Blog Tour- Fire With Fire by Destiny Soria

Item: Fire with Fire
Author: stuckint

Posted June 7, 2021 by stuckint in Blog Tours / 0 Comments

Hi everyone and welcome to my tour stop for Fire With Fire by Destiny Soria hosted through TBR and Beyond Tours. I absolutely adore this book about dragons, sisterhood and friendship. I loved it so much that even though I’m technically only schedule to share my Q&A with Destiny on my stop, I had to share my full, spoiler free review as well.

You can check out the full schedule for the tour here.

About the Book

Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on June 8, 2021
Pages: 432
Goodreads

Dani and Eden Rivera were both born to kill dragons, but the sisters couldn’t be more different. For Dani, dragon slaying takes a back seat to normal high school life, while Eden prioritizes training above everything else. Yet they both agree on one thing: it’s kill or be killed where dragons are concerned.
Until Dani comes face-to-face with one and forges a rare and magical bond with him. As she gets to know Nox, she realizes that everything she thought she knew about dragons is wrong. With Dani lost to the dragons, Eden turns to the mysterious and alluring sorcerers to help save her sister. Now on opposite sides of the conflict, the sisters will do whatever it takes to save the other. But the two are playing with magic that is more dangerous than they know, and there is another, more powerful enemy waiting for them both in the shadows.

About the Author

Destiny Soria is an author who writes novels featuring magic, mystery, and an excess of witty banter. She lives in Birmingham, AL, where she spends her time trying to come up with bios that make her sound kind of cool. She has yet to succeed.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

My Thoughts

This YA Fantasy novel was a fast paced, action packed and thought provoking read. The story is told by sisters Dani and Eden in two alternating perspective that gave the novel a desperate feel and even pace.

Both girls have been raised to be dragon slayers. Careful, anxious and overachieving Eden wants nothing more than to be recognized as the greatest dragon slayer of her generation as she has made the sacrifices to do so. She is in therapy and takes anxiety medication to deal with her feelings of inadequacy and her constant that she will let herself and those she looks up to down.

Then there is Dani. Who wants nothing more than to be “normal”. She wants to go to parties, have movie nights with her friends, and working a part time job. With a natural affinity for all the things that would her a dragon slayer protege, Dani cannot stand the idea of giving up her normal life to pursue the family business.

All of that changes when Dani is confronted by a very real and very dangerous dragon and ends up bonded to it. I loved the development of Knox and Dani’s relationship. Since Eragon, I have sought out books where riders have this kind of relationship with their dragons and Fire With Fire did not disappoint. I loved their banter and how they had to work to understand someone different than them.

The books setting of the Americans southeast was a refreshing take. Fire With Fire is an urban fantasy with a low barrier to entry that I think even readers new to fantasy could enjoy

I mentioned Eden’s struggle with anxiety briefly above but I really appreciated this facet of the novel. I struggle with my own anxiety, take medication, and have been to therapy and it always feels good to see yourself in the pages of a book. Soria did an amazing job portraying Eden’s experience with sensitivity while simultaneously empowering her character to embrace that side of herself.

If you can’t tell, I absolutely adored this book and gave it 5 well deserved 🌟. I would definitely recommend it for fans of books featuring dragons, sisters or magic.

The Interview

1- For those who haven’t read it, what is Fire With Fire about?

Two sisters from a family of legendary dragon slayers who find themselves on opposing sides of an impending war. Also: sexy sorcerers, snarky dragons, and sparkly magic.

2- The book is written from Eden and Dani’s alternating perspectives Did you always intend to write the story from two POVs? Was one harder to write over the other?

Yes, this was always a book about two sisters, and both of their points of view are equally important to the story. I wouldn’t say one was more difficult than the other—they both had parts that were a breeze to write and parts that were tricky.

3- As someone who struggles daily with intense anxiety, it is always so welcome to see a strong, capable character who experiences it on the page. Did you write Eden’s struggles from personal experience? What did your research process look like for that facet of the novel?

I did base Eden’s struggles on my own experience with anxiety and panic attacks. Like me, Eden visits a therapist regularly and takes medication for her anxiety. It was important to me to show that living with an anxiety disorder doesn’t mean you are weak or broken. You can still be a badass dragon slayer.

4- Of course, I loved the dragons and all the lore surrounding them in the book! What was your inspiration for the dragons/world building in your book?

I based the dragon lore on the western European tradition (think: St. George and the Dragon) because those were the dragon stories I grew up with. I liked the idea of transplanting those epic tales to the southeastern United States, where a girl a lot like me could come face to face with a dragon. (FIRE WITH FIRE takes place in Tennessee. I grew up a few hours south in Alabama and spent a lot of winter vacations and weekend trips in the Smokies.)

5- If people want to read more books about dragons, what would you recommend?

BLAZEWRATH GAMES by Amparo Ortiz! It’s an amazing YA fantasy set in an alternate contemporary world in which riders and their dragon steeds compete in an international sports tournament. The sequel DRAGONBLOOD RING is out 10/12/21. Also, DAMSEL by Elana K. Arnold is a gorgeous, timely novel about what happens to the damsel in distress after the “charming” prince saves her from the dragon.

6- The hand to hand combat scenes were super detailed and immersive! Have you ever trained in martial arts? What was your process like for writing these scenes?

Haha, I’m glad you thought so! I actually took Muay Thai classes at a local MMA gym for a few months. I can’t say I was any good at it, but it was fun learning the basics and getting into the mindset of a fighter. Otherwise, YouTube was my saving grace—you may recall in the first chapter Dani even uses a fancy technique she learned from YouTube. A little joke at my own expense.

7- Lastly, what do you hope readers take away from Fire With Fire?

I could wax philosophical here, but instead I’ll leave you with these song lyrics that I put at the top of my document when I first started writing, because they captured the heart of the story I wanted to tell so perfectly. “All you have is your fire/ and the place you need to reach./ Don’t you ever tame your demons,/ but always keep ‘em on a leash.” – Arsonist’s Lullaby by Hozier