What is it about?
Iris and Malina are twins and they are also witches. They grow up with their mother who grows more and more distant to the two girls. When she is attacked one day, Iris and Malina go on a quest to find the attacker and on a journey to learn more about themselves and the magic they possess.
My opinion:
To be honest, I did not exactly have high hopes at the beginning. The book started out very slowly and could not really keep me reading. But I powered through it and it go so much better! The writing was absolutely gorgeous, perfectly describing the setting and the scents and smells that are so important in this story. I could picture everything so well, taste the flowers on my tongue. It was even kind of prosaic at some points. Just… I fell completely in love with the writing.
Then there are the wonderful characters. Iris, the protagonist, who has fractal magic but can only use it on flowers. She is not exactly likeable because she can be very harsh. While she can appear to not care, she actually cares very deeply, especially when it comes to her sister.
Malina is the complete opposite of her sister, lovely and nice and a bit shy.
But the two of them are inseperable and love each other fiercly, protecting each other, especially from their mother, who seems to not love her children anymore. She has problems with Iris, who always takes it upon her to step in front of her sister. But the three of them go through a lot during the story, learning and developing.
Then there are the two best friends of the twins, Luka and Niko, siblings who have been there since Iris and Malina’s childhood. And the two of them are so precious and just so nice, I want to keep them forever.
The other characters are quite mysterious and none of them seems to be what they really are. Together with the protagonists, we discover their secrets and everything is so twisted, I really did not see coming the whole of it. But that’s what made it really interesting and exciting to read.
I really did enjoy the book, and if you manage to get through the first 70 pages, it picks up speed and becomes really, really good. And if you like magic and lush descriptions of the country (and everything else as well), then this book is for you.
Rating:
★★★★/5
Book: Wicked like a wildfire | Series: Hibiscus Daughter | Author: Lana Popvić | Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books | Pages: 432
