Chaos \u0026 Flame (Chaos \u0026 Flame, #1) by Tessa Gratton

Chaos \u0026 Flame (Chaos \u0026 Flame, #1) Reviews

• 
  jessica

  this wasnt terrible, but it definitely wasnt great either.
  
  it just feels like the bare minimum. the characters, while having potential due to their backstories, are pretty bland. the plot, while set up to be quite dynamic, is quite slow. and the writing, while being the combination of two good authors, is weak at times (the character names are also super cringey).
  
  so there are some seeds of good content present, but they just never fully bloomed, leaving me unsatisfied.
  
  ↠ 2.5 stars
• 
  Mallory

  I think there is a lot of potential in this story. I wanted a little more with the world building as I think it was a creative and rich world of possibilities. The characters also had a lot of potential but I don’t think any of them truly reached that potential. I must admit I am typically not a fan of instant love with romance books, but in this case I think it worked even less than normal. Given the war between their houses I do not believe that in a couple of days Talon and Darling would have been even having swooning thoughts for each other. Don’t get me wrong, I think their romance has potential but I wanted a slow burn that felt more realistic. With all that said I will definitely be reading the second part to this duology. I do want to know what happens next and how this world will handle the changes that prophecy is bringing. I hope to learn more about boons and some of the house history in the next book. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars.
• 
  Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)

  Okay, all my lovers of political intrigue in fantasy LISTEN UP! While Chaos & Flame is a bit slow to start and find its footing, by the end I was completely invested and desperately need the next book.
  
  And it really took me by surprise as well. I thought it was setting things up to be just your garden variety YA fantasy with romantic angst. And while there is certainly some of that romantic angst, it is expertly woven into a world of ancient magic, political plots, war, and prophecy. There are some interesting twists, and well-developed side characters.
  
  The novel is written from two perspectives with alternating chapters. Darling Seabreak (yeah, I don't love her name choice either tbh) is a Black, bisexual young woman who is the last surviving member of House Sphinx, taken in by House Kraken and trained to be a deadly warrior. Her childhood was spent hiding in sewers and as a result her eyes are light-sensitive. Now her adoptive father has been kidnapped and she is determined to get him back and kill the scions of House Dragon along the way- those responsible for the murder of her family.
  
  Talon Goldhoard is the War Prince of House Dragon. After the assassination of his mother by House Sphinx, his father launched a years-long war. Now his older brother Caspian is High Prince Regent and Talon's only goal is to protect what remains of his family. Caspian was probably my favorite character in the book, but he is erratic and unpredictable- spending most of his life painting haunting images of a girl who looks just like Darling. So when Talon captures her, he brings her back to the palace where she becomes embroiled in politics.
  
  I won't say too much more about the plot, but I ended up really liking this and that cliffhanger ending was fantastic! I would like to see a little more nuance to Talon and Darling as characters, thought they are surprisingly alike in personality and goals. Again, this took some time to draw me in but it was well worth it. For people who have only read Gratton's adult fantasy, this will read as much faster paced and it lets the plot drive things to a greater extent rather than taking so much time with characters and setting. And I get that for a YA novel, but I do think we get enough of those things for it to work. Sign me up for book 2! I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
  
  Content warnings include violence, injury, gore, blood-letting, body horror, death, grief, etc. In general this is on the violent side for YA.
• 
  Lauren

  ★ 3.25 // 5
  
  TW: misgendering (side character), genocide (off page but discussed a lot), poison, knife violence, gore, blood, body horror (ripping a heart out grotesquely), war themes, and death
  
  My first YA Tessa Gratton book and my first EVER Justina Ireland book! Needless to say, I was VERY excited about this new fantasy duology, and while I did have some issues with the story overall—and I'll get to those points later—Chaos and Flame has some of the most unique concepts and world building that I have ever seen without YA and even Adult fantasy. I truly cannot wait for the sequel because that cliffhanger came out of nowhere to smack me upside the head. I need to know what happens next! *cries*
  
  Now's my time to shower Justina and Tessa with praise. For starters, the opening prologue of Caspian and his abilities? TOOK ME OUT. It solidified my inkling to read this ARC, and I couldn't hold back from delving immediately between the pages.
  
  Caspian is actually not one of the dual POVs, but he is a significant character because he is the older brother to Talon, one of the POVs, and is the prince Regent of their kingdom. Buttttt rumors are swirling around him that he's going mad, and his boon power and its secrecy don't help those rumors at all. He has a prophecy boon, and it manifests through his artwork, specifically his preferred medium of painting. We actually meet the other lead Darling through his paintings because ever since his boon manifested, he cannot stop painting her. Like... his room is LITERALLY covered in images of Darling, and to our knowledge, he's never met her prior. Isn't this fascinating? I loved every minute of his boon experiences, and they truly made this novel standout. Not to mention the other boons are just as exciting—Darlings insane healing abilities that saved her from her family's annihilation and Talon's tracking abilities that expand even to someone who has a boon for invisibility. Literally insane how unique these boons are and I'm really hoping within the sequel to Chaos and Flame, we can learn more about the technicalities of boons. At this point, we just know they're at an all time low in this world when they used to be extremely common. I do think my favorite character is Caspian. He's an enigma throughout the book, but as a reader you question if he's as crazy as everyone makes him out to be, particularly when he shows a bit of his true self. We don't even get a good look at his true, open self, and it made him by far the best character.
  
  Now that's not to say I didn't enjoy Talon and Darling—the leads. Their best moments were actually with one another, in my opinion, double points if they were alone together. They have great chemistry as enemies to lovers too, and their relationship is insta-love besides that initial enemies meeting/ fight. I would've liked their romance to be drawn out further, so the slow build from hating one another to loving appears more natural. It felt very cut and dry at first, and I got whiplash. To be honest, both leads are wildly curious, searching for so many answers throughout the novel, and to see their different approaches was a nice distinction. For character specifics, Darling's eyes are affected by chaos (the magic system of this world), so she has to wear special goggles to help with light sensitivity. I think in the sequel we're going to learn more about how her eyes got to that point because I get the feeling there's more to them than meets the eye. On the plus side though, she's great with night vision and that appears to be the extent to their perks. Then, in terms of Talon, he's just a big softie haha. He gives off golden retriever vibes to his loved ones, and as soon as he shifts that onto Darling, I was hooked!
  
  Ultimately, what drew me most to Talon and Darling were their deeply ingrained loyalties to their loved ones. At first I wrote "sides" inside of "loved ones", but I deleted that and replaced it because over the course of the novel, we see how Darling and Talon just want what's best for the people they love. I liked watching their loyalties to their political affiliations crack over time in favor of peace, and while it made them appear younger to have all that optimism and hope for peace, it reminded me of just HOW young they are. Talon may be a war general and Darling a rebel in this war, but they're children too. They didn't choose to follow this path but were led to it by adults.
  
  Finally, it is time to talk about my biggest gripe with this book—pacing. This realization shocked me because Tessa Gratton's adult books have always been slow paced, so it was a bit of a shock to see them write incredibly fast. I haven’t read any of Justina’s other works, so I’m unsure of her pacing. Anyway, the pacing didn't allow for the relationships and time jumps to feel as realistic as they could've been. I mentioned Darling and Talon's insta-love earlier, but we go to multiple nobility Houses over the course of the book, and I felt robbed of those weeks worth of travel that culminated into a couple pages. There was one ambush during their travels, but I wanted more of those deeper conversations and connections because travel brings people together, at least usually haha. When we get to the Houses even, some of those chapters felt WAY too quick. I wanted to get to know these people, but I couldn't, so their names went in and out of my brain like the span of a breath. This world is too complex to be roughly 350 pages, and I think it should've been at least 100 more. Plus, when major deaths happened within this installment, I felt nothing for the character and their relationship to the lead because I felt as if I barely knew them due to the pacing speed. Also, slight tangent, the character who killed the person revealed information about them that not even the friend character knew, so it really was jarring and random to read that entire sequence. What does it matter if they had prior allegiances? That character is dead now. What is the point? Maybe something will happen in the sequel, but it was just off-putting to add a very important detail at their death. I really hope the sequel is much much longer because this world deserves the lush descriptions, hallway conversations, and slow build to the climax.
  
  Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
• 
  Ariel • The Book View

  A great new YA fantasy series to add to your shelf! It has romance, a unique world, and a cliffhanger that will have you sitting on pins and needles until 2024.
  
  I loved the world this took place in. There are kingdoms of sort ruled over by one big kingdom that conquered them all. There are creatures, magic, Chaos (which I hope will be expounded upon in the second book), and fun new terms. Plus, all of their last names were so spot on to their kingdoms.
  
  As well, this book started out incredible! The action was so fun and engaging. A wonderful fight scene that ended beautifully and jumped right into the thick of things. It was a great hook to introduce the characters, this war they've been fighting, why they hate each other, etc. I wanted to know more and it was all slowly revealed.
  
  Caspian, the older brother to our MMC, was a great character in this story. He seemed to hold so many secrets and was always so flighty and unpredictable. I never knew how he was going to react to something, or if he was actually crazy or simply playing a part. I loved his character while also distrusting him.
  
  The romance began earlier than I thought it would have. I expected more enemies to lovers and that ended semi abruptly. Our lovely War Prince, Talon, was actually quite soft. Not a morally gray guy at all which is what I was expecting. And not grumpy which I also expected. In fact, he seemed to be the one jumping right into this romance without a second thought. Again, things felt rushed and sudden. I thought there would be time to build on things, but that was not the case. They jumped right in and I feel neutral about it.
  
  The plot slowed down quite a bit after the initial action scene. The story was interesting still, but I expected more fight scenes and action and whatnot. There were a couple of small things, but not the same high energy as at the beginning of the book.
  
  Lastly, I felt like Darling's emotions were off. Where she should have shown strong emotions, she breezed over the situation. Where she should have moved on, she was showing strong emotions and having big reactions. I was missing that something from her to tie it all together.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed this book, even with its oddities, and look forward to the next one! The ending was quite exciting, leaving many things up in the air and facilitating soooooo many questions. I'm excited to see where this series goes.
  
  Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
  
  
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• 
  Lexi

  
  
  This book is weird, it's a weird book. I usually do an overview but I feel like I want to skip that to address just....this book is weird.
  
  Chaos & Flame is a very cool idea. It has very Game of Thrones-style 'houses' at war with each other. House Dragon is a dominant warlord house waging hellfire on the rest of the world. A chaotic, somewhat made prince reagent (Capsian) and his warrior brother (Talon)wage the war their father started. serves as this POV. It focuses on Darling, a war orphan, now house Kraken's adopted daughter. She is captured by the brothers and revealed to be a lost lady of a dead house which may be the key to a long-lost prophecy regarding this war.
  
  I loved this concept, and the opening chapter is a BANGER. After that, the book just simply becomes 'okay'.
  
  This is not a long book, but it is slow. I don't mind slow much, but there isn't a long of intrigue. There IS a lot of repetitive conversations and love triangle-style interactions that all focus on Darling trying to espionage these guys. She's a pretty standard YA protagonist and both men become obsessed with her instantly. Despite the enemies-to-lovers tag, this is your standard 'warring factions quick romance' story. It is saved by the fact that Caspian is wildly interesting.
  
  To me, the romantic element of this reminded me A LOT of The Red Queen. It is obvious who she is going to be with from the get-go, but there's enough intrigue with the more villainous brother that makes you want to keep reading more. I would recommend this for TRQ fans, though I will warn you right now the romance isn't nearly as well written.
  
  The characters are fine? Caspian is VERY interesting and everyone else is pretty normal.
  
  I had a lot of hope for the 'house' system and magic setup, but this too is a little more simple than I would have liked. It's still fun, and to be honest I was never completely bored reading this. It just felt like a halfhearted attempt at a story I've seen done better...and I really wanted it to do more. Chaos & Flame has duo authors, which may contribute to its clunkiness and lack of willingness to take risks. There was an amazing chance to be subversive in this story and it was pretty squandered. What you have left is the patchwork of many other books before it.
  
  If you have a huge Maven hangover I may recommend it for you. Otherwise it is worth skipping.
  
• 
  Stephanie

  Stopped around 30% because of two reasons: the pacing of what I think is coming up just isn't working for me; we're recapping too much inside our dual-POV character's heads, and there's a strong smell of instalove just wafting off the pages. Whyy???
  
  You've got the perfect set-up for a slow burn with a prince whose father murdered her entire family and she's taken prisoner by him. Two days later when the only words they exchanged were at the time of him capturing her, he should not be thinking multiple times, "oh, I wish she was here, there's something about her, I kinda miss her already" and she should not be thinking, "oh, well, he's actually kind of handsome though, as much as I hate to admit it."
  
  But then I just couldn't anymore when the deus-ex-machina lip-balm poison shows up and she's instructed to try to kiss both the prince and his king brother in order to kill them.
  
  Too little time, too many other books.
• 
  Sowmya (bookishelflife)

  Thank you PenguinTeen for my eARC
  
  ”I had a dream about the dark. Not the night,which has stars and the moon to cast shadows,but an all consuming dark, one that devoured and twisted and changed a girl into something else, something defiant and monstrous”
  
  
  ok wow that ending! this one was good and surprisingly a quick read for an epic, high fantasy.Chaos & Flame didn't waste time with plunging into some stunning action scenes right off the bat, what really intrigued me is the boon magic the individuals in the world possess,Their boons are like gifts from Chaos (hoping we will be delving deep into it more in the next part). The pacing is quick for the most part, the magic system is what makes this book set apart from any recent YA fantasy books. It took a while for me to find my footing because the magic system is unique and a bit overwhelming initially but once I understood the workings of it, it wasn't a problem.
  
  The first chapter made me sit up and pay attention, it describes Caspian the High Prince Regent of Pyrlanum having visions of a girl he never met.His boon is painting, he paints ONLY about a girl in several scenarios, some of them even being from the future.He comes off a little unhinged and mad hatter-ish and thanks to him the plot remains intriguing until the very end, I absolutely adored his character and wished there is more of his perspective. Talon his brother carries the weight of the house politics while keeping Caspian's "madness" under cover, he captures Darling, who is a kin of enemy house during an attack. Turns out Darling is the girl from the paintings! I KNOW RIGHT? and thus enfolds a true enemies to lovers trope.
  
  I enjoy a good political intrigue and this book is great in that aspect along with warring factions, the world of Chaos and Flame has various houses but they are ruled by House Dragon, it also has ancient lore about dragons and Phoenix's (yasss!cue the GoT music). I loved that I had absolutely no clue whats happening until the very end other other than the fact some kind of foul play is afoot, all credits to Caspian and his incoherent mumblings and unpredictable behavior. The last quarter was just unhinged and the cliffhanger made me clench my jaw lol
  
  My only complaint is pacing and and insta lust, pacing is off at times where things go super fast when you want them to slow down and explain and then at times it dragged when I was eager to move on from a scene. The Insta lust is just a personal preference tbh, I just was taken aback with how Talon and Darling pine for each other immediately for being on the opposite sides of warring factions. Overall I really enjoyed the refreshing plot and am eager for book 2 in the duology , if you love House of dragon, Game of Thrones, Shadow and Bone- you will devour this
  
  What to expect
  -Epic/High fantasy but YA
  -True enemies to lovers
  -lot of Political intrigue, ruling houses and warring factions
  -Interesting magic system
  -Ancient lores, prophecies, blood magic
  -A bit of chosen one trope
  -DRAGONS & PHEONIXS
• 
  Ellie's Bookcase

  DNF at 37%.
  
  As soon as Chaos & Flame was announced, I knew this was a book I simply had to read. So, when it appeared on Netgalley, best believe I jumped on that Request button.
  
  Unfortunately, the book contains one of my most-hated 'tropes', if you will – insta-love.
  
  I just can't stand it.
  
  Up until the 37% mark, I was really enjoying Chaos & Flame. Sure, the worldbuilding took me a few chapters to get into, but I was having a good time. I didn't completely hate Darling or Talon (which, given the luck I've had with my most recent string of reads/DNFs, is a win in itself), and the plot was progressing nicely. But in the space of a chapter, maybe two, both POV characters go from not trusting and wanting to kill the other to thinking about how nice it would be to kiss each other, and – in Talon's case – thinking how safe his brother is in Darling's company, when again, a chapter or two before, he wouldn't put it past Darling to kill his brother.
  
  Just... what?!
  
  Why does insta-love even exist in the year 2022. Please. Surely most people have worked out by now that it is simply one of the WORST tropes?
  
  I might be able to excuse it if it's included for the sake of the plot (e..g. star-crossed lovers or there's some kind of prophecy involved/something drawing the characters together) AND it's introduced early enough on in the book, but there was absolutely no reason for it to be included here.
  
  They're enemies. They've known each other for all of 5 minutes. Please, for the love of God, where is the slow burn this book/premise deserved?
  
  Given that I had enjoyed what I'd read so far and was reading it relatively quickly (for my usually slow-reader self), I'd be tempted to carry on with Chaos & Flame in spite of the insta-love, but as the old saying goes... too many books, too little time.
  
  Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for a giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
  
  ↠ I can't even give this one a star rating tbh
  
  
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• 
  Rozanne Visagie

  Chaos & Flame first caught my attention when I read the synopsis - 'ancient magic, different houses and prophecies' stood out to me and I knew I needed to read it. This is the first book in a new YA Fantasy duology and has romance, action and mystery.
  
  The book starts with a slow pace, we are introduced to the world and meet Darling and Talon. With a dual POV, the world-building and plot evolve with each part (CHAOS, ENEMIES, ALLIES, FLAME). The tension builds as new revelations come to light and some jaw-dropping plot twists occur. I was intrigued by the 'prophetic' paintings, depicting a mysterious girl and when the girl's identity is revealed, a series of connections slowly fall into place and the final result is epic!!
  
  Darling, Talon and Caspian make for interesting characters and each plays such an important role.
  I was gifted a proof copy of this book and even though it's not the final version, there are so many amazing quotes. I can't wait for the book to be published and tab all of my favourite quotes.
  
  - Political intrigue
  - Plot twists
  - Different houses/sections
  - Magic
  - Cliffhanger
  - Romance
  - Secrets
  
  Fans of The Bridge Kingdom series or Throne of Glass will enjoy this book.
  
  Many thanks to Penguin Random House SA and Netgalley for gifting me this book.
• 
  Bookish Pengu

  I can’t believe I pre-ordered this. I am so disappointed…
  RTC but everything relevant you can find in other 1-2 star reviews they ain’t lying 😭
• 
  Cecilia

  It’s painful, how much potential was wasted. The concept was so neat & the character backstories paved a freaking runway for their dynamic but it just fell SO. FLAT.
  
  Homegirl gets captured by her sworn house enemy and is just CHILLIN. She tries to be super cool super spy with POISONOUS LIP BALM????? Oh just kiss the king & his brother the prince of war!! NBD! Not like they killed your family & captured you!!! WHERE WAS THE TENSION??? WHERE WAS THE MORAL DILEMMA??? They fall head over heels for each other in two seconds flat??? Wrong. It was all WRONG. Rocks for brains. All of them.
  
  And it was all just SO heavy handed like goddamn was your pen made out of BRICKS?!
  
  2⭐️ also darling’s (yes that was her name but not her name? honestly still confused about that) narrator was the same narrator from Legendborn/Bloodmarked and don’t get me wrong she was FINE but it gave me montage style flashbacks to the horrible trip that was Bloodmarked)
• 
  Makayla

  This was one of the best YA fantasy books I’ve read in a while. For fans of Throne of Glass, Red Queen, Game of Thrones and other similar ‘kingdom-esque’ books, Chaos and Flame combines intrigue, yearning romance, and slight mystery that will make you want more. Like chess pieces on a board, Darling Seabreak cannot remember anything before the death of her family, but when she’s taken under the wings of House Dragon as the official Scion of her house, she must navigate court politics, a mad king with a hint of truth, and his protective brother. I could not stop reading this book until the last second, and there’s going to be a lot of anticipation for the conclusion to this duology.
• 
  Shira

  3⭐️ I really liked the premise of this book and it had some great moments but overall it was underwhelming. I really did appreciate seeing all the diversity in this book such as the BIPOC MC and non binary character it was nice to see a fantasy world intentionally make space for all people.
  
  Darling Seabreak cannot remember anything before the murder of her family at the hands of House Dragon. What she does know is she owes her life to House Kraken who saved her as a child. So when her adoptive Kraken father is captured, Darling vows to save him--even if that means killing every member of House Dragon.
  
  Talon Goldhoard has always been a dutiful War Prince for House Dragon, bravely leading the elite troops of his brother, the High Prince Regent. But lately his brother's erratic rule threatens to undo a hundred years of House Dragon's hard work, and factions are turning to Talon to unseat him.
  
  Together, Darling and Talon must navigate the treacherous waters of House politics while being caught up in the complicated game the High Prince Regent is playing against everyone.
  
  The first 10% of this book was super confusing and info dumpy but got better as I kept reading. I do think certain areas in the middle were sluggish as well.
  
  As characters go Talon and Darling were ok. They didn’t have much depth to them they changed their minds constantly for no good reason. They were enemies (and it was great!) and all of the sudden they caught feelings.. when and how did that happen?! It would have been so much better to let them be enemies longer so they could really explore their feelings. Caspian was the most interesting character he was a fun mystery to figure out!
  
  I really liked the mythical creature aspect of this book I mean who doesn’t love dragons?! The political drama was the most interesting part of this book for me and I wish we got more of it!
  
  I will say I did like the ending of this book and will probably read the next one! Thank you to NetGalley and penguin teen for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Kalena W

  3/5 stars, okay overall story with interesting concepts
  
  Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group & Razorbill for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
  
  This book sounded really exciting when I originally asked for the arc, and I was very curious to see two authors writing one book because for me that usually goes really well or it feels clunky. While this book successfully felt like a complete story from those two authors, it ended up just being okay for me. I'm sad to say that because it really is such an interesting story and while it does pull on some typical young adult tropes I don't mind that usually.
  
  I think the big problem for me was how inconsistent the plot and timing seemed, there were times when things moved really fast and other times when there were lots of time jumps which isn't my favorite thing. It just didn't feel coherent in that regard, but some of the relationships between the characters also moved way too fast for my liking. For example, there is an enemies-to-lovers relationship in this book, which is my favorite romance trope so I was so excited, but almost immediately upon being in each other's presence, they were commenting how they really liked the other person and thought they were attractive. It might just be my personal preference because I really enjoy slow-burn romance, but it just felt way too fast for me, and neither of them seemed to be compatible at all.
  
  Beyond that, the worldbuilding was actually pretty interesting, I really liked the different houses that people existed in (and their powers or "boons" adhered to). I didn't completely understand how they were all linked to House Dragon as it appeared that way, but still, I think the concept always interests me. I wish there had been more emphasis on the history of the world, or a larger explanation because everything I learned made me a little confused.
  
  All that being said I still thought this story was alright and I do want to continue on with the next book because this ending was crazy for the characters. Talon and Darling were just okay main characters, pretty stereotypical for young adult books, but I do think there is great potential for them to grow into something more in the coming books. There's a lot that gets thrown around at the end of this book that will largely affect this world and so I think it could be interesting to see what happens with the rest of the world.
  
  [TW: poisoning, death of a parent, lots of blood and gore, explosions, war themes, murder]
• 
  Jordan

  Rating: Loved It, 4.5 stars
  
  I am honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I thought the premise was phenomenal, but after a really strong prologue to start, the beginning seemed to suggest that it was going to be a bit cliche and tropey. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I think that the world is a really interesting one that sets up some good political intrigue. We have houses at war, vanishing magic, and lots of myths and legends.
  
  We follow Talon, the scion of the reigning Dragon house, and Darling, an adopted member of the Kraken house. While I love the dual POV, they are both in first person, which I kind of hate, BUT I liked everything else so much about this book that I didn't even really mind it.
  
  So while it had the feel of a very trope-filled read at first, I think that the pacing really evened out as the book progressed and the plot just took off. I think that the star character was Caspian, the high prince, and Talon's older brother. Talon and Darling weren't bad characters, they just weren't as well fleshed out as I'd like. I enjoyed the angst though that ran through their relationship. The enemies to lovers wasn't annoying, even if it did have that insta-love tendency that I find happens with all relationships set up like that. I enjoyed the political intrigue and the mystery that Caspian posed to both Darling and Talon.
  
  By the end I was very drawn in and invested in the story and where everything would go. It ends on quite the cliffhanger, and I definitely am looking forward to the next book. I thought it was well-written and a really interesting world.
  
  I highly recommend this if any of those things sound good to you. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for an early review copy. All opinions are my own.
• 
  Shelley

  *Source* Library
  *Genre* Young Adult, Dark Fantasy
  *Rating* 3.5-4
  
  *Thoughts*
  
  Chaos & Flame, by co-authors Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland, is part one of a two part duology. Once upon a time, there were Six major Houses: House Dragon, Kraken, Sphinx, Gryphon, Cockatrice, and Barghest. House Dragon is now the most dominate House left with other Houses were combined under one umbrella. House Kraken has chosen a path of rebellion and assassination of key players in House Dragon in order to regain their status as a major player. This story revolves around two key characters: Darling Seabreak and Talon Goldhoard as well as Caspian Goldhoard.
  
  *Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
  
  
  https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
• 
  Madison

  This is such a nothing book.
  
  There isn't anything wrong with it, per se, but it just made me feel...nothing. There was nothing engaging about the plot, nothing impactful about the world, nothing striking about the characters. I can't imagine a world where this would ever be anyone's #1 favorite. It's entirely, inescapably mediocre. There isn't anything I could criticize specifically, because it's all technically fine. It's just...yeah. No need to repeat myself.
• 
  Kaley

  Quick Stats
  Age Rating: 13+
  Over All: 2.25 stars
  Plot: 2/5
  Characters: 3/5
  Setting: 3/5
  Writing: 3/5
  Disability Rep: 1.5/5
  
  Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
  
  The first 35 pages of this book were strong and promising. I thought I was really going to enjoy this book. Similarly, the last 35 pages of this book were fast paced and engaging, they had me wanting to know what happens next.
  Everything in between…
  Boring.
  It was so slow, no plot. I would’ve DNFed multiple times over if not for the fact that this was an ARC.
  This book is very world and politic heavy. There are a lot of complex details in the setting, but the actual worldbuilding never goes past the superficial. Nothing is ever explained, we get no details. I had so many unanswered questions about the geography, lore, political systems of this world—leaving me confused and noticing plot hole after plot hole. This left me unconnected and unconvinced.
  The characters were similarly underconstructed. There was nothing unique in any of them, nothing compelling. The romance had no chemistry, no build up. It’s instalove at its finest, and it never goes past that.
  Throughout the book, the authors “hint” at the big reveals. But these hints were about as subtle as being hit over the head with a frying pan, and then you have to pretend you don’t know.
  Despite that—and I did guess every single reveal anywhere from 100 to 300 pages in advance (and I’m not exaggerating)—when these things actually come to light in the climax, I began to become invested. Finally, things are happening! Suddenly, there was tension! The pacing picked up! I actually wanted to keep reading! Yes, everything that happened was excruciatingly predictable, but the writing was skilled, tension-filled, and engaging. It showed that these authors have the ability to write compelling prose… they just fail to do so for 90% of the book.
  I also want to touch on the disability representation in this book because I have thoughts. Darling, the FMC, grew up in the lowlight of the sewers. This caused irreparable damage to her eyes. A film grew over them, and she can’t see in regular light unless she wears fancy sunglasses-like goggles. When I realized this, I was excited to see surprise disability rep! But I learned pretty quickly it’s not great rep.
  This book heavily leans into the disability is actually a superpower trope, because Darling’s magic powers turned her eye damage into giving her supernatural vision in the dark. She’s like a cat. Talon, the MMC and Darling’s love interest, constantly makes weird, almost fetishy comments about Darling’s eyes and the film that covers them because of the damage. He calls them mesmerizing and mysterious and just… other similar comments that made me uncomfortable. I also have a bad feeling that all of her disability may be cured in book 2. I plan to read far enough to know if that’s the case, but I have no interest in actually reading the sequel.
• 
  Toya (the reading chemist)

  DNF at 50%
  
  I think this one had so much potential, but I think the authors are way too focused on creating a rivals to lovers romance between Talon and Darling versus really diving into the depths on this world and the magic system. I want to know more about the boons (how the manifest, if they are genetic, limitations, etc.), but instead of giving us that, the readers are given more insight into this romance that is mid at best over anything else.
  
  I normally am all for romance in all of the stories I read since it is a favorite genre of mine, but this is an instance where I feel like it detracts from the overall story versus enhances it.
  
• 
  Therese | therese's nook

  DNF at ~ 50%
  
  I was really excited for the novel because it seemed like it was up my alley and I’m sad to have dnf’d it at around 50%. I spent the majority of the time confused as to what was going on and trying to find at least one character to root for. Eventually I had to give and just say that this book wasn’t a good fit.
• 
  Hannah Mills

  Chaos and Flame is exactly what it sounds like, if I’m being honest. It’s chaotic and intriguing with a host of characters filled with their own kind of fire and determination.
  
  This book started pretty slow. I was also pretty confused the first two chapters. It just threw you into a world where nothing quite made sense.
  
  BUT, with that being said, following the first couple of chapters, the pace increases and starts to really draw you in. There’s adventure, and betrayal. Politics, and war. A mix of intense moments and witty banter. And, by the end, it had me gripped and begging for more.
  
  I loved seeing each character grow and twist and change throughout the story. I thought it was interesting to see how magic or “chaos” worked its way into people and manifested differently. Caspian, the Prince Regent, was a great example of this and seeing how his charter could go from madness and insanity in one scene, but be nearly sober and logical in the next? It was written incredibly well.
  
  I think that there was a lot of good world building here, but it could have been a little more in depth. I’m hoping and excited for the second book to dive deeper into a the world and the houses that make it up.
  
  Darling is a war orphan, the last of her house, and the Prince Regent of the Dragon House had been dreaming of her his whole life. She is the key, but to what no one truly knows but him. She has not had an easy life, but that won’t keep her from pushing forward and showing the world that she is anything but weak.
  
  The War Prince, Talon, has never wanted war. He has only ever wanted to protect his brother and his house. When he sees Darling for the first time, he’s shocked to find his brothers paintings were of a real girl, and not only that - but she was more beautiful and interesting than he thought possible.
  
  In case you couldn’t tell? This has some great enemies to lovers moments. Talon and Darling have no idea what is in store for them, but that’s what makes their story so much better.
  
  If you’re a fan of fantasy/romantasy - I definitely recommend picking up with book!
  
  
• 
  Jess The Bookworm

  In a world that has been at war for a very long time, where the political Houses have all been trampled by the House of Dragon, Darling Seabreak has vowed to destroy the House of Dragon to avenge the deaths of her family.
  
  Caspian, the Prince Regent of the House of Dragon, has been painting the same girl his entire life: a girl with black swirls for eyes.
  
  Caspian's brother, Talon, meets Darling in a failed assassination attempt against him, but instead of killing her, Talon takes Darling to his brother. Because she looks exactly like the girl in the paintings.
  
  What follows is political intrigue, magical exploration and unexpected romance.
  
  I read this book as part of the Penguin YA read-along, which was my first ever read-along and I had a lot of fun commenting with my fellow readers on the Fable app.
  
  I really enjoyed this YA fantasy novel. The three main characters were amazing and I loved all of their interactions with each other. Caspian in particular is a fascinating character. The world is well thought out and there were lots of twists and turns. It ends on a major cliffhanger and I really hope that the next book comes out soon. There is a lot to still be discovered in this world.
• 
  Indre

  Thank you to PRH audio and Penguin Teen for my review copies. All opinions are my own.
  
  This was an overall a good listen. Kind of a slow burn of action. This is literary a romance set up as political fantasy. I say political, because there's a lot of talk about war, grievances between houses, marriage for political benefits, etc, etc. But there's also romance. Like a lot of that YA angst YA fantasies can be know for. Now the instant hate for was - insta love. I just could not grasp how that worked. I come to kill you but wait wait.. no I think I want to kiss you. *insert eye roll here* I'm here for political schemings, and the cool fantasy world (which is not really expanded on in this book) so I was left kind of disappointed. I zones out through the romance scenes, and probably missed a lot, but at the same time, the end captured my attention, and I left wanting to see where that will go in the future book/s (?).
  
  Overall not my style. The romance was sluggish, even if it was insta love, and then the end felt rushed but action filled.
• 
  Sharanya

  Listen. If you are not a YA fan, & especially a YA fantasy fan, pls move along bc you would hate this book. Happily, I still find lots to adore in YA fantasy, so this was great fun for me! Yes, everything in this book has been done a million times over in other YA books. Forbidden enemies-to-lovers romance? Check. Chosen one? Check. Fiesty heroine who is good with knives has to infiltrate the enemy palace & wear a lot of pretty dresses she feels slightly uncomfortable in? Check. Animal-based factions warring on each other? Check. A magical lore that is somehow ~mysteriously~ tied to our fiesty heroine? Check. A murderous aunt who so obviously wants all the power for herself ? Check. But these writers jumped into all of these beloved tropes with SUCH joy & aplomb that it was truly pleasurable to revisit them all again. The magic system was interesting & the plot moved at an excellent clip. Even though it’s hella predictable, I’m excited to see where we go next!
• 
  Lyn *Nomadic Worlds

  I was so excited about this book especially when I love Justina Ireland's writing but unfortunately, it didn't hold my attention. That said, the plot had a lot of potential and the best part about this book was the ending with that climactic cliffhanger.
• 
  Molly

  3.75 / 5
  
  I'll keep my review fairly short for how much I want to say (I annotated the whole thing for reasons) but I actually quite liked this book. No real plot mentions because this was an arc and I don't want to be a meanie and spoil it.
  
  When I initially finished it, I didn't favour it as much as I do now (6 hours after the fact), simply because the pacing was so off. For a 300 page book, truly nothing of consequence or plot relevance happens until the 250 page mark. After that, the plot runs WILD. It leads to moments like seemingly major supporting character deaths feeling hollow and/or unearned and interesting earlier villains being thwarted in a matter of paragraphs. I really feel as if this book could have benefitted from a hundred or so pages more, just so the events could be properly built up to. That being said, I finished this on a plane and the reveals at the end were surprising enough to make my mother tell me to shut up and stop gasping, and ends on a cliffhanger that truly leaves you scratching your head as to how things can continue for the characters.
  
  (Sidenote - a *lot* of gore towards the end. Like a scene actually had my face agape because of how much violence there was.)
  
  The most interesting thing to me was the lore of the houses and kingdom as a whole - honestly, I wish there was more of that and hope they include wayyyy more of it in the sequel just since the worldbuilding feels incredibly interesting but quite shallow.
  
  Darling as a main character has a very cookie-cutter "I'm not like most girls, I fight" atmosphere about her, but other than that she is a good POV reader insert with at least some personality. Her perspective isn't necessarily unique, but it's not annoying or mopish so it's above the bar. Her design is also quite cool and unique with the goggles - she reminds me of a steampunk Winter from The Lunar Chronicles.
  
  Talon seemed to be a sneak protagonist. By that I mean I expected Talon to have less of a main character feel to him, however he is somehow more of a protagonist than Darling without even trying. Man is a whole simp, a golden retriever quasi-himbo man, a lil' stinker. He's also a very standard YA fantasy buff love interest but has an underline of his identity as the 'war prince' (which again needs to be fleshed out further but c'est la vie) and his relationships with both his brother and Darling are quite sweet.
  
  (also really not to spoil, but it is kinda iconic to have the guy be the less experienced and be the more 'daunted' one in the relationship. It felt refreshing because there are a million YA virgin girlies with their manwhores so it's nice specifically to see a masculine man admit that in a YA book and it be a nonissue.)
  
  Caspian was my least favourite going in, but in the last 50 pages he turned into my favourite (for reasons that are spoilery). The main reason why I didn't like him at first was that he just seemed like the same YA 'drawling' prince archetype, but with the addition of his 'boon' (special power) and the reveals along the line, I did enjoy his character.
  
  other than that, it was an experience.
  
  At one point (I think chapter 26 on my proof copy) - the POV title was wrong haha - I’m ashamed to say that it took me like halfway down the page (and the line “my talon”) to figure out it wasn’t darling’s chapter, contrary to the title lmao.
  
  (sorry in advance)
  
  I also want the publishers to know that I did, in fact, change every use of the word 'boon' to 'boob' on my copy, it created some, imo, absolutely **undeniably** hilarious sentences, some of which were:
  
  "No, I-- My boob. I used it too much."
  
  "I think once more of the stories of his boob and what it could be"
  
  "Only because strong boobs are rare these days"
  
  ...and my personal favourite:
  
  "'Could he have two?'
  'Two boobs? I've never heard of that.'"
  
  I am so funny. 0_0
  
  The joke ~definitely~ didn't get old halfway through and I *definitely* didn't only continue with it due to sheer stubbornness. :)
  
  ANYWAYS I'll leave on that note BYE. I need to sleep. This wasn't a bad reading experience. :D