Review: Girl of Fire

Girl of Fire by Norma Hinkens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Girl of Fire was such a wonderful read, one that is going to be quite hard to review due to the high spoiler risk attached to this story.
 
The first novel in The Expulsion Project series, introduces us to a wonderful cast and many brilliant worlds. From the get-go, we’re given so much, left with so many questions and expectations. You’re never quite sure where things will go next, constantly on the edge of your seat regarding the storyline. With multiple storylines taking place, with many different aspects playing out, you’re pulled in from start to end, left wanting so much from the future books.
 
Our story begins when our main character, Trattora, is a child. We get to watch as her destiny is decided, to some degree, by the choices her parents make. To save their children from a terrible fate, a heart wrenching choice is made: the children are sent off into the unknowns of the universe to save their lives. We get an indication of why this happened, we understand the dangers, and yet we have some questions. Questions that will remain with us for the entirety of the book, and will hopefully be answered in the future books. It really is a vital part of the book, despite how little space it takes up, and leaves us with many thoughts regarding the future of the series – so don’t be dismissing the start of the book, despite how the rest of the book really pulls you into a very different kind of story.
 
Having been pulled in so deeply through this introduction to one part of the universe, I found the shift of the story to have a somewhat slower pace. We get to see Trattora years later, as we come to understand a completely different part of the universe. The world building here is truly amazing, and the development of the characters was a lot of fun, but the pace did seem a bit slower than I would have liked. We started with such action and the sudden slower pace felt like a bit of a brick wall. It was necessary for us to understand the world and the characters, but you can feel the difference.

Fear not, however, as it does not take long for the story to get going again. Once it does start to move, the action is never ending.
 
So much happens within this one. As I’ve already said, there are so many storylines intertwined. Each one adds something – action, mystery, suspense, romance, and much more – whilst being brilliantly connected to the rest of the story. Everything happens for a reason. With so much going on, it is easy for things to fall into the background, but such does not happen with this one. Even when we’re following one storyline, we’re still following information that will help us understand aspects of another storyline. I really cannot begin to explain how wonderfully the story comes together.
 
As wonderful as the storyline is, it pales in comparison to the world building. We get to see so many different worlds throughout this book, so many different cultures, and each brings something new to the table. I really do believe the world building was my favourite aspect of the story. I enjoyed it all: but the world building really stood out for me. I feel as though in future books we’ll probably be seeing fewer worlds, but after getting to see so many in this one I’m hopeful for what the yet to be visited worlds will bring.
 
One thing I will say, though, is that I don’t think this is quite advertised properly. Whilst it’s a wonderful story, it’s not quite the same kind of story as Divergent leaving me feeling as though that isn’t quite the right book to use. It’s a wonderful book, yes, but it has a very different feel to Divergent and the reference to the Divergent series – advertising it for those with a Divergent withdrawal – will leave people expecting something very different. That’s just my view on the matter, though.
 
Overall, it was a wonderful read. Norma Hinkens has completely pulled me into The Expulsion Project world with just this one story, and I cannot wait to see what comes next (in fact, a part of my mind is hoping for more than just the main series and is hoping for many short stories to tell the tales of the characters I’ve come to really love). I really am super excited to see how events play out – with all the action in this one, we’re promised even more in the next book.
 
As a final note, I would like to thank the author for allowing me the chance to advance read this story.

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