Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn was one of 50 books I added to my list of queer fantasy books for pride month, and I’m so happy I decided to pick it up. I felt a little out of my comfort zone reading an Old West-inspired fantasy and was delightfully surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series (coming June 30th, 2021!).
Title: Of Honey and Wildfires
Author: Sarah Chorn
Genres: fantasy, western gaslamp fantasy
Series: Songs of Sefate #1
Pages: 318
ISBN: N/A
Links: StoryGraph, Amazon*, Goodreads
Content Warnings: [GRAPHIC] Abandonment, bullying, chronic illness, grief, addiction [MODERATE] panic attacks, death of parent [MINOR] suicide, murder, violence, gun violence, drug abuse, deadnaming**, child death
Other Books by this Author: Seraphina’s Lament, Goodreads Page
*This book is available on Kindle Unlimited!!!
**See my review on The StoryGraph for further explanation of deadnaming CW
Blurb
From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil.
What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths his father has kept hidden. In his hands lies a decision that will determine the fate of everyone he loves—and impact the lives of every person in Shine Territory.
The daughter of an infamous saboteur and outlaw, Cassandra has her own dangerous secrets to protect. When the lives of those she loves are threatened, she realizes that she is uniquely placed to change the balance of power in Shine Territory once and for all.
Secrets breed more secrets. Somehow, Arlen and Cassandra must find their own truths in the middle of a garden of lies.
Of Honey and Wildfires Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐/2
Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn is a lyrically written fantasy novel inspired by the American Wild West. Honestly, I didn’t expect to be dazzled by this book. I’m more interested in dragons and sword fights than horses and gunfights; but Chorn made me fall in love with her colorful fantasy world. She writes with such emotional awareness and knowledge. I knew I had to add more of her books to my TBR after finishing Of Honey and Wildfires.
Writing Style
The plotline follows 3 main characters during two main time periods, which worked well with the lyrical writing style. The missing pieces of the story created an air of mystery surrounding the characters. This type of storytelling can get confusing, but it was executed perfectly. I always had just enough details to keep me interested and guessing at what the author would reveal next.
The only issue I had with the writing (and the book as a whole) was it sometimes distracted me from the actual story. At times I wish the book focused less on the prose and more on what the characters were doing.
Worldbuilding
Surprisingly, the worldbuilding ended up being one of my favorite parts of this book. Worldbuilding isn’t usually my favorite part of fantasy, but the magic system in Of Honey and Wildfires is one of my favorites of all time. Chorn seamlessly wove shine oil into her Old West setting while making subtle jabs at American capitalism. I can absolutely believe an addictive miracle medicine would be exploited by the rich at the expense of everyone else. Without being obvious or preachy, Chorn showed how shine oil was used to control the population of Shine Territory. It’s obvious that the author put a lot of thought into her magic system and what it would say about the world.
Characters
Although I spent most of this review talking about worldbuilding and prose, the real focus of the story was the characters, who were all beautifully written and complex. I loved how the author framed violence, love, forgiveness, and grief through them. Lots of books I read have violence without really facing the ugly truth, but Chorn doesn’t shy away from addressing all the messy conflict and emotions that go with it.
Recommendation
Overall this was a fantastic read. I’d recommend it to any fan of fantasy, especially someone who loves a character-focused plot, unconventional worldbuilding, and lyrical prose.
Isabel
Peyton