Tell the Wind and Fire

I'm so in love with this book. I loved the writing, the characters, and the story. A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorite books of all time and Sarah Rees Brennan has crafted this amazing retelling of the classic story. She definitely made it her own with amazing characters, doppelgangers, and magic.

Even though I knew how this was going to end and I knew I was in for a world of hurt, I still was not prepared for just how horrible the ending was going to be. And I say that in a completely positive way. This story still managed to shock me in every way and I truly felt for the characters as they went through their own Revolution.

This story really gets at who you are and what you are willing to do both for your beliefs and the people you care about. Lucie, Ethan, and Carwyn each had complex backstories and situations that lead them to this story and how everything unfolded. There were so many choices that led to what unfolded and how it unfolded.

That being said, while I knew how the general story was going to go, there were still many twists and turns that kept me guessing as to how exactly things were going to unfold. I'm so lucky that I got an ARC of this book and I cannot recommend it enough to people. Especially fans of A Tale of Two cities and fantasy books. Plus this book has amazing writing and so many gorgeous quotes throughout. I have so many post-it notes lining my ARC in places where I loved the writing.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic book! I loved the characters. All of them felt fully realized. I love the effort of both populating this world and yet keeping it focused on the person t person drama. It made me cry multiple times. I also really appreciated her exploration of YA tropes and turning them around, like the idea in so many YA books that the lead male character can be a jerk as long as he's damaged with a heart of gold, and the frank exploration of body autonomy. Honestly this book had so much depth and the writing was gorgeous. Fully recommend

I am sad to say this is my least favourite Sarah Rees Brennan novel.
I wasn't interested in the characters, I didn't really care about them or their relationships.
I thought the world building was very shallow, I saw no need for the magical elements in the story, the story would have been nearly the same without them with a few changes.
There were a few gems in the book that address female autonomy and how women are treated in the media.

I would recommend if you haven't to instead read Ms. Brennan's other works - The Demon Lexicon or Unspoken or even Team Human which she co-wrote with Justine Larbalestier, they are all much better written with much more interesting and developed characters then Tell the Wind and Fire.