ARC REVIEW: TELL THE WIND AND FIRE by Sarah Rees Brennan

TELL THE WIND AND FIRE by Sarah Rees Brennan

Summary: Tell the Wind & Fire is about a young girl called Lucie who lives in a New York very different from the New York we know: the city is torn between two very different kinds of magic, and Lucie’s own family was torn apart years ago by that conflict. Lucie wears magic rings and carries a burden of guilt she can’t share with anyone.

The light in her life is her sweetheart boyfriend Ethan, but it turns out Ethan has a secret too: a soulless doppelganger created by dark magic, who has to conceal the face identical to Ethan’s with a hood fastened by a collar nobody but a Light magician with magical rings can take off… and who introduces himself to both of them by, for reasons nobody can understand, saving Ethan’s life…

Title: Tell The Wind and Fire

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: April 5th, 2016

Rating: DNF

I received this book on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

"Tell the wind and fire where to stop... But don't tell me."

*Actually me when I DNFed this book*

I so badly wanted to love this book, as I love Brennan's others such as UNSPOKEN, but unfortunately I found it dull, drab and terribly predictable. Even worse, I felt little hints of another book series within it. A very popular series by a certain friend of the author. By page 100 I was still wondering what the book was going to be about, exactly. The plot seemed flimsy at best. Also, the insane amount of infodump did nothing but frustrate me, and it was incredibly difficult trying to remember so many important details, big and small. Eventually, it all became too overwhelming for me to continue. As this is a retelling of A TALE OF TWO CITIES, a classic that I havenot read yet, I have no idea how similar it is to the original. 

I did not click with any of the characters. At all. They felt 2D, as if I had written them myself when I was maybe twelve. I know that sounds mean, but the flatness of the characters and sometimes forced dialogue used to get them from scene to scene became excruciatingly painful for me in the end. I have many more issues with the book, but I don't want to spoil the book for those who want to try it. But personally, it was not my cup of tea. 

There is one good thing about this book though: I ADORE that cover! The font especially. Really beautiful and eye-catching. 

   So sadly, TELL THE WIND AND FIRE is my first DNF of the 2016. I really tried, but it was not to be. I won't be reading any further books in this particular series. 

Will you be giving TELL THE WIND AND FIRE a chance?