<b>Firerend</b> by Emma Kennedy is a fantasy novella meant to be the start of a series. It is slow- to mid-paced and serves as an introduction to the world and its key players. There is little action for most of the book, and when the action does occur, it is interesting but not satisfying. I am curious to see where this goes, but not fully invested.
The writing is not bad and it's easy to follow, though not as engaging as I had hoped. This was just an okay read for me.

Firerend seemed promising from the blurb as well as the cover design, however I found the plot to be VERY slow paced and lacking in depth. There was way too much info dumping in terms of the backstory of the characters along with the settings which, in turn, lacked the development of the heist within the plot and resulted in a story which dragged and felt one dimensional.
Thankyou to both Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this novella.

So this book is basically like a heist book where the ragtag team is assembled and hired to do a job for a truly ludicrous amount of money. All of the characters want money for their own reasons, and work to get the job done, even though many details about the job are veiled in mystery.

Overall, I think that this book was trying to do too many things in too short a time. There are 4 perspective characters sharing the 160 pages, and that just doesn’t allow for enough room to get to know the characters. I think that the short length led to a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. This led to some odd situations where things were obviously very emotionally impactful for the characters, but I had no reaction at all.

On the side of the plot, I think that things were interesting enough. The author certainly knows how to keep things moving. Unfortunately, the characters’ motivations and relationships not having the time to be developed properly made it hard to care about what was happening. Overall, I think that plot wise things work fine, but the characters felt flat, so it wasn’t as engaging as I’d prefer.

a pretty character driven fantasy novella and yk what i’m excited to see what will happen in the rest of this series cause that ending…

thank you netgalley for the arc!!

Firerend pulls you straight into Oberon, a city where gold is scarce and selling your soul feels like the only option. Allara’s hustle for her sick sister hits hard, showing the real price of survival when you’ve got no safety net. Then there’s Nymm, who fled her past and now has to fight tooth and nail to save her guild and the family she almost lost. And Auren? He’s been living only for himself for too long, chasing redemption and a big payday, but the shadows he’s in might be deeper than he thinks.

The stakes are sky-high and the tension tight, with every choice weighing like gold, heavy and costly. When a dangerous job promises more gold than most see in a lifetime, none of these characters can say no. But as things fall apart, Firerend reminds you that wealth always has a price, and survival means sacrifices.

Emma Kennedy’s world-building is tight, the characters are raw and real, and the story grips you from page one.

This was a decent novella that gives you just enough worldbuilding and stakes that'll keep you hooked till the very end. The story moves through the perspectives of three characters involved in a heist-like job/mission, and you can just feel how each character really NEEDS this mission because of their own reasons. It's a fun read if you want to read something fun but can't commit to a big book with lots of characters and a big plot.

Some things that could make the book work a little better: It would do well if it was a little longer. There's just a bit too many POVs used in the story and while it couldn't work without, most of the chapters sounded the same and not from different characters. Maybe it could use an omniscient POV. The other thing is that the first few chapters felt a bit too long for a novella. The action/conflict only happened around halfway and even then it wasn't *that* exciting.

I'm generally a fan of cliffhangers if they're done right, but this one raised more questions than answers. Not to spoil anything but personally, that surprise felt too out of place and could have been better if it was hinted a little bit earlier in the story.

All in all, not bad for a novella. Even though it's a 3-star read for me, I think I'd be looking out for the next installments of this series.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

went into this knowing nothing, and i'm still not sure i know a whole lot. this could have really benefited from being a full-length novel. there was a lot of the magic system and world politics that i either didn't know about or didn't care about. the characters were just starting to get interesting towards the end, but we didn't know enough about them to care much about their outcomes. i just needed way more, there is a lot of potential here.

the premise was intriguing- a heist with a band of misfits will always be a guilty pleasure of mine.

the writing was alright. a lot of telling instead of showing, which i guess can be expected from a 127-page novella. the beginning was really slow and didn't start getting interesting until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the eARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

Final ⭐ Rating is a 2.75
Firerend by Emma Kennedy brings an intriguing concept to the table—an ensemble cast, a heist-driven fantasy plot, and a world that’s easy to step into. I appreciated how accessible the worldbuilding was from the start. The premise of four characters navigating a layered past and unraveling the events that led them to this point felt like a promising setup, and the multiple POVs helped establish a wider sense of the world and the dynamics at play.

There’s definitely potential here, especially if this novella serves as a foundation for a larger series. With the groundwork laid and some compelling hints of the past, I could see future installments building on this world in exciting ways.

That said, as a standalone novella, Firerend didn’t quite land for me. Much of the story focused on backstory rather than moving the plot forward, and the real momentum didn’t arrive until the final stretch of the book. If this had been a full-length novel, I would’ve been more forgiving of the slow pacing—but for a novella, I hoped the action would start much sooner.

I also struggled to feel emotionally connected to the characters. While their histories were touched on, the depth and chemistry I typically look for in fantasy were missing, making it hard to truly invest in their relationships or motivations.

Overall, while Firerend wasn’t a standout read for me, I do think it lays an interesting foundation. With more space to explore its characters and story in future books, it has the potential to grow into something really engaging.

Big thank you to Net Galley, Of the Page Press, and the author for an E-ARC edition. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

This could have been really good... but I needed more. There was too much going on for a novella but at the same time it seemed to drag.

I did like Allara and Auren, but had a hard time connecting with other characters. I know there is more to this series, so maybe we get some answers there, but I'm not sure I'm invested enough to continue.

My review will be posted on Goodreads and Fable!
It’ll be posted on 5/11/25
Links: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7474023518 | https://fable.co/review/159bd208-f912-4d51-a7e3-87f2c7e42bb6/share

Review:

FIREREND is the first book in The Tales of Averna interconnected series, and I was extremely interested when I read the synopsis. However, the further I read, the more my excitement started to dwindle.

I would have absolutely adored this book were it not a novella. Following along with three points of view, along with the quick snippet of the fourth at the end, not only made it difficult for me to see a lot of character development, but also made the plot drag out. More than 60% of the book was about gathering the team of Fools together to execute the mysterious heist, which made me worry that the novella would end on a cliffhanger, and I was a little upset when I realized I was right. The heist seemed over before it had started, and it only left even more questions unanswered. None of the loose ends were properly tied, and while it was a little intriguing, the dissatisfaction outweighed my interest.

Even though there wasn’t much character development, I really enjoyed Allara and Auren. I loved how protective of her sister Allara was, and Auren’s steadfast determination to get him and his family somewhere better with the reward made me like him from the start. I had a hard time connecting with Nymm because of how mysterious she was, though it worked for the story and its reveals.

While I do think that there is an incredible and solid story here, I personally wish there were more pages to keep me invested in what happens next! With so much information being thrown at readers, learning about these three characters and their world in roughly 160 pages makes it difficult to wrap my head around that this is a standalone.

Thank you to of the page press, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I feel so conflicted about Firerend. It's got wonderful characters and I see a lot of potentially for the future interconnected stories, but I had to stop and ask myself: why didn't I love it?

The answer: It isn't nearly character-focused enough. It has a full index in the beginning of the story and still spends the first half of the book info-dumping and worldbuilding. And it's a shame, because you only need to know two things for the story:

1) Oberon has been somewhat recently colonised, it's people brutally murdered, and all magic is supposedly gone.

2) The Fools Guild is in deep trouble and is desperate to find a high-paying job.

Yet the beginning felt as if it was worldbuilding for the future stories. Everything mentioned in the first half could have been shown through characters, as each character had a personal attachment to the information being shared. But it was just told.

After the 50% mark, when it focused on characters, the story picked up and became almost impossible to put down, but I still felt more disconnected from them because of the slow beginning. For a heist story with so many characters, you want time to really sit with each one, and I just didn't get enough of that.

I would still recommend it if you want a heist story with grishaverse vibes and queer characters, and I think I'd be willing to read the next few books to see if some of the info-dumping eases up. Truly, the characters in the second half were what pulled me through and got me invested.

Allara haría lo que fuera por su hermana enferma. Nymm huyó de su pasado para sobrevivir, dejándolo todo atrás. Auren ha vivido para sí mismo durante tanto tiempo que ha olvidado lo que significa tener un propósito. Cuando las fuerzas se unen para ofrecer un trabajo con más oro del que la mayoría vería en toda su vida, nadie está en posición de rechazarlo. Pero a medida que todo empieza a desmoronarse, recuerdan que todo oro tiene un precio, y la pregunta es: ¿podrán sobrevivir?

Alternando entre los tres personajes principales de esta historia, vemos cómo el asalto es una necesidad para cada uno de ellos en este momento particular de sus vidas. Los personajes son divertidos y sus relaciones interesantes. Tarda un poco en arrancar la historia pero una vez que lo hace es bastante entretenido.

This novella was an engaging and emotionally resonant read, with compelling characters and a strong central theme. I really enjoyed the story, but it felt like it ended too soon—some parts seemed rushed and could have benefited from more development. The pacing left me wanting more depth and time with the characters. Overall, it’s a memorable piece that I’d definitely recommend, earning a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

I am always obsessed with a good heist! especially one set in a compelling fantasy world like this! I thought this was a really interesting and quick fantasy that shoves the reader into the middle of these characters lives. I wish it was a little longer than just a novella so you could get to know the characters just a bit more, and understand the world building better, but it was still really good!

This is a great start to a fantasy series that I think is going to be super fun!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an eARC!

✧₊‧˚⁀➷ 1.9/5 .ᐟ

i did not have high expectations for this at all, and somehow, it still managed to be disappointing.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ setting .ᐟ the colonized city of oberon. the fools' guild is facing hard times and attempts one last heist to make it out. we have nymm, gang leader and civarran mage being hunted by the valmarran conquerors. auren, second in command to nymm. allara, random just trying to take care of her ill sister.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ worldbuilding .ᐟ colonized country with magical people. colonizer that wants to exterminate the magical people and steal their power for themselves. oberon could basically be any fantasy city at all for the amount of character it has. aside from the lack of originality, the problem is that it's just infodumping, and that it takes over at least 2/3 of the book despite not saying anything of note at all. none of the above information is woven naturally with the story; it's just nymm pausing whatever she's doing to monologue to the audience like we're in a play. granted, there isn't much of a story for the worldbuilding to be integrated with, but that's neither here nor there.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ plot and pacing .ᐟ horrid. there isn't a nicer way to phrase that. absolutely horrid. absolutely nothing interesting happens before chapter eight. i would like to add that there are only twelve chapters. the heist is over before it starts. it's not that they're planning the heist for the first seven chapters either, because that's just chapter seven. only. the first 60% of the book is "this is way too good to be true." "but we're doing it anyway because we need money." over and over and over. that, and an unnecessary amount of character backstory + worldbuilding. i know this meant to be the first novel in a series of standalones, but the key word here is standalone. you can't just use the first book as buildup for the rest of the series because who is going to be invested in this universe if there's literally no narrative to follow?

ʚɞ ⁺˖ characters .ᐟ for a book that's just a series of character outlines, one would think they would have more personality. and yet.

➺ nymm. civarran mage and leader of the fools' guild. she's determined and protective of her people and generally untrusting of the world because she has to hide her civarran heritage. which is cute, great even, love the building blocks here, i just need... more? to make an actual protagonist of an actual story and not just cunty kaz brekker vibes?

➺ auren. second in command to nymm. the quippy comic relief + brooding male lead stereotype somehow mashed into one. got kicked out by his family for being a loser, and the way i see it, very much #deserved. like what does he even do?? (technically, he's just as personalized as nymm, but he's a man, so idgaf.)

➺ allara. every fantasy needs a poor girl just trying to make it. a girl from the slums who hasn't had happiness ever. that's my girl allara. what does she do? anything. nothing. everything. who knows. she's just the token poor. she's very sweet, though. definitely should be following her intuition more. most normal of the lot. love her.

➺ taran. exists. and very much should not. enough about that, really.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ writing .ᐟ weak. simplistic. pedestrian. reminiscent of ya romance, not adult sff. utterly lacking in emotion. the scene where nymm had to betray the love of her life? not only did i not feel anything, but i barely even believed that was her love. the breakup? whatever.

°˖➴ to summarize. reads like a prequel rather than its own story. serves to introduce the rather lackluster universe and does not contain a narrative that would make anyone interested in further installments in said universe. spends too much time on outlining characters that probably won't be in the next books anyway, considering that the books are standalones, and despite that, the characters have no unique or defining traits. in other words, dull.

"One last job, one last chance.

Allara will do anything for her sick sister, but in a city like Oberon, gold is hard to come by and even harder to earn without selling your soul. With no marketable skills and high costs to keep up, Allara's conscience might be the price she pays.

Nymm fled her past to survive, leaving everything behind, but when her guild falls on tough times, she'll have to rebuild their reputation or risk losing the only family she has left. The odds are stacked against her, but she'll do anything to keep them together.

Auren has been living for himself for so long, he's forgotten what it means to have a purpose. With the chance of unimaginable wealth - and a shot at redemption - he jumps at the opportunity. But is this job enough to make up for his mistakes, or will it drag him deeper into the shadows?

When forces align to offer a job with more gold than most would see in their entire lives, no one is in a position to turn it down. But as the job starts to unravel, they're reminded all gold comes at a price - and the question is, can they survive the cost?"

Can they survive is one question, but will the succeed in keeping the gold is the bigger one...

Sometimes what you need in life is a snappy fantasy heist novella to break up the mundane.

Firerend is a fantasy novella with one of my favorite plot types: a heist. I'm going to try not to rate it based on its form, but I really do think this would have been better as a full-length novel. There isn't really time to develop subplots with the length of this story as it is, meaning connections to characters are a bit weaker than they could be, and most of the world-building has to occur through a glossary. It's not often that I say I wish a story was longer, but I would totally have enjoyed another 200 pages or so with these characters if it meant gaining a better understanding of them.
As it stands, this novella is only about 166 pages. The first 65% or so is prep for the main action sequence, so the pacing is pretty quick. While this worked to keep my attention, I do think some descriptions felt a bit rushed and didn't allow for the reader to properly connect with the characters, which impacted my opinions on certain scenes later on. I didn't guess any of the main plot twists, but again, I think they would have hit harder if they had enough time for more foreshadowing or connection to characters. That being said, I did really like the plot, and I think the world-building is enticing. I'm interested to see how this will tie in with other parts of the series, and I'm hoping we'll see some of these characters again in the future because, otherwise, this ending is a bit unsatisfying.
Like I said, there wasn't a ton of time to get to know the characters. I really liked Allara because I'm always a fan of sister relationships, so her protectiveness over Daia immediately gained her points in my mind. I liked Auren a lot as well, though I'm not sure why. I found Nymm intriguing, but personally, she was the hardest of the main characters to connect to for some reason. I think it would have been nice to see the tensions between these characters play out a little more, but overall, I didn't mind seeing them all individually.
Firerend is an exciting start to a new fantasy series that revolves around a magical heist and characters willing to do anything to survive.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.5/5

Firerend is a good book, and that’s what makes reading it a bit frustrating. We follow a gang of criminals as they prepare for a heist—a job which, if they succeed, will pay them an unfathomable sum of money and set them up for the rest of their lives. The book has four main characters: Nymm, head of the gang, and her right-hand man Auren, as well as Allara and Taran, who are inducted into the gang for the job at hand. The book has strong themes of colonialism and poverty: the kingdom where this takes place has been taken over by another and its culture and magic actively under threat, and each of the characters comes from an impoverished background. Overall, the writing for the book is strong, the plot is interesting, and the characters are compelling; however, by being so short, this novella is over before it ever really gets going.

The ultimate issue with the book is that it needed to be ~400+ pages long. With three separate perspective characters, a world to develop, and only ~160 pages, this book can only do so much. The scenes we get are all really interesting! I really enjoyed seeing the character backgrounds: each one is well-written, gives you enough information to begin to connect with the character, and leaves you excited to learn more. When the book gets to the heist, it’s really compelling; I tend to really enjoy heist scenes, and this one was awesome. The action flowed between characters well, and the overall ideas of the heist were intriguing. However, the heist only gets ~50% of the book, which means it is ~80 pages (to clarify, there also are not that many words per page). Across three main perspectives, that’s just not a lot of time to explore the action. It feels like the book ends just as it gets started, and those scenes that could have been amazing are so short that they lose impact. The book could be so amazing but ends before it has a chance to get there. Due to the book being so short, it also struggles with worldbuilding—there’s a lot that just was not covered. I could also feel absences where a longer book would have written out a particular scene or scenes but where this book just didn’t have time.

Finally, I also have some concerns about the idea of this being the first in a series of interconnected standalones. The way this book ends is not satisfying as a standalone—it ends on cliffhangers galore. A ton happens in the last few scenes of the book, raising a lot of questions that don’t get answered. I would not consider this a complete story as it lacks the wrapping-up and finality that you see in something akin to an interconnected standalone.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book but am also disappointed because it wasn’t enough. I also would not say that the series contains interconnected standalones, though this may become more clear as future books are released. I will absolutely be reading future books in the series—despite this book being short, its story is intriguing, and I am excited to see where it goes. I am giving this book 3.5 out of 5, rounded up to a 4.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the chance to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

First, this book drops you in the middle of the story so we begin with characters who all have back stories with each other or with people in the same line of work. This book is all vibes and I was here for every moment of it. It involved characters of different backgrounds preforming a heist for a job that should be enough to let them all retire.

My favorite character was Allara... I could appreciate the sick family member trope based on personal vibes alone.

The world building really lacked so unless you're very imaginative, you might have a hard time. Because the book is a novella, it was hard to connect with characters, but I feel like if we can explore them more in the next book (which hopefully there is more of), it could help create a connection.

Overall, this is a good start to a fantasy series that could end up being great!

I read this story because the cover caught my eye, as did the blurb. The writing is lovely, and I really enjoyed the first half of the book as the characters leapt off the page in an intriguing fantasy world where magic is slowly dying out. I especially liked Allara and Auren's characters, which made the ending all the more shocking. I didn't expect Auren to die near the end when his character in particular had been built up as one of the main POV characters.

The ending was both much darker than I expected and not really a proper wrap-up, leaving several of the remaining characters in dire straits as part of a rather sudden cliffhanger. This didn't fit the description of a standalone novella that could be read on its own, as it was advertised when I picked it up.

Readers who enjoy fantasy stories with a D&D feel to the setting would likely enjoy this story, especially if they like darker twists and are okay with unexpected cliffhangers.