A City of Flames

A City of Flames #1

by Rina Vasquez

Sie sehnt sich nach Rache. Womit sie nicht gerechnet hat, ist Leidenschaft.
Als ein Feuerdrache ihr Dorf angreift, bietet sich für Nara die perfekte Gelegenheit, die Gerechtigkeit zu erlangen, nach der sie sich immer gesehnt hat - jetzt kann sie sich an den Kreaturen rächen, die ihren Vater getötet haben. Doch der Drache, den sie töten will, scheint von Nara fasziniert zu sein, was langsam jeder zu bemerken beginnt... Nach diesem seltsamen Ereignis wird Nara eingeladen, den Venatoren beizutreten, einem ausgebildeten Orden von Menschen, die gefährliche magische Kreaturen töten, genau wie ihr Vater vor ihr. Dieses Angebot sollte ein wahrgewordener Traum sein, aber Nara wird bald die hässliche Wahrheit erfahren: Geschichte wird von den Siegern geschrieben.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Young Adult

460 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2022

About the author

Karina Natalia Vasquez is a fantasy romance author based in England. She is of Peruvian and Spanish descent and adores anything that has dulce de leche in it. When she isn’t writing, she is reading fantasy, romance and fangirling over Star Wars. You can usually find her holed up in her room, cuddling her two dogs, collecting crystals for her superstitious mind or daydreaming in the hope that she will magically end up in a Fae kingdom one day.

Reviews

[Emmy Rosam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I am always looking or more dragon books so to stumble across a book that has different types of dragons/dragon magic/dragon shifters? I was sold.

The pace of the beginning was a bit fast and choppy. It felt like we were rushing through things quickly to set up the scene so the main story could happen. In some chapters, almost every couple of sentences we were time jumping from scene to scene. There are a lot of characters in this book and at the beginning it felt like we didn’t need them all at once as they didn’t really serve too much of a purpose, felt a bit like overkill. Towards the end I started to see their value!

I struggled to believe in the relationships set up at the start. They were almost established way too early on in a rushed way so I just couldn’t get on board with it. It almost felt like it was forced so it would make future book developments hit harder. However, I was obsessed with those later developments and really enjoyed the pace of that. A much more interesting dynamic.

Chapter 37 was the best part of the book. I liked the build up and while some parts of this book felt really predictable, I enjoyed these plot twist revelations - they hit the spot!! I think there has been some good set up for future books and speculation for further revelations which I’m excited about.

Some of the decisions at the end (such as potentially killing off characters and other typical end of book moves) again felt forced or added in for shock factor. I didn’t really care for these things. It almost felt like it tied up the loose ends a bit too easily, just to be able to move the main plot along rather than having real purpose.

It was an imperfect read but it was fun and I will be continuing on with the series!

Dragon rating: 3/5🐉🐉🐉

[Darcey]

dnf @ 50%

no one told me there’d be a love triangle…

this one wasn’t for me, i kinda hated the first love interest (he was boring as hell and pissed me off) and while i LOVED the second one, he wasn’t getting enough page time to hook me into the book. and i’m very anti-love-triangle.

also the fmc kinda irritated me?? she was so close-minded and blind, and just really rude for no reason. the prose and wording was also really off in sections, so i had to reread sentences and try and puzzle out the meaning.

loved the little fluffy otter thing though…

[Agnieszka · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 20%.

Apparently this book had an editor - who must have edited it with their eyes closed, because 90% of the sentences include various grammar and syntax errors.

It's basically unreadable. Booktok sit down, you're drunk.

[Kiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG OMG I absolutely loved this book from rich world building to the diverse characters. This book had me hooked from the first page, the story is rich and vibrant and you can't help but be pulled into the world wanting to find out what happens next. I loved the dynamic between the characters especially between Nara and her brothers it was so interesting to see their development and growths.

I would definitely 100% recommend reading and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to read the Arc I can't wait for the next book

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has it all - an intriguing and unique plot, strong main characters, lovable side characters, enemies to lovers romance, unexpected twists and turns and most importantly DRAGONS!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, from the start the story intrigued me and when it picked up pace in the second half of the book I was hooked. The relationships between characters were depicted brilliantly and I loved watching the relationships evolve and grow throughout. A strong FMC and a cheeky MMC always draws me in, and I loved the banter and nicknames between them (as an example, here is one of my favourite interactions from the book: ‘Inhaling deeply, I swipe my sheath off the table and rise, pointing my finger at him. “This still doesn’t make us friends.” He grins as I start walking for the entrance and says, “I would hate nothing more than the idea of being your friend, Goldie.”’)

I’ve rated it 4 stars because it did take a bit of time to get into it, and also because in some places the prose wasn’t the best. However, this didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book and I cannot wait to read more. I have a feeling the next book will be even better, as the ending of this one sets up a really interesting scenario! Thank you for allowing me to read an ARC of the book, I’m very grateful for the opportunity!

[Marin · Rating 2 out of 5]

i hated this but i also want to know more. this book so desperately needs an editor. the only character i cared about at all is tibith. i think i was supposed to be sad when what’s his face died but i honestly did not care one single shred. nara annoyed the hell out of me but i actually did like darius. so many questions came up and none of them were answered. i can only assume they’ll be answered in book 2. why is she a frog whisperer??????

[Rina Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since my book was released a few days ago, might as well write my own review saying how of course I am proud of what I wrote lol! I never thought publishing would happen, I was beginning to lose hope after last year until I thought of this book, these characters and everything else. I love them with all my heart, they are literally my children and I hope everyone else loves them just as much as I do.

Also if you love dark-haired morally grey characters, why not read this! ;)

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s there but not hitting sadly

The idea behind this book is really good and definitely present, but (sadly) I can’t rate it any higher. I tried really hard to enjoy it, but long story short, there were too many grammar mistakes for a published book, and it was too easy to guess what would happen next.

It was very difficult to get past the spelling and grammar mistakes (there were too many to ignore, especially in the beginning). It felt like reading a first draft, not a finished product. This is supposed to be a finished product, I believe.

The character names and places all feel like they came from fantasy name generators—as if they tried too hard to make them sound different—which makes it very cringy.

This book is fairly info-dumpy, but not in a good way. A lot of information is thrown at you in the first 30 pages, so much so that there are no surprises when you get to the juicier parts. I could tell everything that was going to happen.

Maybe this is the author’s first book; if so, I’m very excited for their more advanced work that will hopefully be passed through editors.

[Paulina · Rating 1 out of 5]

someone free me from this torment

[Sam | Haus of Fables · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really strong NA romantic fantasy with dragons & trials. I enjoyed this on audio, the narration was well done & I am keen to continue with the series

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ Kinda took 150 pages to get going but I mostly enjoyed this, the enemies to lovers was done well however there were grammar errors which irked me and one or two side characters who were really annoying. On kindle unlimited also

[Olivia May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daddy Darius

[Rayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! The story was clearly very well planned out with how in depth and entertaining is was. There were so many subplots and past history that really kept me intrigued the whole time. It was a bit slow at the beginning but nothing that isn’t expected when creating such a well developed world. I love when the characters have so much depth that nothing is clearly black and white. There may be some token “bad guys” in the story but you feel for them and can see where they come from. Also there’s dragons. Need I say more? I need the next book right now and even though I only have to wait a couple months, I know I’ll need to reread this one beforehand to remember all the small bits of information that may be important before it comes out.

[Nite0wl29 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Hello, foul mortal,” he greets, a dark smirk dancing across his lips.

Annoyance replacing itself with a sudden vex, I press the button on the hilt and lower my brows as twin blades slide out at the side. “Dragon pig.”
.
.
I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did! I first started this book about a month ago and wasn’t sure I vibed with the FMC. But I’m so glad I decided to pick this book up again because I absolutely LOVED it!! The world building sucks you in right from the get go and the story held my attention till the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters. Especially the main couple. ;) Their banter was superb.

The ending left my emotions in tatters and I’m still a little uncertain if one event towards the end is meant to be open-ended. But I hope one character in particular will make a comeback. I just cannot fathom leaving things left unresolved the way they were. ::sobs in my corner::

Anyhow, I’m excited to see where everything goes from here in the sequel!!

[Val · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 20%

Written like a Wattpad book is all i need to say.

[dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot tell if this book is good or if I was just so excited that it finally got interesting. Especially, since the first hundred pages of the book felt slow and did nothing to motivate me to continue reading the story.

Tiktok made me read it. Well, to be more specific, I saw a post about this story on the writer’s own profile.
And I’m not so sure I’m convinced I want to continue reading the series, if I am being honest.

I am all down for a good enemies to lovers story, and a nice slow-burn novel. But I have found it near intolerable to enjoy the two together, although it worked well in this story, I am just not patient enough for it.

The world building and character development was nice, it slowed down the narrative.

Overall, the entire story was slow, even though it was not bad. I think the pacing and my lacking motivation to read affected my desire to finish reading the book. I am not sure I would recommend it to other people, and I doubt I will read it again or continue with the series.

[Cass_saag · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m DNF at 15%. The writing is so bad I’m having to reread paragraphs because it’s so hard to follow. This book desperately needs an editor. And if it has/had one, they need to be fired. I’ve seen so many spelling and grammatical errors (THIS SOON IN THE BOOK!) and it’s making it impossible to get into the story. The dialogue is choppy, and I kind of hate the MC already. Too bad cause it seemed like a cool idea for a story 🤷🏼‍♀️

Update
I ended up reading this almost the whole way through. Had to skip chapters because it did not get any better. I feel terrible leaving a 1 star review but this book should have gone through more editing before being published.

[fatin]

well…his name is darius and there are dragons? i’m in

[Natasha Leighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced, action packed and so very very swoon worthy, Rina Vasquez’s (dragon-filled) debut Romantasy was soo much fun.

2023 has been big year for Dragon based fantasy (which I’ve been absolutely loving btw) so jumped at the chance to read this. And, I’m glad to report that I really enjoyed it. At over 400 pages I had anticipated it to be a slow start, but was pleasantly surprised by the amount of whirlwind action scenes and plot twists we encounter (which were all fantastically entertaining.)

Our protagonist, Nara’s interactions with The Golden Thief (the mysterious—and Zorro-like—dragon shifter causing havoc across the kingdom) was deliciously good too! Adding just the right amount of humour to the Thief’s charismatically flirty banter to have me rooting for him (in-spite of his criminal tendencies.)

We do explore some of the Thief’s backstory, alongside Nara’s and do find out his true identity (always a plus), but it was the plight of the Kingdom’s magical creatures and his willingness to protect them that really won me over. As did his adorably fluffy side kick/ partner in crime, Tibith, who I’m completely obsessed with.

I would’ve also liked to see a little more depth in some of our supporting characters (such as Rydan and Link) who aren’t as developed as Nara, Lorcan or The Golden Thief. This is the first of a planned trilogy however, so I’m sure we’ll delve into their characters in more detail throughout the rest of the series— or maybe, in the case of Rydan, even a spinoff.

If you love intriguingly vivid world building, an endearing (ragtag) group of characters and a heart melting, swoon-worthy dose of romance with your fantasy then I thoroughly recommend checking this out. Especially if you LOVE DRAGONS!

A huge thank you to Ana over a Wildfire/ Headline for the incredible finished copy.

[Meli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interessante Ideen, oberflächliche Charaktere

Nara hasst Drachen und freut sich über die unglaubliche Gelegenheit, den Venatoren beizutreten, die Jagd auf Drachen machen. Doch schon bald merkt sie, dass deren Regeln nicht mit ihren Überzeugungen übereinstimmen.

Seit dem Tod ihres Vaters will Nara Rache, aber als sie wirklich Drachen gegenübersteht, fühlt sie eine unerklärliche Verbindung und das sät den Samen des Zweifels. Naras innerer Konflikt ist schon spannend, aber auf Dauer auch etwas ermüdend.

Die Handlung ist auf verwirrende Weise oberflächlich. Es gibt so viele offene Geheimnisse, die keine Konsequenzen haben. Normalerweise fragt man sich ja, wie die Charaktere wohl reagieren, wenn sie etwas herausfinden. Aber hier passiert irgendwie gar nichts, daher gibt es bei mir eher Enttäuschung und Verwirrung und weniger Spannung. Dann ist es oft unlogisch, wie die Charaktere reagieren und das macht sie weniger interessant, sympathisch oder bedrohlich, je nachdem. Dadurch sind sie dann auf schlechte Art unberechenbar und ihre Positionen unglaubwürdiger.

Auf einige der Zufälle zum Ende hin hätte ich auch verzichten können, es war mir zu viel des Guten und hat der oberflächlichen Geschichte noch den Rest gegeben. Ich fand es schon schade, da ich die Ideen an sich nicht schlecht fand, aber der Schreibstil war nicht nach meinem Geschmack.

[Laura Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as an ARC very kindly gifted to me from the author. I really enjoyed this book but it did take me a while to get in to the story.
However I feel likes the case when you start any new fantasy series due to the extensive world building so don’t let that put you off.

I am now highly anticipating the sequel and feel like this story has set the scene for an epic adventure/ romance in the next book.

Overall it was a fresh take on a shifter romance adventure with a couple of twists I didn’t predict which is always a plus for me.

I adored the representation and normalisation of LGBTQ relationships (not the main characters) and it was beautifully done.

Would recommend

[ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It.

There's no word to describe how much amazing the story was! I freaking loved everything. I thoroughly enjoyed from the beginning till the end. One of the fantastic book I've read! Can't wait to read book 2 !!

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 15%

the dialogue is clunky and awkward. the characters feel stale. i'm not digging the writing style and i don't foresee it changing as the book continues.

[G. Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I couldn't have picked a better book for my first ARC read...

Nara our stubborn heroic protagonist, lives in a world where dragons roam and cause madness and mayhem. Standing up for her three older brothers, everyone in her village knows the her family name. Straight from the start you are thrown into action and it just increases as the book goes on. The descriptions of scenery is beyond vivid, monologue it brilliant, font for me could have been a bit clearer especially when we had thoughts written on the page I did struggle to read it at times.

I found that this book had parts where it did become a slight slow burn of a book for my taste could have been a little bit faster as there was moments where it was a slow read but other then that it is a fantastic book with elements from our own society written onto the pages.

One thing that always excited me is when I finally find the title of the book within the story and I have the light-bulb moment as to why the novel is called what it is. The title for this story you find out early in the book, it always brings a smile to my face. Another thing I love is a good love interest and this novel has just that and more.

In all honesty this novel is definitely one that I would recommend to everyone above the age of thirteen (my opinion) as there are some elements that may be too much for audiences of a younger age. I am intrigued to see where this story will go next.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so happy to be given the opportunity to be an arc reader! Rinas writing is amazing and I’m so so proud that she has published! This book is amazing and anyone who likes enemy to lovers, fantasy and plot twists should definitely read. Rina has a way of really drawing you into the worlds she’s created and getting you invested in every character, even the secondary ones! Nara is such a badass and she cares so much about her friends and her family. Honestly this book took me for so many twists and turns and emotionally hurt me sometimes 😂 all the same I loved the book and I cannot wait for book two especially after that ending 😮🙃😭 rina I’m so glad I got to be part of this journey and I can’t wait to see you get recognized for the amazing writer you are! I cannot wait to see the next part of Nara’s journey💜

[Krystle Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read the arc I had been following along on tik tok, I love love this book the characters, the world building and the back stories.
The twists and turns in the book kept me gripped all the way through I cannot wait for the next instalment

Plus Darius may have become my new favourite

[petite tortue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda gave me YA vibes (straightforward plot, kind-hearted MC).... and I'm definitely not a fan of YA.
BUT! The MC was angsty and the dialogues were fun!

If you ever thought "hmm why is there no spice in How to Train a Dragon?" this book is for you I guess

🐉🐲⚔️❤️✨🛡️

[Ash]

I wanted to love this but I just couldn’t get into the world or characters at all. There are a lot of spelling and grammatical errors that make it really hard to read.

[clicktojointhemafia · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was so excited... but then it flopped

this book follows naralia AKA nara, a girl who has been a (creature) trapper for years and finally fullfills her dreams of being a dragon huntress when she gets invited to join the venators (training programme to become one), the queen's elite group of dragon hunters. things happen and naralia finds that her priorities are changing aswell as her feelings to someone who should be her enemy... an infamous dragon shifter...

i'm just gonna bullet point all the reasons why this book isn't up to par as other good fantasy books~
-not enough world building. all i know is that they live in a world with lots of creatures and some history about the queen. i needed more lore, how the kingdom works, and actual physical descriptions of places etc bc honestly my mind was in a haze the whole book. it constantly felt like i didn't have the whole picture.
-nara joined this whole program thing and guess what? we got nothing much about it at all (perhaps a few odd chapters). because she was already perfect we got none of her training montage because there was no effort from the author but also there was little room for her to improve. the little room for her to improve was also influenced by her peers who didn't have the heart to kill creatures (freya and rydan) which is completely stupid because you're telling me these pussy people qualified for training in the royal hunting group??? like surely there would have been a process where people were selected more carefully?? even nara's introduction to it was careless- girl was picked up off the streets and not even in an interesting wow way.
-leading on from the royal hunting group. this group is attached to royalty so i would have expected some elitist vocab and shit to describe them and give them that awesome aura but nope. none. nada.
-the side characters gave little. so you know how in dystopia the mc will have those sort of predatory rivals who will at first be better but then as the mc progresses they get jealous and bitter and do everything they can to take down the mc? so we got some of that- a petty little scene- then like in the next chapter or something they were killed. like what the fuck?????? it was so boring. i feel like the author didn't know how to make training interesting or give it a plot.
-the relationships didn't hit. freya was a nice side character to a degree but i wasn't cherishing their friendship how i'd like to. rydan just felt like a random ass character- he wasn't explored well enough to be part of nara's inner circle, yet there he is, in her inner circle. there were only two dynamics that were valuable. the best was freya and her dad 😭 then next was nara and darius (even they were meh)
-the chemistry wasn't that profound. i loved darius icl, his little dramatic ass had me rolling at times, but like overall im not cooing over him and nara together.
-nara was a fucking mess- her character from a costructive perspective. it's like the author couldn't decide whether she wanted a cold badass or one with emotions- PLEASE STICK TO ONE!! there ar things she did or ways she would act which just did not align with her. (i know her adversity to killing dragons is intentional but it was too abrupt without reason and isntead should have developed throughout the book). one big thing that didn't align with her character is how she fell for lorcan??? like what did bro do??? i might have forgotten but like other than the carving thing then idek.
-the author didn't allow us readers to sit in anticipation. as i mentioned before the rivals in a typical dystopian were killed immediately after and it didn't allow for any tension or turmoil. nara mentioned she wanted to lure the golden thief and she lured him successfully the next chapter.
-we barely saw darius use his powers- dude has a trifecta of powers and istg we barely got to see any
-when darius saved nara after that impromtu attack girl was so relaxed. like why was she NOT stressed????? like people probably think ur dead right now and ur just with the enemy??? i thought you are smart!!


anyways.... tibith the tibithian slayed icl.

rating: 2 stars

[Hope Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I was pretty interested in reading this book as soon as I saw that there are dragons in it. The concept sounded so interesting and intriguing.

I think the first 200 pages were pretty good. It set up the world, magic system, creatures and characters.

Then 200-300 pages I got really bored, I think that’s because nothing was really happening apart from training and I was about to DNF it.

Then from page 300 onwards everything changed. All these secrets got revealed and I was so intrigued to find out what was going on.

So overall it’s a 3.5 because it was interesting but it wasn’t great