Kristin Cashore

In a kingdom called the Dells, Fire is the last human-shaped monster, with unimaginable beauty and the ability to control the minds of those around her, but even with these gifts she cannot escape the strife that overcomes her world.

a novel

Fire

Cassidy Nolan

“Tell me what I can do to help you feel better.”

Fire looked into his quiet eyes, touched his dear, familiar face, and considered the question. 

“Well,” he said. “That’s lucky, because I’ll always be kissing you.”

Shortly thereafter he stepped into the healing rooms and leaned in the doorway, looking across at her quietly. Brocker’s son with gentle gray eyes.

She abandoned all pretense of decorum and ran at him.

“You came to me for lessons to guard your mind,” she said, “and you stopped asking me to marry you, both at the same time. You did those things out of love for your brother.”

“Well,” he said, looking a bit sheepishly at the floor. “I also took a few swings at him, but that’s neither here nor there.”

“You’re good at love,” she said simply, because it seemed to her that it was true. “I’m not so good at love. I’m like a barbed creature. I push everyone I love away.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind you pushing me away if it means you love me, little sister.”

“I love you,” Brigan said very calmly to Fire’s back. “I hope in the coming days it may comfort you to know that. And all I ask of you is that you try to eat, Fire, and sleep, no matter how you feel. Eat and sleep. And send me word, so I know how you are. Tell me if there’s anyone, or anything, I can send to you.”

It was a thing about being a monster. She couldn’t look at a body and pretend she was looking at Archer. She knew, she could feel, that the fires of Archer’s heart and mind were nowhere near. This body was a horrible thing, almost unrecognizable, lying there, mocking her, mocking Archer with its emptiness.

Brigan was saying her name, and he was sending her a feeling. It was courage and strength, and something else too, as if he were standing with her, as if he’d taken her within himself, letting her rest her entire body for a moment on his backbone, her mind in his mind, her heart in the fire of his.

The fire of Brigan’s heart was astounding. Fire understood, and almost could not believe, that the feeling he was sending her was love.

Panic bunched inside her. Her tone grew tart. 

I’ve grown quite fond of your warhorse Big. Will you give her to me?

He stared at her with about as much incredulity as such a question, posed to the army’s commander on the eve of battle, rightly deserved. And now Fire was laughing, and the sudden, unexpected lightness soothed her aching brain. 

All right, all right. I was only testing that you were awake and in your right mind. The sight of you taking a nap against the bookshelf doesn’t inspire confidence.

“It will work, Lady Granddaughter,” Tess handed Fire two knives in ankle holsters. “You’ll get what you want from whomever you want. Tonight King Nash would give you the Winged River as a present, if you asked for it. Dells, child - Prince Brigan would give you his best warhorse.”

“What does Prince Brigan mean,” Fire said, frightened of the question, “when he says you must tell me the truth?”

Tess put down the dough she was kneading and wiped her palms on her apron. “What an upside-down day this is,” she said. “I never saw this coming. And now that we’re here, you’re such a sight I’m intimidated.” She shrugged, quite as a loss. “My daughter Jessa was your mother, child,” she said. “I’m your grandmother. Would you like to stay for dinner?”

“Archer,” Fire pleaded. “If you must do this, take as many soldiers as you can. Ask Brigan for a convoy.”

He didn’t answer. She wasn’t even sure he’d heard. He turned to face her and said, “Goodbye, Fire.” He stalked out of the room, abandoning her to her panic.

Her thoughts clamored after him desperately. 

“I’m a thousand years old,” Fire said, “just like you.”

“Hmm,” Brigan said. He didn’t ask her what she meant, which was for the best, because she wasn’t exactly sure. If she was suggesting that she was too wise with the weight of her experience to fall prey to infatuation - well, the disproof was sitting before her in the form of a gray-eyed prince with a thoughtful set to his mouth that she found quite distracting.

Fire crossed her arms and stared him down. After a few moments, Archer actually began to smile. He shook his head, sighing hopelessly. “Perhaps it’s the promise of your angry face that keeps me misbehaving,” he said. “You’re so beautiful when you’re angry.”

“Oh, Archer,” she snapped, “flirt with someone else.”

“I will, if you command it,” he quipped, with a goofy grin that caught her off guard, so that she had to stop her own face from twitching into a smile.

For a moment, it was almost as if they were friends again.

“I’ve been afraid of being Cansrel,” she said aloud to her reflection. “But I’m not Cansrel.”

At her elbow, Musa said blandly, “Any one of us could have told you that, Lady.”

“No doubt this is presumptuous, Lady. But for whatever it’s worth, if you’d like, I could promise to tell you if I ever believed you to be overstepping the rights of your power. And whether or not you choose to accept that promise, I’d very much like to ask you to do the same for me.”

Fire swallowed, hardly believing that he was entrusting her with so much. She whispered, “You honor me. I accept your promise, and I give you my own in return.”

“And of course,” Fire said smoothly, “none of it will matter once the king and I marry and produce a jungle of monster heirs.”

He hadn’t been expecting that. He sat still for a moment, measuring, and then half smiled, despite himself, understanding that it was a joke.

“I couldn’t fall in love with the king. He’s weak-minded and he drinks too much wine.”

He caught her eye. “And? I’m jealous-minded and I sleep with too many women.”

Fire’s smile grew. “Luckily for you, I loved you long before either of those things.”

“Ah well. You’re a beauty,” Brigan said to Small, his voice light. “And your owner is not your fault.”

Small nuzzled the hand of his new friend. And when Roen and Brigan left, Fire was gripping her skirts in both fists, swallowing an infuriating fondness that she could not reconcile.

At least if he decided to hurt her, she could trust him not to hurt her horse.

“Stay here with me,” he said sometime later, still holding her, sleepily. “You’re not safe on your own.”

And how odd that his body could understand her so well; that his heart could understand her so well when it came to the truth about Cansrel, but still the simplest concepts never penetrated. There was nothing he could have said more guaranteed to make her leave.

Emily McMeans

Some people were too terrible, no matter if you loved them; no matter that you had to make yourself terrible too, in order to stop them.

Not all daughters were like their fathers. A daughter monster chose the monster she would be.

Elle May

I feel like I can connect with this book, Kristin has a way of bringing her characters to life and helping me imagine myself in the characters shoes. I took a break from reading the rest of the books since reading this one as there is a lot to take in. It's very different to Graceling but they're equally as good as each other.

Lauren Hodson

I went into FIRE rather weary, for I had seen so many mixed reviews, and as I struggled to maintain interest through the first couple of chapters I feared that the negative reviews were right. But I had fallen in love with Kristin Cashore’s beautiful writing in GRACELING, so I knew I had to give this book a chance. 

And wow, I am so glad that I did. I became so drawn into this world, so attached to the characters within it, that I could not put the book down. I read the last half of the book in one sitting and by the end I realised that I had quite possibly enjoyed FIRE even more than GRACELING, which I didn’t think possible. 

And though FIRE was set in a completely new land, Cashore brilliantly gave us a connection to The Seven Kingdoms we came to know in GRACELING. Now I can’t wait to dive in to BITTERBLUE, where hopefully this connection will be expanded and we get to see a few familiar faces.

A must-read title for all fans of Patrick Rothfuss and Trudi Canavan, FIRE is an exceptional fantasy novel. From the deft characterisation to the gripping story, the fast-paced action to the evocative prose, this is one of the strongest fantasy novels of the year. Set in a world of stunningly beautiful, exceptionally dangerous monsters, Fire is one of the most dangerous monsters of all - a human one. Marked out by her vivid red hair, she's more than attractive. Fire is mesmerising. But with this extraordinary beauty comes influence and power. People who are susceptible to her appeal will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. They will turn away from their families, their work, and their duties for her. They will forget their responsibilities to please her ... and worse, crush nations, neglect kingdoms and abuse their power. Aware of her power, and afraid of it, Fire lives in a corner of the world away from people, and away from temptation. Until the day comes when she is needed - a day when, for her king, she has to take a stand not only against his enemies, but also against herself ...

Emily B

This book was more enjoyable to me than Graceling. I enjoyed seeing Fire come into her own. Seeing her quiet strength was a joy to watch. I also enjoyed seeing more of Leck's backstory, though it just made me hate him more. While I did enjoy Katsa and Po's relationship, I became more invested in Fire and Brigan's. There were more plot twists in this book as well, so it kept me on my toes. Overall, I recommend this book. It was an emotion filled journey that progressed softly through the pages.

I am rereading this series many years later after stumbling upon the two most recent installments during a gander through Barnes & Noble. I love the story, and I love Fire. It was a book I read in my early teens, meaning that the reading was easy and the story mostly straight forward, with the exception of some characterization plot twists which made the characters very real. I enjoyed it overall, and it did the job all good books do; allowed me to find a previously undiscovered alcove within myself through the relation and contrast with the story.

Ayden

i can't figure out why I didn't give this five stars and it's been too long since iv'e read it to feel okay with changing my original decision

Livia

I'm not going to say much about this book, other than that it is underwhelming for me. I see people whose review I trust loving this book but I find that the first half of the book is boring and I almost dozed off multiple times while reading it. Fire, at first, is a bit annoying. And I hate Archer for trying to get Fire into marrying him and for dictating Fire on what she can or can't do.

Lauryn Jackson

The Graceling Realm series is so freaking amazing. I especially loved this book because it was a prequel with more backstory on the geography & Leck. Just so good.

Becca Green

This book is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read.

Maria Banning

A must-read title for all fans of Patrick Rothfuss and Trudi Canavan, FIREis an exceptional fantasy novel. From the deft characterisation to the gripping story, the fast-paced action to the evocative prose, this is one of the strongest fantasy novels of the year. Set in a world of stunningly beautiful, exceptionally dangerous monsters, Fire is one of the most dangerous monsters of all - a human one. Marked out by her vivid red hair, she's more than attractive. Fire is mesmerising. But with this extraordinary beauty comes influence and power. People who are susceptible to her appeal will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. They will turn away from their families, their work, and their duties for her. They will forget their responsibilities to please her . . . and worse, crush nations, neglect kingdoms and abuse their power. Aware of her power, and afraid of it, Fire lives in a corner of the world away from people, and away from temptation. Until the day comes when she is needed - a day when, for her king, she has to stand against not only his enemies, but also against herself . . .

Leah Patton

One of my favorite books of all time. My third reread!

Caroline Mao

Basically, I have a lot of feelings about this book.

I was "meh" on Graceling, which I liked but thought it was really just okay. I didn't think it was that great, really, so I was skeptical to read Fire, but one of my friends said that it was good (and better than Graceling), so I finally gave it a try. I definitely don't regret it.

Just. God. It was perfect. I just love the characters so, so much. It didn't really have any of the tropes I typically love, but that means even more to me - if it doesn't have any of those and still makes me love it, it's a...pretty impressive book, to say the least. I loved Fire as a character - she was smart, willing to sacrifice, and she's willing to give things up. (view spoiler)[She didn't drag around and mope when she realized she had to stop being Archer's lover, or cry - she just said it, without feeling too torn up over it. (hide spoiler)]

First, let's talk about the thing I loved most - the relationship between Cansrel and Fire, no doubt. It's not even a contest. It was refreshing to see that her father wasn't 1) flat-out abusive towards her, 2) absent for 99.9% of her life so she barely knew him, or 3) fell in love with her mother despite being evil and cruel because her mother is different and was changed by her and had his heart shattered when she died. Their relationship wasn't black and white; I loved every single moment he was mentioned/Fire had a flashback of sorts AND I JUST REALLY LOVE THIS ONE PARTICULAR FAMILY, OKAY. It was fascinating and interesting and I loved it so, so much I can't even.

The romance. Well. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Archer - he's the kind of character whose opinion of I change about every other page, to be honest. I spent 30% of the book hating him, 30% adoring him, and 40% being generally "??!!". Overall, I did find him a very interesting, well-rounded character, and (view spoiler)[I cried when I found out he died, but I didn't really like him with Fire - and neither did Fire, considering how jealous and domineering he was, and she thought as much. I thought the dynamic between Brigan and Fire was really well-rounded, well-written, and well-thought out, so I appreciated it. (hide spoiler)]

I also didn't like Nash very much at first, but I did grow to somewhat like him over time. While I didn't see enough of Roen and Brocker to care much about them, I liked them as well. And I'll admit that Leck grew, at the very least, a little more developed than he was in Graceling. (view spoiler)[I felt like in Graceling he was there just for the sake of an antagonist, plus people realized he was the antagonist so late and it seemed like a waste that he got killed like the first time he appeared onscreen and had a conversation. (hide spoiler)] Mind you, I felt like if you'd just replaced him in this novel with a person who had mindspeak powers, it wouldn't have affected the plot at all, but at least his backstory got some development.

But anyway - this was brilliant and compelling and I really, really liked the characters. I'll definitely read Bitterblue!

Archita Birla

fundamentally, it is so strange to think objectively about books that i loved in middle school and high school, largely because i think it is impossible to do so.

this book has faults, and i wouldn’t deny them, but even knowing them, it really pulled me in. the characters are all deeply complex and incredibly written, and i appreciate the nuance that is given to each one.

Megan Williams

Fire...

This book is one of my favorite Go-To Reads. I was introduced to Kristin Cashore through a nearby library and I love this series. My first book of hers was Graceling, a great book that took me on an emotional journey in a distant land where some of the people are gifted. Fire was really interesting because even though it was the second book in the series, it actually is set before the first book Graceling. This might be slightly confusing at first, but it then later makes sense!

The thing that I love about this book is that it has a lot of moral realizations that picked my interest and caused some deep thought. (Not painful at all, I swear ;) ) There were definitely morals to the story that I felt could be really relatable. For example; just because one's parents act a certain way and do certain "bad" things, doesn't mean the child will too. Also, beauty doesn't always equate to pleasure. In this book, the land it filled with beautiful creatures. And not just the average beautiful, no, extraordinary beauty. Fire herself was one of these gorgeous beings yet she hated it. It caused all sorts of hassle and devastation that could have been avoided had she not been so pretty. Kind of cheesy but a little reassuring, no?

Fire herself was someone to admire. She was very generous and giving, always willing to sacrifice herself for the needs of others. This trait is apparent constantly thought the book as she battles monsters and humans alike. Even set with a terrible family background *cough, cough* her father, she still manages to be her own person and not fall into his path of self-destruction. Truly an inspiring character for anyone looking to get away from the mistakes of their family.

One thing I really enjoy about this book is how the romance is set up. So the love story is between Fire and Brigan, with some impeding other characters as well. It's almost ironic how these two fall for each other because of how much they are involved with each other before ever meeting. Fire's father is set on killing Brigan and Brigan is set on killing her father. Then Brigan and Fire meet and he doesn't seem to happy with her. It takes some true quality time and truths to be set free before either is comfortable with the other. Basically, Brigan is grouchy with Fire, and Fire is scared of Brigan because she admires him. Complicated yet not.

A lot of the side characters were very entertaining as well, and I believe it was because they all had their own personalities as well as their own secrets. It definitely caused a few unexpected twists in the story line that I very much enjoyed.

Overall this book is a great story with amazing characters. It's been a favorite read of mine for a couple of years and I would definitely recommend reading it after Graceling or even as a stand along.

Autumn 

Even though everyone said it was a very sexual book,it wasn't really(thank God!)
And it was very well written.I can say Fire is one of those lovable characters and also the rest of the characters have these gray-personalities which makes them real.
I was a little spooked by the last part and it did end depressingly but I loved it alright.

HeyBiblio Fam Club

** spoiler alert **
           The story is interesting as it reveals Leck's back story, which is a good thing because it left me wondering on the first book. I enjoy reading this because it's a great stretch for the imagination.

I love the relationship build-up between Brigan and Fire, and the first time they met I already knew they would eventually end up together.

Again, the author have written wonderfully and didn't disappoint.

Allison

Almost DNFd so many times but I finished it bc I was such a fan of the first book and before I started it I told myself that I was going to finish the series….but wow I just could not stay interested. 

I was bored. Nothing substantial happened until halfway through. Parts of the writing felt confusing and the storyline was predictable. Not for me.

I listened to it on audio even though I have the physical copy. I was just not enjoying it so I didn’t want to pick it up and read it physically….not a good sign

Wynne Aretae

Fiona Coffey

This book was good! It took a really long time for me to finish it because I kept getting distracted by other books. The plot was a little confusing at times but it was very interesting and I liked it a lot! I liked almost all of the characters, I didn't feel like I could relate to them all but I did like them and I was happy with the ending of the book. This was the first book from the Graceling series that I read so maybe if I read the other ones first it would have been less confusing (because I kept forgetting who was who) but all in all it was still an enjoyable read.

Isa s

I loved Graceling and I'm desperately trying to find an even stronger word to express how much I liked Fire. In my opinion it is even better than Graceling and Fire has quickly become one of my favorites.

Fire as a person is very believable with her struggles and the effort she puts into finding out who she is and what is the right way for her to do things, how to find her place in the world. I also very much like how her relationships grow, especially in King's City, and how deep those relationships are.
Cashore's style of writing makes me want to laugh or cry along with the characters, which I think is a very high recommandation for a book.

This is one of the books I can read over and over again without getting tired of it. In addition to the hardcover edition I also own the audiobook, which is unabridged and wonderful. It fits the tone of the novel perfectly.

Kerry Gibbons

Definitely not my favorite of the series. It’s a good book though it takes quite some time to get started. I didn’t realize initially that this wouldn’t be a sequel to Graceling so that was a bit of a disappointment too. The love story is pretty straightforward but the story with Hanna is easily the most entertaining and has the best arch. I found myself intrigued by much of the world building but not by many of the characters or story, if that makes sense. It’s still a pretty decent book, I’ve just decided to be a bit more discerning in my book ratings.

Kate

4.5, maybe even leaning towards 5, I have to think on it

laura

** spoiler alert **
           I struggled a little bit with this one. I really liked the main character and loved seeing the world again. I also liked that it tackled some topics that I have never read in fantsay book before like pregnancy and sex and the consequences. Those topics are not normally talked about. I also really liked the found family elements that developed. But i felt like the plot was not as captivating and sort of like graveling less captivating. I am still really excited for book 3. This book did not wow me!

Lauren Love

While I somewhat agree with some others the dislike of marriage is annoying, the book got better as I read. (view spoiler)[In the end Fire is more or less willing to become queen if Brigan were to be king...I.e shed be married to him. While Fire starts out very against marriage as she and Brigan get closer she is more willing to get married.  (hide spoiler)] All in all I enjoyed the book.

Manou

My ratings: 
- worldbuilding: 4.5/5
- characters: 4/5
- romance: 3.5/5
- plot: 3/5
- pace: 4/5
- style: 3/5 

Fire a novel

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