WITH FIRE IN THEIR BLOOD is the sort of YA fantasy that takes almost all the classic YA tropes from the early 2010s, smushes them together, and just has fun playing with all of them.

The book is set in a divided city, a dystopia meets contemporary fantasy set up, where a ruthless general has made himself into the absolute ruler of a city split by a clan war. His word is law, because he "saved" them from the evil Saints - aka people with power who were used in the war then burnt down a church full of people when they wanted to rule.

There's forbidden power that Lilly has and must hide, everyone (literally everyone) is lying about at least someone, and there are many, many secrets about to come out. To paraphrase Liza, trust no one and do whatever it takes to survive, because no one else will look out for you.

There are many, many complicated relationships in this book - tricky friendships, tricky family relationships, tricky attractions. The lot - save for out right romance. I'd call them attractions in this book, being being attracted to people because of lust, power, and self-destructive tendencies. I am certain at least some will become romances in later books, but right now, it felt like the opening sallies of that, the attraction part that isn't yet fully understood and defined/acknowledged on both sides to become a romantic relationship.

I really liked that the book acknowledged and called out most of the attractions as coming from self-destructive tendencies. I feel like, right now, lot of books would just pass it off as "a broody boy" romance rather than deconstruct the toxicity of the "I want you even though/because it will break me" mindset.

There are two more books to come, I think, and Lilly has just set some pretty big events in motion...

This book was so addictive and chock full of dramatic twists and turns.

The characters were all so wonderfully complex and I loved all the reveals about them as the book progressed and I cannot wait to see what happens to them all in the rest of the series becasue it is guaranteed to be dramatic. Lily was a brilliant main character and I really enjoyed experiencing Castello with her for the first time and learning about the crazy society in it. Christian, Nico, Alex and Liza were brilliant characters, all aiding and hindering Lily in her journey at the correct times and just making this book. However, they were also incredibly complex, and that is something I very much valued.

The plot was incredibly dramatic and I loved how it was so twisty, even if I did manage to predict some of them most of them hit me like a truck. This book was simply addictive, I just wanted to keep reading to find out more about everything that was going on. And the ending was incredibly dramatic, so much happened in so little time and it was like a whirlwind of action and I loved it. And that ending had me shaken, I cannot wait for the next book to come out becasue I need to know what is going to happen to everyone in the aftermath of this book!

The writing was wonderful. I have already spoken about the characters and the plot but the nature of the writing was so good. I could imagine Castello in all its glory and picture the scenes so well in my head. As I have already said, I really need the next book!

Wait, is there a 2nd book?! Because that ending has me shook. 😱 (After losing my mind, I did hear from the author that there is another book!)

This story was everything! Dark, haunting, and gothic with a truly unique town and magic system.

Lilly the FMC is dragged to Castello by her dad, as he starts a new job. The town is divided down the middle between two families who once killed each other daily. But now their "god," the General, has convinced them that the people with power (The Saints) are the ones that need to be destroyed. And that's just what they've been doing for the past 20 years.

Lilly showing up turns the town on its head, and everyone must choose a side.

While the spice level is definitely YA geared, the moments of romance were beautiful and exciting. Kat Delacorte writes a Bi - love square full of gorgeous humans. There's a bathtub scene that I think I reread 10 times over.

The ending leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but that just leaves SO much to be discovered in the next book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Penguin Books and Kat Delacorte for early access to this eARC. I can't wait to get my physical copy in the mail!!

Firstly I’d like to thank Kat, Puffin and NetGalley for the arcs!! You all amazing and wonderful!! 😍😘

Where do I even begin with With Fire In Their Blood?! It’s a rich story steeped in history, magic and European culture with a queer twist which I just loved. Basically it’s perfect 😏😍

With Fire In Their Blood is the story of Lilly who’s moved to the other side of the world when her dad gets a new job. When she arrives in Costello, Italy she becomes aware that it’s not your average town and that it has lots of secrets and customs that she was definitely not aware of before they moved there. She meets Liza and is told the story of Costello, of a divided town, of a Clan-War and of a General which saved them all. She also learns of The Saints, The Cursed, with tainted blood and suddenly, Lilly’s life changes completely…

I’m sorry obsessed with the way Lilly integrated into Costello, it really gave the story amazing pace and introduced us to all the the characters so well. I particularly felt a pull towards Christian and Nico, for me they were like light and dark. I was absolutely engaged with them from the moment they appeared on the page and just needed to know more about them straight away. I LOVE all the romance 😏😏 there’s lots of flirting, which for me as a fantasy/romance reader, was just amazing and naturally weaved into the storyline ❤️❤️

I love how dark, arcane and suspicious the feeling of the book is. It’s literally the best!! 😍❤️ Nobody completely trusts each other with anything. Costello is a town that everyone wants to run that feels completely lost in time. I love it and can’t wait for the next book!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley for this amazing arc!!

When you think of Italy you always picture it beautiful scenery, delicious food and amazing language you’re so keen to learn. Well , With Fire in their blood, tells a bit different story, of a bit different Italy and mysterious things that happens in small town Castello.

I loved how Kat writes down the story, she perfectly levels story telling and action -which is one of the most important things for me in the books. I loved main character- Lilly and her personality, loved her sarcastic side, I loved strong minded Liza and definitely Christian not to sure about Nico tho…

What made me want to read the book was its cover, it is so amazing and different and the beginning of the book is so catching that as soon as you start reading you all the time want to read more.

With Fire in Their Blood is such a unique supernatural romance with great Gothic and dystopian elements. The story follows Lilly, who begrudgingly moves with her father to Castello, a small and isolated city in Italy, and discovers that Castello holds many secrets. It’s divided into two clans kept apart by a leader called The General. As she learns more about the past, the present, Castello, and its inhabitants, Lilly realizes that everything she knew about herself was a lie.

The magic system, world-building, and dystopian elements are on point in this book. Everything is layered and developed, and the imagery and personification used really bring the setting and characters to life. The magic system is layered, complex, and intriguing, but I did find it a bit dense and confusing at times. That being said, I feel like the next book will offer some clarity for those few instances.

The tone is great – dark and eerie with an air of mystery. The story includes an isolated city shrouded in secrets, eerie mists and decaying structures, enigmatic characters, disturbing nightmares, and more, which really highlight the Gothic vibes. The author’s writing style and the way they use personification and sensory language also add to the Gothic tone. The dystopian elements are also strong, especially the excessive control and corruptive power of those in charge, the rigid rules which keep the citizens uninformed, isolated, and without a voice, and a protagonist who defies all obstacles and fights for freedom.

The plot is really interesting and includes some great twists and turns, most of which I didn’t predict. I like when books take you in different directions than you expect, and this book did that on more than one occasion. The major characters are dynamic and layered, and interesting, and I want to know more about the people Lilly encounters. Liza, Nico, and Christian are three characters that Lilly befriends, and I found them all intriguing with strong and distinct voices and character arcs. There are also possible romances that I have a feeling will be explored more in future books in the series. It will be interesting to see how some of these relationships will grow and change as the story progresses. Unfortunately, as secrets and more shocking revelations are revealed, it becomes clear that Lilly doesn’t know who to trust.

I enjoyed this read. It was unique and entertaining, and I enjoyed the author’s writing style. I would definitely recommend it to readers of dark YA fantasy with Gothic vibes. Thanks so much to NetGalley, The Write Reads, and Penguin for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Kat is a flowing genius! Before I get into the actual story itself, the characters and the beautifully dark visuals; I have to first write about how amazingly talented Kat is at creating a story that flows so beautifully it’s like you’re floating down the calmest river in the world. So much so that you don’t even realise that time has passed until you find that you’re at the end of the darkening stream. I can still not believe that this is a debut novel! With that writing talent I am surprised that she was not picked up sooner or has five novels behind her. This girl is seriously talented at writing; flames, story and all. You will get lost from the very first sentence until you realise your eyes have passed the very last page.

The story itself is dark and not for the faint of heart. You follow the main character Lilly on her journey from the trauma of her past to the pain that she endures because of it and through the world of the book. As I have mentioned before in a past review; it is so lovely in a way to read of a character with possible complex PTSD that is relatable, human, and has her faults but there are reasons for this that are out of her own control mentally but fights. Like smoke drifting into your brain fogging up the emotions that you want to feel. This book was beautifully written and is tells the story in such a simple way to understand yet sticks in my mind like complex nightmares and dreams. Not only this but the amount of quotes I found in this book that I need written on my wall, on bookmarks, or just somewhere that I will look at with heart reaching emotions is stunning.

What more can I say than Kat has created something that burns as long as the eternal flames of hell, and her writing has bloomed like a fresh bloody rose in a Spring night. I cannot wait to read the sequel and every book she writes thereafter. I know that I will be there for every dark and deadly step cheering her on and always reminding her how amazing and talented she truly is.

PS this book really need a special edition and hardback, just saying but I need it like now and I am well ready to create one if there is not going to be one!

i will devour anything to do with italy. it is the key to my heart, and so is this book. just wow. can't wait to display it on my bookshelf among a kat delacorte shrine.

I absolutely adored this book!
Kat had me being like "Nico, Liza or Christian?"
There were so many twists and turns at the end of the book.
Every chapter I was like "Ahhh must read more!"
I'm excited for Kat and her next book - I can't wait to read it!
The idea in this book was so original.
Also, bisexual main character!
Guys - get your hands on this!

With Fire in Their Blood is a really fascinating novel.

It has a contemporary setting, but it doesn't feel like it at times. The Italian city of Castello is so totally cut off from anything we'd recognise as the real world that it feels like this could be a portal fantasy, like Lilly and her father have stepped through the gates of a fantasy kingdom, not just through the city gates of a modern Italian city.

Technology in Castello is carefully controlled, with no smart phones or Internet. There's an 8pm curfew, and the city gates are locked at night and guarded during the day. There are two warring clans with a careful truce between them and an all controlling demagogue, a Governor with both religious and political power. Oh, and they burn witches.

This is a book with magic. It's forbidden magic, with its practitioners hunted down mercilessly. It's hard to control, even overwhelming. It's described as power, and it's this power that so many of the characters are seeking.

This is a book about ambition and the need for power, and then more power. It's about how much someone is willing to sacrifice for power, the lengths they'll go to for it, lies and betrayals and all. But it's also about love and friendship and what they'll sacrifice for each other. It's brutal, dark and unforgiving, definitely not a book that pulls its punches!

There's also some really lovely bi rep. It's not turned into a big thing, it's not really even acknowledged. It's just there, as a part of its characters. I really liked that, and I really liked this book.

3.5 stars
Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House Children's UK for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The world Kat Delacorte created in With Fire in Their Blood is quite different from some of the synopsis, and so I wasn't entirely ready for this dark supernatural romance, heavily supported by a dystopian backdrop. This leaves me feeling a little mixed about how to review this because the book I read isn't the one I signed up for, however, I'm interested to learn more about the Skeleton Keepers series as it continues.

This gothic tale has a lot to unravel as you read it. Lilly moves to Castello, a small city shut off from the modern world in Italy. There, she discovers deadly secrets about the past and present of her new surroundings. The book transports you to a world unlike what I expected - the side of the city Lilly lives in is destroyed husks of its former glory. The imagery alone creates such a fantastic viewpoint in the reader's mind of this gloomy, seemingly cultish lifestyle, and whilst it was very jarring for me to read, I thoroughly enjoyed the world-building in this novel.

The magic system of the Saints is so intriguing, and watching both the main character and others surrounding Lilly navigate ideals of freedom, power, and greed was really rewarding. I enjoyed that the main characters all were morally grey - there was a story behind their actions and a desire to be something other than they were. The separation of the two clans in the city was interesting, especially down to the exuberant wealth of the Paradisos and the slums of the Marconi side. The contrast was chilling and confusing for someone not living there. Whilst the history of the city was well shared, it seemed unfathomable at times that people could be living on the Marconi side without breaking the treaty.

The culmination of the events of this book led to a solid cliffhanger, and I'm intrigued to know what happens next.

With all the good, unfortunately, I did struggle a lot with the character build-up in this novel, along with the storyline progression. I felt both areas lacked adequate detail, and there were too many plot holes for me to overlook. I find this such a shame because the concept of this world is chillingly fantastic, and I was consumed with reading on to find out more. Oftentimes, the reader was left to just accept that the connections between characters (especially Liza and Lilly) were developing well without enough evidence to support it. The author made Lilly attracted to three people, which given my detest for love triangles (or in this case, it's a bit more than that), I struggled with because they weren't all developed enough to be believable. I really enjoyed the connection between Christian and Lilly most and felt thrown off kilter by Liza even if all three were instantly alluring to our FMC from the start.

I found Lilly quite unlikeable at times. The jarring nature of her referring to her parents by their first names, her temper being so sudden and overly dramatic at times, and her recklessness didn't paint a solid character for me at times - though I did come to appreciate her further in the read.

The other issue I had was how much time jumped without being set up well. I would have preferred more time spent building the earlier weeks in Castello so these connections with the love interests and other important figures in the novel made more sense. Relationships with some characters, such as her Dad, felt very thrown in at times and not explored enough, and whilst some of this complemented the dystopian vibe of the novel, I found it hard to understand character actions because of how many time jumps there were in the first half.

As I mentioned, it's hard to come away from this with solid thoughts about the experience. On one hand, if the synopsis had painted more of what this book was about, I probably wouldn't have requested a copy, thus adding a lower rating than it deserves. At the same time, I'm genuinely glad that despite being led astray that I got to read this. It was a decent debut, and I will pick up the next book in the series when it is released.

This was very different from the fantasy I usually read. This is set in a small and outdated town with religious extremists claiming to be bringing peace by uniting the rival clans against their greater enemy, the witches known as Saints. I found this book quite easy to read and fast paced. I definitely loved how original the story felt and just kept wanting to continue to see what would happen next.

I wasn't a huge fan of the love triangle/square/blob. I felt that Lilly had these insta-love connections with way too many people. Because there was so many possible love interests thrown into the mix, it never allowed me to actually get to know and fall in love with any of the characters in particular, Lilly included. I also didn't quite understand the ending, but I think that's what book will undoubtedly explain.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't been this excited about a YA series since the Hunger Games. It's going to be a surefire hit on Tik Tok! Veronica's character was so much fun and she had such great quotes! There were some great twists but the ending was predictable but that didn't stop me enjoying this book. I can't wait to see where this series goes!

With Fire in Their Blood is a beautiful debut first book in the Series Skeleton Keepers.
Wow I was not expecting to love it so much!!!
I was immediately hooked into the story and characters and finished it in one sitting!
The story is incredible and original, setting in Italy gives it so much character. There were a lot of twists and turns which made me want to finish it so quick. The magic was very unique and the plot was very different to other YA novels which I really enjoyed.
I loved the characters and there was a lot to each of them which made it easier to get to know them. There wasn’t too much of romance but it left a good feeling to what’s coming in next book. I really appreciate the bisexual representation in the book.
I cannot wait for the second book!!! I also want to get physical copy asap! I will definitely recommend it to everyone who likes fantasy as this book was extremely refreshing!!

It was highly intriguing and exceptionally unique plot to read about. Now, I can’t wait enough for it to be out and about in the world so that I can’t start making everyone read it because it was that good!!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

When I read the blurb for With Fire in their Blood I was immediately hooked by the premise of mafia and magic. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I couldn't connect with the characters or the story and felt that the magic system wasn't explained enough.

I found this book very original and extremely well written, it has twists of magic, politics, romance and much more. All the characters were all very individual and well built - this was the same as the world building itself, and the story was captivating. I love the bisexual representation in this book and I hope to see more like it in the future. Once I picked the book up I couldn't put it down. Definitely would recommend to my friends who love the fantasy genre.

Q: What would you do if you suddenly find out your whole life has been a lie?
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When sixteen-year-old Lilly arrives in Castello, she isn't impressed. A secluded town in the Italian mountains is not where she saw her last years of high school playing out. Divided for generations by a brutal clan-family war, the two halves of Castello are kept from destroying each other by the mysterious General, a leader determined to maintain order and 'purity'. . . whatever the cost. Lilly falls in with the rebellious Liza, brooding Nico and sensitive Christian, and sparks begin to fly. But in a city where love can lead to ruin, Lilly isn't sure she can trust anyone -- not even herself. And then she accidentally breaks Castello's most important rule: when the General's men come to test your blood, you'd better not be anything more than human...
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I was lucky enough to have received an ARC for this book which I am very grateful for! It has taken me a while to read this because of my life suddenly getting busy but here are my thoughts. I really struggled to get into this book to begin with, it was a lot of world building and I don’t think I was in the mood for fantasy. But then I got to the 30% mark when the plot was starting to happen more and from then it was a lot easier for me to get through! Lilly Deluca is the perfect reincarnation of many of our teenage lives, not knowing who we really are. You see her throughout the book slowly discover the secrets of her past and she slowly discovers who she really is! Christian is one of the sweet book boyfriends who you secretly root for. It ended on a cliffhanger and also had a perfect ending. If you love YA fantasy books that have the same vibe as Mockingjay (third hunger games) and also love V.E Schwab! Also it’s set in Italy and has so many good supernatural aspects. With Fire In Their Blood releases September 1st!!

(Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

I really wanted to love this book as the concept for the plot sounded really interesting but in reality, it felt a little flat.

Everything seemed very rushed and things happened very quickly with little explanation as to why, I just wish there was a bit more depth. There where so many plot twists and whilst some where super predictable, others took me completely by surprise and actually made me gasp out loud. The magic system was really cool and unique but I wish the powers where explored a little bit more.

The characters where really great and I loved all their different personalities but they where lacking depth and there was very little character development. The romances where cute but again felt very rushed and insta-lovey. I did love all the history surrounding the city of Castello and the two clans, it had major Romeo and Juliet vibes which i loved.

Overall, it was a good read but was lacking the plot and character depth required to make me love it.

This was such a hard one to review because whilst there is nothing wrong with this story or the writing, I just couldn’t connect enough to give it a higher rating. Unfortunately neither the characters or the story pulled me in as much as I would have hoped. Perhaps it’s just me though so take this review with a grain of salt.

On a positive note With Fire in their Blood is incredibly original with gorgeous imagery. Queer rep blends in seamlessly.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book to read and review in advance.