BEFORE SHE IGNITES

In this series debut, a young girl uncovers information that threatens to shake the foundation of her world.

Mira Minkoba is known as the Hope-bearer. On the day she was born, a treaty uniting the six island-nations of the Fallen Isles was named after her. As the face and voice of the Luminary Council, her island’s governing body, Mira lives life in a gilded cage. The only time she feels free is when she’s with the dragons in the sanctuary. When Mira and her friends uncover a sinister plot involving the dragons, Mira takes it to the Luminary Council, but instead of addressing it, they banish her to the Pit, a tightly guarded underground prison. Faced with crippling anxiety, strange cellmates, and a cruel guard who will stop at nothing to uncover her secrets, Mira must keep her wits about her to survive, especially as it becomes clear that the dragon plot goes deeper than she ever imagined. In this first of the Fallen Isles Trilogy, Meadows sows the seeds for an exciting follow-up and creates a rich, vivid world with characters who blossom on the page. All of the novel’s characters are brown, but so far this detail—punctuated with numerous mentions of hair and braids—feels surface deep; however, there is variance in culture from island to island, and as the novel progresses, discrimination becomes a topic of concern in the Fallen Isles. Meadows also hints at other clans and kingdoms beyond the six island nations.

A page-turner that promises future intrigue, special powers, and dragon adventures