Review: A Spark of White Fire

Title: A Spark of White Fire

Author: Sangu Mandanna

Rating: 5 Stars

Format: eBook

Publisher: Sky Pony

Date Published: 11 September 2018

Goodreads Description: In a universe of capricious gods, dark moons, and kingdoms built on the backs of spaceships, a cursed queen sends her infant daughter away, a jealous uncle steals the throne of Kali from his nephew, and an exiled prince vows to take his crown back. 

Raised alone and far away from her home on Kali, Esmae longs to return to her family. When the King of Wychstar offers to gift the unbeatable, sentient warship Titania to a warrior that can win his competition, she sees her way home: she’ll enter the competition, reveal her true identity to the world, and help her famous brother win back the crown of Kali. 

It’s a great plan. Until it falls apart. 

Inspired by the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian stories, A Spark of White Fire is a lush, sweeping space opera about family, curses, and the endless battle between jealousy and love.

I bought this book myself, but I am reading it in preparation for my blog tour stop for the second book: A House of Rage and Sorrow. 

General Thoughts

I’m not gonna lie to ya’ll, I LOVED this book. Like, LOVED it. I want to marry this book. It’s beautiful. I honestly don’t have the right words to write this review. The writing style is so easy, it feels like you’re not reading a book but watching it. It was such a seamless and easy read and I really loved it. I read like half of it in one night when I was supposed to be sleeping. Lol.

The plot barrels forward. There’s not one part of this book that’s not essential to the plot and every single chapter propels the plot forward at a blinding speed. I’m definitely here for that. A Spark of White Fire also turns the “lost princess” cliche on its head. Esmae already knows she’s a princess and she owns it.

Another thing that makes this book next level is the blend of fantasy and sci-fi. The world contains gods and medieval weapons and starships and flashy tech, but it works so well together. This book is beautiful. Please read it immediately.

Characters

Esmae is such a great character. She can be witty and charming when she wants to be, and she’s also hella smart. I started shipping her with Max immediately, and I love their relationship. It’s a bit of a slow burn, and their relationship isn’t the centre of the conflict, but I am definitely still here for it.

Now let’s talk about Max. We all love a bad boy, but Max is genuinely good. He’s a thief prince but he’s not the bad guy here. He cares about Esmae and her family and he would do anything to protect them.

This book isn’t black and white and the characters are morally grey and don’t fit into the boxes we expect them to, and that’s what makes this book AMAZING. Read it NOW.

Let’s Chat

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