Hello, everyone! Today I’ve got a LONG overdue ARC review of The Fire Within Them by Matthew Ward. The first book in the series, The Darkness Before Them, didn’t really blow me away. So, I’ve put off reading this sequel for far too long. Did I enjoy this book more than the first one? Read on to find out!

The second book in Matthew Ward’s action-packed trilogy, the Soulfire Saga, The Fire Within Them is set in a world ruled by an immortal king, where souls fuel magic and a supernatural mist known as the Veil threatens to engulf the land. Perfect for fans of John Gwynne and Anthony Ryan.

For the first time in a millennium, the kingdom of Khalad is divided. The Battle of Athenoch has fanned the spark of Bashar Vallant’s rebellion to a raging flame. Tyzanta, jewel of the east, has declared for his cause, and other cities have followed. Vallant, the people’s hero, may soon be powerful enough to challenge Caradan Diar, Khalad’s immortal king.

But such power demands great personal sacrifice.

Afflicted with omen rot after channeling the Deadwinds to save Athenoch from the koilos army, Kat searches for a means to stop the disease killing her as it did her mother. Her journey will uncover secrets long since buried–secrets concerning her past, her family and the kingdom itself. Eventually she’ll learn that the past never stays buried in Khalad–and that the truth can cut deeper than any blade.

***Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a copy of the book. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I enjoyed The Fire Within Them a lot more than its predecessor, but I still found myself struggling to get through it. The writing made my eyes glaze over at times, and I often needed to backtrack to re-read some bits to understand what was happening. I think this author’s writing just doesn’t work for me, and that’s okay. Although, I do want to note that I don’t think it was poorly written, just a style that fell flat for me.

The plot of The Fire Within Them was interesting, but it also felt overstuffed and drawn out while at the same time dropping some key storylines from the first book. I loved the addition of Tanith as a POV, and her story was the best thing about the book for me. Kat’s story was exciting, especially towards the end, but it felt a bit disjointed. I kept wishing things would shift back to Tanith and move her story forward. As for Damant’s POV, it could have been scrapped. I loved the insight into Rima and the world’s history that we got from it. However, I think it would have been better to get that information from the sisters’ story somehow. The glaringly obvious absence of the rebellion and Vallant from most of this story was an odd choice, as well. They had their big victory in the last book, and then they felt like an afterthought here, which I didn’t like.

I’m happy to report that I connected with the characters a lot more in The Fire Within Them. In the last book, the emotional impact just didn’t come through, and it felt like there was a wall between the reader and the characters. I came to care deeply about Tanith in this novel. She was literally a monster, but I loved how she learned that she has a choice in what she does regardless of her innate tendencies. She started out quite naive and just wanted a place to belong. Many parts of her story were incredibly sad, but she developed so much self-agency along the way. Kat developed much more depth in this novel, too. She had to come to terms with her family history and finally put the memory of her father to rest, all while trying to figure out a way to save her own life.

The Fire Within Them also greatly expanded the lore and history of this world. So much weird stuff happened in this book, and I enjoyed going along for the ride. I loved getting more background on the immortal king and his purpose, as well as the history of Rima’s people. Some of it did get hard to follow at times, though, just because there were so many secrets being unveiled in the different plot threads. Things came together brilliantly in the end, and I think I understood most of it by the time I got there. lol. It definitely all made me want to pick up the next book. So, I can’t complain too much.

All in all, The Fire Within Them was a step up from its predecessor in both character work and world-building. I’m so curious to see where the story goes next. Will I ever re-read this series? Probably not since the writing style isn’t my favorite. However, I will absolutely be picking up the final book in the near future to see how everything wraps up. Therefore, I rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on The Fire Within Them by Matthew Ward. Have you read this series? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments, and be on the lookout for my review of the final book, which I’m starting to read soon.