Daughter of the Flames, by Zoe Marriott, is a fantasy novel about a girl with a shattered path, lying before her a path of splintered, broken glass.The book opens on a shrill note of alarm; instantly Marriott transports you into another world that might've existed a very long time ago, not too far away.
Our protagonist faces Hamlet sized conflict with regard to her identity; is she Zira or Zahira? Rua or Sedorne (the two nationalities in the book) and can she pick a side without being a traitor?
I have to be honest, the first eleven chapters didn't hold much for me, they felt sort of like an over-lengthy prologue/intro and kind of cliched. But, after that, the book really takes off! The author took advantage of my favorite element (that being surprise) and not only manages to construct a brilliant fictional universe, but actually makes you look up from the book every so often because you begin to wonder if you really are somehow there.
In all, I enjoyed this, it makes for pretty good reading during a long flight/drive/journey across forbidden land. 3.5/5 stars.
Further Reading:
The authors official website.
Another review of this book.
