True Fire

True Trilogy #1

by Gary Meehan

THE MISSION.

Her sister stolen. Her grandfather murdered. Her home burned to the ground. At just 16, her life destroyed. Now, Megan wants revenge.

THE ENEMY.

But the men who took Megan's precious twin are no ordinary soldiers. The brutal witches, armour-clad and branded with the mark of the True, will stop at nothing to take back the power they once had.

THE DECEPTION.

Desperate for a way to destroy them, Megan uncovers a terrifying lie.

A lie that will cast doubt on everything she has ever known, and everyone she has ever trusted. A lie that will put Megan at the heart of the greatest war her world has ever seen...

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Witches, Young Adult Fantasy, Dystopia, High Fantasy

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2014

About the author

Gary Meehan was born in Bolton, Lancashire, and was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Warwick. He lives in Derby with his son, where he works as a software engineer and on maintaining an air of bemused detachment. After a quarter century of writing he really should have come up with witty to put in his bio.

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This fantasy adventure never really drew me in. I guess it is because I'm so familiar with the "ragtag band of misfits go on a difficult journey where everything is at stake" sort of story. I just really didn't care about the characters or what was happening. In addition, there was more witty banter than a '80s action flick, and I really didn't need to have nearly every conversation peppered with jokes and asides.

[Lindsay Galvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Fire is a true adventure fraught with peril and deception. We dive straight into the action with feisty sixteen year old Megan embarking on a seemingly impossible quest to rescue her sister from the sinister True - witches with an axe to grind. The world of True Fire is complex and believable, the action scenes perfectly choreographed, gory and filmic; but for me it's the characters that really give True Fire it's shine. Megan's unlikely alliance with warrior heiress Eleanor and the honest rogue Damon is original and utterly compelling. The banter between these three made me laugh out loud long into the night as the pages flicked by.

I zipped through this with huge enjoyment and will recommend widely. The humour reminded me of The Princess Bride. The world is a little Game of Thrones. Delighted to see this story is to be continued...

[alannahlovesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wooooow this was good! I really enjoyed this book! It had everything I love -adventure, action, heroines, witches - it was great! I loved Megan and Eleanor, they were such strong characters with really interesting backgrounds, and I loved Damon too! His banter with Eleanor and Megan made me laugh so much! Definitely recommend this book.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent tale that I read in 2 hours straight today. Anyway I'm onto True Dark now and a full review of both books in a feature on the blog will appear in due course. Hopefully with a Q/A with the author assuming I can ask intelligent questions :) Highly recommended for fans of YA/Fantasy.

[Anna (Enchanted by YA) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the time I have a lot to say about a book (this one was enjoyable don't get my wrong) but there wasn't much that really sparked my interest to put an opinion out there.
In fact Damon was the most memorable part with his charming, smart wit that always made me smile; if only we saw more of him...

[Zainab Iqbal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book at all.I found it very boring, with semi exciting events occurring at the very end of the chapters. This book was not for me, which I realised when I was taking forever to finish it, and I personally felt that the book was a drag.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

*Received in exchange for an honest review*
*Thank you, Quercus*

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not usually a big fan of witches - they're my least favourite in the paranormal genre - but this wasn't anything like I thought it would be. The fact that these weren't anything like your usual witches really appealed in fact. It made for a fun and fast paced read - I devoured it in just two days. Considering I'm in a bit of a reading slump this was so refreshing for me! In a world where history seems to be repeating itself, we journey with our protagonists, Megan, Damon and Eleanor on their quest to mission her twin sister, Gwyneth.

True Fire contained many twists and turns which I didn't see coming. There were many avenues that I didn't even consider occurring which left me feeling shocked, relieved and disorientated! Megan is such a likeable character. I worried at the beginning that she was going to be a doe eyed girl relying on others for help, but she can definitely look after herself! There is an element of naivety to her at the beginning but I loved seeing her character develop throughout the book. The journey that she goes in is such a tough and harrowing one, I personally don't know how she could have coped without the thought of rescuing her sister. The things that are unveiled as the plot goes on are shocking but promise a thrilling sequel to the book!

I loved the character relationships here. The three main characters have such strong personalities and they're all so likeable in their own way. Megan is rash and feisty, Eleanor's lack of patience and people skills is hysterical, and Damon's witty one liners made the book for me. There are so many laugh out loud moments to counteract the darker chapters and I really liked this. It stopped the possibility of a really dark book. True Fire is a book filled with corruption and death, but also shows friendship and love. It's such a great book and I definitely recommend giving it a read!

[Erin Arkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

True Fire by Gary Meehan was an interesting read and although there were times that the story dragged a bit for me, I found myself enjoying the dialogue and turning the pages to see what would happen next for them.

Megan’s life is turned completely upside down when she finds out she is pregnant. On the night she goes to tell the boy who is the father, her entire village is destroyed and the people she loves the most are murdered. The only exception is her twin sister as it appears she was taken from the village before it was burned to the ground.

As Megan attempts to find her sister, she meets two others who will play critical roles in the rest of the novel. When I say I enjoyed the dialogue, it is mostly the conversations and interactions between Megan, Eleanor, and Damon that fall into this. Their banter and the tension between Eleanor and Damon was one of the pieces of the book I enjoyed.

As the story progresses, we find out things happened due to more than just a random attack on their village. Everything that happened is connected to a prophecy and there is a larger implication to the things that happened to Megan since before her village was attacked. I can’t say anything about it because it would completely ruin the story for everyone….sorry, not sorry.

Overall I thought this was a solid story and I am interested to see where Meehan goes with it if this is a series as it could definitely head that route. Check this one out if you are looking for a book with lots of action and some interesting characters.

Thank you to the author for the review copy.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

True Fire is a perfect example of why I need to read more witch books. This unexpectedly surprised me and in the end, I really enjoyed it.

Megan – a sixteen-year-old girl – recently found out she is pregnant by a boy who lives in her village. The problem is with the times she lives in, women should only be pregnant when they are married and Megan isn’t. As she prepares to tell her family the true, she witnesses a murder and then soon her village is raided by soldiers, leaving her grandfather dead and her sister taken. Megan’s only left with one choice, she needs to find her sister but soon she realizes it’s going to be a hard journey. The witches have returned and are Megan’s unborn child is to blame. Can Megan save her sister in time but also keep her unborn child safe?

Witches, I’ve got to say are my least favourite in the paranormal world, so I was hesitant to start this book but still, because it sounded so good, I wanted to try and I’m glad I did. The witches that we come across in the story are nothing like I’ve seen before and I found that very refreshing.

The story itself I found a little slow until the secondary characters came into the picture, who provided a lot of entertainment and laughs. Eleanor and Damon are probably the most unlikely people that you would think would make good companions for Megan, but they were perfect.

The story was fast-paced and full of twists and turns and overall, very enjoyable.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

TRUE FIRE is an epic fantasy with twin girls, invading armies, and prophecies that might be coming true. The story begins with our heroine Megan discovering that she is pregnant and then watching her town being invaded and all of the townspeople, including her grandfather, being killed. She manages to escape from the invaders with the assistance of a woman named Eleanor who appears fortuitously.

Megan discovers that her twin Gwyneth is missing and presumed captured by the invaders. She is determined to follow after and rescue her. This leads to all sorts of adventures. Along the way, Megan learns more about Eleanor who is the remnant of the aristocratic class that was overthrown by the priests during the witch war 80 years previous to the current time.

Megan and Eleanor don't get a chance to find Gwyneth before the invaders take off in ships. But they do rescue a brash young man named Damon who joins in their quest. Megan decides that they have to alert the priests to the resurgence of the witches who were thought to have all been killed at the end of the last war.

The story is filled with both action and violence. I lost track of the number of people the Megan and Eleanor killed along the way. The story is also filled with all sorts of twists and turns as she learns more about her companions and their hidden agendas.

Fans of adventure and excitement will enjoy this story.

[Charon Lloyd-Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since I found a new favorite book that immediately caught my attention although some of my recent reads concerning fantasy haven't really had me wanting more but I finally found a new book that gave me the same feeling Rebel Belle and Miss Mayhem did and it's nice to have that feeling again.

A summery for True Fire:

The Mission

Her sister stolen. Her grandfather murdered. Her home burned to the ground. At just 16, her life destroyed. Now. Megan wants revenge.

The Enemy

But the man who took Megan's precious twin are no ordinary soldiers. The brutal witches, armour-clad and tattooed with the mark of the True. Will stop at nothing to take back the power they once had.

The Deception

Desperate for a way to destroy them, Megan uncovers a terrifying lie. A lie that will cast doubt on everything she has ever known, and everyone she has ever trusted. A lie that will put Megan at the heart of the greatest war her world has ever known...

I found True Fire to be very addictive and it did make me chuckle a few times while I was reading it and well I had a hard time putting it down and the story gets straight to the point it makes you know the stakes immediately and you never get confused at all and the character development is very steady and gradual overall a very well written first installment to a trilogy and I'll most marathon the last because I loved this book.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Fire captured my attention quickly and gripped me to the end. It's a wonderful tale with memorable characters whose flaws, fears and motivations keep you guessing and occasionally gasping in surprise. 16 year old Megan has seen her family murdered, her sister abducted and her village destroyed. She finds herself allied with the gorgeous Eleanor, dispossessed Countess, and Damon, ex-enemy soldier. Somehow this odd 'triple' must band together to save Megan's sister from the clutches of the invading army. I loved reading an exciting, adventure story set against an intriguing political/historical landscape that wasn't romance driven. There are warring factions with terrible agendas, mysterious allies with questionable pasts, twists and turns that give you whiplash and the best in snappy dialogue, rich description and a slew of brilliant one-liners. Meehan's wit and clever story telling makes this soooo much fun to read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading this book and i was attracted by the covers appearance.

[Jayda]

**SLIGHT SPOILERS**


I enjoyed this as it was adventurous and that can lead to good antics and action packed moments. It deals with witches but not really and shows how the mixing of people's interpretation of religion and religious texts can sometimes lead to havoc which is quite realistic. I liked that this group of supposed supernatural beings ended up being normal men with similar yet different priest-less values and are homicidal maniacs. Both sides were very problematic. The story was slightly slow in a few places where you wanted it to just get on with it but it still went at a pretty nice pace.

I think the star of the book is the trio - Megan, Elanor, and Damon. They're good together and despite the group nearly breaking up because of secrets, it's obvious by the end that they work well together with all their quips and dodging trouble. I was worried i was gonna feel iffy about Megan but she proved to be a pretty cool character especially being heightened when she is with Elanor and Damon.

The main twist, while not that surprising, at least to me, is still interesting and leaves you wanting more and to find out what happens between the two. The epilogue both wraps up and leaves some anticipation, as well.

[Sydney Piepgrass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I had fairly low expectations for this novel because I had never heard anything about it and usually I read books that have at least some hype around them, but this book was recommended to me because I love the Throne of Glass series so I wasn't gonna pass up on that.

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is very fast paced, all unnecessary slow parts of the story have been cut out, for example, travelling etc. The main character is really independent and brave and is generally a likeable protagonist, however, my only issues with her are that she is mostly helpless to start and suddenly is good at fighting and such with absolutely no training and is determined to sacrifice herself for some questionable characters.

Something I didn't expect at all was the humour. At times certain characters were surprisingly sarcastic which really created some comedic relief because otherwise, it would be a fairly dark and at times gruesome without it. The plot is fairly generic YA fantasy but I did enjoy the lack of romance and the imperfect friendships Overall, enjoyable but not super remarkable and I will be continuing the trilogy.

[Naomi Moramarco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro con alti e bassi, aveva una bella idea alla base ma alcuni elementi non mi hanno convinta. Quando mi sono resa conto che c‘era di mezzo una profezia ho storto un po‘ il naso ma l‘autrice ha voluto dare una sfumatura diversa al cliché, cosa che ho apprezzato e che mi ha intrigata. E‘ molto scorrevole ed effettivamente l‘ho letto velocemente, anche perché ero sinceramente curiosa. A metà libro però la protagonista ha preso una decisione che io non ho condiviso (sicuramente una decisone non facile e su un tema molto delicato, ma sono comunque convinta che viste le circostante e la gravità della situazione la sua decisione dovesse essere diversa) e da lì il mio interesse ha iniziato a scemare, peraltro così facendo l‘autrice si è negata la possibilità di dare alla trama una piega potenzialmente molto interessante. Un altro punto a sfavore è stato l‘umorismo forzato e spesso fuori luogo, l‘uso continuo di battutine anche nei momenti seri o di pericolo. Se fosse stata una duologia avrei potuto pensare di terminare ma non credo di essere rimasta abbastanza colpita da leggermi una trilogia.

[Jordanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

That took way longer than it should have.

My overall feeling on the book is meh although once I start getting into the good and bad points it will sound like I hated it, I didn't hate it or even dislike it, it was just meh.

The book came to me with a sticker on it claiming 'If you liked Throne of Glass you'll love this' or something to that effect. Throne of Glass is actually a series I really liked (mainly because of Rowan, no shame), though the first book Throne of Glass was not my favourite of the lot I thought hey, maybe this book will be pretty good if it has been likened to it, but then again how many books are 'the next Harry Potter'. To sum up, the only way it's like Throne of Glass is that the main character is female and shares some characteristics with Calaena/Aelin depending where you're at in Throne of Glass.

Queue biting sarcasm. The story starts with you (the reader) finding out that Megan (our fearless heroine) has gotten pregnant at 16 by her twin sisters boyfriend's brother basically just because he was there plus mild peer pressure from her sister and that old nugget about 'it can't happen your first time', before her village is promptly burned to the ground by soldiers who are men but also witches because reasons and her family slaughtered or missing. She escapes due to her brilliant prowess and skill at hiding in wheat fields and finding underwater caves (which is an actual skill since she knew about it from a story her grandfather told her during childhood and not from anything like a map or history or a plausible story on how her grandfather supposedly found it originally and conveniently packed full treasure and money and a sword of unknown origin, waiting to be found by the first desparate, bereaved, pregnant 16 year old brave enough to swim under a waterfall and find it). She then goes on a well thought out and completely realistic mission to save her sister from the witches with the help of a middle aged exiled countess who shows up right after all the carnage with a bow which is not at all suspicious to Megan even though at this point, just a few chapters into the book, she has already come to the YA-trademark conclusion that all this is about her.

Things I didn't like:

Essentially no world building, and what we do get comes in fits and starts and is jumpy, you're really thrown in at the deep end of this not all that elegant world which is okay for some books if they're well written enough to integrate it throughout the novel afterwards or one of the many other ways you can world build in a novel that don't actually require amazing writing that YA novels use all the time because *begins to protect head from books being thrown* it's not exactly a genre renowned for authors that are actually great writers. (I'll add in here that I hate the idea behind the genre YA but it's so mainstream at the moment there's no way to avoid mentioning it as a group). However, one thing YA authors are great at (Maas and Cassandra Clare being key examples) is creating characters the reader loves so much they are blind to the bad writing until some cruel person points it out to them. Unfortunately, none of the characters did this for me they, like the book were all sort of meh, with the exception of one. We sort of find out why the 'witches' are just soldiers throwing their weight around but they insist on still referring to them as witches for no reason at all.

It bothers me that the writing level is aimed at a YA audience which is generally a 12-18 age range and the main character is kind of pressured into sex but little time is given to it and she doesn't seem that bothered or affected by the fact except for her minor qualms about society's view on her illegitimate child? It just seems like a bad message and easily led person shouldn't hear.

Megan is a pathetic excuse for a heroine, she can't do much at the beginning of the novel but she throws a lot of empty threats around like 'God help anyone who stands against me' and the like even though she's a defenseless 16-year-old pregnant girl with one friend she's known for five minutes. I'm also amazed she didn't miscarry based on the events of the first 5 chapters alone let alone the rest of the book, can you even ride a horse whilst pregnant?

Though by far the best character in the book, I don't think the author knew what to do with Damon. Clearly, a love interest is on the horizon because it's on the YA non-negotiable checklist but I had no idea where that crazy train was going.

It's a petty complaint but the cover looked cheap and that is a big-ish deal to me, I like my books to look pretty on my shelf after I finish them.

Totally saw the 'big reveal' coming, only pity was that there was no 'I'm the bad guy and here's my soliloquy on why I'm evil and what my master plan is' moment and that's the best part of that cliche plot line.

The things I liked list is much shorter. I liked that Megan was not given auto-super powers even though she is still a little dim, the book is thankfully quite short with a large font, the prophecy is nice and easy to interpret unlike others I've read and Damon. Though he was far from a perfect character he was the best one and he was quite funny, I don't think he was given nearly enough credit and he as a character was wasted on his arc. I don't get what Meehan's trying to achieve with his cloak and dagger riddled love life.

Overall, meh. Probably won't read the rest of the series.

[Sandra Amido · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 rating for me !
I enjoyed certain parts of the book but there were others were it dragged a bit and I think the ending was a bit rushed.I loved how the book showed that both the true and the faith were corrupt and that no side was actually pure.I enjoyed the character development of Megan and this book made a good job at making me hate Gwyneth.Sometimes Eleanor was winey and dramatic but she had good intentions and got the story going and Damon was a very entertaining character which was needed to balance the story out.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I am not really fond of reading witch books but this one got me the interest to read more. I love the adventure and the action scenes. Plus the strong personality of the characters! Megan, Eleanor, and Damon— their banter really makes me chuckle to the point that I didn't notice I already found myself enjoying the dialogue and keep on turning the pages anticipating for the next thing that will happen. The narrative is very straight to the point. The characters are memorable because of how transparent their flaws and fear are.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Nothing about this book was truly bad, per se, but the majority of it was just so suffocatingly bland. At no point did my heart race, did I sit up and take notice of what was happening. I more sort of watched it happen with mild interest.

The thing is, I am immensely suspicious of any book that claims: 'If you liked ___, you'll love this!' (insert throne of glass in this case). For god's sake, if I wanted to read ___ again, I would! It's not like there's anything stopping me, is there? ToG is right there on my bookshelf. There is nothing stopping me from leaving this book behind and picking it up instead. Do your own marketing - I want to read something new, not a rehash. In any case, I didn't detect much of ToG in this book at all.

I will say that the second half is considerably better than the first, which was nice. (seems to be a trend in a lot of books I've been reading. Hmm) The ending was interesting, too, so I might give the sequel a try if I can get my hands on it.

All in all, not earth-shattering or anything, but not bad either.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty trope-y start, with the main character's family murdered and the MC suddenly remembering the treasure hidden behind a waterfall. Also the MC is oddly emotionally distant from everyone she knows and cares about being murdered? Most sane people would at least have holed up in the treasure cave while the soldiers were still out murdering the townspeople.

I usually don't drop books this early but I can already see this isn't going to be the right one for me.

[Toria · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - I wanted to like this one but I just don't feel anything for the characters, and I'm nearly halfway through but still don't really think it's progressed in a compelling way. It's probably perfect for someone else, but just didn't hit the mark for me.

2 stars because I still found some of the concepts intriguing, and I want to know what happens, I just don't want to keep reading it to find out.

[Rozalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. I want to say that just because I did not finish this book, doesn't mean that it wasn't an ok book, my only issue with it is that nothing is pulling me in, and maybe I stopped reading it too soon, but I've had this book for a long time, and there's so many other books that I would want to get to that. Unfortunately, this book just doesn't do enough for me to make me want to keep reading it.

[Brindy Dean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave it a try, but found myself disgusted and annoyed with the main character. She doesn't even try to save her family in the first book and immediately runs away. I could really only take three or four chapters before skimming through the middle and reading the ending to see what happens.

There was a lack of a draw to the story and honestly, no loyalty to the characters.

[Viki · Rating 3 out of 5]

An actually decent attempt, with natural sounding dialogue. The only trouble is, the characters are flat and the worldbuilding is shallow at best, but despite all of this, I'd actually pick up the sequel, since what worldbuilding there is is actually pretty intriguing.

[alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the characters were flawed. I had some type of feelings for all the characters. Trust no one.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bleh. just finished it to finish it.

[Khaycee]

DNF page 116
I tried twice.
This book had a “If you liked throne of glass, you’ll like this one” sticker and I just think that’s a big disrespect okay

[Safa]

Dnf

[Belle Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine and I do love a religion vs supernatural kind of storyline. I didn't love that the characters seemed to really dislike each other for no reason other than to create witty dialogue. They all felt a bit 2d.

A fantastic thing about this book was the fight scenes. The frequent and bloody combat scenes in this book were well written and satisfying. They were just gory enough to create the right effect, but not so horrific that I couldn't sleep afterwards - right in the sweet spot!

If you like this book, you might like Witch by Finbar Hawkins. They are quite similar in style and well-written fight scenes and both have that twisty supernatural vs church/state thing going on.

It was an entertaining enough read but I wouldn't pick up a sequel.