Synopsis: Krishani thinks he’s doomed until he meets Kaliel, the one girl on the island of Avristar who isn’t afraid of him. She’s unlike the other girls, she swims with merfolk, talks to trees and blooms flowers with her touch. What he doesn’t know is that she’s a flame, one of nine individually hand crafted weapons, hidden in the body of a seemingly harmless girl.

Nobody has fallen in love with a flame until now. She becomes Krishani’s refuge from the dreams of death and the weather abilities he can’t control. Striking down thousand year old trees with lightning isn’t something he tries to do, it just happens. When the Ferryman dies, Krishani knows that he’s the next and that a lifetime of following death is his destiny.

And Kaliel can’t come with him. The Valtanyana are hunting the flames, the safest place for her is Avristar. Krishani can’t bear to leave her, and one innocent mistake grants the Valtanyana access to their mystical island. They’re coming for Kaliel, and they won’t stop until every last living creature on Avristar is dead. She has to choose, hide, face them, or awaken the flame and potentially destroy herself. -Goodreads

Review: It has been a long time since I’ve read a book that felt as human as Flame of Surrender did. Never mind that the characters aren’t human per say, but there is just something about their journey that felt like they were real people, living in a real world, not just a magical realm made up for a book. I was rooting for Krishani and Kaliel right from the get go and I really loved following their story through the course of this book.

Speaking of the realm, I really liked the entire concept of Avristar (also, been awhile since I’ve read a fantasy book with some really nicely created words/terminology. The names, language etc. were all beautiful. Rhiannon Paille put this world together extremely well, and while there are some areas that I would love to have seen more fleshed out, I was still drawn into the land and the characters throughout the entire story.

I don’t want to give too much away, because for me part of the beauty of reading this book was the unexpected, especially as I got close to the conclusion. With urban fantasy being increasingly popular now, it was really refreshing to jump back into a truly epic fantasy story that isn’t afraid to dream big. The idea of who and what Kaliel is, is executed perfectly and makes for a really interesting plot device, especially in terms of turning what should have been a beautiful and innocent love into something much deeper and heartbreaking that will shape so many people around the central characters.

Overall, highly recommended (obviously). A great change of pace for many of us reading Y.A., and I really truly enjoyed it.

Rating:

Second Opinions:
@One a day Y.A.
@Stuck In Books
@Confessions of a Readaholic

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