The Phoenix King: 1 (The Ravence Trilogy)

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I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the prose. It was mostly very direct and simplistic, but then had tons of expressions sprinkled in that felt forced and unnatural to me, like they desperately wanted to be quotable and poetic. Many of these sentiments also felt rather over the top and melodramatic to me as well, with not a whole lot of actual meaning behind them. For example:

The ending was not bad. I liked the reveal a lot, it makes me look forward to the next book. Overall a decent read I enjoyed. But it wasn't anything special that blew my mind. At the Fire Lord's beach house, Aang is practicing his firebending while Zuko watches and demands more ferocity from him. At first, Aang makes a feeble attempt at a particular move, but does much better with the next attempt. Everyone else is lazily sitting on the steps of the beach house. Katara prepares watermelon juice for everyone, causing Aang to excitedly abandon his training to get a drink. An angered Zuko criticizes them all for being lazy. Sokka and the others, except for an annoyed Zuko, head to the beach to have a party.

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The Phoenix King could just be a simple story about a princess waiting to become a queen. Or it could be a story about a woman falling in love with someone she can’t trust. It could be a story about a father and a daughter trying to navigate their changing relationship as they enter a new phase in their lives. Or it could be a story of revolution. Or of war. The Phoenix King could be a story of a daughter searching for her dead mother. Or searching for her birthright. Perhaps a story about grief and loss? Or the story of a man starting over, searching for peace. Possibly it’s the story of a traitor searching for redemption. It could be any of these, instead, it’s all of these. But it turns out it’s all of these and a few more besides. For Leo Malhari Ravence, fire is control. He is not ready to give up his crown—there’s still too much work to be done to ensure his legacy remains untarnished, his family protected. But power comes with a price, and he’ll wage war with the heavens themselves to keep from paying it. Right before Aang wakes up on the "island", the scar on his foot from Azula's lightning is in the center of his right foot when it should be on the ball of his left foot.

The night when Alabore Ravence built his kingdom, it is said that men feasted on starlight. For it was Alabore Ravence who brought the heavens closer to Sayon, who brought the power and mystique of the Phoenix into a real, solid hearth. The desert may be unforgiving, but it was spun from stardust, and to stardust it will go." The book hurt me in so many ways, but it is so worth it in the end. The twist and turned and surprises are so good. It keeps you guessing the entire time. And the ending is just… I can’t even explain. It’s just amazing. I can’t wait for book two! For Leo Malhari Ravence, fire is control. He is not ready to give up his crown-there’s still too much work to be done to ensure his legacy remains untarnished, his family protected. But power comes with a price, and he’ll wage war with the heavens themselves to keep from paying it. The cloak felt like wings, lifting him up, borne aloft by the flames. He closed his eyes but nothing changed; still the flames filled his vision. A gentle breeze seemed to wash over him, its touch smoothing away skin and flesh and bone, reducing him to delicate ash; all without the slightest hint of discomfort. Imrik thought that he imagined it. When writing, I drew inspiration from my own heritage. I was born in India, in the desert of Rajasthan. My mom raised me on the epic tales of the Mahabharat and the Ramayana. While THE BOY WITH FIRE is not an adaptation or retelling of Hindu myths, these stories certainly influenced my world-building.During the bar scene, June is seen fighting a man who she throws into a table; this character bears a striking resemblance to "Ryu", the protagonist of the "Street Fighter" game series. She arm-wrestled the same guy in " Bato of the Water Tribe". I can excuse slow pace if I see very carefully constructed characterization, intricate politics, or even thoughtful worldbuilding. TBWF laid the groundwork for all of these things, but many of them ended up falling flat.