy read.
Hopefully there are going to be more books set in this universe, interesting fantasy world that is ready for further exploration.

Pros:
Interesting world & well built.
Decent pacing, plot always pulled me to read on

Cons:
Weak characters & character building
Ending was very sudden, could have done with a longer epilogue.

A pretty decent debut novel, but it's not without its flaws.

All of my concerns have to do with the writing/storytelling. The writing is perhaps a tad too simplistic and the storytelling is a little too convenient for my personal preferences. When ‘opposition’ is present, something random saves the day or the MC passes out, so there really is no tension for the reader to experience. And although the concept and characters are unique, there is no depth or development or any kind of world-building. Which leads to unconnected characters and an underwhelming conclusion.

Overall, there is a lot of room for the author to grow, but it's a good starting point.

I thought the plot line of this book was super unique and different. I decided because of that to give it a try and it did not disappoint! I was never bored reading this book and the characters were very interesting. I will be looking out for more books written by this author.

I very much enjoyed this book, a perfect escapist tale to read during the current lockdown.

The world of Umbraz/Luminor is explained well without too much exposition pulling you away from the main story and the characters.

I found it quite compelling and was eager to finish the story.

I have no words for how amazing this book is! I am dying for a second book, but this one isn't even officially out yet! 5/5 stars!

Ignite the Sun takes place in a world covered in darkness, where the sun is a myth. This world has mages, nymphs, and fae type creatures. We follow Siria, who is just turning sixteen and is trying to gain the favour of the queen. When she becomes an honoured guest at the Choosing Ball, she discovers not everything is as it seems, and she may be the key to bringing the sun back to the kingdom.

Let’s start with characters, Siria is your typical chosen one. She doesn’t particularly stand out, and she very much does not want to be the chosen one and doesn’t believe she’s capable enough and is a brat about it. The side characters are pretty lacklustre as well and I wish they had been more fleshed out. At times it felt like some characters were introduced solely for the sake of having more characters in the story. The villain of Ignite the Sun really doesn't have too large a roll and could have benefitted from more page time because she seems like more of a way to drive the story forward than like an actual character.

The dialogue also leaves much to be desired. Siria’s interactions with the other characters come across as forced and the banter between her and her love interest, Linden, is lacking in the charms required for me to root for them together. When we meet the two we already know they have crushes on each other and are the best of friends, but I find none of this believable through their interactions. Siria’s also a bit too focused on Linden’s looks and that’s something I never enjoy in regards to romance.

My biggest gripe with this novel is that I thought the writing was lazy. The main character conveniently keeps blacking out during the height of tension, the plot is predictable, there were many info dumpy moments, especially in regards to the backstory of characters, and there are some very convenient magical elements thrown into the story, some in regards to those backstories, that do not make for an engaging narrative. I think Howard has potential as a writer, her style is easy to digest and the story concept is great, but her potential wasn’t fully reached with this debut.

Something else that does not sit quite right with me is that the “chosen-ones” of the story are all red-haired or blond while, and correct me if I’m wrong, the other characters are dark haired. I understand what the author is trying to do here, and that the hair is meant to represent the sun, but the execution could have been better.

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.