First in a series of books, definitely not a stand alone novel. I have to agree with the majority on here, this book is incorrectly listed as urban fantasy. It's more of a historical fantasy. If historical and high fantasy series are your niche, then you will enjoy this book! (In other words, you know how this works with these books) I don't know that I would label this a teen book either. There are some more adult themes touched upon. The prologue had me from the first paragraph. The reader is immediately set into a scene where a boy must watch his brother and what appears to be his lover burned for witchcraft at the end of the sixteenth century. The boy is preparing to give the brother and the girl a clean death by crossbow before they are set on fire when we are whisked away to the beginning of the boy, Seth's, story.The entire story is told from Seth's point of view. He is quite the character, flawed and so very real. A bastard child at the age of eight sent from his mother, an advisor to the Sithe Queen, to stay with his father as Seth offers no use to her political or otherwise. His father is a Captain in the Sithe court and has his own holdings and community to take care of. Seth is the result of a minor dalliance. No one likes Seth. He is ridiculed, beaten, and at times invisible. No one cares what he does, so he spends much of his time learning on his own about his people and fishing. Until his brother Conal comes back to the holdings and takes it upon himself to befriend his brother.Slowly Seth transforms from this wild and obscure member of their community into the early stages of a loyal and devoted brother and friend to Conal. This book is mostly driven by their relationship and Seth's struggle to find himself amidst the upheaval in their home and the mad Queen's attempt to cause some major strife for the Sithe. For all of Seth's flaws, his brother is the polar opposite. Conal is kind, considerate, he inspires the love and loyalty of his people and when they are exiled to the human world by the Queen he cannot help but strive to help those less fortunate though it means drawing attention to themselves when being different meant death.I would say the first half of this book moves rather quickly. The pace is intense.The second half is more about the court intrigue and background on the Sithe. In true high fantasy fashion, the action slows and we have the leisure to fall in love with our dear Seth as he learns to put his hate aside and find his heart. There is much foreshadowing through out the book which I didn't expect even though it's part of a series. I cannot wait to read the rest of them and see where things go. The plot twists in this book aren't what I expected at all. The world building is a little confusing at first but once you are eyeballs deep into Seth's mischief everything flows together. Overall, quite the story and I rather enjoyed it. Seth MacGregor is Sithe, and lives in their realm beyond the Veil, apart from full-mortals. Abandoned by his witch mother, he lives in his father's clan as an outsider, unruly and wild. He idolizes his older brother, Conal, who will inherit their father's captaincy of their dun/village.Conal is loved by many, which draws the irritation of their queen, the beautiful but cruel Kate NicNiven. And when Kate exiles Conal to the human world, Seth chooses exile, as well. In the human world it's the end of the sixteenth century, when superstition and religious upheaval lead to brutal witch hunts. When Conal and Seth draw the attention of a new priest in town, they decide to return to the Sithe and risk Kate's wrath.FIREBRAND surprised me because the cover looks like your average corny fantasy. Fortunately it's more than that. Tautly written, the prose is lovely yet not flowery. If you're a fan of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Chronicles (if you love traditional fantasy, Cornwell's historical fiction series is worth reading) or even Mary Stewart's Arthurian series, FIREBRAND has the same feel--setting up the world and a people in a way that builds on each other.The first person PoV character Seth is a complicated man. We follow him from his youth as he struggles to hold his own among a hard and warlike people. He's hot-headed, dark tempered, and utterly loyal to Conal. Philip did a great job portraying a young man in a culture foreign to ours, yet she was also able to make it feel real to readers. Seth's narration of those around him shows an ability to understand people, even if he doesn't like most of them.The differences between the Sithe and human worlds felt pretty basic, which is really my only complaint with FIREBRAND (hopefully this will be remedied with sequels)--although these differences are enough for now to make the prejudices between the people believable. The straightforward story moves between Seth's father's dun, Kate's underground court, and the human world, and it was easy to visualize the places and people.The strength of FIREBRAND is Seth himself and the story of his life and how much his brother Conal influences it for the better. It's easy to see why Seth idolizes his brother and is willing to sacrifice in order to follow him. A lot of the story does revolve around what Conal does, which made me wonder why Seth was the PoV narrator, but I'm willing to see where the series goes. They spend the story of FIREBRAND at the mercy of Kate and the world around them, until they finally take matters into their own hands in an exciting final chapter that turns their world upside-down.FIREBRAND is a quick read and would be appealing to many different readers, teenagers and adults alike.Recommended Age: 15+Language: A mere handful of instancesViolence: Bloody battles, yesSex: Implied and referenced but nothing on screen*** Find this and other reviews at Elitist Book Reviews. ***
What do You think about Tulimieli (2014)?
Again, this series was one of my more recent finds - but I'm anxiously awaiting the third.
—sherridelaney
Gave up after my 50 page rule. Just failed to pique my interest. Maybe another time.
—Dijana
Review to follow: loved the middle, found the other sections dragged.
—unoriiginal
One of the best books I've read in quite a while. Excellent!
—gyle
