Firewalker by Josephine Angelini

Pages: 339
Publish date: August 27th 2015
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
ISBN: 1447260856
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks 

Firewalker:

There will be spoilers from the previous book Trail by Fire, however, not from Firewalker

I received Firewalker by Josephine Angelini from Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I was going into Firewalker with high expectations, I loved Trial by Fire and was waiting for more. However, I was a little let down – however, not a huge amount. 

Firewalker begins where we left off; Lily almost dying on the pyre and travelling back to her universe with Rowan in tow. It’s fast-paced and from the start, you don’t know if she is going to make it out alive. Covered in burns and on the brink of death, Rowan once again comes to her rescue.

From the start of Firewalker the reader is able to feel the tension for multiple reasons. At first, we don’t know if Lily will make it through the first couple of chapters. The tension between her family; now that they are back with them. There is tension between Lily and Rowan, Lily and Tristan, Lily and Lillian. The tension grew throughout the book and I really enjoyed, even though it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Lily is one of those protagonists that you love or you hate. Throughout Firewalker, Lily has to deal with the trauma that she had to endure in Trial by Fire, and that was heartbreaking to witness. The reader wants to wrap their arms around her and tell her that she will be okay.

One of the things that I loved most about Firewalker was the friendships. I loved the bonds between everyone, it was beautiful. And even though magic was involved somehow, it didn’t start with it. 

The new characters that were introduced were all great and added a layer to the book. Breakfast and Una were really enjoyable to read. They had this banter about them that cut through the intensity of the book.

The romance in Firewalker was frustrating to say the less. There was zero communication between Lily and Rowan, they both avoided speaking about how they really felt and everything was bottled up

I was still feeling a little lost about the world. We found out more in Firewalker, yet some things still confused me – now this might be just me. However, the world that Josephine Angelini is quite fascinating and the world building of the alternate universes’ is quite amazing.   

I found that some of the flashbacks and conversations between Lily and Lillian to be distracting. Sometimes I wanted to skip them and get on with the story.

A problem that I did have with the book is I felt that there was a lot going on, maybe too much. I was taken here and there, flashbacks to current time and back. From one universe to another. Nonetheless, I felt that Angelini could have pulled back just a little and it would have flown a little smoother.

The ending, though man – Josephine Angelini sure does love her cliff hangers.  Normally I am not a massive fan of them, however, she does them so well that I want to pick up the next book straight away.

Overall, Firewalker by Josephine Angelini is an underrated series that every fantasy lover reader should read. Firewalker is tense, fast-paced, full of magic and demands your attention till the end. Nevertheless, your heart will break, be torn to shreds and beg for more.

Have you read Firewalker? Did you like it? Have you started this series? Have you enjoyed them? Are you going to start it? Let’s Chat!