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With Fire in Their Blood by Kat Delacorte – Blog Tour Book Review
About the Book
‘Startingly original… Readers will be lured into this tumultuous world of warring families, forbidden power, and heart-searing romance’ – Lyndall Clipstone (Lakesedge, Forestfall)
From the word-of-mouth fantasy sensation Kat Delacorte – the standout debut star of 2022 YA Lit Con (YALC) – comes the first instalment in a new YA fantasy duology.
Packed to the brim with bisexual and queer representation, With Fire in Their Blood is a simmering supernatural romance set in the crumbling Italian city of Castello, where mafia clans make the rules, dark magic pulses the streets and the sins of the past threaten to consume the present. . .
When sixteen-year-old Lilly arrives in Castello, she isn’t impressed.
A secluded town in the Italian mountains is not where she saw her last years of high school playing out.
Divided for generations by a brutal clan-family war, the two halves of Castello are kept from destroying each other by the mysterious General, a leader determined to maintain order and ‘purity’. . . whatever the cost.
Lilly falls in with the rebellious Liza, brooding Nico and sensitive Christian, and sparks begin to fly. But in a city where love can lead to ruin, Lilly isn’t sure she can trust anyone — not even herself.
And then she accidentally breaks Castello’s most important rule: when the General’s men come to test your blood, you’d better not be anything more than human…
Perfect for lovers of Chloe Gong, Renée Ahdieh and V.E. Schwab, With Fire in Their Blood is quality YA storytelling at its best by an exciting new voice in YA fantasy.
About the Author
Kat Delacorte was eleven years old when her family moved from the United States to a small town in central Italy. She soon began writing stories about her new friends developing superpowers, and she hasn’t looked back since. She graduated with a BA in History from Columbia University, and lives in Venice, Italy.
What I Thought
This was such an enjoyable read. Super pacy and broodingly atmospheric. Think fantasy dysptopia – West Side Story meets The Wicker Man meets Carrie.
When they say make your setting a character, this book is exactly what they mean. The dilapidated Italian city of Castello is spooky, claustrophobic (no wifi!) and decidedly menacing. With its skulls and roses emblems, a secret key, clan wars and untold power built into its brick and marble.
The history of bloody clan wars has been overtaken by the focus on a new combined enemy – The Saints – and literal witch hunts against them including monthly blood tests to weed out the impure. The divided city and the pious general all gives echoes of Nazi Germany and the truce is tenuous.
The characters are all murky. Morally grey, conflicted and damaged in one way or another. This book is also filled with teenage angst and sexual tension.
Protagonist Lilly is an intriguing heroine. Her complex history with both of her parents form a large part of the plot and despite their absence on the page and the absence of their love in her heart their influence is a huge driver in this story and I’m intrigued to find out even more next time.
Liza, Christian, Nico – and Alex (who sadly doesn’t get a mention on the blurb) are all generally engaged with separately by Lilly with her almost acting as a catalyst in their complex relationships. I’d be interested in seeing more of them interacting with each other in the follow up.
We see more of the Marconi clan in book one than of the Paradisos but in the glimpses we see of the latter they are dripping with riches and cruelty. Chrissy (wake up – I don’t like you) is a girl in a red dress – think Cha Cha from Grease out for bloody vengeance. The love stories included aren’t across clan divides so it’s not quite West Side Story/Romeo and Juliet in this aspect.
This is the first in a Duology and I’m super intrigued to read book 2 which is set up perfectly at the end of this one (with this book rounding out it’s own story well too).
Huge thanks to The Write Reads and the publisher for the gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review.
Do see what everyone else thought by following the hashtag #WithFireInTheirBlood.
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The Carnival of Ash by Tom Beckerlegge -#TheWriteReads #BlogTour Spotlight and a TikTok
About the Book
Cadenza is the City of Words, a city run by poets, its skyline dominated by the steepled towers of its libraries, its heart beating to the stamp and thrum of the printing presses in the Printing Quarter.
Carlo Mazzoni, a young wordsmith arrives at the city gates intent on making his name as the bells ring out with the news of the death of the city’s poet-leader. Instead, he finds himself embroiled with the intrigues of a city in turmoil, the looming prospect of war with their rival Venice ever-present. A war that threatens not only to destroy Cadenza but remove it from history altogether…
About the Author
Tom Beckerlegge grew up in the northwest of England in a house filled with books. Writing as Tom Becker, he won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize with his debut novel; The Carnival of Ash is his first adult book. He lives in Enfield with his wife and young son.
The Poet, The Gravedigger and the TikTok
At just under 600 pages, this tome described as Alternative Literary History is described as a sumptuously written tale of political intrigue.
I’ve only managed to read the beginning of the book so far – it’s split into twelve cantos (verses – though it is in prose form) and in the first we meet Carlo lying in a grave feeling unheard. He tells the gravedigger to bury him and his dark deeds, but when the old man actually goes to Chuck soil on him he seems affronted and climbs out.
I made a TikTok video reading out the next section (I was reading from an ARC and had to leave out a few lines for timings so the finished version may be different). in the video I share my head cannon of Carlo’s character, seeing this melancholic poet as a cross between Romeo when he is pining over Rosaline and Spike from Buffy in his William the Bloody Awful Poet stage. I hope you enjoy it.
This scene has made me chuckle (find it on TikTok here). I will share a review when I have had the chance to immerse myself in the world and writing but for now…
Welcome to Cadenza
Where libraries tower and ink maids roam!
You can find the Goodreads Link here and order now from your favourite Indie bookshop.
Thank you to The Write Reads and Rebellion Publishing for the gifted ARC copy. Do check out the other spots from the tour by using the hashtag #TheCarnivalOfAsh.
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Dread Wood by Jennifers Killick – The Write Read Ultimate Blog Tour – Book Review
About the Book
Turn the lights on. Lock the door. Things are about to get SERIOUSLY SCARY!
The brand new must-read middle-grade novel from the author of super-spooky Crater Lake. Perfect for 9+ fans of R.L.Stine’s Goosebumps
It’s basically the worst school detention ever. When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a SATURDAY, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.
What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute…? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they’re all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge…
About the Author
Jennifer Killick is the author of Crater Lake, the Alex Sparrow series, and middle-grade sci-fi adventure Mo, Lottie and the Junkers. She regularly visits schools and festivals, and her books have three times been selected for The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge. She lives in Uxbridge, in a house full of children, animals and Lego. When she isn’t busy mothering or step-mothering (which isn’t often) she loves to read, write and run, as fast as she can.
Twitter: @JenniferKillick
What I Thought
This book was so much fun. It’s a Middle Grade horror that crosses The Breakfast Club and One of Us is Lying with Tremors and Arachnophobia. There’s even faint echoes of IT! – Club Loser is the first chapter title.
I really liked the cast of child characters and the creepy adults and their motives were not something I would have guessed. There were some cute piglets at risk too and I love the idea of having farm animals at school. I was not as keen on the Spiders – but they definitely are scary to me so – horrifying monsters brief achieved.
The teacher overseeing the detention calls it a Back on Track session (Teamwork, Respect, Attitude, Curiosity, Kindness) and it is interesting to see all these qualities at play.
Naira, Gus, Hallie and our narrator Angelo all seem likeable though, so what was it that got them all a detention? And most importantly will they all get out of it in one piece?
It’s spooky when what is being sacrificing is chickens… but are children next on the menu?
The story wrapped up and the ending gave us the promise of a sequel. Reading this has reminded me how much I enjoyed Point Horror books when younger. I’m off to catch up with Jennifer’s other horror series Crater Lake now.
Thanks to The Write Reads Tours and the publisher for a gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review. Do check out what everyone else on the tour thought too.
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