Took a bit of time to get into because you have to pay attention to understand the magic system. But once you get going you end up being pulled into the story line. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Starting this book was a bit on and off for me, as I am with most fantasies. The magic system took a bit of getting used to, but once I understood the nature of it and got past the prologue and first few chapters, this story flourished and grew into something I became so invested in.

This book made sure you trusted nobody, you become suspicious of everyone, never entirely sure what they would do next and I loved it. Predictability can make a book dry and flat, so Chaos & Flame felt so fun and fresh, not knowing what was going to happen. The ending sets up perfectly for a sequel where I hope the characters are even further developed and their motives and actions are explored further. Really excited for the future of this series!

Chaos & Flame: 4 Star – Some spoilers mentioned

This was a really fun read, as long as you kept in mind that this is a YA book.

Usually, YA books do have a much faster approach to worldbuilding and pacing, and this was no exception. Chaos & Flame was an easy read, and I loved how quickly I was able to race through. I initially never felt like what I was reading was filler, which is a trap many fantasy stories can fall into - However, as I got further in, I realised how much more detail would have been beneficial earlier on. I was truly stunned for the final quarter of the book. There were definitely points throughout where I felt more worldbuilding or a longer focus on what was happening would have made for a more enjoyable story. The speed at which a few things happened later on was so quick it was almost jarring. It is a relatively short book for a fantasy, and I think this showed in certain areas.

The character development - especially how it reflects the progress of a relationship- is for the most part well written, and I absolutely love a dual POV in this setting. It adds an extra element that when coupled with the morally ambiguous way the characters are written, changes how you feel about people, relationships and alliances depending on who’s perspective you’re experiencing.
The question of pacing does affect the characters as there are some deaths that feel like they should have meant more, as well as one of my least favourite styles of romance – sudden relationship changes. While we avoided much of the “will they, won’t they” which can sometimes feel like you’re plodding along to an inevitable conclusion, I do always struggle when it takes two chapters to go from enemies to – not quite – lovers.

Overall, Chaos & Flame was a lot of fun - a quick and easy read set in exceptionally interesting world. I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy, and keeping my eye out for the sequel.

4.5/5 stars! I loved reading this book. The first couple of chapters made me fall for Caspian. I actually wished Caspian had even more of a focus as a main character. I could read an entire book just about him. It gave me Rand Al' Thor from Wheel of Time 'might be losing his mind' energy. I also really enjoyed Darling. I think my problem was I struggled to connect with Talon enough because my heart already belonged to his big brother. That's a personal preference though. The only other complaint I had with this story, is that the world is big enough to have more time spent on it. This could have been even better longer and I think that would have given the main characters the space to focus less on immediately falling for each other. I feel it would have felt more genuine this way. Overall, an amazing first entry in this series, and I am very much looking forward to the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

Okay, so, it's a little tacky, but I still really liked it. I very much want to read more in the series!! It's only tacky because it's a YA book and it follows some tropes, but it follows fun tropes (enemies to lovers) and I don't think it was a bad choice.

I found all of the characters interesting, even the few we don't see much of. The main characters (and narrators) Darling and Talon are both fun and I enjoyed each of their POVs. One of my favorite things about this book is that there's not a ton of miscommunication and see-sawing on people's feelings for each other, both romantically and just in general. I absolutely detest the going in circles with your feelings things and never being honest and bad love triangles and stuff like that-this book doesn't do that thank heavens.

The romance is clear, undiluted, fun, and relatable. There's pining, there's (respectful) lust, there's healthy discussions, there's excitement. It is so refreshing to have a romance I'm into without it having a million obstacles (most of which are usually the characters being stupid anyway). I care about both characters and I care about the way they care for each other.

The plot is good as well, clear but not totally predictable (probably thanks to Caspian). It has a decent pace that I appreciate. There's no lounging around doing nothing. Something is happening pretty much all the time and it can happen on the move, so to speak. I didn't immediately see what the plot twist would be which was good, but it also didn't come out of nowhere. There was a point where it dawned on me and I was like "ooooh, okay, these little comments along the way have been clues, I get it."

I do kind of wish the ending was a little bit longer because I still have a lot of questions, but I'm assuming that will be fine once I get my grubby hands on later installments. Also, there is queer representation, but it doesn't become super apparent until the last few chapters. Darling seems to be bi (again, doesn't come up till the end) and there are other queer and gender queer side characters, but that's better than nothing.

Overall, very good book! Probably a 4.5 but I'll round it up cause it put me in a good mood. If I read this as a teen I think I would have been obsessed. Forget Hogwarts houses, what Chaos and Flame house are you??

When I read the blurb of this book I was immediately intrigued. I prefer book with more than one pov so this was great for me. The world building was fantastic and was able to transport you into the story. The characters each had there own personalities which came alive. However, I found it dragged a little, with a little too much typical ya troupes. I will say that everything seemed to happen in the last 5 percent, leaving you with a massive cliff hanger for the second book.

This book is a very promising start to a new YA duology! While I struggled with some aspects of the book, overall it took a very interesting premise and world and ensured that I would never be able to fully predict what would happen next. The concept of the boons and the houses are particularly interesting and I love how it plays into each of the characters' personalities and actions. The politics, while remaining gripping, felt at a perfect level so as to progress the plot and explain actions while not becoming too confusing for me to understand.

Once Talon and Darling's relationship develops more, and we see Talon's softer side emerge, I was fully on board with their progression and loved seeing their private moments through the dual POV. Both POVs felt important and equal, which I think creates the sense of unease at not knowing who we're supposed to support at any given time seeing as we get insight into different alliances based on the perspective we're viewing.

The one thing I struggled with was the fast pacing of the book. While I loved that I was able to fly through it, sections of the book felt like not enough time was spent savouring them so I felt like a lot of important scenes and character development were rushed. We spent so little time at each of the Houses that while I felt I was understanding the traits behind each one, the world building of the scion buildings and other important aspects felt a bit waylaid. With such an interesting world, I really wanted to savour as much time understanding it as possible, but felt that this wasn't the case.

In terms of the ending, I absolutely loved that I didn't really understand what was going on - just frustrated that I'll have so long to wait before the sequel! The morally grey aspects to all of the characters as well as their conflicts meant that I kept jumping back and forth between liking them or not and I love this unpredictable side to the story. Overall, a really great intro to the duology and I look forward to seeing where the sequel goes with this plotline!

Thanks to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the access to this ARC! I will also post a visual review of the book on my TikTok account when we are closer to the publication date.

DNF at 37%.

As soon as Chaos & Flame was announced, I knew this was a book I simply had to read. So, when it appeared on Netgalley, best believe I jumped on that Request button.

Unfortunately, the book contains one of my most-hated 'tropes', if you will – insta-love.

I just can't stand it.

Up until the 37% mark, I was really enjoying Chaos & Flame. Sure, the worldbuilding took me a few chapters to get into, but I was having a good time. I didn't completely hate Darling or Talon (which, given the luck I've had with my most recent string of reads/DNFs, is a win in itself), and the plot was progressing nicely. But in the space of a chapter, maybe two, both POV characters go from not trusting and wanting to kill the other to thinking about how nice it would be to kiss each other, and – in Talon's case – thinking how safe his brother is in Darling's company, when again, a chapter or two before, he wouldn't put it past Darling to kill his brother.

Just... what?!

Why does insta-love even exist in the year 2022. Please. Surely most people have worked out by now that it is simply one of the WORST tropes?

I might be able to excuse it if it's included for the sake of the plot (e..g. star-crossed lovers or there's some kind of prophecy involved/something drawing the characters together) AND it's introduced early enough on in the book, but there was absolutely no reason for it to be included here.

They're enemies. They've known each other for all of 5 minutes. Please, for the love of God, where is the slow burn this book/premise deserved?

Given that I had enjoyed what I'd read so far and was reading it relatively quickly (for my usually slow-reader self), I'd be tempted to carry on with Chaos & Flame in spite of the insta-love, but as the old saying goes... too many books, too little time.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for a free eARC of this book.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for letting me the read the eArc of this book!

I wasn’t really sure how to feel while I was reading this book. The characters were great (my personal favourite is Caspian) and I loved the world building, but the story just seemed a bit meh and overdone. Then I got to the last 50 pages or so of the book and it completely changed my mind! That cliffhanger!! You thought everything was going to be super predictable (and don’t get me wrong some of it was) but a few of the twists added definitely keep you on your toes! I’m super excited to get this book when it officially comes out, and cannot wait for the sequel!