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Title: Flarestorm
Author: Moira Buffini
Edition: Kindle ARC
Rating: 5/5

I have finally read the third instalment in Moira Buffini’s amazing trilogy, which began with Songlight (reviewed here), followed by Torchfire (reviewed here). I’ve been waiting for more than a year to find out how the story ends, and the final book in the series did not disappoint.

The world set up in the first two books features a form of telepathy called songlight, which can be used to find other telepaths, or ‘torches’, and communicate in images and words. By the third book, the countries of Ayland and Brightland are still at war, while Brightland’s government is facing challenges from within. Petra and the airship crew from Sealand find themselves in the middle of the conflict, forced to choose between Ayland and Brightland, and their contrasting treatment of torches.

Flarestorm picks up immediately after the shocking cliffhanger at the end of Torchfire. Brightland is thrown into a full-scale civil war, the strong female leads are all fighting for survival in their own situations, and the actions of the Sealanders could tip the balance between Brightland and Ayland. Everyone with songlight is under threat, and those without are caught up in the hostilities.

It’s an absolutely breathless read. The action keeps coming, the stakes are high, and the danger for each of the main characters keeps rising. Loyalties are tested, sides switched, and our characters find themselves forging unexpected alliances to survive.

I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

The ending brings everything together – Ayland, Brightland, and Sealand; torches and people without songlight; leaders, fighters and the people caught up in the fighting.

The book is narrated by Lark, Nightingale, Swan, Petra, Piper and Rye, giving the reader access to every element of the story and every twist of the plot. It’s a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy, and I can’t recommend these books highly enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you read Flarestorm? What did you think of the setting and the story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, please!

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Title: Torchfire
Author: Moira Buffini
Edition: Kindle ARC
Rating: 5/5

The second gorgeous instalment in Moira Buffini’s trilogy, which began with Songlight (reviewed here).

The world set up in the first book features a form of telepathy called songlight, which can be used to find other telepaths, or ‘Torches’, and communicate in images and words. As in the first book, Ayland and Brightland are at war. One values songlight, and gives their Torches important places in society, while the other fears their ability to manipulate the minds of others, and routinely sends them to be lobotomised and used as mindless servants.

In Torchfire, the three strong and engaging women at the centre of the first book are joined by Petra, a girl with strong songlight from Sealand, a previously insular society with advanced technology. Petra is traveling with her parents on an airship, exploring the world after the Great Extinction. Her father is a cartographer, and her mother is a scientist, both keen to see Petra matched with Charlus, the son of the airship captain – something Petra is determined to avoid.

When the airship’s exploration reveals unexpected evidence of songlight on the continent below, the crew is drawn into the war, and the complex political intrigues set up in the first book. Their rescue of two fugitives during a mission to the ground brings all the story threads together.

Petra’s story is told alongside the continuing stories of Lark, Nightingale, and Swan, and of Petra’s brother Piper, Kingfisher, and other characters on both sides of the conflict. As their various stories converge, songlight becomes essential to their survival. The second half of the book dials up the political intrigue and physical peril, brings heart-breaking betrayals, and puts familiar characters in impossible and emotionally devastating situations.

I couldn’t stop turning the pages, and I can’t wait for the final book!

Torchfire will be published on August 28th, is available now for pre-order. Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you read Torchfire? What did you think of the setting and the story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, please!

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Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear. The comment section will close after five days.

Title: Songlight
Author: Moira Buffini
Edition: Kindle ARC
Rating: 5/5

What an absolutely gorgeous book!

The story follows three women with a form of telepathy called songlight, which they can use to find other telepaths, or ‘Torches’, and communicate in images and words. In the world of the book, two countries are at war. One values songlight, and gives their Torches important places in society, while the other fears their ability to manipulate the minds of others, and routinely sends them to be lobotomised and used as mindless servants.

Elsa cannot afford to tell anyone she has songlight – she knows she will be taken away from her family and operated on to destroy her ability. When someone close to her is imprisoned and taken away for having songlight, her distress draws another telepath to communicate with her, and they begin a long-distance friendship that must remain secret to protect them both.

Meanwhile, in the capital city, another telepath is keeping her abilities hidden as she lives and works at the top of government. As tensions rise between the warring parties, these three women find themselves at the heart of the negotiations – and risking discovery and betrayal to influence the course of the conflict.

While the narrative switches between various characters who find themselves caught up in the war, these three women are the focus of the story. Elsa is a strong protagonist – an outsider in her community, and resentful of the rules that dictate her life and her future. A strong sense of justice and fairness drives her story, and she finds her assumptions and beliefs challenged as she makes contact with telepaths across the two countries at war.

The other women face their own challenges, and as they become aware of each other, the danger of discovery increases.

My only disappointment with this book is that I didn’t know it was the start of a trilogy until I reached the end. I will be waiting very impatiently for the next instalment to find out what happens next! I can’t wait to meet these characters again.

Have you read Songlight? What did you think of the setting and the story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

YA review: Songlight cross-posted to GoodReads.

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Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear. The comment section will close after five days.