Review of Promised in Fire (Of Dragons and Fae #1) by Jasmine Walt

A fae with a quest will lead her to discover herself and her magic.

Adara is considered an outsider in the town of Fenwood. It is a tiny village within Domhain or the Earth Realm, and most of the fae who lives in this town are earth fae. Due to her feeling like an outsider and having water magic she can’t control, she decided to try in the military to fight the shadow creatures’ threat. However, during the tryouts, she accidentally released her hidden magic. Adara finds herself on the run all of a sudden. The king intends to harness her abilities for evil purposes. He will go to any length to gain her, even kidnapping and torturing Adara’s mother. While on the run, Adara accidentally awoke a dragon from his slumber. Einar, being the last of his kind, has little interest in the kingdom of Ediria or their issues. His kind was hunted to extinction by the fae, and he harbors nothing but hatred for them, however, with the dark magic destroying the land. Adara and Einar must work together and put aside the centuries-old feud between their races to save everything they hold dear. 

What I like about the book Promised in Fire by Jasmine Walt is the world-building; it was properly explained with great detail the different types of fae, the other creatures such as harpies, as well as the history of the feud between dragons and the fae. The interaction between the characters was also engaging, and due to the dual point of view between Adara and Einar, you can see how each view the situation and the events that occur in the book is not confusing for the reader. 

Despite the positive aspects, a dual point of view can cause a lack of suspense. There are times when I can predict possible events due to the dual point of view. Another aspect of the book that I did not like was the romance; although the description was slow-burn romance, for me, it was too much of an instant attraction. From the beginning of the book, you can predict how the romance would occur, and it lacked suspense. I also did not like Adara’s character because, throughout the book, she was dense and naive. Hopefully, in the future book, her character will develop, and she will be able to read a situation better. 

I would rate the book 3 out of 5 stars because I really liked the world-building and the interactions between the characters, but I would like the romance to be more slow-paced and for the plot to have more twists. This book is highly recommended for older young adults and for adults who like both fantasy and romance books. The book did not use any explicit language, but there were some make-out scenes and some descriptions of the after-effect of torture. No errors were seen grammatically, and it was a well-edited book. Also, it has no religious content as well.