My 68th read of the year was With Fire in their Blood by Kat Delacorte. I bought this book impulsively in a buy one get one half price sale at Waterstones and it’s been staring at me for a year.
A vague plot summary
Lilly is forced to move to Castello against her will, because her dad got a job opportunity. Their relationship is strained ever since her abusive mother’s suicide 8 years before and even once he uproots Lilly to a different continent, her dad still barely has time for her. When they arrive on this strange town that doesn’t show up on gps maps, it quickly becomes clear to Lilly that this place is very odd. On her first day in school where there’s hardly any teachers, she is forced to undergo ‘testing’. Lilly discovers that this town is divided between two rival families, who have been fighting for centuries until they found a common enemy: saints – people with magical powers who lived among them and fought for each side until two of them set a fire in the church that killed many people on both sides. This united war against the saints was lead by the General, who has enforced the city’s peace ever since. However, her ties to this town go deeper than simply sharing the same country her mother was born in and Lilly might just be the very thing they hate.
What did I think?
Look, this was an interesting idea and world, but in execution? It just wasn’t for me. It’s not a bad book but I found it a little dull in places and a little like a parody of 2010’s angsty novels in others. I saw a lot of reviews on Amazon really raving about this book but it didn’t hit for me.
Antonia Bernardin 
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