Name: kelsey's review of We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Item: We Set the Dark on Fire
Rating: 4
Author: kelsey

Tehlor Kay Mejia

"We Set the Dark on Fire burns bright. It will light the way for a new generation of rebels and lovers." --NPR.org "Mejia pens a compelling, gripping story that mirrors real world issues of immigration and equality." --Buzzfeed Five starred reviews!! In this daring and romantic fantasy debut perfect for fans of The Handmaid's Tale and Latinx authors Zoraida Córdova and Anna-Marie McLemore, society wife-in-training Dani has a great awakening after being recruited by rebel spies and falling for her biggest rival. At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband's household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school's top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society. And school couldn't prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or will she give up everything she's strived for in pursuit of a free Medio--and a chance at a forbidden love?

We Set the Dark on Fire

“We Set the Dark on Fire burns bright. It will light the way for a new generation of rebels and lovers.” —NPR “Mejia pens a compelling, gripping story that mirrors real world issues of immigration and equality.” —Buzzfeed Five starred reviews!! In this daring and romantic fantasy debut perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and Latinx authors Zoraida Córdova and Anna-Marie McLemore, society wife-in-training Dani has a great awakening after being recruited by rebel spies and falling for her biggest rival. At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society. And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or will she give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

We Set the Dark on Fire #1

Kierce

Freedom has a price. People who want easy and pretty stay in their cages. 

We have to find beauty. We have to take our moments to be happy. Because the joy is what keeps us strong and reminds us we have something to fight for. 

The frayed edges of him were starting to show again, that cool composure crumbling in the presence of the man who had taught him to be cruel. 

There was something of Mateo’s imposing nature in him. That feeling that he might come too close just to prove he could. 

The more threatened the privileged feel, the more drastic the measures they’ll be able to justify in the name of ‘safety’.

he’d used his body and the authority its strength gave him to make her comply. 

He moved closer one last time, his body taking up too much space, his mouth taking in too much of her air. 

there was a dark power to closeness, and it was here, between them. Dani hardly dared to breathe. 

Faith, it so often seemed, was for the lacking. 

She was only as safe as she was vigilant. 

Lilly Snyder

Maybe this was trust . . . Giving someone the power to ruin you, betting your life on the belief that they wouldn’t.

There were gods everywhere here, and Dani knew without a doubt that whether or not her feelings were lawful, they weren’t wrong. Nothing that felt like this could be.

Kimmy Hobden

Lindsay

Ruth

kelsey

they weren’t as fragile as a fire. they were so much more.

I thought it was a little bit slow but I’m intrigued enough to see how the second book plays out before quitting the series. 

In this daring and romantic fantasy debut perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and Latinx authors Zoraida Córdova and Anna-Marie McLemore, society wife-in-training Dani has a great awakening after being recruited by rebel spies and falling for her biggest rival. At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society. And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or will she give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

Sarah Sammis

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia is the start of a YA fantasy series set on an island dystopian island built on latinx culture. Medio is a corrupt nation running on the fears of institutionalized classism and xenophobia.

Daniela Vargas was born on the wrong side of the wall but her parents managed to pull some strings to get her into the Medio School for Girls which trains young women to either be a Primera or a Segunda — the wife who runs the lord's estate or the mistress. Daniela at top of her class has been chosen to be the Primera for a young lord with ties to the government. Her rival and bully has been picked to be his segunda.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...

3300CC - Couple city maze

Jamieson

“I just need to get out of here. I'm doing what I have to do to survive. I'm not signing up to set things on fire.”


This book was chosen by my twitter followers as my book to read this month and I actually ended up enjoying it A LOT more than I thought I would

We Set the Dark on Fire is a wlw, latinx inspired YA fantasy that incorporates modern-day political concerns, especially those emerging in the Trump era, and explores poverty, sexuality, misogyny and race and how these identities intersect. It is comparable to works like The Handmaids Tale or Girls of Paper and Fire - but is also distinct from these, primarily in how it more strongly deals with politics, protest and the impacts of poverty and race. We follow Daniela Vargas, who is graduating from the Medio School for Girls at the start of the novel. This school trains women to be the wives of important political men, a tradition originating from a cultural folktale that says the salt god required two women for his wives and further, that the people who live beyond the borders of the Salt God's realm are of lower importance and value to society. 

While many of the elements are familiar, such as the heteronormative society, the sexist society and the 'women as submissive and subservient' ideas, I do think this book tries to do something new. First, the incorporation of an f/f romance subverts the expectation of the romance and is posited as a form of protest against the patriarchal, sexist society. The protest and the resistance are also much more active here and I really liked how protest and resistance are such a large part of this book. Finally, many of the ideas and themes can easily be linked to contemporary political concerns. One of the main villains wishes to build a wall in between the inner city and the outer borders, the book deals with sexism and misogyny that infuses contemporary politics and poverty and how it links to race and class is a central tenet of the book. 


  “In a battle between two men trying to control her, she'd chosen herself.”


My favourite part of this was the inclusion of the resistance, and the f/f romance between Carmen and Dani. At the start of the book, Daniela is blackmailed into becoming a double agent working for the resistance. I really liked the political intrigue the inclusion of this group gave, and it was what surprised me. While I expected this to be 'woman deals with her horrible sexist husband for 400 pages', it was much more about Dani becoming embroiled with the resistance and the politics of tjat group. 

I also LOVED the relationship between Carmen and Dani, it's slow burn and is so satisfying. The girls have a lot of chemistry and they're so sweet and I loved the development of their relationship throughout the whole book. The next book is from Carmen's POV AND I CANNOT WAIT. This is one of my favourite f/f ships I've read in a while, I was literally yelling in my car in some of their scenes. 


  “On the outside, she was frozen, but inside her, whole cities were being razed to the ground. Explosions were shaking the walls of her stomach. People were screaming in her throat.”



This book definitely wasn't as intense or pulse-pounding as it could have been. There's some good political tension and mystery elements but sections and reveals were a little predictable. I did like it for how it drew out the political threads, but some of the scenes that were supposed to be nail-biters didn't hit it for me. 

I also thought the writing was a bit corny at times. Some of the metaphors and similes used were a bit ... strange. I thought sometimes the author was trying too hard to make something sound pretty and she just ended up using some words that don't actually mean anything. It wasn't horrible, I just noticed a few too many times something being likened to something else that didn't make sense. 



  “You have a big heart, a strong mind, and you will find a way to make a life you love. No matter how different it is from the one you left.”


We Set the Dark on Fire has a lot of elements that might tempt people to give it a miss. The sexist/heteronormative world and the 'Handmaids Tale' elements might be something people are growing tired of. However, I do think this is worth the read. It deals with a wide array of issues and presents new perspectives on these issues. It does more to be intersectional and explores more issues, especially class and poverty. It also has a central f/f romance that is amazing and includes more 'plot' in the resistance/political machinations and a more active main character than some similar works.

 I am so glad I gave this a chance. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would and I can't wait for the sequel

grace richards

Christine Bruce

Was going to be four stars until...

Okay. So first what I loved: the themes and apt handling of a hot topic via a fantasy world. 
About half way through the book I was very disillusioned with what I saw as a lackluster and not very well done romance. But I continued because the plot as a whole was SO DANG GOOD! It’s highly relevant especially to America where the idea of immigration and illegal status is a major issue right now. I love the mythos of the island nation and the world building that went into it. Major props on those fronts. 
But for things I didn’t like. The romance. It seemed very rushed and sudden, Dani even sees the love interest in underwear and is more intimidated and self conscious than anything else. Later after she starts having a crush, she thinks about what she saw. But it just was a very lackluster attraction that seems to spring from no where. It starts after the LI apologizes for being an unrepentant jerk who made Dani’s school life pretty bad. And immediately everything is not only forgiven but Dani is also now in love. Sure. 
Now. I would have given the book four stars with all of this in mind. As disappointing as the romance was, the rest of the book was so great and well written that I kept reading and enjoyed it. 
Until the final chapter. Wherein I can’t go into details without major spoilers- but it’s kind of just a giant mess that left me writing notes to express my “wtf is happening and not in a good way” thoughts. To summarize: Dani proves herself, and a character thinks a good thing to do at that point is to threaten her life to the degree of making Dani second guess everything she’s done the whole book. That seems like a great plan. What a successful rebellion this will be. *sarcasm* 
I am unsure if I will read the sequel or not. And I do want to say I still recommend this book to people looking for representation, or just a good book about a rebellion. Because it’s got a lot of really high points. I just did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked.

Slow start, but definitely worth it! Really caught my interest in the second half of the book. Enjoyed the politics and forbidden romance. 

Kristen G

Erin burns 

The set up, the concept, and the first act of this book were all super intriguing. The second act dragged on way too long. It seems like the whole rebellion relies on Dani stumbling upon information. Carmen being part of the resistance at the end seemed like a weak plot twist bc I felt like it was obvious the whole time. The ending does pick up a little and is more exciting but now Carmen will probably be gone for some of the sequel and I was only thinking about reading it for their romance so I probs won’t read it. I wanted Dani to be angrier at the system and more of her thoughts on that’s. There were moments where she would be angry, but I still wanted more rage. I will say the representation in this book is good but it’s not enough to make me read a sequel.

ayah ♡

i have,,, thoughts

so this book tried really hard, and i appreciate the efforts. but you know, this book seems a lot like something i read earlier, aka Girls of Paper and Fire. The premise? A girl gets forced into the heights of a patriarchal society that also involves an abusive male that she is sworn to, and a really hot girl who works with her. Both were f/f romances, both relied significantly upon a certain culture. the difference? Only one was executed really well, and it was not We Set the Dark on Fire.

Alexa Jade

It absolutely breaks my Latinx wlw heart to rate this book so low but to give it a higher rating would be dishonest. I loved the representation SO MUCH and really wanted to love this book with all my heart. 

My biggest issue with the book was the pacing. The plot felt sooooo drawn out I found myself frustrated while just waiting for something to actually happen! 

I also feel this book was very repetitive and fell into telling us the same thing instead of simply just showing us. 
I also took issue with how flat all the characters were. Even while being “mysterious” they were all still flat to me. 

It really breaks my heart that I didn’t love this. I keep trying to tell myself I’m being too harsh but honestly I dont care one bit about book 2 and that says it all for me.

Erin

Synopsis:
Daniela Vargas is graduating at the top of her class from the Medio School for Girls, where young women assume one of two roles in society. One becomes either a Primera, the role in which a wife runs her husband’s entire household, or a Segunda, who bears children and takes care of her husband’s family. Dani is receiving the high honor of becoming Primera in one of Medio’s richest and most powerful families. This should be what every girl dreams of, but Dani is riddled with anxiety and fear: her pedigree is a lie devised by her parents to give her a better life. Dani struggles with her duty to honor her family’s wishes and her duty to herself, especially when a rebel group asks her to spy on her new husband.
The political corruption she discovers in Medio as well as love found in the most unlikely of places make Dani’s life even more complicated and dangerous than before. 

What I Liked:
Dani - her perseverance, resourcefulness, and sense of duty
Carmen - your typical mean girl who hides her softer side to protect herself (one of my favorite tropes)
The worldbuilding was unique and fun to read
The concept of a sexist, chauvinist straight man with two wives who fall for each other instead of him is SO good

What I Disliked:
While the romance was sweet, it did feel a little rushed
The end of the book was really fast-paced and slightly confusing

Rating: 3/5 stars

allie

Sahi K

I’ve been so interested to read this book since I first heard of it a few months ago and have been waiting for weeks now to get it from my library. It felt so nice to finally get it in my hands and I had such fun reading and highlighting the hell out of this book in a single sitting.

The first thing that strikes you most about this book is the world. It’s an island nation, with the inner island separated from the outer ones by a wall and border security enforcement being a major concern for the government. The govt elite live separately in a compound, literally on higher ground, sound in their belief that they know what’s best for the people of their country, and anyone protesting for the sake of the poor and destitute people are immediately deemed rebels and punished harshly. The border enforcement forces are increasingly vicious, terrorizing even the people who live on the supposed “right” side of the wall, and scaring them with the possibility of being sent outside the wall. The themes of illegal immigration, the lengths to which families will go to for the safety of their children and to make it to the right side, the inhumane ways in which the government makes policies to torment and punish people are all explored very very well and the parallels to what’s currently happening in our country(and also around some parts of the world) are uncanny. The world building in this book is a great example of how authors take inspiration from the read world to create fantasies and how they can show a mirror to the fault lines that exist in our reality. 

While the idea of a school to train girls to be wives is not something new in fantasies, I found the concept of two wives - one to be an intellectual partner and the other to fulfill the more usual wifely duties felt quite unique. And though atleast the Primera being an equal partner and being involved in her husband’s politics seems like a good thing for her, the inherent misogyny of this whole concept is made glaringly obvious from the get go. The women are taught to suppress their own desires and do everything for the prosperity of the “family” which in essence means the husband. And despite all the young women being trained in the same fashion, the way they are treated differently because of their background or how close/far away from the capital they were born, is a completely hypocritical version of how the supposed marriage system has to work. 

The author does a great job with the main character Dani. She is strong willed, smart, dedicated to her family because they sacrificed everything for her and only wants to keep her head down and do her job as the Primera. However, with reluctance initially, she starts working for the resistance and slowly realizes the prejudices that the elite harbor for the common people and how the whole system is based on corruption. Once she sees the truths for herself, she starts making her own choices, never caring for her safety. She did come across as impulsive and not thinking through her actions sometimes, but I could totally see where she was coming from. 

Carmen on the other hand is mysterious, charming and flirty and I thought made a good balance to Dani’s slightly stoic demeanor. I loved the development of their relationship from being slightly antagonistic to kind of sister wives who slowly get to know each other better. The feelings they felt for each other developed very organically in the story and the aspect of it being forbidden definitely lent more intensity to their relationship. Everything else around them always felt so high stakes and almost dangerous, so I really enjoyed the bit of levity in the scenes when they were together. Their husband Mateo on the other hand is someone we do come to hate as a reader, but I never did get a good sense of him - I understood that he is more on the extreme and cruel side in his politics and too egotistical in nature, but I would have liked to know his motivations better. 

The writing took some getting used to for me. I’m not one for purple prose and while the author didn’t indulge too much in it, I felt the writing a little too metaphorical for my taste initially. However, I quickly fell in love with the story and got completely lost in it. There are also some very memorable scenes and conversations in the book for which I want to commend the author for her thoughtfulness. One scene which I feel will resonate with a lot of readers is when Dani shuts up a man for trying to mansplain her own life to her. It’s such a passionate piece of dialogue and I feel many women would have wanted to say something similar to a man atleast once in their life. The author also does a great job of giving her female characters the strength to discover themselves and fight for their choices in a world where they don’t really have a lot of agency. While showing the ugly reality of the government, the author doesn’t completely paint a great picture of the rebels - it’s very realistically portrayed that despite great and noble intentions, revolutions are always messy. 

Overall, this is a very fascinating world which feels all too real, with excellent female characters, a passionate sapphic romance and an ending that I really did not see coming. I would definitely recommend this to all lovers of fierce female leads in fantasy, but would like to remind everyone that this is not an action packed book, but a story that takes a deep look at prejudiced politics, discrimination of the already disadvantaged populace and why revolutions in such instances are inevitable.

Wynne Aretae

bad polyamory, bad wlw rep, so many manipulative relationships, but revolution and anti-gov so yay!! -_-

Jennifer

Okay, so the premise and the character development drew me into the book. This results in a relatively smooth and easy read in my free time. However I feel that the worldbuilding is spotty at best (e.g. there's not much on how things builds up to the events in the end of the novel + what makes a person Primera va Segunda) and it's still suffers mildly from the predictable insta-love trope (I think some of this is the result of the shaky worldbuilding which leads to the lack of scope in the novel). Otherwise, I enjoyed the concept and Dani's character. I really hope the weaknesses in this novel will be made up in its sequel.

Charlotte Rayfield

Like a YA version of the Handmaids Tale but in our political climate. Very good. Adored the romance and commentary without being too heavy handed.

Jordan Heustis

I give this a 5.8 on cawpile. I loved the first half of the book. All the politics and set up and Latinx representation was awesome but I ended up not being interested in the majority of the plot and I also can’t really stand enemies to lovers especially when it happens at the blink of an eye.

Rachel Livingston

Nothing particularly wrong with this book. It was an intriguing idea that kept me reading for 200 pages. But it's very YA, which isn't a bad thing at all, just didn't engage me enough personally to continue reading it. It wasn't quite enough for me, although I can't put my finger on why. Others could still love it though! 

Nikki K

the setting and history in this book were a great premise but wooo those characters were one-dimensional. the dialogue was so on the nose, especially from the baddie, that i was just rolling my eyes

Lauren

Alice

Mollee Clingenpeel

I really liked this book. I flew through it, it was easy to read and the plot kept me wanting more. With every turn of the page I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I usually don’t like “spy” stories, but this one had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. My heart constantly beating faster along with Dani’s, afraid she’s get caught. The one thing I didn’t like was the romance. I didn’t feel the chemistry, I felt it was unnecessary. Even with the ending taking place the way it did I still felt that the romance wasn’t needed. I believe I’ve gotten extremely picky about my romances and what ones I like lately, and maybe that’s why I didn’t like this one? But to me it felt forced and unnatural. More so a “love” born of necessity rather than actual love. It didn’t feel like real love to me, but given that the romance wasn’t the forefront of the storyline it didn’t take away enough that it spoiled the book overall for me. I want to know more about this world, but given the way the sequel is told, and the synopsis I feel like it’s going to have more romance to it so I’m not sure if I’ll like it as much as this one.

Valentina

Unique plot with Latin influences and a sapphic romance. It was a very enjoyable read and it was gripping. Would have enjoyed seeing some of the characters be more three dimensional. But the protagonist Dani is likeable and gosh you do root for her. I will eventually read the sequel as I am curious to see how it all unfolds.

Leelynn Brady

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

I honestly am glad that I kind of started prepping this review beforehand because if I were to write everything that’s going through my head right now, it would pretty much be incoherent. I’m like… in shock right now, and I am so angry at myself for putting this book off for so long.

Rest of my review on my blog  Sometimes Leelynn Reads

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