About the Book
Book: Ignite
Author: Kara Swanson
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: August 20, 2024
Can Mara survive in a world where the fire in her veins is worth killing for?
In a frozen wasteland suffocating beneath a dying sun, Mara is a young phoenix raised by her father to explode at his command. He’s the only one who can help her control her fire, and Mara desperately follows his orders to protect their phoenix family from relentless human hunters.
Her sheltered existence is shattered when her family mysteriously vanishes, thrusting Mara into a perilous quest to find them. Along the way, she unravels a devastating truth: her people may not be the innocent victims she’s been taught to believe.
When she comes face-to-face with the kindhearted Eli, she begins to wonder if the humans aren’t the monsters she’s always feared. What if the greatest danger doesn’t lie in the icy world outside—but in the truth of who Mara really is?
Fire and ice collide in this thrilling tale of a phoenix girl born with the power of a dying sun.
MY IGNITE REVIEW: I chose to read this book because I was drawn to the cover. It’s beautiful and intriguing and creates the desire to want to know more about the story inside. I’ve only read one other phoenix related story. I wasn’t impressed, and it made me hesitant to read another. But I’m glad I took the chance on this one.
The author did a great job crafting a world that is new and unfamiliar and still easy to clearly see. People, and even the wildlife, live very different lives from the way we live today, but their struggles and joys are relatable. The essence of their lives is familiar.
From the beginning, you’re left with a feeling that there’s more to the story than what is on the surface, but twist and turns keep that something just out of reach until the perfect time. Especially as the story progresses, there is plenty of action and mystery to keep the pages turning.
The main character has suffered a lot of trauma. And while the story deals with the fallout from all she’s gone through, it starts at a place of zero healing. That means, there is relatively little growth the main character has gone through at the opening of the story, and we, as readers, stay with her in her brokenness, seeing her trauma response happen every time even a small incident takes place. Her struggle is there, and it is constant with growth and change taking place painfully slowly at times.
That said, Ignite is a wonderful fantasy story, and it leaves me adding more of this author’s work to my TBR. While I can’t give half stars in my ratings, I can give them in my review, and I give Ignite 3 and a half stars.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Kara Swanson writes stories about fairy tales and fiery souls. She spent her childhood a little like a Lost Girl, running barefoot through lush green jungles which inspired her award-winning Peter Pan retellings, Dust and Shadow.
She is also the cofounder of the Author Conservatory (authorconservatory.com) where she has the honor of teaching young writers to craft sustainable author careers.
You’ll find Kara with her toes in California sand as a SoCal resident, belting Broadway show tunes on weekend drives to Disneyland with her delightfully nerdy husband, or chatting about magic and mayhem on Instagram.
More from Kara
This story is one that has lived a hundred lives, a little like the phoenix it’s about —dozens of iterations and nearly eight years discovering Mara’s story. In this icy world beneath a dying sun, I was able to craft a story of a young phoenix girl who was more terrified of her own fire than the dangers of the frozen wasteland outside her underground hideaway. Who has been convinced by the father she loves that her flame is only capable of pain and damage — until suddenly, he disappears. And for the first time, she ventures out of her hideaway to discover that the frozen world outside is actually dying for her flame. And that the parts of herself that she has feared and run from…that there may be beauty, even there. That she can choose to rise from the ash of a world that doesn’t understand her, and use the fire in her veins to bring warmth and healing.
I hope you enjoy the adventure!
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 27
By the Book , September 27
Texas Book-aholic, September 28
Live.Love.Read., September 29
Inspired by Fiction, September 30
The Lofty Pages, September 30
Hannahbandanarama, October 1
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 1
Faery Tales Are Real, October 2
Locks, Hooks and Books, October 3
Min Reads and Reviews, October 3
Wishful Endings, October 4
Book Zone Reviews, October 5
Simple Harvest Reads, October 5 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 6
Where Faith and Books Meet, October 7
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 8
Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, October 8
Book Butterfly in Dreamland, October 9
Blogging With Carol, October 10
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Kara is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
The Conversation
This sounds fascinating! I’ve never read a book based on the legend of the phoenix.
It was only my second, and I have to say much better than the first one I read!
This book sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing!
It is a really enjoyable story. I hope others like it too.
This looks like an enthralling read. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Thank you for the review
I enjoyed it, and I hope others will too.
Stunning cover!
I agree. It’s very eye-catching.
I love the cover, its gorgeous!
I plan to read this one too. Johanna
You won’t be disappointed.