Monday 13 June 2022

Of Flame and Ember Book One Resistance by CE Ord

Resistance is a YA fantasy novel and is the first in a series.

 

Lia is sitting in detention. Okay, maybe she shouldn’t have said what she did, but life is unfair and she feels angry a lot lately. She and her twin, Tyler, lost their parents recently and had to move from New York to Australia to live with their grandmother. She’s good to them, but it’s not the same.

 

So now school is out, and she and Tyler have gone to meet some friends. Lia feels as though she is being watched. She doesn’t know how she knows… she just does. Soon she is approached by someone who calls himself Coen. And he comes with a tale that she and Tyler are going to have a hard time believing.

 

It turns out that there is another world, similar to Earth, called Gaea, that is in desperate need of a hero to rescue it from war and a coming evil in the form of Samael and Achlaya. And, as it happens, she and Tyler have familial bonds with the royalty of Gaea. So, if she and Tyler go with Coen and allow him to help her unleash her hidden magical powers, well, they have a chance at defeating their foes.

 

Alrighty then… just another day at the office…

 

Hmmm. Not sure where I stand with this book. I read it in fits and starts the first time, so read it again to make sure I got everything. I liked it, but it wasn’t a standout for me. There was a lot of explaining about things – history, the worlds, feelings, and powers, and this slowed the story somewhat. Lia only has a short time to get ready for what will ultimately be a battle, and while the tasks have their necessity explained, it just felt like she went from no powers to full powers in a few days far too easily. And for a fifteen-year-old, she seemed to make decisions that were more mature than we were led to believe about her.

 

I also found it strange that the twins leave for Gaea after they get permission from their grandmother to go on “vacation” and yet since Gaea has no technology and they can’t use their phones, they don’t contact her to let her know they have arrived at their “destination” safely. Would she not be worried? And seeing as they have an important birthday in Gaea but are not able to be contacted, would this not compound things if she phoned them to wish them happy birthday? It just stuck in my head.

 

Tyler has a very small role to play in this book, which makes me think he will come into his own in the next one. At least there is a glimmer at the end of the book to signal this.

The ending of the book and the climax was very rushed. In fact, the most important part was over in 2% of the book and just as you thought it was about to get going, it finished. And with a conclusion to the climax where I went: “Oh, really????”

 

At least the story was written comfortably without glaring grammar and punctuation errors, so that reading was smooth and easy. I’m sure others will love this as there is nothing wrong with the book… it just didn’t make me go “Wow!”.

 

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.



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