by Kara Swanson
publisher’s synopsis:
Can Mara survive in a world where the fire in her veins is worth killing for?
In a frozen wasteland suffocating beneath a dying sun, Mara is a young phoenix raised by her father to explode at his command. He’s the only one who can help her control her fire, and Mara desperately follows his orders to protect their phoenix family from relentless human hunters.
Her sheltered existence is shattered when her family mysteriously vanishes, thrusting Mara into a perilous quest to find them. Along the way, she unravels a devastating truth: her people may not be the innocent victims she’s been taught to believe.
When she comes face-to-face with the kindhearted Eli, she begins to wonder if the humans aren’t the monsters she’s always feared. What if the greatest danger doesn’t lie in the icy world outside—but in the truth of who Mara really is?
Fire and ice collide in this thrilling tale of a phoenix girl born with the power of a dying sun.
Mara is a very raw main character–Kara doesn’t shy away from writing Mara’s fears, anxieties, and discomfort in her own skin. She’s the type of character who you wish you could just give a hug to. Her character arc and struggles were all handled and paced well and naturally.
Since Ignite‘s plot has a lot to do with Mara learning what voices to believe and feeling comfortable in her own skin, there was a portion of the book where it felt like there wasn’t much external action. It was more about what was happening internally for Mara. And while that was important for the book, it did feel like the pacing slowed a bit then. However, Mara’s internal struggle with the voices in her head also left the reader unsure of which characters to trust, creating a nice level of tension.
The apocalyptic, barren winter setting had some fun vibes and was tightly woven into the plot. The magic system with the phoenixes was also super unique.
Now, in Ignite, phoenixes bleed fire and in a frozen world it’s a valuable commodity. That said, there are mentions of phoenixes being hunted and bled. Mara, in her struggles to control her flame, often ends up having various cuts and wounds open up as she burns. Another character purposely bleeds himself to give fire to people. There’s a lot of blood on the pages, though it’s never gory or overly graphic. However, it might be too much for sensitive readers. Readers who also struggle with mental health backgrounds or who’ve had experience with mental abuse or gaslighting should also be aware of possible trigger warnings.
Ignite is a unique beginning to a duology filled with fire, frost, and believing truth.
Cautions: light-moderate romance; frequent semi-detailed mentions of blood (see above); brief, semi-detailed violence
(I received an early copy of Ignite from the author that might not exactly match the final version. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.)
Hailey Huntington 
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