Girls Of Paper And Fire (Girls Of Paper And Fire, #1)

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 CONTAINS SPOILERS

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most demeaning. This year, there's a ninth. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.

In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest.



Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge. 

 

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How did I not read this book sooner? GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE was a beautifully written novel, I could not get enough. I wanted to pick up the second book right after finishing this one; I wanted to see what would happen next. I have been hearing about GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE for a while and put on my to-read list. Now that I have read it, I wished that I picked up sooner than I have. The world of the book was cruel but yet magical at the same time. The emotions of Lei were so well displayed, and I found myself able to feel everything she was feeling. I felt her anger, fear, and love. I loved Lei from the start and how she was the only one who fought the king. She seemed to be the only one not to let the king have her. That takes a lot of courage. However, I knew that she could not fight him every time, and I was afraid of what he might do to her. Lei was fierce and loved how determined she was to get rid of the king. I was rooting for her; I wanted for her to get rid of him so that he couldn’t hurt any others. I cannot even begin to imagine, to have to go through all of this that those girls did. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to take it, to go through something that horrific.

I have read LGBT books before, and there were few that I had enjoyed quite a bit. However, Lei and Wren's relationship in GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE was my favorite so far. I knew that Lei liked her by the way that she was described and the way that she looked at her. I wasn’t sure if Wren felt about her, at least not at first. I loved that their relationship took time to develop. I was glad that the two of them had each other in that horrible place. I did hope that Wren would accept Lei’s help in her plan to get rid of the king. I loved how the two of them were with each other when they were alone, the way that they looked out for one another. I think I realized it before they had that the two of them were in love. I rooted for them to succeed and finally to be free of this place and for a chance to free everyone else. GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE had me going through the motions, and few parts were hard to read. Despite that, I could not put the book down. Every page kept me on the edge of my seat, had me turning the pages late into the night.



GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE is not a story that you will forget. You will be craving for the next book and the next. I had placed the 2nd book on hold in the library and cannot wait to see what happens next. That ending… I did see that coming, it was… I still am having trouble believing what happened. Most of all, I want to see what happens with Lei and Wren next. I know that others will be looking for them. I am also curious what all the other girls are thinking about through it all. If you love fantasy, or wanting to explore a new genre, be sure to check out GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE . A story you won’t regret picking up.