The story is intensely emotional and left me feeling sad till the end. Through the vivid descriptions I could picture the devastation of the wild fire, the fight to escape and survive, the search for their loved ones. Through the authors writing i could envisage the aftermath and the consequences for all those who experienced the fire, those who survived, who caused it and those who are lost. As the story progresses you feel the fight for the survivors and the person to caused it to deal with it in their own way.

This was a heart wrenching and poignant read. This is my second Christy Lefteri read, it was very moving and heartbreaking but unlike the beekeeper of Aleppo which I read through my tears.

A heartbreaking story of the devastation caused by a wildfire in Greece. Christy Lefteri is wonderful at emotive writing and she does it again with The Book of Fire.

A duel timeline tells Irini's tale of how she and her family survive the fire, the destruction caused both to the land and to the people.

It explores climate change, mental health, love and loss. Definitely not a light read but with Southern Europe currently experiencing an extreme heatwave, it feels like a very topical read.

I was pleased to receive this ARC via NetGalley in lieu of my honest review.

Christy lefteri never fails to hit the emotions.
I found this book thought provoking and emotional.
A man burns some land but the fire gets out of control due to a drought, the aftermath is devastating and this book follows a family who lost a lot but survived.
I loved the story and I honestly look forward to the next Christy Lefteri book, she's one heck of a writer.
Thank you netgalley.

I really loved Christy's last book and was looking forward to reading this one and it was beautifully told.

The book of fire is told is about a family living in the forest on a Greek island. When a wildfire rages out of control and destroys their home Irini the mother - must try to keep her family safe whilst dealing with her own haunting secret.

I loved the descriptions of the forest and wildlife. The pictures painted by words of the animals, trees and flowers were amazing. The contrast from before and after the fire was massively different and written about really well Reading this while wildfires rage through Greece and Europe even now made it all the more real.

This book is about strength, courage, family and love and I really love Irini and Chara as characters.

I will be recommending this book to others and looking for new reads from Christy. 4.5 round up :)

A stunning book about what makes home, family and identity.

Irini, Tasso and their daughter, Chara live in an ancient forest in Greece - Irini is a musician and Tasso a painter of the forest in all its moods. One day a wildfire consumes their home, village and destroys the forest.

Irini finds the man who started the fire while exploring the devastation and makes a decision which will haunt her. Tasso sinks into depression following the death of his father and the fire damage to his own hands. Irini has to nurse her daughter who suffered life changing burns in the fire.

The story alternates between Irini’s memories of the fire and its immediate aftermath and their recovery and the hope they eventually find.

A hard read but ultimately very rewarding.

Written in beautifully descriptive language that reads like poetry, if you want to see a heroine rise like a phenoix, this captures that image perfectly. With links to England and Greece an interesting journey.

I love Christy Lefteri’s writing so unsurprisingly I adored this book. Read in an afternoon at breakneck speed it has left me not daring to breathe. How can a book be so desolate and yet so expectant and humbling at the same time?
After her first two very different novels I would have thought that the author would be running out of ideas for Anglo Greek stories and yet here is The Book of Fire.
The novel deals with the destructive power of a wildfire and the affects it has on both the natural landscape and the humans that live there and it’s causes, man’s greed and arrogance and climate change. Throughout the story Irini tells us of her late father in laws doom like pronouncements that the ground is too dry, that it will become a desert and how he cannot understand why people do not listen to him “it is like my tongue is growing hair!” With the world beating up and more and more wildfires breaking out every year this book is bang on the money when it comes to demonstrating the far reaching affects of ignoring climate change and how those who work the land have been yelling into a void about it for many years now. Hand in hand with climate change comes human greed and desire for constant development of rural areas, deforestation and pollution and in The Book of Fire Irini’s daughter Chara shows how meaningful even the smallest acts can be when she adopts a badly burnt Jackal pup and nurses him back to health. Her adolescent clear sightedness enables her to cope with the huge tragedy that has befallen her community and her family and yet begin to document what is left of her beloved forest in drawings made from charcoal she finds in the ashes.
Irini’s personal therapy of journaling the story of what she has experienced as a storybook, depersonalising it to ‘the mother’ ‘the child’ ‘the kind people’ is her way of preserving their history and getting the events straight in her own mind without risking any further damage to her psyche. I found it very telling that Lefteri had the mother of the book escape from the fire uninjured while her daughter and husband both suffered terrible, permanent disfigurement from burns. As is so often the case the mother is the glue that holds everything together, allowing everyone around her to breakdown why she remains stoic and caring, focussed on the needs of others. Irini’s strong and loving relationship with her Dad and his way of connecting with her through stories provides her with the ability to care for herself and teach future generations the lessons she wants them to learn using story telling.
There is so much more that I could write about this book, the layers are subtle, the descriptions beautiful and haunting and the characters full of flaws and talents, likes, dislikes and quirks and they will live in my head for some time to come.

I am such a huge fan of Christy Lefteri’s writing.
She writes beautifully emotive pieces of work that really makes you feel so deeply for the characters and the hardships they have to face.
The book of fire is written in the present (after the fire) and from the past detailing the events of the fire, which is cleverly written as a story by the main character as her way of getting it all down paper.
The relationships between the mother, father and daughter are deep and meaningful but not without their flaws which makes for a truly realistic relationship.
A wonderful and evocative story, I devoured this one!

I really enjoyed Christy Lefteri's previous novel, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, so I was thrilled to find she had written a new novel. The Book of Fire is set in a small rural village in contemporary Greece and is mostly told from the perspective of Irini. The narrative concerns the immediate and the far-reaching effects of an intentionally set fire which went out of control, causing loss of human, animal and plant life but also a loss of community and innocence.
Irini is a musician. Her husband Tasso is an artist. They live with their young daughter Chara and their greyhound. One morning they suddenly become aware of a fire speedily approaching them through the forest and flee, taking nothing with them. Part of the story is Irini recounting in writing the days of and immediately following the fire (The Book of Fire). The other part of the story is set a few weeks later when the aftermath is still being felt.
This is a beautifully written, if harrowing, book. The characters are really well crafted and the relationships between them are so realistically described. While it is a story of one family and the fire it is so much more than that, concerning itself with the impact of climate change and human greed but also with all the best aspects of human kindness and love. The beauty and importance of nature and art in all their forms are celebrated throughout the novel, as are strong bonds between people , and between people and animals.
I highly recommend this latest novel from Christy Lefteri. It is a book I shall return to.
My thanks to the publisher Bonnier Books UK, via Net Galley for a complimentary ARC of this title. I have provided this honest review voluntarily.

Out of the three Christy Lefteri books I've read, "The Book of Fire" is my least favourite. I really really enjoyed "The Bee Keeper of Aleppo" and "The Songbirds" as I was emotionally engaged in the characters and plot. However, as much as the storytelling is beautiful, the storyline here didn't have didn't have that extra thing that could pull on my heart-strings.

I asked for this because I've read her other two books - both excellent and this was no exception. A terribly sad story, beautifully told and heartfelt. I will definitely be reading her next novel.

I enjoyed this quite sad but uplifting story. Not as much as the beekeeper but it was a lovely read. Looking forward to the next one

A powerful, captivating and absorbing story. The Big Fire central to it all.
It is a tale that has everything - tension, secrets, love, community and family.
Lefteri cleverly weaves a story full of tension, but with some delightful lighter moments with a slight touch of humour e.g when the mother's father uses Cockney slang such as 'apples and pears' and 'once upon a Harry Lime', though he is a Greek.
Five stars from me. I loved it.

The narrator of 'The Book of Fire' is Irini, a mother and music teacher whose life is upended when a horrific wildfire destroys her home and entire community, and leaves her husband and daughter with serious injuries. She begins writing about the fire and its aftermath as a coping mechanism, and the story alternates between Irini and her family gradually forging a new life six months after the fire, and the story of the fire and the days following it.

The story starts with Irini discovering a badly injured man in the remains of the forest - the man is a property developer who started the devastating fire when trying to illegally clear some land for a new building. Initially Irini leaves him, feeling that perhaps he deserves to die, but soon guilt overcomes her. Meanwhile she is also trying to rehabilitate her husband - an artist whose hands are severely burned, but whose mental injuries are perhaps even greater - and her ten year old daughter who also suffered serious burns and unimaginable trauma during the escape.

Lefteri is a very evocative writer. I can visualise the village and its surroundings as clearly as if I had been there. She brings vividly to life the beauty and peace of the forest, the barren wasteland after its destruction, and the sheer horror of the fire itself. The characters are interesting and sympathetic, and she writes without melodrama despite the underlying drama of the situation. It's a very believable story.

Every reader will have climate change in their minds as they read this - wildfires like the one in the book are becoming more common and more dangerous and are frequently on the news. The story acknowledges that the drier climate and lack of stewardship of the forest were factors in the fire, without ever labouring the point. There is no lecturing, but it still brings home a chilling reality of the damage already being done by climate change. This is not an apocalyptic story set in the future. This is a reflection of the reality of communities all over the world that are being impacted by this sort of catastrophic fire.

Although the subject matter is serious and there are plenty of upsetting things in the story, it is not a grim or pessimistic tale. Rather it shows the resilience and determination of human beings, and the importance of family and community in overcoming disaster. It is nice to read a book that doesn't shy away from the nastiness of life but still leaves you feeling like all is not lost.

If you enjoy well written literary fiction, and particularly if you have an interest in Greece or in natural (or partly natural) disasters, you will likely enjoy this book.

After reading the Beekeeper of Aleppo last year and being so moved by the story, I knew I had to read this one. And once again, Christy Lefteri has crafted a story of such grief and pain, but also one of hope and love.

After a fire devastates a small Greek town situated within a forest, the townspeople who survived are forced to try and rebuild their lives from what is left behind.

The book centres on a small family who survived the fires, with the text jumping between the present and the past, weaving the story of the fire throughout the day to day lives they lead now. The family have been left with both physical and emotional scars from the fire and all have been deeply affected.

We get to see different ways in which the human brain processes trauma, from shutting down completely to just functioning to the innocence and hopefulness of children. Given that the story is such a sad one, it is beautifully written and the imagery of the forest before and after the fire is so detailed that I felt as if I was immersed in it myself. The forest almost seemed like a character in itself, being grieved as a person would be.

The book takes place over probably just a few weeks and stays within the small town and yet I was completely gripped the entire time. There’s also a strong message in here about what human’s have done to the earth, and the dangers that we need to prepare for as a result.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone, though I would check the trigger warnings before hand as this deals with: grief, trauma, suicide, mental health.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to review this advance copy. A review will be posted on my Instagram page (@_thats_what_she_read) in the week preceding the release.

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I have read and reviewed the previous books from Christy Lefteri so I was happy when I received an email to say I had been pre-approved for her latest one.

As with the previous books, this is a beautifully written story with lots of atmosphere and tension. Some parts were quite difficult to read at times but a very powerful & emotional story.

I always enjoy a story that flicks backwards and forwards. A well-deserved 5 star read. Looking forward to more in the near future.

This begins as a story of a family living an idyllic life in Greece. They are Irini, her husband Tasso, their daughter Chara, and Tasso’s father who lives nearby. Their life is idyllic because they live in a beautiful place in Greece, surrounded by forest, but near to the sea. Their village life is full of love and laughter until an incomer, a greedy rich man lights a fire to try to clear land so that he can become even more rich. Because the earth is so parched (yes, this is a climate change novel, and all the richer for it) the fire quickly burns out of control, with tragic consequences. The story tells of how good people deal with bad things - it is beautifully written, atmospheric, moving and entrancing, all at once. This is a very fine book indeed.

Thanks NetGalley and publishers for the arc of The book of fire by Christy Lefteri.

Super intense! You’ll either be grabbed by it or not.

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done a fantastic job of creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing, self-discovery and confronting personal and social problems. The language is clear, concise, and evocative, with descriptions that bring the setting and characters to life. Dialogue is natural and authentic, and the pacing is well-balanced, with enough tension and release to keep the reader engaged.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I'm a huge fan of Christy Lefteri's previous work, so I was delighted to be approved for an e-arc of her latest novel.

The Book Of Fire takes us on a journey of a family who is displaced after a forest fire that is started by a man who wants to build a hotel business in their small greek town, it's a story of survival and great loss and what home means.
Irini is a musician who lives with her artist husband, Tasso, and their young daughter Chara in a house surrounded by forest and nature when disaster strikes, altering their lives forever. Nothing will ever be the same, and they all deal with great trauma whilst trying to stay connected as a family and overcome the hurdles they face, both physically and mentally. What happens when everything you know and worked for is snatched from you? How can you ever recover?

Christy has such a talent for writing emotive storylines, and The Book of Fire is no exception. I read this over just 24 hours and couldn't put it down. There's layer upon layer to this story, and I loved the depth of emotional conflict that the characters experience, As the reader It really makes you question what you would do in the circumstances these people are faced with. I really related to Irini as a mother and the love she has for her family. Although she sometimes made choices I didn't necessarily agree with, I could feel her desperation and wanted her to find the solace she needed.
Ultimately, it is a story of what it means to belong to a community and a land. It's a story of tragedy and ultimately hope. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it. It's not an easy read, and there are parts of it that are quite graphic, so do check trigger warnings.