Trial by Fire Review

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini  

“I’m a witch. And witches burn.”

The start to the story is well developed and interesting as we glimpse at the struggles that Lily goes through in her everyday life, though her allergies make her fragile in this world we see that she’s not a naïve character or completely oblivious. Her friend Tristan who she’s always loved as more than a friend finally makes a move on her and when they go to a party together things seem perfect; Tristan may be a player but he wouldn’t mess around with someone else when he’s with her, his best friend, would he? When things take a turn for the bad and Lily has to deal with a friend who doesn’t want to be burdened with her anymore, what can she do? Get transported to an alternative universe?

The idea of Alternative Universes and there being endless numbers of the same person is quite fascinating and even more so when we meet Lillian who seems the exact opposite of Lily even though they are essentially the same person. When we first get introduced to Lillian’s character she’s someone who’s powerful, feared and hated but even though everybody says she’s evil her intentions for bringing Lily are not told; is it for something good?

At first it seems as if the plot to the book is Lily finding herself and gaining magic in order to overrule/overpower Lillian. But it’s more than that it’s Lily’s adventure at finding a way to go home. Meeting new people (and some familiar faces), becoming a witch and learning magic, getting her stones, fighting weavers, learning who to trust and learning to trust herself and her power. With all of this maybe she could defeat Lillian?

Lily and Lillian share some traits but also differences; after what Lily has witnessed and heard about Lillian’s evil, when she hears about the reason she’s here in the AU and the reason why Lillian did what she did, is the reason good enough for Lily to swap sides?

One thing I really liked about this story is the relationship between Lily and Juliet. Even though Juliet’s sister in the AU is Lillian she still cares and loves for Lily and helps to protect and save her. The sister’s bond is strong in both universes.

The romance in the story is complicated as Rowan loved Lillian before and Lily loved Tristan before.  It seems as if the romance is going to be awkward and weird but it isn’t, it isn’t perfect but the romance was the sub plot and I liked how it didn’t over take the main plotline.

The novel was written very well especially the action scenes; the world building was gripping and very visual. And this is a good start to a trilogy; it introduces the world, spirit walking, the characters and the revolt/battle sets up for the second book.

Also Lily was such a strong heroine she went through and had to learn so much and she was like that from the start, when she was in her own universe till the end of the story.

“Science is a tool, like witchcraft. It’s people that are evil.”     

★★★★★