I thought the writing was fantastic, engaging, and the characters compelling, but something about the plot fell a little flat for me and I can't quite put my finger on it. Nonetheless I still enjoyed this book and read it in less than a day, and I will certainly pick up the sequel when it comes out!

With Fire In Their Blood
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
K.A. Tucker
⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was good but it wasn't quite enough to make me say it's a great book. The plot and premise itself are really interesting and kept me curious.

The FMC though did become a little annoying for me, she was very indecisive and very trusting (almost gullible).

There were a few plot twists but I did find some of them to be predictable. The love interests kind of flip flop between different characters and it becomes slightly cliché, that being said there was a lot of LGBTQA+ representation.

The ending wasn't very satisfying for me so I'm not sure if I'd need the next book or not.

As soon as I saw the cover of this book, I knew I needed to read With Fire In Their Blood! It is a YA Fantasy book, with a little bit of romance thrown in there. Although I do feel like there will be a bit more of the romance side of things in the second book (I hope there will be another book after the ending of this one!).

The basics of the story are that Lilly moves to a new town in Italy, as her father recently got a new job there. She starts her new school, and then finds out the town is actually separated into two clans, who are being kept apart from each other by someone called The General. Lilly makes friends with some other people from school... and discovers about the past, herself and the magic system she has moved into...

I thought the magic system in this book was unique, and I loved learning more about alongside Lily in the book. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book, some predictable and others were not! The characters were well written, and you really start to like each of them as you learn more about them, especially Christian and Nico

I did find it a little complicated at times, and she seemed to insta love every other person she met of her age, so I'm unsure of who she will be with in the next book. I normally prefer a slow burn romance, but that's just my preference :)

I give this book 3.5 overall and I want to read the next book to find out what happens!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC of "With Fire In Their Blood" by Kat Delacorte.

I loved this first book! It was perfectly written - which was why I requested it, I had heard such beautiful things about Delacorte's writing. The pacing was beautiful and precise, which is a rare but glorious piece of information I cherish highly.

Lilly as a protagonist is gorgeous and I truly understood her decision making and I too would also be conflicted with 3 hot people. I loved how vocal sexuality was and how it didn't shy away from letting the protagonist love whoever she wanted to love.

To conclude, I am majorly excited for Book 2 and I am already awaiting to see more of Lilly (and my favourite Christian)

Journey into this modern day Romeo and Juliet. Filled with mystery, intrigue, new romances and magic.
An Italian city once separated by war now held together tenuously under the rule of the general. United to fight a common enemy the saints. Not everything is as it seems in this city with an undercurrent of magic running through the streets.
Kat Delacorte creates a wonderful book perfect for ya fantasy lovers. The characters are loveable and relatable dragging you in to the story as you read.
The only thing that I didn’t enjoy as much in the book was that every relationship seemed to become romantic it was as if they were unable to just stay friends. However I’m excited to see where the author takes these relationships in future!
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

4 Stars

This book was really good! It’s a dark, gothic dystopian fantasy, that once you start you can’t seem to put down.
The book was filled with so many plot twist which I really didn’t expect but definitely enjoyed. The world building was fantastic although sometimes it did seem to get a little complicated which I’m hoping to gain answers to in the following books.
There was so many well written characters which I loved. I felt that they each had a set of there own problems which we learnt about as the book went on. I loved that the characters had depth to them and that there lives were complicated.
I loved the small amount of romance that the book had and felt like it was a hint of what was to come in the next book.

I definitely looking forward to the next book in this series and to see where it goes. I definitely recommend this book as the story felt original and I’ve not read a book like this in a while.

With Fire In Their Blood is a dark, gritty, gothic dystopian fantasy that is sure to get under your skin. It follows Lilly, who's father moves them to the Italian town of Castello when he gets a mysterious new job. As Lilly discovers her new home, she uncovers secrets, suffers betrayal and falls in love, all while trying to protect those closest to her.

This book gave me mixed feelings. The premise is excellent and the actual plot was really good. There were lots of twists and turns, some more predictable than others. However, it was quite confusing and to be honest a little bit messy. Things would happen and then kind of get forgotten about until later in the book when it became relevant again. There are a lot of things unanswered as well by the end of the book. The main villain, The General, didn't get a lot of page time considering how awful he supposedly was. His backstory was kind of ignored until a big monologue at the end. Also, the main character's feelings changed very quickly and very often. There was a kind of insta-love/obsession with one guy, then she was kissing her friend Liza and then she was experiencing feelings for another guy, Nico. It just felt a bit all over the place. I wouldn't say its so much a love square as just a love panic. The book is kind of like Romeo and Juliet, but with 3 different love interests its hard to tell who is supposed to be the Romeo.

One positive, I would say, is that there is lots of casual representation. Most of the characters seem to have fluid sexuality, without it being a main focus of the book, which I think is important. I also thought the magic system was really unique and the plot was refreshing, not like most YA fantasy novels.

Overall, I am intrigued by Castello and I probably will read the second book, however I hope there is more character development and a less confusing plot in the sequel.

*Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an earc in exchange for an honest review.*

(3.5 stars)

Lilly's mother killed herself. That's a fact. So why now, six years later, is her emotionally distant father moving her to Italy?
As they wind their way up a forgotten mountain, she knows this is the beginning of a new life. But she could never have guessed the true extent of the horrors.

In Castello, the Mafia wars are over. Supposedly they live a harmonious existance. Except nobody seems to realise that a truce means you should be civil to one another. Amongst all this she hears of the General. The figure who 'united' the city. Although, he does seem to be obsessed with blood purity...


Trapped on the South side of the wall with the cunning Marconi clan, she becomes enraptured, enthralled, almost by the beautifully wicked Liza. Obsessed with sensitive Christopher. Consumed by brooding Nico. But in Castello it's each for themselves.
Honour and loyalty have no place here.

With Fire in Their Blood was... Fine. I enjoyed it, it was good, but the writing style was nothing special. Lilly was your typical YA protagonist, erring towards the irritating side. Indecisive. Trusting. I think, had Lilly been more passionate my review would change.
As for the other characters what can I say. Put maneskin in a realm of faded beauty and decadence then leave them to fend for themselves. That's your side characters. I absolutely love them.
Another thing I particularly enjoyed was the fluctuations in who the romantic lead was. Liza? Nico? Christopher? Nobody knows. Filled with spark ridden scenes, it looks like I'll have to read book two to find out ;)
What I will say though, even if it's not inherently specified is that every character seems to have a fluid sexuality, probably bi or pan.
It's the definition of bi panic.

Another thing was that it was really, really predictable. I wrote down some of my predictions and every single one of them came true which was a bit disappointing.

Apart from this, I heavily enjoyed reading it. It was, if a bit cliche, a really fun YA fantasy and I think it does add to the genre, particularly with the casual queer representation.

Gothic, with a uniquely haunting setting, With Fire in Their Blood is a blood soaked story of power and betrayal perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood, The Woman in Black and Renée Ahdieh.

Trope List:
✷ Lovers to enemies
✷ Brooding bad boy
✷ Chosen one
✷ Ordinary person-> magical powers
✷ Corruption arc

4 ⭐️

This book… this book!? I haven’t read a YA Fantasy in a while and I read the whole of this in one sitting. It was so different and completely refreshing from anything I’ve read in a while, I loved it!

It was a mixture of a gothic setting, intricate magic systems and politics, waring mafia clans, witches, romance, even the setting in Italy was beautiful yet sometimes haunting, it was just amazingly set up.

This book was filled with twist and turns, some predictable, some that took me completely by surprise (which is always the perfect balance). The world building was well done although in some instances it got slightly confusing (but I think this will be neatened up and polished as we go along in the series as this is only the first book).

I really enjoyed all the characters we meet, they were all interesting and different from each other, facing their own personal problems and complex relationships, things got messy fast a lot of the time with these characters (but isn’t that just the joys of teenhood). The relationships with each other, especially in the romance department of the story need some more padding out but apart from that I will like the set up for these characters for the series!

There was also a lot of bisexuality rep in this book that was just slipped in naturally without it being a conflict which I loved, we need more casual rep like this!

I’m so excited to see what is to come next after that ending and I’m pumped to delve into this world that this author has set up more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it was a fantastic debut by Kat Delacorte and I can’t wait to see what else they bring out.

4⭐️

This was really good! It was kind of like Indiana Jones meets Romeo and Juliet (but I’m not wholly sure who Romeo was supposed to be).

This book was really complicated. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but that’s okay, I do feel like the cover vibes don’t match the book contents at all even though it’s pretty (it also seems a bit too similar to the Inheritance Games covers by JLBarnes which is just a bit crap for the authors bc it makes the series harder to tell apart).

There were plenty of twists and turns in this book that wholly kept me guessing, even when a few were predictable. The romance was good but also messy. I think in a word, I would describe this book as ‘tumultuous’. I liked the magic premise, though it did get a bit foggy for me at the end. I did also feel that some of the relationships could have used a little more fleshing out beyond an Insta-love/soulmates feel that she had with Christian.

There was a lot of casual rep in this book that I liked, but I didn’t like that the MC was super into one guy and then turned around and kissed someone else, whilst also seeming to sort of fancy another person entirely? I know they’re a teenager so some confusion makes sense (I didn’t get the impression that it’s supposed to be poly) but when those feelings play a big part in the plot motivations it becomes a little murky.

So, overall this was good and definitely seems like a series set-up, I’m just not 100% sure if it hooked me enough to pick up the next one. Time will tell!

This book was beautiful and brilliant, the twists and turns kept me reading way too late into the night (my poor students had to deal with a zombie teacher!). I fell for Lilly and wanted the best for her whilst also being excited to see what she was capable of, love a good strong female lead! Defs give this book a go, you will not regret it!