With Fire In Their Blood

This book was beautiful and brilliant, the twists and turns kept me reading way too late into the night (my poor students had to deal with a zombie teacher!). I fell for Lilly and wanted the best for her whilst also being excited to see what she was capable of, love a good strong female lead! Defs give this book a go, you will not regret it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC of "With Fire In Their Blood" by Kat Delacorte.

I loved this first book! It was perfectly written - which was why I requested it, I had heard such beautiful things about Delacorte's writing. The pacing was beautiful and precise, which is a rare but glorious piece of information I cherish highly.

Lilly as a protagonist is gorgeous and I truly understood her decision making and I too would also be conflicted with 3 hot people. I loved how vocal sexuality was and how it didn't shy away from letting the protagonist love whoever she wanted to love.

To conclude, I am majorly excited for Book 2 and I am already awaiting to see more of Lilly (and my favourite Christian)

4 Stars

This book was really good! It’s a dark, gothic dystopian fantasy, that once you start you can’t seem to put down.
The book was filled with so many plot twist which I really didn’t expect but definitely enjoyed. The world building was fantastic although sometimes it did seem to get a little complicated which I’m hoping to gain answers to in the following books.
There was so many well written characters which I loved. I felt that they each had a set of there own problems which we learnt about as the book went on. I loved that the characters had depth to them and that there lives were complicated.
I loved the small amount of romance that the book had and felt like it was a hint of what was to come in the next book.

I definitely looking forward to the next book in this series and to see where it goes. I definitely recommend this book as the story felt original and I’ve not read a book like this in a while.

I found this book very original and extremely well written, it has twists of magic, politics, romance and much more. All the characters were all very individual and well built - this was the same as the world building itself, and the story was captivating. I love the bisexual representation in this book and I hope to see more like it in the future. Once I picked the book up I couldn't put it down. Definitely would recommend to my friends who love the fantasy genre.

With Fire in Their Blood, dark and gothic is a dystopian fantasy infused with paranormal and magical elements.

The eerie and isolated town of Castello in Italy is a great location for this story. It is atmospheric and creepy. There's a general sense of doom and oppression right from the moment Lily enters the town. The fact that the town is divided between two warring factions and heavily policed by armed guards felt very real and reminded me of Northern Ireland during the Troubles. I could really feel the animosity and underlying current of hostility and mistrust the residents of Castello had for each other.

I found myself heavily immersed in this magical world of Castello and hooked from the very beginning. The story is quite quick paced but the tension and suspense really ratchet up a notch in the final quarter of the book. It's exciting and nail-biting and I had my heart in my mouth all the way to the end.

I loved the character development. Lily's peers were antagonistic towards her at the beginning but a friendship of sorts developed between them as the story progressed. The twists and turns in their relationships added a sense of heart and camaraderie and it pulled at my heartstrings when they were presented with conflicting and unbearable choices.

The adults in the book were less easily understood as their motivations and agendas were more hidden. I was left wondering about Lily's father. What had he been trying to tell her and what happened to him in the end? I was getting the sense that he went to Castello with a hidden agenda and that he was trying to protect her somehow but none of this is revealed. I'm hoping he will redeem himself in the next book and that said book isn't too far away.

Wait, is there a 2nd book?! Because that ending has me shook. 😱 (After losing my mind, I did hear from the author that there is another book!)

This story was everything! Dark, haunting, and gothic with a truly unique town and magic system.

Lilly the FMC is dragged to Castello by her dad, as he starts a new job. The town is divided down the middle between two families who once killed each other daily. But now their "god," the General, has convinced them that the people with power (The Saints) are the ones that need to be destroyed. And that's just what they've been doing for the past 20 years.

Lilly showing up turns the town on its head, and everyone must choose a side.

While the spice level is definitely YA geared, the moments of romance were beautiful and exciting. Kat Delacorte writes a Bi - love square full of gorgeous humans. There's a bathtub scene that I think I reread 10 times over.

The ending leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but that just leaves SO much to be discovered in the next book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Penguin Books and Kat Delacorte for early access to this eARC. I can't wait to get my physical copy in the mail!!

Firstly I’d like to thank Kat, Puffin and NetGalley for the arcs!! You all amazing and wonderful!! 😍😘

Where do I even begin with With Fire In Their Blood?! It’s a rich story steeped in history, magic and European culture with a queer twist which I just loved. Basically it’s perfect 😏😍

With Fire In Their Blood is the story of Lilly who’s moved to the other side of the world when her dad gets a new job. When she arrives in Costello, Italy she becomes aware that it’s not your average town and that it has lots of secrets and customs that she was definitely not aware of before they moved there. She meets Liza and is told the story of Costello, of a divided town, of a Clan-War and of a General which saved them all. She also learns of The Saints, The Cursed, with tainted blood and suddenly, Lilly’s life changes completely…

I’m sorry obsessed with the way Lilly integrated into Costello, it really gave the story amazing pace and introduced us to all the the characters so well. I particularly felt a pull towards Christian and Nico, for me they were like light and dark. I was absolutely engaged with them from the moment they appeared on the page and just needed to know more about them straight away. I LOVE all the romance 😏😏 there’s lots of flirting, which for me as a fantasy/romance reader, was just amazing and naturally weaved into the storyline ❤️❤️

I love how dark, arcane and suspicious the feeling of the book is. It’s literally the best!! 😍❤️ Nobody completely trusts each other with anything. Costello is a town that everyone wants to run that feels completely lost in time. I love it and can’t wait for the next book!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kat is a flowing genius! Before I get into the actual story itself, the characters and the beautifully dark visuals; I have to first write about how amazingly talented Kat is at creating a story that flows so beautifully it’s like you’re floating down the calmest river in the world. So much so that you don’t even realise that time has passed until you find that you’re at the end of the darkening stream. I can still not believe that this is a debut novel! With that writing talent I am surprised that she was not picked up sooner or has five novels behind her. This girl is seriously talented at writing; flames, story and all. You will get lost from the very first sentence until you realise your eyes have passed the very last page.

The story itself is dark and not for the faint of heart. You follow the main character Lilly on her journey from the trauma of her past to the pain that she endures because of it and through the world of the book. As I have mentioned before in a past review; it is so lovely in a way to read of a character with possible complex PTSD that is relatable, human, and has her faults but there are reasons for this that are out of her own control mentally but fights. Like smoke drifting into your brain fogging up the emotions that you want to feel. This book was beautifully written and is tells the story in such a simple way to understand yet sticks in my mind like complex nightmares and dreams. Not only this but the amount of quotes I found in this book that I need written on my wall, on bookmarks, or just somewhere that I will look at with heart reaching emotions is stunning.

What more can I say than Kat has created something that burns as long as the eternal flames of hell, and her writing has bloomed like a fresh bloody rose in a Spring night. I cannot wait to read the sequel and every book she writes thereafter. I know that I will be there for every dark and deadly step cheering her on and always reminding her how amazing and talented she truly is.

PS this book really need a special edition and hardback, just saying but I need it like now and I am well ready to create one if there is not going to be one!

i will devour anything to do with italy. it is the key to my heart, and so is this book. just wow. can't wait to display it on my bookshelf among a kat delacorte shrine.

I absolutely adored this book!
Kat had me being like "Nico, Liza or Christian?"
There were so many twists and turns at the end of the book.
Every chapter I was like "Ahhh must read more!"
I'm excited for Kat and her next book - I can't wait to read it!
The idea in this book was so original.
Also, bisexual main character!
Guys - get your hands on this!

With Fire in Their Blood is a really fascinating novel.

It has a contemporary setting, but it doesn't feel like it at times. The Italian city of Castello is so totally cut off from anything we'd recognise as the real world that it feels like this could be a portal fantasy, like Lilly and her father have stepped through the gates of a fantasy kingdom, not just through the city gates of a modern Italian city.

Technology in Castello is carefully controlled, with no smart phones or Internet. There's an 8pm curfew, and the city gates are locked at night and guarded during the day. There are two warring clans with a careful truce between them and an all controlling demagogue, a Governor with both religious and political power. Oh, and they burn witches.

This is a book with magic. It's forbidden magic, with its practitioners hunted down mercilessly. It's hard to control, even overwhelming. It's described as power, and it's this power that so many of the characters are seeking.

This is a book about ambition and the need for power, and then more power. It's about how much someone is willing to sacrifice for power, the lengths they'll go to for it, lies and betrayals and all. But it's also about love and friendship and what they'll sacrifice for each other. It's brutal, dark and unforgiving, definitely not a book that pulls its punches!

There's also some really lovely bi rep. It's not turned into a big thing, it's not really even acknowledged. It's just there, as a part of its characters. I really liked that, and I really liked this book.

With Fire in Their Blood is a beautiful debut first book in the Series Skeleton Keepers.
Wow I was not expecting to love it so much!!!
I was immediately hooked into the story and characters and finished it in one sitting!
The story is incredible and original, setting in Italy gives it so much character. There were a lot of twists and turns which made me want to finish it so quick. The magic was very unique and the plot was very different to other YA novels which I really enjoyed.
I loved the characters and there was a lot to each of them which made it easier to get to know them. There wasn’t too much of romance but it left a good feeling to what’s coming in next book. I really appreciate the bisexual representation in the book.
I cannot wait for the second book!!! I also want to get physical copy asap! I will definitely recommend it to everyone who likes fantasy as this book was extremely refreshing!!

It was highly intriguing and exceptionally unique plot to read about. Now, I can’t wait enough for it to be out and about in the world so that I can’t start making everyone read it because it was that good!!

With Fire in Their Blood by Kat Delacorte is a captivating, thrilling book in The Skeleton Keepers duology.

Set in an isolated, hidden Italian town that seems to not quite be in the present. For goodness sakes, they are still hunting witches. This tale is a classic mix of rival mafia families, a divided town, the mysterious General who is pulling all the strings, and the new girl in town that is about to shake everything up.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story even though I am decades past the targeted audience age. Quality fiction has no age boundaries as far as I’m concerned. And Delacorte’s writing is magical in and of itself. From the descriptions of the town, the decrepit conditions, and the twists, and turns, to the character development and intriguing plotlines, this book is a winner.

I can not wait to read the next in this unique duology.

I received a digital copy of the book for the tour from The Write Reads, Penguin, and NetGalley. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.