Book Review: The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle

The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle

About This Book:

First Thoughts

I’ve been a fan of Catherine’s since devouring the Twin Crowns she shares with Katherine Webber series over the last couple of years (my review even features in the last in the series!) so when I was offered the chance to read her solo YA Romantasy, I jumped at the chance to feel that same immersive feeling her writing gives in the worlds of magic.

My Review

Seraphine has lived out in the Plains with her mother, who makes and smuggles Shade, a deadly substance that is harvested and used to conjure shadows and inflict violence, as wielded by rival groups, the Daggers and the Cloaks, in the majestic city of Fantome. But when her mother is murdered by a Dagger, Sera flees with her dog to the safety of the Cloaks as instructed by her mother should anything bad happen. At first there’s a frostiness as she is pulled into their fold, especially by the elders, but she quickly becomes a friend of the younger Cloaks her age, taken under their wing and safety—only, there’s a hit out on her head, too, and she’s not out of the woods. Ransom is a soon-to-be heir to the Daggers, as run by Gaspard Dufort, a man that wields Shade like a fist. Taken in when he was just a boy and in need, Dufort has groomed him to be cold and callous, a mercenary. Tasked with murdering Sera proves to be a hefty task when she leaves him bleeding and broken time after time.

As the cat and mouse chase becomes muddled by her sudden—and surprising—power, flourished by a gift bestowed by her mother, Ransom begins to soften to Sera, intrigued by more than just her beauty, but her way of undoing his sins. But Fantome is being overrun by vicious and massive monsters, and the Daggers and Cloaks are both in the dark at their origin, yet Sera knows that she has the upper hand. Her Mama might be long gone, but she left her mark. With time running out, Sera and Ransom steal away lamplight moments, secret messages at night and autumnal adventures through Fantome’s catacombs to find the remedy the city needs—but when the truth comes to light and all hell breaks loose, lives lost and friendships and newfound love tested, Sera and Ransom find themselves on opposites of a deadly playing field, whether they like it or not.

Overall, The Dagger and The Flame was brimming with a fantastical, spellbinding sort of magic that was unputdownable, brazen in it’s pursuit for opulence and status as a new go-to Fantasy series. The storyworld was full of grandeur, characters so well crafted that they leapt out and came to life with the flick of the page. We get to see the story told from Sera and Ransom’s POVs, and equally read away the layers to their deeply-rooted secrets and scars. I loved many other characters, including Val, Bibi and Theo (also Pippin, of course!) I look forward to reading more about Nadia as I feel we haven’t quite uncovered her as a whole yet, too. Catherine has this way of immersing the reader completely, and I truly could not tell you when I last read a Fantasy book that was this brilliantly addictive. Bring on book two because I will be impatiently waiting until it’s in my hands. Found family, touch-her-and-die, and enemies-to-lovers fans will eat this up. The mutual pining, the romantic tension, the plot twists! Five stars without a doubt.

RATING:

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Happy Reading!

Becca