“Sarah Rees Brennan writes with fine control and wit, and I suspect that word of this magical thriller will pass through the populace with the energy of wind, of fire.” —Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked andEgg and Spoon 

In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets.

Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own—one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised. Lucie alone knows the young men’s deadly connection, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.

Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy—or herself?

Celebrated author Sarah Rees Brennan weaves a magical tale of romance and revolution, love and loss.

Classics are always a constant when it comes to the world of Bibliophiles. It shouldn’t be a shock when a present day author takes a classic and creates their own interpretation of a story so well known. What is even more shocking is when these interpretations and reinventions of classics are done exceptionally well.

Tell the Wind and Fire is a new take on Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities. A story of the Light and Dark sides separated by a wall, forged as two cities that need each other in order to survive. The readers are introduced to Lucie Manette, the main character, and her love Ethan Stryker, along with his doppleganger Carwyn.

The story and characters are written so beautifully in a tale of Lucie who is born in the Dark city and brought to the Light city. For years Lucie has lived in comfort with her family and well taken care of as the girlfriend of Ethan Stryker. However, her life of comfort takes a turn after she and Ethan go on a weekend trip and discover that Ethan has a doppleganger named Carwyn.

Sacrifices to save Ethan in the past caused for a child of the Dark, Carwyn to be brought into the world as a child forced to live a life growing up in the Dark City. The Dark city and the Light city have struggled but yet co-existed until finally there is an uprising. The uprising is a cruel and gory visualization in print that is so well done. Each scene is painted in words and helps the reader to see each and every moment like a movie.

While I did enjoy the book I couldn’t give it a 4 or 5 star rating because I felt it was missing some rounding out. I really was hoping to have some more information and background about Carwyn and the Dark city. Perhaps in the future we may see some prequel stories of the Dark and Light cities.

Regardless it was a great story with love and sacrifices and political uprising. Like Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, Tell the Wind and Fire stands on its own. Until next time Bibliophiles, happy reading!