Book Review: Burn
Good Evening World!
This late-night edition of book reviews is brought to you by my incessant need to finish a book once I’m in that golden last 100 pages. I’m serious, once I’m in that zone, the world could end and I would just hold up a finger and say “Do you know how close I am to finishing this book?”
Anywho, this time around I’m reviewing Burn by Patrick Ness.
I’ve only read one other book by this author and that was A Monster Calls. Man, that one was a tearjerker!
When I heard about this new release I had to give it a go!
Blurb:
On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he’d hired to help on the farm…
Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to.
The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul, but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe.
Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents in hot pursuit—and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.
GoodReads
The Review:
I gave this novel three and a half stars!
This was a nice fantasy read.
In this book, we follow a young girl Sarah and her dad as they hire a dragon to tend to their farm to get by. Dragons are shunned by human society, and it isn’t long before people start judging them for hiring a blue dragon. However, this dragon seems to have taken an interest in her and claims to have secrets. What are those secrets, and will they put her in more danger than she’s already been in?
I didn’t quite love this story, but I did enjoy it.
I think what really drew me in was the concept. I mean, hello! Dragons are awesome, and if you don’t think they are then I don’t think we can be friends. I also liked the alternate history timeline that I got to see. It was distinct and while a bit depressing, still vivid.
This book has two parts. The first half differed a lot from the later half, and I have to say I have mixed feelings about it. I liked the mystery aspect of the first half. This ‘prophecy’ and what it means, the characters’ interactions, the sensitive time element. All good things. Something happens (no spoilers, promise!), and the other half is very different. A lot of it I can’t really talk about because it would give things away, but I kind of felt that by the end of the book, a certain character or two accepted what happened in the first half and were a little too okay with the results. Like … how in the hell are you okay with that? Do you even understand … I can’t.
While I enjoyed the characters in this book, I have to say that they didn’t have a ton of progression, especially for the main character. She just kind of fell a bit flat for me. I get that she’s not the most vibrant character, but she felt vanilla. She didn’t really stand up enough for herself until a certain point, and I didn’t feel too attached to her. Kazimir was entertaining, he was probably my favorite.
And Malcolm … well, I’m a bit confused by Malcolm’s narrative parts. This book seems to be young adult until we get to his viewpoint. When I read certain sections I just kind of tilted my head and said “Well, that’s not YA, that’s adult.” I think his narrative confused the genre this book should be rightfully placed in, but his character easily had the most progression overall.
Having read this book, I can’t say it’s perfect, but I can definitely say that it’s entertaining and fun. If you like dragons and fantasy, this may be the book for you!
That’s a Wrap!
Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!
Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!
If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!
Have a great day!
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I really want to check out something by Patrick Ness–I have one of his books in my TBR but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one!
Yeah, he has a really good reputation, and a lot of his stories seem interesting to me as well. I’m definitely going to keep reading his work.