In Rosiee Thor's lavish fantasy novel with a Jazz Age spark, a politically savvy teen must weigh her desire to climb the social ladder against her heart in a world where magic buys votes. Flare is power. With only a drop of flare, one can light the night sky with fireworks . . . or burn a building to the ground -- and seventeen-year-old Ingrid Ellis wants her fair share. Ingrid doesn't have a family fortune, monetary or magical, but at least she has a plan: Rise to the top on the arm of Linden Holt, heir to a hefty political legacy and the largest fortune of flare in all of Candesce. Her only obstacle is Linden's father who refuses to acknowledge her. So when Senator Holt announces his run for president, Ingrid uses the situation to her advantage. She strikes a deal to spy on the senator’s opposition in exchange for his approval and the status she so desperately craves. But the longer Ingrid wears two masks, the more she questions where her true allegiances lie. Will she stand with the Holts, or will she forge her own path?
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Genuinely so torn between 2 and 3 stars, because the ingredients are all there for such a fun, exciting story - jazz age fantasy! West Wing-esque political intrigue! Speakeasy magic! Eat the rich but cook them first! - but when mixed together, they fail to produce the delicious treat I was hoping for. Plot holes big enough to drive a flare-powered train through, a protagonist we're constantly told is sooo smart but who never seems able to figure out the most basic things, unfortunately simplistic political intrigue...
The visuals of the opening scene, with bootleg magic and people shooting off fireworks from their fingertips in a speakeasy, are fantastic, but not enough to sustain an entire book. I was ultimately disappointed, but hope it finds a reader base for whom the characters (and that aesthetic!) resonate strongly enough to overcome the flimsy plot.
Thank you Scholastic Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
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