e-ARC, 384 pages
Release Date: February 26, 2019Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Read from: March 3-6, 2019We Set the Dark on Fire, #1Source: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW:For fans of: Dystopias, Covert Romance, Girl Power, LGBTQIAP+, Spies/ Espionage, POC Main Character/ POC Supporting Characters, Own Voices, Cliff-Hanger/ Bombshell Endings, YAAt the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.
On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?
*MY THOUGHTS*
“She was only as safe as she was vigilant.“2%
The Medio School for Girls teaches them how to take on their roles in society, whether that’s as a Primer or a Segunda. It’s here that Daniela Vargas becomes a top student, ready to become a Primera for a government official. But after graduation things begin to spiral out of control. Dani is confronted by choices she never thought twice about after leaving her family behind. Should she keep on with the privilege her parents helped grant her, or does she join the resistance group and help grant everyone the equality they deserve?
“If we’re not all free, none of us are free. You remember that.“6%
Another confession (I’m full of them today smh) I’m also not one for dystopias. This one is kind of a dystopian thriller that really set me on edge. A society like this really scares me. (And this is why I don’t care for dystopians) But I could not put this one down! I had to see how it ended because this could NOT be what we were headed for! This is really an edge of your seat dystopian that in some ways mirrors what’s happening right now, and that’s what scared me the most.
“Too much of anything could be a weakness.“18%
Another thing I really liked was the characters. Dani was another character that I met this year that my grandpa would have called a “spit-fire.” She didn’t take any shit and I LOVED that about her. She knew what she deserved and she went for it.
“Society has no use for a weak woman who clings to her husband’s coat tails.“23%
As for the ending, HOW DARE YOU DO US LIKE THIS MEJIA?! I bit my nails down to the quick at some points, I was side-eying dudes I didn’t know and so much more while reading this just for it to end there! I READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS just to make sure I didn’t miss anything lol I feel like if this was a movie it was stopped in the middle of an actual scene! No readers, it’s not a cliff hanger, but there is a very huge bomb that drops right before then and next thing you know, the book is over. It was a good place to end the book because it will make a stellar beginning for the next one, (but a terrible wait for the next one) but STILL.
“Don’t be sorry. […] Be useful..“36%
Lastly, I fell in LOVE with Mejia’s writing style! The huge plot twist I saw coming from the very beginning, but I was so into it, by the time I got to it, I still shouted, “I KNEW IT!” when I came to it. I also knew I liked it because I was also emotionally involved in it too. I got teary in some spots, I shouted in some spots, and I even had to put the book down because my heart was hammering in some spots. I don’t get this into all books.
“It was choices that changed you.“36%
This was an epic set up to what is sure to be an amazing series. It’s going to be a long wait until the next one, but this will give me plenty of time to talk it up in the meantime. This book was full of so many surprises and proves that Mejia is one author to watch!
