Fire with Fire (Burn for Burn Trilogy, #2)

by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Secrets prove deadly in book two of the Burn for Burn trilogy from New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I've Loved Before (soon to be a major motion picture!), Jenny Han, and New York Times bestselling author of The List, Siobhan Vivian.

Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn't exactly go the way they'd hoped at the Homecoming Dance.

Not even close.

For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there was ever a pact.

But there is something seriously wrong with sweet, little Mary. If she can't control her anger, she's sure someone will get hurt. Mary understands now that it's not just that Reeve bullied her-it's that he made her love him.

It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn...

• ISBN10: 1442440791
• ISBN13: 9781442440791
• Publish Date: 16 September 2014 (first published 13 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 544
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

TW: Coping with being raped. I like how this was dealt with more. It was uncomfortable having it a dirty, guilty secret. It felt more important and connected to the story.

Going into this, I didn't know what to expect, especially with another book afterward. My last review wondered if it was going to go the way of Carrie or The Craft. I was pleasantly, utterly surprised at the twists.



It's high school drama with high stakes, they just don't realize how high yet—even after the homecoming dance. Through all the secrets, backstabbing, tiffs, pettiness, and bullshit I was hooked. Not only did I care about our trio and their cohorts but it all felt important.

Even desperately searching for clues I didn't see the twists coming.

I love the character progression all around.

It's another cliffhanger but since I had Ashes to Ashes queued up, I wasn't pissed off or frustrated. I just kept reading the series.

Thank fuck, I don't read series til they're done!



(Usually anyways… and this kind of experience just reinforces the habit. )

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a burn for a burn. A life for a life." (Mary Zane)

I read the first book in the Burn for Burn trilogy three years ago. When my school library ordered these books, I didn't know whether to continue with the series or not. But I decided to give this series a try and I'm so glad that I did.

The three main characters in the story are Lillia, Kat and Mary. The story is told from each of these character's POVs and the characters have their own personality and voice shining through. Lillia is the do-good queen bee. Kat is the bad girl. Mary is sweet and shy. My favourite POV was Lillia's. None of the characters in Fire with Fire are stereotypical, but Lillia is the most fleshed out of them all. I especially loved the story-line that she was given and will explain more about that later on in my review. I'm also a sucker for narrations that are filled with toughness, humour and sarcasm and Kat was definitely an amazing voice. My least favourite POV was Mary. It wasn't her personality that ruined it for me, but it was the story-line that she was given. I will also be explaining this later on.

The relationship between Reeve and Lillia sold this book for me. Even although the relationship is fake on one side, the chemistry between them was creating a serious fire (pun intended). What? Douchy Reeve from Burn for Burn? There are only a handful of books where my feelings for the jerk has changed and this book is part of that handful. Reeve stopped being the character that I loathed with a fierce passion and started to become a character that I loved. The best thing was that his personality didn't change at all. He's still the same guy, but he is showing a vulnerable and softer side. I shipped him and Lila with the fire of a thousand suns! (once again, pun intended!)

Even although this book is largely contemporary, there is a small part of it that is paranormal. However, these parts felt awkward and stuck out like a sore thumb. It was the paranormal aspect that I disliked in the first book and completely hated in the second. Mary does some freaky paranormal things and I would have accepted it more if it was explained or if my questions related to Mary and her paranormality was properly answered.

Fire with Fire is one of the best YA revenge books that I have ever read about. It's fast-paced with fantabulous fleshed out characters and a shippable romance. If you thought the ending of Burn for Burn was bad, try the ending of Fire with Fire. It made me want to flame something in order to read Ashes to Ashes.

[rakesandrogues]

I love audiobooks with multiple narrators – especially when the book has multiple perspectives. It prevents me from getting confused, but each speaker also adds a different personality to their character. Fire with Fire had an awesome twist towards the end. For the most part, I definitely did not see it coming. Despite the awesome plot twist, I’m still not a fan of the book. I found the revenge plot to be really childish and petty and mean. It’s not my kind of contemporary read, so I’m not sure if I will continue on with the series.

[Jo]

Originally published on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I absolutely loved the first book in the trilogy, Burn For Burn, so it was a no brainer that I would be reading Fire With Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian - and it's even better!

After the disastrous events during the Homecoming Dance, Lillia, Kat and Mary are a little shaken up. Humiliating Reeve and causing him to lose his spot on the football team was the plan, not having him end up in hospital. Despite suffering a broken leg, Reeve is determined to be back in shape for the next season - without his spot on the team, he doesn't get a scholarship to college. But after remembering Mary at the dance, and being nasty to her again at Halloween, the girls decide they're not through with payback. It's obvious Reeve has a thing for Lillia, especially after kissing her at the dance, and the girls decide it's the perfect way to get him back - let Reeve thinks he has Lillia, then Lillia can break his heart, just like he broke Mary's. But it's not going to be that straight forward, not when Mary's anger is getting out of control, and not when Lillia sees a different side to Reeve when they're alone...

Fire With Fire picks up a short while after Burn For Burn ends. There is a lot of guilt going on. If Lillia hadn't drugged Reeve, would he have broke his leg? And what happened at the dance anyway? Mary has a feeling she somehow has something to do with it, but she can't explain what happened - she just knows she can't say anything. Then Halloween night comes by, Reeve treats Mary disgustingly, and then Lillia blows her top at him. Then the scheming is back in action and their plan is formed. And it's so good, even though it's so wrong! I'm so glad this is fiction, because I get to enjoy the idea of hurting people for hurting you, whilst knowing no-one is actually getting hurt. It would be really disturbing if this was all real, and not something I would personally want to be a part of, but in the pages of a book, I'm loving it!

But when things start happening between Lillia and Reeve, it gets even more exciting. Despite the fact this trilogy is all about revenge, this romance element is so sweet! I was torn, because Reeve has been really crappy, but I so wanted something real to happen between them. I'm a sucker for a not-so-nice boy become the most wonderful guy when he feels something. It's so damn cute! And Lillia doesn't know what to do for the best - she's not sure if she wants to hurt this guy any more, but she can't betray her friends. She's finding it really difficult, and it's heartbreaking to see.

Mary is... woah. Things are happening with Mary. In Burn For Burn, we had the locker doors all slamming at once and we had the nightmare at the Homecoming Dance. Things step up a bit in Fire With Fire and it seems Mary has some kind of telekinesis power. It sounds like it would be kind of strange to have this paranormal element thrown in with this contemporary story, but it works really well, and as you read on, it kind of makes sense. I had a few theories about what was going on with her, but they changed as the story went on. It's really intriguing

Oh my god, the ending! I really don't know what to say! It tops the ending of Burn For Burn by miles! Not only is there the climactic ending to this story, but also the revelation! And it's HUGE! And it's so clever, because it's all been leading up to this from the very beginning, and Ashes To Ashes is just going to be epic! I am so excited for that book, it's going to be amazing!

[Joséphine]

What on earth just went down?! Still stunned and blinking at the last page. How am I supposed to wait until September to read Ashes to Ashes?! :(

Review to follow soon.

[Amber]

My Twitter followers are aware that this book gave me many feels, but in the interest of preserving what little dignity I have left, I shall try to make this review as serious and professional as possible... Okay, that was an outright lie. Who did you think you were talking to?

My feelings for Burn for Burn were nowhere near as intense as the emotional breakdown that Fire with Fire caused. The last time I liveblogged like that, I believe, was when I was reading Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris, and that book has scarred me for life. If you can believe it, Fire with Fire is superior to Burn for Burn in several aspects. I still pretty much love both books equally, though, just for different reasons.

There was less of a revenge plot in this book, which is kind of what I was expecting after the ending of Burn for Burn. Surely the girls couldn't continue with their scheming after seriously injuring Reeve? But I was very wrong. They could definitely continue with their scheming, they just had to go about it differently. And the new method was to go after Reeve's heart.

Which brings me to the topic that I have been dying to rave about, and that I'm sure you've all been holding your breath for: Reeve and Lillia.

Well, now I'm just under too much pressure and I don't know how to form a proper sentence. They. Are. LEGIT. Or, rather, they were a ship in Burn for Burn, but in Fire with Fire they quickly sky-rocketed to OTP status. Their relationship is a complicated one. If you've read Burn for Burn then you'll know that Reeve has feelings for Lillia, but he suppressed them and kept them a secret because of the whole Guy Code. Basically, he did it for Alex because Reeve is secretly an amazing friend and I cannot. Anyway, yes, Lillia and Reeve gave me FEELINGS and I ended up word vomiting all over Twitter.

I cried several times. I know, it's shocking, right? I never cry! *shifty eyes* I just couldn't handle the heartbreak, especially when Lillia went through an inner struggle of staying loyal to the cause, or staying loyal to her heart. Oh my god, these two make me say totally cheesy things. I'm sorry.

There was some Reeve character development in there, which I had been hoping for ever since I finished Burn for Burn. With the third book, I'm crossing my fingers for even more of that, because he has a long way to go, and I also NEED some backstory regarding him and Mary. So far, we only have Mary's point of view, but I want Reeve's take on the matter.

This kind of brings me onto Mary, who was doing my nut in (I'm leaving this in for Christina, mwahaha). She's clearly not right in the head, and needs some serious help. I am a bit worried about everyone's safety when it comes to her, to be honest. Anyway, I don't like whiny or depressing characters, and Mary dished out the sadness in spades. I mean, sure, she had a horrible time when she was younger, but can I please have a break from the sob story? I realise that I'm not being very sympathetic, but meh. I can't help not caring.

I don't really have much to say about Kat. She didn't leave a huge impact on me either way in this one, although I enjoyed reading about her relationship with her mother, and what she went through when her mother was sick. Something I didn't like, however, was how quick she was to accept Rennie back into her life, in one way or another. That's all I'm going to say on the matter due to spoilers, but it was frustrating.

The ending of this book confused me greatly. It was suspenseful and shocking and awesome, but some bits confused me. Most of my confusion revolves around Mary, who I still suspect is off her rocker, but the authors are doing a pretty good job of trying to trick me into thinking she's some sort of witch or poltergeist. That's just a theory, though, don't worry. Some really weird paranormal-esque stuff happens and I can't tell if it's all in Mary's mind or not, since, you know, she is the one narrating those bits and unreliable narrators yadda yadda yadda.

I strayed off topic a bit there, but yes. The ending was confusing and I need to reread it when I get a hard copy of the book because I WILL FIGURE THIS OUT, DAMMIT.

I'll be re-reading this one a few times because a) I plan on writing down all the clues and making sense of them and b) I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF REEVE AND LILLIA. It also helps that I was imagining Reeve to look like Gannicus. *swoons*

This review has also been posted on Books of Amber.
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[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Sweet revenge turned incredibly sour, a bitter pill to swallow. This is what you'll find as you flip through the pages of Fire with Fire, the second book in the Burn for Burn series. Believe me, it doesn't disappoint, either. The girls are back, more fierce, broken, and complicated as the lines between what's right and a heavy helping of revenge is doled out. You're absolutely going to love it, if you're a fan of light contemporary reads that are perfect for summer reads.

I swear, this is the easiest book to read. It's incredibly fast paced and a lot of fun, filled with twists and turns that you will not not see coming. I found myself absolutely devouring it in a matter of a couple of days, because I absolutely did not want to put it down once I started it. Guys, the twists and so much bigger and better the second time around than they were the first, and the cliffhanger at the end will leave you holding onto the edge of your seat, jaw on the floor, in a holy crap this is crazy sort of way. It is absolutely a mind blowing experience that you will not want to miss out on!

If you're looking for a tantalizing, revengeful, ball of twists and turns, then Fire with Fire should meet your expectations and soar beyond them. Captivating and amazing, this novel will have you biting your nails til' the bitter end and gasping for more, once the last page has been read. Han and Siobahn are the perfect dymanic duo, for this epic suspenseful, fun, and exciting series. Incredibly clever, this book is filled with wonderful sarcasm, drama, and wit to last for days! It is completely unputdownable!