Before She Ignites(Fallen Isles,#1)

 

 

★★★★

Before  

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer. Since the day she was born, she’s been told she’s special. Important. Perfect. She’s known across the Fallen Isles not just for her beauty, but for the Mira Treaty named after her, a peace agreement which united the seven islands against their enemies on the mainland.
But Mira has never felt as perfect as everyone says. She counts compulsively. She struggles with crippling anxiety. And she’s far too interested in dragons for a girl of her station.

 
After

 
Then Mira discovers an explosive secret that challenges everything she and the Treaty stand for. Betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving, Mira is sentenced to the Pit–the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. There, a cruel guard would do anything to discover the secret she would die to protect. 

No longer beholden to those who betrayed her, Mira must learn to survive on her own and unearth the dark truths about the Fallen Isles–and herself–before her very world begins to collapse.

🌼

 
Magical. 

I love books about dragons. Something about dragons draws me in, and I'll read any book about them. Through the years, I have read multiple books about Dragons. I had to pick it up when I discovered this book deals with Dragons. I originally read this book in 2017 but reread it because it had been a while, and I wanted to read the other books in the series. When I started reading Before She Ignites, I recognized why I enjoyed it the first time. The plot draws you in, captivates you, and keeps you reading for hours. The first few chapters of the book were slow, and it took me a while to get into the story. However, as the story picked up, I couldn't get enough of the story and the characters. Mira's emotions were strong and realistic, and I felt her fear and pain. 

I liked Mira but felt terrible for what she endured in the pit. I kept praying that she and everyone else in the pit would find a way to escape. I like the conversations and connections between most of the characters in the novel, particularly Mira and her cellmates. I admired Mira's refusal to give up on the idea of escape, even when it was tempting to do so. Mira was the book's most developed and transformed character from the beginning. My favorite moment was Mira and Aaru's relationship and connection. Even before they met, you could tell they were special. They helped each other at the most terrible times. I’m eager to see what else may develop between the two of them. 

Dragons played a smaller role in the first novel than I had anticipated. They were usually mentioned during flashbacks and sometimes while Mira was in the pit. Flashbacks were a little unusual initially because of how they were written. I loved the book, particularly the second half and ending. I am curious to see what awaits Mira and her friends next.