BURSTS OF FIRE

Three sisters fight in exile, using magic to restore their land.

After King Artem invades the Orumon Kingdom in the name of the One God, Meg, Janat, and Rennika Falkyn seek new roles in a chaotic Shangril. The Falkyn sisters, royals and powerful magiels with time-shifting skin, become entwined in the commoner-led resistance. With their ability to manipulate time, the sisters are seemingly eager to be used as powerful tools rather than forging their own paths. Meg, the eldest, tries to protect her sisters, but as the girls’ romantic interests develop, the story likewise becomes muddied. Prince Huwen strives to feel worthy as King Artem’s heir while struggling with the legitimacy of his father’s war and his brother Eamon’s deep depression. Themes of religious and democratic freedoms; magic-based time travel’s addictive, almost hallucinogenic, qualities; and Shangril’s dependence on the Gods for death tokens could have set this fantasy apart, but instead it feels disjointed and not fully delivered. The European-influenced naming conventions and a lowborn tongue with Scots and Yorkshire overtones imply white as the default, with only body types and shifting magiel or steady skin used as descriptors. Very much an introduction to the main cast, the novel’s chronology and pacing weaken character development and limit interest in their fate.

Lacking in thrills and suspense; readers can hope for more in future installments.