Review: Fire by Sara B. Elfgren & Mats Strandberg

– SPOILER FREE REVIEW –

Title: Fire (The Engelsfors Trilogy #2)
Authors: Sara Bergmark Elfgren & Mats Strandberg
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release date: January 1st, 2012

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Description:

The Circle, the first book in the internationally bestselling Engelsfors Trilogy, introduced a group of high school girls with special powers who became the Chosen Ones. As book two, Fire, begins, Minoo, Vanessa, Linnéa, Anna-Karin and Ida have been struggling with their own demons all summer long. Now school is back in session, and whether they like it or not, the five Chosen Ones must stick together stronger than ever before.

Evil is back in Engelsfors and it threatens to engulf everyone and everything—and only if the five girls accept their strengths and trust each other unconditionally will they have any chance of defeating it.

The second installment of the Engelsfors Trilogy—an international sensation with rights sold in 26 countries—Firesees the past woven together with the present, the living with the dead, our human world with demonic forces. This spellbinding novel takes the reader on a wild journey in a world where the stakes are higher than life-and-death.

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– REVIEW FOR THE CIRCLE (#1) –

All the issues I had with the first installment were fixed and improved in this one and I couldn’t be happier! There was plenty of magic, the friendships grew beautifully along with the characters, and the plot was very engaging. The first part did drag a little and I felt it was longer than it needed to be, but besides that, I enjoyed it immensely and I can’t wait to read the last book!

First of all, let’s talk about the characters. These girls grow so much in this novel! I was rooting for them since the first book, but now I want them to be safe and happy forever or I’ll be heartbroken. They are in no way perfect and that’s exactly why I love them so much. They are realistic, with fears and doubts, but they also show their strengths when it is needed.

I can’t really say I have a favorite anymore. Ida was the hardest to warm up to, but it was entirely intentional. The friendship of the circle was truly established in this book and it was pretty sweet. It was the opposite of insta-friendship, so it felt natural how they struggled to get along up until this point. It still doesn’t mean that their relationship is perfect, but now they finally understand each other better.

“The harder she tried to lock the monsters out, the bigger and stronger they grew.”

One of my favorite and least favorite tropes were used here. I won’t spoil my favorite because it’s an important part of the plot. All I can say is that it’s silly and maybe an easy way out for one of their problems, but it was effective for me! I loved the effect it had on the relationship of the girls. The other one was the Special Snowflake trope with Minoo representing it. She has many of the characteristics (the boys pay special attention to her, her powers are unique, etc), yet she doesn’t steal the limelight from the other girls. There’s a story behind it that we have yet to discover, so I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt.

“The combination of being clairvoyant and rude is amazingly unattractive”

Finally, I wanted to mention the writing and the mythology of the novels because they improved a lot. The writing was still fairly simple, but it showed much more personality and the inner monologues were more heartfelt. As for the mythology, I loved that the history of the Council and the powers of the girls were better explored. It finally gave me a sense of what the girls were dealing with and how the world in the books work.

This novel wraps up well but it does leave you wanting to read the third one immediately. I was so glad that all the issues I had with the first one were gone here. Fire was more entertaining and better executed. My favorite things were that we get to know a lot more about the characters, their magic and their friendship. The villains were also a high point for me and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t guess everything of what was going on. Overall, I loved reading it and I have high hopes for the final book in this trilogy!

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