If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, this review will contain inevitable spoilers. I’d suggest – strongly – that you not read it. Instead, read my reviews of the first book, Witch & Wizard, here and the second, Witch & Wizard: The Gift, here. I am super-duper happy to announce that moi here at the Bibliophile Support Group is actually quoted on the back cover of Witch & Wizard: The Fire! How awesome is that? Very. ;)
Anyway, if you are still reading I hope you have read the previous books and aren’t about to spoil your fun! I’m trusting you…
Whit and Wisty Allgood have powers. And apparently they are the stars of a prophecy having to do with getting the world out from under the tyrannical thumb of The One Who is The One. He dictates everything and has pretty much outlawed anything you like or believe in: religion, music, books, movies, etc.
Whit and Wisty have tried, in the past, to fight him. But his power is so strong; they keep barely escaping with their lives. They’ve sacrificed so much – seen their very own parents murdered… It’s discouraging to say the least.
The gift of fire is highly coveted by The One, which is why he’s always after Wisty. She knows she’s supposed to be the key to beating him – but when she uses it against him it only seems to provide him with more power.
Before it’s too late, these magical siblings need to learn how they can defeat The One – or it might never happen…
You know, I wish I had the time to reread the first two books in the series. I remember really liking them, but hoping that James Patterson would shy away from the whole “kids can save the world!” gimmick that was growing rather heavy and corny. I just kind of had to jump in and try to reorient to the story.
Witch & Wizard: The Fire starts intense, grim, dark, and well, kinda cool! It’s suspenseful and whip-fast – dragging you along for the ride whether you want go or not. I found it to be absorbing, different, and unadulterated entertainment.
The Fire has a vicious, violent and a rather exaggerated but effective disturbing element to it. It’s a merge of fantasy, dystopia, and action/adventure genres.
Now, I did begin to feel it got cluttered and rushed somewhere in the middle and towards the end. In fact, I’m almost starting to wonder if there’s an endgame to the series. Sadly, in my opinion, The Fire started to have a sense of a jumbled mess with some painfully cheesy dialogue and a convoluted plot.
Yet, despite my disappointment and eventual waning of interest in what I considered to be a lackluster conclusion, I still found Witch & Wizard: The Fire to be, on the whole, an easy and fun read.
It’s just too bad I didn’t feel the attachment all the way through… But, it looks like there might be another book in the series. I’m not as eager as I was before, but I’d give it a chance to prove itself to me.
After all – Witch & Wizard: The Fire might be your favorite in the series! I could be eating crazy cupcakes or something. Let me know what you think!
*I received a review copy of Witch & Wizard: The Fire from Hachette Book Group. Their generosity in no way influenced, nor sought to influence, my opinion of the novel.
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