Before She Ignites (Fallen Isles, #1)

by Jodi Meadows

[leahrosereads]

This was over all a pretty mediocre read. Which sucks because I wanted an epic fantasy filled with fantastic adventures and intrigue and wonderfully developed characters.

But I got none of that.

Mira (the MC) is a chosen one who everyone follows and trusts to guide them through a treaty bearing her name. She's a POC which rocks with anxiety and compulsion difficulties and some major vanity nonsense. She has a lot of political responsibilities and few friends. It seems to be a pretty lonely existence.

And had she been a more developed character, maybe I'd feel more empathetic towards her. But she wasn't, so I wasn't.

The secondary characters were pretty center pieces. They had nice qualities but were pretty much forgettable. Which is a bummer. I don't want to forget about characters. I want them to be memorable and interesting and important to the story.

The world building was also just OK. I wish there was more so I could become more invested in everything going on with Mira and the islands, but again, it was lacking, and I felt my interest waning while reading this.

The writing was decent, but with how underdeveloped everything felt in this, I don't have a desire to continue with the series. Maybe if the hype for the second book is high enough, I'll give it another try.

Maybe.