Wicked Like a Wildfire - Book Review

Wicked Like a Wildfire (Hibiscus Daughter #1)
by Lana Popović

What is it about:
All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleam” to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love.

But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

What did I think of it:
I'm in two minds about this book.

It's beautifully written, but it felt slow. Now I don't mind a slow pace if it benefits the mood of the story, but here it just felt like it took forever to get to the actual point of the story and it didn't add to the mood for me.

I must say that the setting felt anachronistic at times. It's set in present day, but it felt more like the eighties to me, so I was jarred out of the story every time I was reminded by something that this was taking place now. Now I will confess that I've never been to Montenegro, so maybe they do have a pace of life and of doing things that fits more with my ideas about how it was in the eighties than it's fitting with how I experience the world today, so this might be all on me.

Those things aside this is a beautiful story with an intriguing mythology. I liked both Iris and Malina, they might be twins, but they have very different personalities. The way they both dealt with what was happening felt realistic and I rooted for them both. There were some other characters that I wished had gotten a bit more screen time. They felt important to the story, so in my opinion could have been fleshed out a bit more.

All in all a beautiful read if a bit slow. I might get the next book, but it won't be in hardcover.

Why should you read it:
It's an intriguing Paranormal YA read.


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