13 September 2015

The Secret Fire - Review

The Secret Fire - The Alchemist Chronicles #1
by C.J. Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld




What they say: A battle against fate. A race against time.
Taylor Montclair is a regular girl from the quiet backwater of Woodbury, England.
Sacha Winters is a darkly mysterious boy from the City of Lights - Paris, France.
While Taylor's focused on her dream of attending Oxford University, school couldn't be further from Sacha's mind . . .
Sacha knows exactly when he's going to die. Because he's done it before.
On the appointed day, Sacha's time will run out. And his death will fulfil an ancient destiny that could unleash chaos and catastrophe.
Taylor is the only person who can save him. 
Neither of them knows that yet.
Because they haven't even met.
Hundreds of miles and a body of water separate them.
Deadly forces will stop at nothing to keep them apart.
They have eight weeks to find each other and unravel an ancient web of mystery and danger.
The clock starts NOW.


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Publishing 10th Sept by Little, Brown Books UK/Atom - ISBN: 9780349002194

Pre-order:
Amazon * Amazon UK


I received a copy from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review!


What I say: This new YA series is co-written by CJ Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld. I often find books written by more than one author disjointed and unbalanced, but this wasn't the case with The Secret Fire. The book is told in dual POV, switching between English girl, Taylor, and Parisian teen, Sacha.

Sacha is living with a secret - he cannot die until the predestined time. Unfortunately his time is running out. Taylor finds herself saddled with a French boy to tutor, but this boy has more important things to worry about other than learning English (which he's already pretty fluent in). Taylor may be the only one who can save Sacha from his unfortunate fate. 

I liked Sacha because he's snarky, fun and daring, but also vulnerable and caring. He'll do anything to save his family and cannot believe the instant connection he feels with Taylor. Taylor's life is scheduled, predictable and controlled. Her world is thrown into turmoil when she discovers her family have plenty of secrets of their own. 

I liked both POV's and found myself quickly engrossed in their story. I had initial doubts over the speed of events, but as the narrative developed, the fast pacing made more and more sense within the story.


I also appreciated that although the book does include a love story element, it's more about friendship and finding answers. BUT I'd like to see the romance develop more throughout the series... I would like a bit more info about the secondary characters in the next instalment.


The book features lots of tension and drama so be prepared for action. There are several unexpected twists and turns and I bit of a cliffy (don't worry no spoilers). The Secret Fire is a fab start to a new series and I cannot wait to discover what happens next.

4 Stars in my Sky!

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