The sisters, plus Luka (Iris’ childhood crush whom she has repressed feelings for), take a few road trips following clues that don’t go anywhere until this sexy dude Fjolar just yeets into existence. This was frustrating because we spend 50+ pages establishing such a broken relationship. Then her mother just disappears for the rest of the book and doesn’t impact anything. When she’s attacked, hovering between the space of life and death, we’re supposed to feel scared and worried since the attack becomes Iris’ primary concern, but I couldn’t connect with Iris in any way. We’re introduced to an instantly dislikable mother who calls her daughter a whore and generally hates everything about her. I can’t even really summarize what happens. The characters were all over the place, which left the plot a directionless mess. It can be both sword and shield for you, and win you anything you want.” Wicked Like a Wildfire, page 101 “Your beauty is a force, you know, a power all its own. Everything surrounding the imagery fell apart. I love purple prose – I’m here for all of the sensory and vivid details – but even if the descriptions were well-written and immersive, they served no purpose in the plot. Perhaps the only redeeming quality of this book is the beautiful descriptions.

When their overbearing mother is attacked, their witchy past comes back to haunt them as they’re left to discover the secret history of their magic. The gleam is a magical power that allows them to manipulate beauty. The novel follows Iris and Malina – twin sisters who have a gleam.

I wasn’t vibing with it at all, and I sort of just drifted along until it was over.

Wicked Like a Wildfire sadly missed the mark for me. The premise didn’t initially hook me, but I of course wanted to give it a read. Review: I received Wicked Like a Wildfire from Fairyloot’s “Otherworlds” book box in August 2017. Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

Wicked like a wildfire by lana popović