Thank you to Dave from The Write Reads for the chance to read and review With Fire in Their Blood by Kat Delacorte! And thank you NetGalley for providing the arc!
‘Climb the wall, Lilly,’ Nico Carenza said. ‘Please. I’m tired of losing things.’
I did what he asked, then. Because I never thought I’d hear this boy beg me for anything.
I’ve been having a hard time remembering character names these days, but with a glorious book like this one, I think it’ll be a while before I forget them!
Let me make it clear from the start that I absolutely love this book! Yes, I need to pretend that a girl moves to Italy and has no trouble communicating with everyone. Yes, I’ll believe that all Italians from the mountains are beautiful. I’m okay with that and you will too!
Housekeeping:
With Fire in Their Blood is Kat Delacorte debut novel that comes out on the 1st of September, to make up for august slipping away like a bottle of wine. It’s a 416 page long book and is published by Penguin. While it broadly falls under young adult, it also comes under YA supernatural mysteries & thrillers. It’s also the first book in the series Skeleton Keepers.
Blurb:
When sixteen-year-old Lilly arrives in Castello, she isn’t impressed.
A secluded town in the Italian mountains is not where she saw her last years of high school playing out.
Divided for generations by a brutal clan-family war, the two halves of Castello are kept from destroying each other by the mysterious General, a leader determined to maintain order and ‘purity’. . . whatever the cost.
Lilly falls in with the rebellious Liza, brooding Nico and sensitive Christian, and sparks begin to fly. But in a city where love can lead to ruin, Lilly isn’t sure she can trust anyone — not even herself.
And then she accidentally breaks Castello’s most important rule: when the General’s men come to test your blood, you’d better not be anything more than human…
Book Review:
Kat Delacorte might be a debut novelist, but she writes like a pro, and I genuinely thought I’d go to her goodreads and see more things she’s published. I can’t, so dropping the hint that Kat you need to write more.
Each character is fantastic. I loved Lilly’s resentment and anger, and how she called her mother by her name, which was a good touch by the author. I loved the way her abilities started to spark and how she just didn’t realize that it was her and not someone else. There was excellent world-building by the author; like perfect gothic story set in a small town where everyone lies vibes. I didn’t have to focus on the book, it drew me in on it’s own!
Liza was my favorite by far though. You need to read the book to know. Kat Delacorte built up some excellent chemistry between the two of them, subtle but powerful. I am mad that Nico didn’t get more time in the book because how do you write a book for a generation of people raised on Percy Jackson and not make Nico your main from the get go? It’s just not acceptable!
I loved the General and what he really wanted. I was also a huge fan of Professor Marconi! Basically I have no complaints about this book and I just want the next part!
“Luckily, we aren’t all believers.”
About the Author
Kat Delacorte was eleven years old when her family moved from the United States to a small town in central Italy. She soon began writing stories about her new friends developing superpowers, and she hasn’t looked back since. She graduated with a BA in History from Columbia University, and lives in Venice, Italy.
The Girl Who Reads 
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