Jordan Rivet

This is a really fun, fast-paced story that looks at what it means to be "you" when you are a clone. It takes ideas about clones that I have seen before (such as the nature/nurture aspect of personality development) and gives them a tweak. Since Jane knows she is a clone but doesn't know anything about her original or other clones from her batch, she doesn't know how much of what makes her "her" is DNA, and how much is her own unique personality.

I really liked how we were introduced to this world: we follow Jane as she starts in her boarding school for clones. She's an older teen at this point, and yet has been very sheltered — so when she leaves the school to take over the life of a batchmate who has died, a lot of what she sees in the wider world beyond the school is new to her. It worked well to introduce the reader to the world at the same time Jane is getting a proper look at it.

While Jane looks identical to Janie (the batchmate she is replacing), I appreciated that she had to study her actions and clothing styles to try to fit in better. There was a good amount of stress on Jane's part to mimic Janie well so that she didn't get found out. (And yet, as the reader, I was trying to figure out exactly what would happen to cause her secret to come out... it just seemed obvious to me that it would, and wondering when and how was a fun source of tension for me.)

The plot and pacing worked really well for me in this book. There were scenes that I was dreading reading as they started, but it turned out that I needn't have worried: the author gave us plot development in places I hadn't expected to find it. For example, at one point Jane attends a Halloween party with her (well, Janie's) school friends. I thought that if there was going to be any tension in that scene, it would be relationship drama among the teens. Instead, Jane sneaks off to do some investigating into the mystery of what happened to Janie.

Overall, this is a very fun and quick read. From the start, it had the feel of a movie to me. The pacing is quite good, and though character development is happening slowly, it is happening. I get the impression that the character development arc is spread out across the series, but you can get a definite sense of the direction it's headed from this first book. Speaking of series — I also greatly appreciated that there is a definite resolution to the book's plot while leaving series plot points open for future installments. Jane didn't get all of her answers by the end of book one, but we also have a good resolution and don't end on a cliffhanger.

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I read this book as part of the judging process for the 3rd Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC3), and while I was provided a review copy for judging purposes I read the book using the version available on Kindle Unlimited. My opinions are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of my SPSFC3 team or the competition as a whole.… (mais)

Much like the first book, this was great. I really enjoyed it. Dara and Siv took a few steps backwards towards the end but I'm sure the next book will fix that right up. Mostly though, Dara and Siv work really well together to hold the Kingdom together and to help Siv retain his crown. The dueling took a bit of a backstage in this one which I understood but also missed - that was one of my favourite parts of the first book. But I did like how we learnt a bit more about the Fire and Dara's powers. I also missed not seeing more of Sel and Sora but I'm sure the next few books will fix that as well. Siv really grew up and became a much more responsible young adult. That's another thing I really liked about this series, is the age of the characters. I like that they're young and still prone to making mistakes but they're also old enough to be at that stage where they have to be responsible for themselves. It's something I feel isn't addressed in young adult fiction as much. Further to that, I found the struggle Dara has between her own ideas of right and wrong, her feelings for Siv and her feelings for her parents fascinating. It's really hard to realise that your parents are people too and can make mistakes and may do things that you don't agree with or believe in. I'm interested to see where this series goes. On to the next one.… (mais)

I loved this. This was a great start to a new series. This isn't really like Thrones of Glass - it's infinitely more interesting. If anything I would say Dara's dedication to duelling and the action, adventure and romance is more on a par with [a:Tamora Pierce|8596|Tamora Pierce|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1209044273p2/8596.jpg]'s Tortall world. It's definitely not as good but then I think Tamora Pierce is the greatest author in the entire world and everything she has written is epic brilliance but Steel and Fire definitely reminds me of this and I very much enjoyed this.

Dara is awesome. She is set on making her own way in the world and has worked hard to achieve her goals. Her dedication to dueling is admirable. She is undoubtedly uptight but she is loyal and brave and caring. Siv is perfect for her because he brings out the best in her. Siv is kind of a mess but he really cares about his kingdom and his people. He might be foolish at times but he does care and when he becomes King he works very hard to do his best for the people. One of the best things about this book though was that Dara was the one to keep saving Siv. At one point she pushed him aside, grabs his own sword and fights off an armed attacker. And it was freaking epic. I think the best bit was the fact she tells him to run and he actually does - like listen to a GIRL? How often do you see that in young adult fiction?

The action was intriguing, even if a bit obvious. Well some, some had me going for a while. Sel was kind and funny and Sora was a strong woman determined to meet her own goals and implement her own ideas. I really liked how the siblings were so supportive of one another and had such a close and affectionate relationship.

I adored Nightfall. The lengths they went to to plot and achieve the more dramatic outcome was hilarious. The focus on dueling itself and the theatrical elements and of course the desire for patronage was riveting. I love how Dara is so dedicated to dueling that she is willing to go along with whatever schemes Siv and Sel and Sora come up with in order to have a patron and be able to duel forever. There were also some really important points brought up with relation to women and men and sport. But it was also nice to see that the balance was perhaps not as bad in the book as it is in reality and that Dara was able to overcome the odds to tip the balance in the women's favour.

Siv and Dara's friendship wasn't as developed as I would've liked but it was nice that the romance didn't impact it as heavily as the usual young adult books do.

As far as rating goes, I've given four stars. It's probably closer to 3.5, but it's a lot better than three stars, so four it is.… (mais)