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An Affinity for Burning #1
An Affinity for Burning
What happens when the girl you loved becomes your enemy? What happens if you still don't want her to be?
Bea and Saffyr are among the Affinity-Wielders—a group of girls born once every generation with superhuman abilities. Like all Affinity-Wielders, they spend their childhood hidden away from the rest of the world at the academy training and honing their abilities in order to compete in a series of trials once they reach 18. Four years before the trials are set to begin however, disaster strikes and every other Wielder is left dead. And one of the girls might have been behind it.
Now, four years later, they're reunited as enemies to see which one of them will win the trial, a claim the thrown, the ability to keep their power, and the prince's hand in marriage. But what if neither of them want that anymore?
Told in 2 POVs, An Affinity for Burning is one giant childhood friends to enemies to friends to childhood crushes back to enemies to friends to lovers trope masquerading as a book with a plot so its author can stop being sad that they're not on Goodreads yet.
Bea and Saffyr are among the Affinity-Wielders—a group of girls born once every generation with superhuman abilities. Like all Affinity-Wielders, they spend their childhood hidden away from the rest of the world at the academy training and honing their abilities in order to compete in a series of trials once they reach 18. Four years before the trials are set to begin however, disaster strikes and every other Wielder is left dead. And one of the girls might have been behind it.
Now, four years later, they're reunited as enemies to see which one of them will win the trial, a claim the thrown, the ability to keep their power, and the prince's hand in marriage. But what if neither of them want that anymore?
Told in 2 POVs, An Affinity for Burning is one giant childhood friends to enemies to friends to childhood crushes back to enemies to friends to lovers trope masquerading as a book with a plot so its author can stop being sad that they're not on Goodreads yet.
327 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2022
9 people are currently reading
871 people want to read
About the author
Alex Nonymous
26 books559 followersAlex is trying to publish 22 sapphic YA books before she turns 22. The only flaw in the plan so far is that they only finished 1 before turning 20...
He uses any pronouns so its incredibly easy to talk about Alex behind her back (just please stop adding me to 'women writers' lists oh my god) and they're still trying to figure out how to present themself as a professional a full year into publishing.
If you want to join their email list for updates on book release dates, early reader copies, and to vote on genre polls to control the next book they write, email them at alexnonymouswrites@gmail.com to let her know!
Alex also writes books for queer teenagers and recognizes that a lot of the people who need those kinds of stories the most can't safely be purchasing them, fill out this form for free discrete ecopies of anything he's written! https://forms.gle/ZSAoMh59oLVjz97F8
He uses any pronouns so its incredibly easy to talk about Alex behind her back (just please stop adding me to 'women writers' lists oh my god) and they're still trying to figure out how to present themself as a professional a full year into publishing.
If you want to join their email list for updates on book release dates, early reader copies, and to vote on genre polls to control the next book they write, email them at alexnonymouswrites@gmail.com to let her know!
Alex also writes books for queer teenagers and recognizes that a lot of the people who need those kinds of stories the most can't safely be purchasing them, fill out this form for free discrete ecopies of anything he's written! https://forms.gle/ZSAoMh59oLVjz97F8
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
February 12, 2023
Update: TOMORROWS THE 1 YEAR-IVERDARY OF ME FINISHING THIS ONE AND PUTTING IT OUT INTO THE WORLD AND WE'RE 1 RATING AWAY FROM 100. if you've read and haven't rated yet, plz. I beggeth.
Y'all can read the whole thing here as a google doc: tinyurl.com/affinityforburning (or buy it as an actual ebook/physical book through amazon)
Please make sure to like this review before posting your own so the link doesn't get buried! GR wouldn't let me put it directly in the description (or you can even put the link directly in your review! that'd also rock)
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Bestiessssss I wrote and edited whole book in a week so I don't have to be sad when I get a letter from my past self in a month asking me if I became an author before turning 20.
Y'all can read the whole thing here as a google doc: tinyurl.com/affinityforburning (or buy it as an actual ebook/physical book through amazon)
Please make sure to like this review before posting your own so the link doesn't get buried! GR wouldn't let me put it directly in the description (or you can even put the link directly in your review! that'd also rock)
--------------------------------
Bestiessssss I wrote and edited whole book in a week so I don't have to be sad when I get a letter from my past self in a month asking me if I became an author before turning 20.
October 4, 2022
Upfront, I have to state that Alex sent me an e-copy of this book, that said my review contains my honest and unbiased thoughts.
This story was a slight diversion for me from my normal reading material, but hey even at my (moderately) advanced age , one is never too old to experiment. And what do you know, a really enjoyable and well written sapphic YA fantasy novel. The story is told from 2 points of view, Saffyr and Bea, both wielders of extraordinary but specific magical powers. Born specifically to marry into the royal family they and all the other magic wielders are trained at the Academy where they practice their specific skills ready for when they will all compete in the trials when they reach the age of 18. The winner of the trials gets the (dubious ? ) privilege of marrying the prince.
However in this case an accident occurs at the academy when they are 13/14 and all but two of the candidates are killed. Despite evidence that one of them must surely have committed the atrocity, 4 years later the two candidates are reunited at the trials, where one must vanquish the other.
As I said the story is told from two POVs, the remaining two candidates. This gives you some wonderful insights into their feelings from the age of 11 until 18, about the life they are leading, their future, their murdered colleagues at the Academy and mostly of each other. As you read through the book, events unfold from each girls POV , both at the trials and all their time at the Academy from aged 11 and despite jumping back and forth in time it doesn't feel at all disjointed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and have even marked the sequel as a book I want to read, simply because Alex has created such believable and interesting characters., that I want to find out more, and especially what happens next !!
So a big thank you to Alex for giving me the opportunity to read a book, I normally would never have come across !
This story was a slight diversion for me from my normal reading material, but hey even at my (moderately) advanced age , one is never too old to experiment. And what do you know, a really enjoyable and well written sapphic YA fantasy novel. The story is told from 2 points of view, Saffyr and Bea, both wielders of extraordinary but specific magical powers. Born specifically to marry into the royal family they and all the other magic wielders are trained at the Academy where they practice their specific skills ready for when they will all compete in the trials when they reach the age of 18. The winner of the trials gets the (dubious ? ) privilege of marrying the prince.
However in this case an accident occurs at the academy when they are 13/14 and all but two of the candidates are killed. Despite evidence that one of them must surely have committed the atrocity, 4 years later the two candidates are reunited at the trials, where one must vanquish the other.
As I said the story is told from two POVs, the remaining two candidates. This gives you some wonderful insights into their feelings from the age of 11 until 18, about the life they are leading, their future, their murdered colleagues at the Academy and mostly of each other. As you read through the book, events unfold from each girls POV , both at the trials and all their time at the Academy from aged 11 and despite jumping back and forth in time it doesn't feel at all disjointed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and have even marked the sequel as a book I want to read, simply because Alex has created such believable and interesting characters., that I want to find out more, and especially what happens next !!
So a big thank you to Alex for giving me the opportunity to read a book, I normally would never have come across !
April 19, 2022
HOW DO I REVIEW THIS BOOK GOOD GRIEF. full disclosure I'm gonna be screaming at everyone within a ten km radius (physical or metaphysical or even just vibes wise so international besties you're not spared oops) to read this for the next year so be warned
also that ENDING what the fu ...? how the hell am I supposed to wait until book 2 T-T
this book has the best romance I've ever ever ever read with the possible exception of hani and ishu. literally. the. best. it's an intrapolation of like every one of my favourite tropes ever and still remains refreshingly original?? to illustrate, you have:
🌹 a gorgeous estranged childhood friends to rivals to lovers dynamic to the likes of catradora
🌹so. much. sapphic. pining.
🌹 the most perfect execution of the grumpy/sunshine or protective nerd/sunshine trope akin to wolfstar
🌹 angst and vulnerability and healthy communication and validation and then eventually so much fluff after a painfully long slowburn
🌹 apparent love triangle but the female love interests get together instead of either of them ending up with the lame ass guy
🌹 the most breathtaking writing ever
🌹 alternating timelines (from the present to when they used to be besties at school)
🌹 speaking of, BOARDING SCHOOL VIBES
🌹 they share a bed. because they feel safe with each other
🌹 homoerotic magic duels
in conclusion: MY SAPPHIC HEART 💕 alex I NEED the sequel asap
ps: the author is currently allowing ANYONE to read the whole book?? for free?? the link is in their review (the top one) SO GO READ IT WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE. literally my soul. I just finished this two days back and I already want to reread it help. definitely a new favourite x
_
what in the ever living fuck (rtc)
also that ENDING what the fu ...? how the hell am I supposed to wait until book 2 T-T
this book has the best romance I've ever ever ever read with the possible exception of hani and ishu. literally. the. best. it's an intrapolation of like every one of my favourite tropes ever and still remains refreshingly original?? to illustrate, you have:
🌹 a gorgeous estranged childhood friends to rivals to lovers dynamic to the likes of catradora
🌹so. much. sapphic. pining.
🌹 the most perfect execution of the grumpy/sunshine or protective nerd/sunshine trope akin to wolfstar
🌹 angst and vulnerability and healthy communication and validation and then eventually so much fluff after a painfully long slowburn
🌹 apparent love triangle but the female love interests get together instead of either of them ending up with the lame ass guy
🌹 the most breathtaking writing ever
🌹 alternating timelines (from the present to when they used to be besties at school)
🌹 speaking of, BOARDING SCHOOL VIBES
🌹 they share a bed. because they feel safe with each other
🌹 homoerotic magic duels
in conclusion: MY SAPPHIC HEART 💕 alex I NEED the sequel asap
ps: the author is currently allowing ANYONE to read the whole book?? for free?? the link is in their review (the top one) SO GO READ IT WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE. literally my soul. I just finished this two days back and I already want to reread it help. definitely a new favourite x
_
what in the ever living fuck (rtc)
April 8, 2022
I read all of An Affinity for Burning in one sitting; I found the world creatively designed, the prose to be a pleasure to read, and the main characters of Beatrix, Saffyr, and the Prince to all be sufficiently fleshed out. There were some minor grammatical errors (things on par with using "soul" instead of "sole", etc), but not too many that it heavily detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
It's also not *really* an enemy to lovers story, in my opinion; while society at large blames Saffyr for the accident at the university, it's made clear to us multiple times that, over the course of their 4-year separation, Bea never did. I'm not sure how I'd easily describe it, but Bea always believes in Saffyr, always loved her, always trusts her, and the romance plot is just character growth on Saffyr's part to learn to trust and love someone.
I would say that, given all this, An Affinity for Burning earns a 4/5 star rating, maybe even a 4.5/5 (I'm a sucker for magic).
However, I haven't brought up my biggest issue with the story; the ending.
The story is presented as a love story between two women, both of whom, through no action of their own, are vying to become Queen. Bea has never wanted this, Saffyr was trained for this by her abusive aunt all her life, but they are the only two Wielders left alive, and there must be a Wielder queen so that the king and queen can magically provide for the kingdom, while also protecting/isolating it from outside threats.
Aside from an all-too-brief moment where Bea confronts the Prince about changing the system, and a conversation between Saffyr and Bea about how maybe the system falling apart would be a good thing, we don't get any more info about the status quo, which is a shame because it's all very interesting.
But, the ending. I've put it off long enough; to recap, Saffyr and Bea confess their love to each other, and agree to leave the final trial through a series of underground tunnels, and live together, in love, in the countryside. Bea leaves, Saffyr doesn't, Saffyr becomes Queen.
And it all lands with the intensity of a wet noodle. There's no catharsis; we get none of Saffyr's thoughts about her choice to betray Bea, only backstory about how awful her childhood was (and it truly was awful). We get no happy ending for either of them, but also nothing but heartbreak for Bea; as a child we've already heard that she would've been happy giving up her Affinity and living a normal life, which is what she'll now do, albeit with a broken heart.
But there's no motivation for revenge; Bea is the biggest criminal in the kingdom, and also not the kind of person who would want to *get* revenge, and so the book just sort of... ends. No questions for a possible sequel, no feelings of resolution for Bea, *maybe* feelings of resolution for Saffyr having achieved her aunt's goal of becoming queen...
But we have so many scenes of Saffyr learning to trust someone, learning to express love and affection towards Bea. So many scenes of them talking, laughing, of the book showing us that they are a good match for each other, that them running away *would* be the best ending here.
And then, just to have a twist ending, Saffyr betrays Bea. But without a glimpse into her feelings during/after that, we have no context. Did she struggle making that decision? Does she feel remorse? Or is this entire book a story of a nice girl falling in love with a sociopath, who grew up in a horrifically abusive household, and then didn't grow or change over the course of her life. A story of a girl turned into a weapon by her aunt, that worked perfectly despite a large hiccup in the plan?
Unsatisfying, disappointing, and retroactively burns any good feelings I had for the book. Do not recommend, would not read again.
It's also not *really* an enemy to lovers story, in my opinion; while society at large blames Saffyr for the accident at the university, it's made clear to us multiple times that, over the course of their 4-year separation, Bea never did. I'm not sure how I'd easily describe it, but Bea always believes in Saffyr, always loved her, always trusts her, and the romance plot is just character growth on Saffyr's part to learn to trust and love someone.
I would say that, given all this, An Affinity for Burning earns a 4/5 star rating, maybe even a 4.5/5 (I'm a sucker for magic).
However, I haven't brought up my biggest issue with the story; the ending.
The story is presented as a love story between two women, both of whom, through no action of their own, are vying to become Queen. Bea has never wanted this, Saffyr was trained for this by her abusive aunt all her life, but they are the only two Wielders left alive, and there must be a Wielder queen so that the king and queen can magically provide for the kingdom, while also protecting/isolating it from outside threats.
Aside from an all-too-brief moment where Bea confronts the Prince about changing the system, and a conversation between Saffyr and Bea about how maybe the system falling apart would be a good thing, we don't get any more info about the status quo, which is a shame because it's all very interesting.
But, the ending. I've put it off long enough; to recap, Saffyr and Bea confess their love to each other, and agree to leave the final trial through a series of underground tunnels, and live together, in love, in the countryside. Bea leaves, Saffyr doesn't, Saffyr becomes Queen.
And it all lands with the intensity of a wet noodle. There's no catharsis; we get none of Saffyr's thoughts about her choice to betray Bea, only backstory about how awful her childhood was (and it truly was awful). We get no happy ending for either of them, but also nothing but heartbreak for Bea; as a child we've already heard that she would've been happy giving up her Affinity and living a normal life, which is what she'll now do, albeit with a broken heart.
But there's no motivation for revenge; Bea is the biggest criminal in the kingdom, and also not the kind of person who would want to *get* revenge, and so the book just sort of... ends. No questions for a possible sequel, no feelings of resolution for Bea, *maybe* feelings of resolution for Saffyr having achieved her aunt's goal of becoming queen...
But we have so many scenes of Saffyr learning to trust someone, learning to express love and affection towards Bea. So many scenes of them talking, laughing, of the book showing us that they are a good match for each other, that them running away *would* be the best ending here.
And then, just to have a twist ending, Saffyr betrays Bea. But without a glimpse into her feelings during/after that, we have no context. Did she struggle making that decision? Does she feel remorse? Or is this entire book a story of a nice girl falling in love with a sociopath, who grew up in a horrifically abusive household, and then didn't grow or change over the course of her life. A story of a girl turned into a weapon by her aunt, that worked perfectly despite a large hiccup in the plan?
Unsatisfying, disappointing, and retroactively burns any good feelings I had for the book. Do not recommend, would not read again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2022
wow alex i am thoroughly impressed!!!!! so proud of you especially given the amount of time it took you to write it all
i love me some trial tropes and alternating povs and complicated relationships so was very intrigued by your description and tbh i was only planning on reading the first few pages to see how much i would like it but then i ended up reading it all
i am obsessed with the naming and the writing and povs and the character arcs and the ending!!! i sat and read this all in one sitting and i could not stop and i read it through a class and now i am writing this review while in another class and i am wishing there was more i could read
also i am emotional and will need time until i am emotionally stable again <3
had a few minor spelling mistakes here and there but really not too significant and i definitely think more people should read this!!!
i love me some trial tropes and alternating povs and complicated relationships so was very intrigued by your description and tbh i was only planning on reading the first few pages to see how much i would like it but then i ended up reading it all
i am obsessed with the naming and the writing and povs and the character arcs and the ending!!! i sat and read this all in one sitting and i could not stop and i read it through a class and now i am writing this review while in another class and i am wishing there was more i could read
also i am emotional and will need time until i am emotionally stable again <3
had a few minor spelling mistakes here and there but really not too significant and i definitely think more people should read this!!!
March 14, 2022
This book did an excellent job of keeping me invested - I could barely put it down once I started. If an editor got their hands on it to get rid of the spelling mistakes and maybe flesh out the side characters a bit more, this would be a masterpiece. The world building was very cool and the dynamic between the leads was incredibly compelling. I loved binge reading this when I was supposed to be working :)
April 28, 2022
3.5
I got a free digital copy from the author themselves (hi!) but I must admit I was skeptic when I decided to read this. I was truly expecting something if not mediocre certainly not great, but I was happily proved wrong.
The premise is pretty common, but I believe it's refreshing enough to make it interesting.
I have a lot to say about this book and luckily most of it is good, so let's start with that.
*The story is easy to get lost in. I read the whole book in two days which is something I never do, but I couldn't put it down.
*The characters are nice if a bit plain, but the author is amateur so with a bit of practice that will surely improve.
*The pace is amazing. I had my doubts about the alterning pov and time skips, but believe me- it's for the best. It works in favor of the story and it helps the reader to understand the story at a slow pace, enough to make us wonder and learn things as we need to know them and not a second sooner.
* The ending is awesome. I can't agree that it was a plot twist because I kind of figured it out about halfway through the book but that doesn't make it any less amazing. I always think the worst case scenario and it /never/ becomes true, so I really really liked it.
* While I state below that there are a few hiccups in the prose, overall it's really good! The book was a pleasure to read, I've read way worse book by "professional and world wide famous" authors. This. Is. Awesome. I truly believe that the author could go places if they get more practice because right now their style is pretty good and has a lot of potential.
I wouldn't say I found any bad things, so let's call next section the "not so good things."
*As stated the author is amateur and it shows, but not in a bad way! The plot is not huge and the phrasing is odd at some points, but overall I believe she did a great job with this book.
* There are weird things there are weird things there are weird things. Yes, I wrote that way on purpose. I'm not sure I love the way the author likes to repeat everything either three times (she does it a lot) or like a million times. I know it's to create impact, but it kind of breaks the reading flow.
* The worldbuilding is also kinda floppy, but this is the kind of book that focuses more on the characters than in the plot, so while some people might feel that they're being robbed of the world lore, it's not appaling to all readers.
Overall I would greatly recommend this book. Read it if you have the chance, just keep in mind that it's not professionally edited. Have I read better written fics? Yes. Have I read worse, horrible published books? Sadly also yes, so this falls in a nice middle ground spectrum.
(Honestly, this is a raw diamond because I was about to rate it four stairs just the way it is so if it were edited it would probably escalete to four and a half) (It could have been four stars if not for the weird phrasing. Like, there is abusing commas and there's not using commas at all in the dialogues- sometimes I had to read what Saffyr said 3 times to understand it)
P. S. I can't wait to read next book oh god. It's great as it is, but a sequel??? Sign me the hell up.
I got a free digital copy from the author themselves (hi!) but I must admit I was skeptic when I decided to read this. I was truly expecting something if not mediocre certainly not great, but I was happily proved wrong.
The premise is pretty common, but I believe it's refreshing enough to make it interesting.
I have a lot to say about this book and luckily most of it is good, so let's start with that.
*The story is easy to get lost in. I read the whole book in two days which is something I never do, but I couldn't put it down.
*The characters are nice if a bit plain, but the author is amateur so with a bit of practice that will surely improve.
*The pace is amazing. I had my doubts about the alterning pov and time skips, but believe me- it's for the best. It works in favor of the story and it helps the reader to understand the story at a slow pace, enough to make us wonder and learn things as we need to know them and not a second sooner.
* The ending is awesome. I can't agree that it was a plot twist because I kind of figured it out about halfway through the book but that doesn't make it any less amazing. I always think the worst case scenario and it /never/ becomes true, so I really really liked it.
* While I state below that there are a few hiccups in the prose, overall it's really good! The book was a pleasure to read, I've read way worse book by "professional and world wide famous" authors. This. Is. Awesome. I truly believe that the author could go places if they get more practice because right now their style is pretty good and has a lot of potential.
I wouldn't say I found any bad things, so let's call next section the "not so good things."
*As stated the author is amateur and it shows, but not in a bad way! The plot is not huge and the phrasing is odd at some points, but overall I believe she did a great job with this book.
* There are weird things there are weird things there are weird things. Yes, I wrote that way on purpose. I'm not sure I love the way the author likes to repeat everything either three times (she does it a lot) or like a million times. I know it's to create impact, but it kind of breaks the reading flow.
* The worldbuilding is also kinda floppy, but this is the kind of book that focuses more on the characters than in the plot, so while some people might feel that they're being robbed of the world lore, it's not appaling to all readers.
Overall I would greatly recommend this book. Read it if you have the chance, just keep in mind that it's not professionally edited. Have I read better written fics? Yes. Have I read worse, horrible published books? Sadly also yes, so this falls in a nice middle ground spectrum.
(Honestly, this is a raw diamond because I was about to rate it four stairs just the way it is so if it were edited it would probably escalete to four and a half) (It could have been four stars if not for the weird phrasing. Like, there is abusing commas and there's not using commas at all in the dialogues- sometimes I had to read what Saffyr said 3 times to understand it)
P. S. I can't wait to read next book oh god. It's great as it is, but a sequel??? Sign me the hell up.
March 20, 2023
This book is the best sapphic romance I have ever read, and I desperately need the sequel that I can't find anywhere. Did anyone else get a Catradora vibe? I did and that's some of the highest praise I can offer a book. The ending was so unexpected but made perfect sense, I really want them to have a happy ending. Anyway I need the sequel.
May 11, 2022
I don’t typically read a whole lot of fantasy, its not my typical preferred genre, and when I do very rarely do I actually really enjoy them, or get super into them, but this one really sucked me in! This was YA enemies to friends to rivals to lovers with a twist at the end that blew me away and made me really excited to read the second book.
4-tbr-maybe
April 23, 2022$1.26 on Kindle
April 29, 2022
— a long review, pls bear with me —
This book is slightly hard to review because I enjoyed it and got through it easily, but its foundation is lacking.
Things I liked:
1. The plot & world-building was really nicely done!
2. I really liked the parallel between the past/present. It gave a good rhythm to understanding what was going on.
3. The storyline kept me SO hooked throughout. It was captivating!!
4. I really really liked how their childhood was written and their personalities as children where Bea was the embodiment of the innocence a child holds versus Saffyr being the child who grew up too fast.
Things I didn't really get behind:
1. The whole academy thing. I'm not sure if this was an intentionally not talked about, but we were not really explained why the academy existed? We only have to assumptions made by both Bea & Damien and have been told which is true. It was also not discussed much beyond half an argument. Especially not between Saffyr & Bea which makes it odd because they were literally planning to leave together.
2. The writing was lacking. The ratio of emotions to dialogues was unbalanced. Even with Bea pov, it felt as though I wasn't sure what Bea was feeling making her feel oddly distant as a reader. There was barely any insight from Saffyr at all? Even the few scenes from the past in her pov seemed more like an narrative of events that happened to Bea rather than events that took place b/w the both of them.
3. The pacing and timing felt off. There was a lot of scene jumping (is that what it's called?). The present timeline was too fast-paced. The kind where the next thing has happened before the first one got over. Sort of making all of it overlap each other and create confusion within the emotions of characters. I mean one second, Bea was convinced Damien was good and within three pages, she hates him?
This last one isn't a really a bad thing, but I wish Saffyr was shown taking more accountability to her actions than a "sorry". Whether or not Saffyr did it out of being taught or fear of her Aunt, she kept hurting Bea both physically & verbally. The whole "I didn't mean to" is a piss poor reason. And being a victim of abuse is not a justifiable reason to hurt people either especially since she was so scared she'd BE her aunt. Bea was so okay with it all the time too which kind of angered me?? At what point was she going to stand up for herself? Here's a young child who letting herself get shit on because it's her crush shitting on her. I mean, it's still shit.
Anyways, like any other book, it has its positives and negatives. If you're looking for a book that's sufficiently technical, but completely immersive in its vibes, this is could be for you!
This book is slightly hard to review because I enjoyed it and got through it easily, but its foundation is lacking.
Things I liked:
1. The plot & world-building was really nicely done!
2. I really liked the parallel between the past/present. It gave a good rhythm to understanding what was going on.
3. The storyline kept me SO hooked throughout. It was captivating!!
4. I really really liked how their childhood was written and their personalities as children where Bea was the embodiment of the innocence a child holds versus Saffyr being the child who grew up too fast.
Things I didn't really get behind:
1. The whole academy thing. I'm not sure if this was an intentionally not talked about, but we were not really explained why the academy existed? We only have to assumptions made by both Bea & Damien and have been told which is true. It was also not discussed much beyond half an argument. Especially not between Saffyr & Bea which makes it odd because they were literally planning to leave together.
2. The writing was lacking. The ratio of emotions to dialogues was unbalanced. Even with Bea pov, it felt as though I wasn't sure what Bea was feeling making her feel oddly distant as a reader. There was barely any insight from Saffyr at all? Even the few scenes from the past in her pov seemed more like an narrative of events that happened to Bea rather than events that took place b/w the both of them.
3. The pacing and timing felt off. There was a lot of scene jumping (is that what it's called?). The present timeline was too fast-paced. The kind where the next thing has happened before the first one got over. Sort of making all of it overlap each other and create confusion within the emotions of characters. I mean one second, Bea was convinced Damien was good and within three pages, she hates him?
This last one isn't a really a bad thing, but I wish Saffyr was shown taking more accountability to her actions than a "sorry". Whether or not Saffyr did it out of being taught or fear of her Aunt, she kept hurting Bea both physically & verbally. The whole "I didn't mean to" is a piss poor reason. And being a victim of abuse is not a justifiable reason to hurt people either especially since she was so scared she'd BE her aunt. Bea was so okay with it all the time too which kind of angered me?? At what point was she going to stand up for herself? Here's a young child who letting herself get shit on because it's her crush shitting on her. I mean, it's still shit.
Anyways, like any other book, it has its positives and negatives. If you're looking for a book that's sufficiently technical, but completely immersive in its vibes, this is could be for you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2022
Sometimes, your destruction can look like a fourteen-year-old with leaves in her hair.
FJDKSOSJGODPSPPFFPGKSDKW THE ENDING??????? WTH 😭😭😭😭
This book surpassed my expectations by a mile- the characters were well developed and I really did care about them both. I love dual-perspective and really enjoyed how Saffyr's perspective was from the past while Bea kept us updated on the current happenings- this really ensured a non-repetive, engaging narrative that kept me interested and intrigued.
"What do you do when you're not here?"
She shrugs. "You know, skulk, spy, be a general nuisance, countdown the hours until I get to bother you."
While there are definitely some edits that could be made, it was nothing too major that kept me from enjoying the story. All for free, as well! Don't miss out! I can't wait for the next book to come out and will definitely be reading it :)
February 25, 2022
Wow, this book was absolutely fantastic. I always love a good lesbian romance with fantasy elements, But this book is probably one of the best I’ve read. I really like that I both enjoy the fantasy elements and was invested in the romance. Both of the main characters were really well developed and enjoyable to read, and this is definitely a book I could see myself re-reading in the future.
May 7, 2022
This book! I don’t even know where to start.
I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to give it a read. It sounded like something I’d enjoy, I wasn’t expecting it to be up there with my favourite books.
I was hooked from the beginning. The characters, the plot literally everything about this book is amazing. Every interaction between Bea and Saffyr, honestly too perfect!
I’m ignoring the odd spelling and grammar errors cause honestly they didn’t take anything from it.
This book deserves so much recognition. It feels like a breath of fresh air from other fantasy books.
I seriously cannot stress how much I loved this book. I highly recommend giving it a read!
I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to give it a read. It sounded like something I’d enjoy, I wasn’t expecting it to be up there with my favourite books.
I was hooked from the beginning. The characters, the plot literally everything about this book is amazing. Every interaction between Bea and Saffyr, honestly too perfect!
I’m ignoring the odd spelling and grammar errors cause honestly they didn’t take anything from it.
This book deserves so much recognition. It feels like a breath of fresh air from other fantasy books.
I seriously cannot stress how much I loved this book. I highly recommend giving it a read!
September 29, 2022
I feel reluctant to rate this book because the author is a friend of mine on Goodreads. However, I decided if I had published a book I would want a honest review so with that I reluctantly give this book a 2 stars.
For a book with characters that had magic powers, there was not enough magic. The trials were not explained and most of this was boring conversation. The "slow burn" was not slow burn as you could tell immediately that they were in love with each other. Too much conversation and not enough magic.
Also, the whole thing with the building burning down. It was so blatantly obvious who did it.
For a book with characters that had magic powers, there was not enough magic. The trials were not explained and most of this was boring conversation. The "slow burn" was not slow burn as you could tell immediately that they were in love with each other. Too much conversation and not enough magic.
Also, the whole thing with the building burning down. It was so blatantly obvious who did it.
April 18, 2022
I read this book in one day and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.
The complexity of Beatrix and Saffyr and their arcs was insanely interesting and you can tell that there was so much thought put into this fantasy but also dark and twisted world the author has built.
The ending was insane and I’m ecstatic for the sequel!!
The complexity of Beatrix and Saffyr and their arcs was insanely interesting and you can tell that there was so much thought put into this fantasy but also dark and twisted world the author has built.
The ending was insane and I’m ecstatic for the sequel!!
February 15, 2022
This is a beautiful book, and I love it so much!!!
April 18, 2022
book triggers: physical and emotional abuse depictions and mentions, ptsd, arranged marriage, bullying, violence, and genocide (well, i wouldn’t call it genocide because it was about twelve people but the book uses that word for it)
disclaimer: i was given a free copy of this book with no obligation to review it. i’ve decided to review it anyway.
holy shit. i have a lot to say about this book. i’ll start it with a confession: i only read this book because it was the first time an author had reached out to me wanting me to read their book (i mean not me specifically but you know). i don’t usually read fantasy but childhood friends to enemies to lovers? i had to. and for most of the books, i was pretty sure i was going to give it 3 stars. partly because it felt like three stars and partly because i give most everything four stars so i wanted to change the pace. it was the last page that changed my mind. holy shit. what an ending. the author is an evil genius for that ending.
i had some issues with the book so i’ll get them out of the way. there were definitely some inconsistencies and mistakes that probably should have been fixed before publishing. for example, on page 12, it said that saffyr’s aunt had no experience with fire wielding but then not even a paragraph later it said that she had been stripped of her (supposedly nonexistent) fire wielding powers. it was small things like that and spelling mistakes (soul-survivor instead of sole survivor) that was my biggest problem with this book.
but honestly, i loved this book. i sped through it in like two hours. the romance was beautiful if not heartbreaking, the plot was riveting, the world building was excellent, and it made me consider incorporating more fantasy into my reading repertoire. can’t wait to see what this author does next.
bonus points for including two of my favorite tropes aka “sorry” “you apologize too much” “sorry” and “you’re an idiot.” “yeah but i’m your idiot.”
favorite quotes:
Saffyr’s gone in the morning. I know she has to be, but itsurprises me more than normal when Saffyr’s gone in the morning. But then I remember linked fingers and whispers against the darkness and I can’t wait to get ready for the day, if only because I know it’ll bring me closer to getting to see her again tonight.
She groans, sprawling backwards onto the bed. “I was an idiot.”
I climb under the covers. “Yeah, but you’re my idiot.”
“Sometimes your destruction can look like a fourteen- year-old with leaves in her hair.”
and my last favorite quote is the last sentence that i will not include for spoiler reasons.
disclaimer: i was given a free copy of this book with no obligation to review it. i’ve decided to review it anyway.
holy shit. i have a lot to say about this book. i’ll start it with a confession: i only read this book because it was the first time an author had reached out to me wanting me to read their book (i mean not me specifically but you know). i don’t usually read fantasy but childhood friends to enemies to lovers? i had to. and for most of the books, i was pretty sure i was going to give it 3 stars. partly because it felt like three stars and partly because i give most everything four stars so i wanted to change the pace. it was the last page that changed my mind. holy shit. what an ending. the author is an evil genius for that ending.
i had some issues with the book so i’ll get them out of the way. there were definitely some inconsistencies and mistakes that probably should have been fixed before publishing. for example, on page 12, it said that saffyr’s aunt had no experience with fire wielding but then not even a paragraph later it said that she had been stripped of her (supposedly nonexistent) fire wielding powers. it was small things like that and spelling mistakes (soul-survivor instead of sole survivor) that was my biggest problem with this book.
but honestly, i loved this book. i sped through it in like two hours. the romance was beautiful if not heartbreaking, the plot was riveting, the world building was excellent, and it made me consider incorporating more fantasy into my reading repertoire. can’t wait to see what this author does next.
bonus points for including two of my favorite tropes aka “sorry” “you apologize too much” “sorry” and “you’re an idiot.” “yeah but i’m your idiot.”
favorite quotes:
Saffyr’s gone in the morning. I know she has to be, but itsurprises me more than normal when Saffyr’s gone in the morning. But then I remember linked fingers and whispers against the darkness and I can’t wait to get ready for the day, if only because I know it’ll bring me closer to getting to see her again tonight.
She groans, sprawling backwards onto the bed. “I was an idiot.”
I climb under the covers. “Yeah, but you’re my idiot.”
“Sometimes your destruction can look like a fourteen- year-old with leaves in her hair.”
and my last favorite quote is the last sentence that i will not include for spoiler reasons.
May 30, 2022
I’m giving this book 3.25 ✨ and here’s why…
This isn’t a book I would have picked on my own but it was offered as an ARC by the author in a google doc so I decided to try it out and I read it in one sitting!
I actually enjoyed it mostly. I liked the world the author created, the characters were interesting, and it was a please to read. I didn’t find it to really be a enemies to lovers though. Throughout the book I would never classify Bea && Saffyr to be true enemies.
It broke my heart that Saffyr went through what she did as a child && didn’t have the loving family she deserved. I understand why she is the way she is because of how she was raised! I love how Bea is && how she truly sees the good in people. No matter what Saffyr does Bea stays by her side && loves her regardless, even when she’s blamed for something bad that happens, Bea sticks by her! I loved how they progress but the one thing I CANNOT get behind is that ending. I definitely had a WTF moment at the ending, lol! I get this is the first book in a duology but I feel there should have been more to the way it ended. Yes it ended on a cliffhanger which is fine but I feel we should have gotten one more in depth chapter from Saffyr before it ended with Bea.
I will definitely read book 2 because I need to know what happens next && I can only hope I get the answers I’m looking for!
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read your book.
This isn’t a book I would have picked on my own but it was offered as an ARC by the author in a google doc so I decided to try it out and I read it in one sitting!
I actually enjoyed it mostly. I liked the world the author created, the characters were interesting, and it was a please to read. I didn’t find it to really be a enemies to lovers though. Throughout the book I would never classify Bea && Saffyr to be true enemies.
It broke my heart that Saffyr went through what she did as a child && didn’t have the loving family she deserved. I understand why she is the way she is because of how she was raised! I love how Bea is && how she truly sees the good in people. No matter what Saffyr does Bea stays by her side && loves her regardless, even when she’s blamed for something bad that happens, Bea sticks by her! I loved how they progress but the one thing I CANNOT get behind is that ending. I definitely had a WTF moment at the ending, lol! I get this is the first book in a duology but I feel there should have been more to the way it ended. Yes it ended on a cliffhanger which is fine but I feel we should have gotten one more in depth chapter from Saffyr before it ended with Bea.
I will definitely read book 2 because I need to know what happens next && I can only hope I get the answers I’m looking for!
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read your book.
April 30, 2022
First of all, thank you to the author of this book for providing me with a free e-book. This book had me in a chokehold. It is one of the best love stories I have every read and the sheer complexity of the relationship between Bea and Saffyr had me screaming crying throwing up. I love the way the book is written with the dual perspective and dual timeline. It was a great way to tell the story without just info-dumping the backstory and I really enjoyed how they ended up merging at the end of the book. All in all, this book was just so good. I honestly don’t have any critiques. I’m so excited to read the sequel and see what happens next to my favourite sapphics <3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2022
This book was absolutely amazing. It has everything I love. Enemies to lovers, fantasy, wlw, etc. HOWEVER. I am very upset by the ending (no spoilers). I can’t wait for the sequel because I am actually crying.
April 28, 2022
This was so good and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it for free from the author! I wouldn't say it's quite a childhood friends to enemies to lovers as Bea and Saffi didn't see each other as far as enemies? But the characters are fleshed out so well and the POV switches work really well in telling the story, both past and present.
That ending though!!! I want to hate it but I kind of love it too? I kind of want to hate it but I can understand because of the circumstances and how Saffi grew up. I almost felt like it was sort of leading up to that, but the ending was still a surprise for me. I would definitely love it if there's a sequel in the works because I'm absolutely dying to know Saffi's thoughts and feelings during the trials and what her side of the story is!
It does have some grammatical or spelling errors that need to be fixed up a bit but nothing to really make a big deal out of. And definitely needs more romance for me to agree with the trope it's listed as, but ugh so good
That ending though!!! I want to hate it but I kind of love it too? I kind of want to hate it but I can understand because of the circumstances and how Saffi grew up. I almost felt like it was sort of leading up to that, but the ending was still a surprise for me. I would definitely love it if there's a sequel in the works because I'm absolutely dying to know Saffi's thoughts and feelings during the trials and what her side of the story is!
It does have some grammatical or spelling errors that need to be fixed up a bit but nothing to really make a big deal out of. And definitely needs more romance for me to agree with the trope it's listed as, but ugh so good
April 21, 2022
Overall, the book has potential and is a fun read. That being said, there are some places where an editor is needed. There were about five run on sentences I caught in the copy I got. I wish there was just a little more world building done in the beginning. I loved the flashbacks to the past and adored the scene where they held hands for the first time! It was so cute! 🥰
April 24, 2022
I enjoyed this book a lot. It did have some grammatical issues, but nothing major.
The ending left me wanting more, which is always a good thing to have in a book.
All in all, a great debut!
The ending left me wanting more, which is always a good thing to have in a book.
All in all, a great debut!
September 6, 2023
???? NO
April 30, 2022
wanted to start out by thanking the author alex for sending me this book!! i absolutely loved it. it was written extremely well, the story and the romance were both very well done. there was very limited spelling errors, and the book really had me hooked. it would be nice if maybe in future novels in the series the academy and whole workings of the powers and world could be more explained? it would be interesting to read and would also solve any confusion i had while reading it (: i cant wait to read the future books in this series, and any book that comes from this author!!!
April 14, 2022
I got sent the PDF of ,,An Affinity for Burning'' yesterday, read the first lines and could not put it down. It was so easy for me to get ,,addicted`` to this book as I wanted to get more information about the Academy, the magic system, the characters and their story. I feel like I´ve never read a book this fast! I personally prefer books that are more character-driven rather than plot-focused (which this book did an excellent job on!) so I´ll start this review by giving my opinion on our two lovely protagonists - Beatrix and Saffyr. OH. MY. GOD. I AM SO IN LOVE WITH BOTH OF THEM!!!! It is a little funny to me because I could sympathize with Bea´s personality A LOT and at the same time, Saffyr´s character has lots of similarities to my girlfriend. The way Saffyr is really focused on keeping Bea safe at all times (of course Bea, too, wants Saffyr to be safe and sound), has to deal with a lot of guilt and seems like a cold person at first/from the outside EVEN THOUGH SHE IS LITERALLY JUST A VERY SENSITIVE PERSON WITH A BIG FEAR OF LOSING PEOPLE/THINGS THT ARE IMPORTANT TO HER 3 - totally my gf (pls don´t let them see this... I´d be dead + keep in mind that this is just how I view Bea and Saffi). AND BEA! Oh, my so well-loved Beatrix. She is one of the first book characters that I could TRULY relate to and her being sapphic just makes this even better. I loved every single interaction between them - every look, every touch, every ,,i like/love you'' (indirect ones as well ofc - tbh especially those). If I was Bea I would´ve folded on spot after one look at Saffyr...
The only ,,complaint'' I have is that I would´ve liked a little more explaining about the Academy. This is a very important part of this book but for some reason, I felt like there was too little said about the Academy - not giving it enough ,,weight'' as an important point in the story plot (or at least not as much as I had wished for). I would´ve loved to see a couple of scenes where all the girls were training together or even having little battles to see who´s the strongest/how far they´ve come in their training. In general, I wished there was even more description of the magic/more use of magic (I just really love the magic element in this book) or MAYBE even a real battle between Saffyr and Bea.
BUUUUUUUUT this is only the first book in this series (¿or is it ,,just'' going to be a duology?) so
there are still a lot more possibilities to elaborate/develop (on) some parts. I definitely want to read everything that will come out in the future relating to ,,An Affinity for Burning'' as I am now obsessed with Saffea/Beaffyr (which one sounds better?).
In general, this book made my sapphic heart really really happy! I am OBSESSED with the
childhood-friend-to-lovers trope (as I tend to fall right into it as well...) and sprinkling a little bit of the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers in there, combined with some miscommunication/lack of communication, was just perfect in this case!
So anyway, sapphics, if you´re looking for something new to read - read ,,AN AFFINITY FOR BURNING''! (pls I need someone to talk to after reading this...)
moral of the story: I LOVE WOMEN
The only ,,complaint'' I have is that I would´ve liked a little more explaining about the Academy. This is a very important part of this book but for some reason, I felt like there was too little said about the Academy - not giving it enough ,,weight'' as an important point in the story plot (or at least not as much as I had wished for). I would´ve loved to see a couple of scenes where all the girls were training together or even having little battles to see who´s the strongest/how far they´ve come in their training. In general, I wished there was even more description of the magic/more use of magic (I just really love the magic element in this book) or MAYBE even a real battle between Saffyr and Bea.
BUUUUUUUUT this is only the first book in this series (¿or is it ,,just'' going to be a duology?) so
there are still a lot more possibilities to elaborate/develop (on) some parts. I definitely want to read everything that will come out in the future relating to ,,An Affinity for Burning'' as I am now obsessed with Saffea/Beaffyr (which one sounds better?).
In general, this book made my sapphic heart really really happy! I am OBSESSED with the
childhood-friend-to-lovers trope (as I tend to fall right into it as well...) and sprinkling a little bit of the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers in there, combined with some miscommunication/lack of communication, was just perfect in this case!
So anyway, sapphics, if you´re looking for something new to read - read ,,AN AFFINITY FOR BURNING''! (pls I need someone to talk to after reading this...)
moral of the story: I LOVE WOMEN
April 30, 2024
That ending was not what I expected and I don’t know how I feel about it- but seeing there was to be a sequel, got me to see that it is already out so I am going to try to get my hands on that asap (I was sent a PDF copy of this book by the author quite a while ago and only got to reading it now).
Regardless of how I feel about the ending, I really liked the character development and the transitions between present day and the days of Bea and Saffyr’s youth.
I saw one or two instances of the wrong character name being written but that was easy to see what the author meant based on who was speaking in the chapter.
Not too challenging to follow for the most part either. And lovely world building!
Regardless of how I feel about the ending, I really liked the character development and the transitions between present day and the days of Bea and Saffyr’s youth.
I saw one or two instances of the wrong character name being written but that was easy to see what the author meant based on who was speaking in the chapter.
Not too challenging to follow for the most part either. And lovely world building!
May 24, 2022
I loved it! It was such a good book. The characters and their feelings were complex and they felt so real. The story comes together beautifully through the alternating points of view, and finishing a chapter just leaves you wanting to read the next one. It is incredibly hard to stop reading once you’ve started. And that ending! No spoilers but I think I actually stopped breathing the whole time I was reading these last 10 pages or so. I am eagerly waiting for the sequel!
February 3, 2025
7/10
I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy and honestly this was enjoyable.
Well I won't say this is actually an enemy to lovers but I like the dynamics of the characters, the plot is well done and the world building is great.
I took so long finishing this, it never hooked me completely and even if I did like it I will not read it again.
It was just not for me, not my style and I don't know what else to say.
(I'm still gonna be reading the second one lol)
I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy and honestly this was enjoyable.
Well I won't say this is actually an enemy to lovers but I like the dynamics of the characters, the plot is well done and the world building is great.
I took so long finishing this, it never hooked me completely and even if I did like it I will not read it again.
It was just not for me, not my style and I don't know what else to say.
(I'm still gonna be reading the second one lol)
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