Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Pages: 373
Publish date: 2015
Publisher: Macmillan’s Children Books
ISBN: 9781509809875
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks 

Trial by Fire:

I received a copy of Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini from Macmillan’s Children Books in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to pick this book up, just by the synopsis I was hooked. It has everything that I enjoy in novels; fantasy, romance, and witches and while it may not be my favourite novel out there, I can say that I loved it and cannot wait to read more.

Trial by Fire follows protagonist Lily Proctor, whose life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying life so when a high school party comes along she wants to enjoy it with her best friend and long-time crush; but everything doesn’t go to plan. Unexpectedly, Lily is now in a different Salem. A Salem that is full of magic, horrifying creatures and ruled by Lily’s other self in this alternative universe.  

I found at first that Lily was a hard protagonist to get along with, I guess it’s her naivety that stood out; it was just the simplest of things that she couldn’t understand. However, as the novel went on Lily grew immensely and I loved her by the end.

I loved the dynamic between Lily and the other characters that she meets along the way. They just have this bond about them, that alone kept me wanting to read on. Rowan, Tristan and Caleb are just brilliant, and when all four are brought together, things are bound to happen.  They all have different personalities, but they just all seem to work.

The characterisation of all the main characters was fantastic and each seemed to grow as the novel went on. We would find something about them, that even the character themselves didn’t know. They were so well thought and fleshed out.

I adored the world of Trial by Fire, it was seriously mysterious and awesome. I was intrigued by the get go and I wanted to know more and more as the story went on. The world was so different to other fantasy worlds and I loved it. I also liked the world building of Angelini – she didn’t throw everything at us at once, but she also didn’t leave us hanging. It was a perfect balance.

The dialogue and writing style of Trial by Fire was also epic. Easy to read, flowed perfectly, funny and meaningful at the same time. There were quite a few moments that I had to hold a laugh in so I wouldn’t wake up the whole house.

Now to the romance. Do you know how hard it is to find a fantasy series without a love triangle? – hard, very hard. And when I started the book I thought that was the way it was going to go, but it didn’t and that is a big tick in my books.

Rowan was so swoon worthy, he just demeaned the attention of the reader whenever he was in a scene. In saying that he was also pretty cranky and something that she cracked me up. I love the tension between Rowan and Lily, it was so intense, much like the book. However, I accidentally read the synopsis for the third book…

However, there is one major thing about Trial by Fire that killed me. The cliff-hanger, and no it wasn’t something small, it was big – like catastrophic. And I am trying to hold off reading the second book, until the release day for the third book is closer.

Overall, Trial by Fire is a captivating read that grabbed my attention from the get go. The world building is fantastic, well fleshed out characters that are fascinating, a world that is immersing and dialogue that is spot on. I am so looking forward to reading more.

Trial by Fire was my type of book, but how did you enjoy it? Have you read it? Have you read anything else by Josephine Angelini? Are you looking forward to the final book in this series.