Series Review of Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Series: Burn for Burn

Book 1: Burn for Burn

Book 2: Fire with Fire

Book 3: Ashes to Ashes

Goodreads Description of book 1, Burn for Burn:

Postcard-perfect Jar Island is home to charming tourist shops, pristine beaches, amazing oceanfront homes—and three girls secretly plotting revenge.

KAT is sick and tired of being bullied by her former best friend.

LILLIA has always looked out for her little sister, so when she discovers that one of her guy friends has been secretly hooking up with her, she’s going to put a stop to it.

MARY is perpetually haunted by a traumatic event from years past, and the boy who’s responsible has yet to get what’s coming to him.

None of the girls can act on their revenge fantasies alone without being suspected. But together…anything is possible.

With an alliance in place, there will be no more “I wish I’d said…” or “If I could go back and do things differently...” These girls will show Jar Island that revenge is a dish best enjoyed together. 

My Thoughts:

Burn for burn trilogy is an addictive dramatic contemporary young adult trilogy which I highly recommend for those looking for something fun and quick to marathon. I had a lot of fun reading the series over the course of a few days and think it is best read that way. I have split this review into 3 sections, one for each book and have marked where there are spoilers!

Burn for Burn

Oh my god is this book dramatic. Burn for Burn is one of those books that you have to be in the mood for.  If I had read this at another time I know I wouldn't have been able to stand amount of drama and I would have thought it was ridiculous. But because I read it when I did I was so into it.

The writing is so simple and easy to follow that I flew through the book. The pacing and all the dramatic stuff going on had me completely enthralled that I couldn't stop reading. I ended up read in Burn for Burn in  just a few hours I was so addicted to it!

There are three main characters all of which are narrators. I liked how almost every chapter swaps POV because I wasn't a fan of one of the characters, Mary. I found her so boring in this book compared to the other girls but it was fine because I knew I would be swapping back to Kat and Lillia very soon.

I wasn't  a fan of Mary but I really liked Lillia and Kat. Kat was my favourite. I liked her straight of the bat. I loved how tough and bitchy she was. I liked Lillia too but for different reasons. She is just a generally good person. She tries to be a good student, a good sister etc. She really grew on me as the story went on.

I was surprised at the amount of substance this first book had, I was expecting a fun revenge story but the authors touched on some very important/heavy topics like drugs and bullying which I wasn't expecting. I will say though I was a bit disappointed when they had the opportunity to address consent and rape and didn't. There is a scene in the book I would have liked addressed, it was just brushed under the rug and not brought up which disappointed me.

The ending of Burn for Burn is absolutely crazy so I would recommend having the next book in the series, Fire with Fire, ready to go because you will want to continue with the series immediately!

Fire with Fire (vague spoilers for Burn for Burn)

Fire with Fire is just as good as Burn for Burn. It is a revenge story like book 1. This one is a bit darker than Burn for Burn. I had just as much fun with this one. I was addicted form page one, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I was pulled in and the story was all I could think about.

We get a good bit of character development for Alex which I loved. Alex is my favourite character after Kat so I loved how we got to know him better in this book; he's just such a nice guy.

I didn't care about Mary much like with book 1. There is some interesting things going on with Mary in this book which makes her a lot more interesting than she was in Bur for Burn. I think it's funny I didn't grow to like her/become interested in her story line considering what is going on with her. 

In Burn for Burn I felt like Lillia and Kat had equal page time but in Fire with Fire I feel like Lillia is the main character with Kat as the side kick. I love them both but I wanted more Kat.

I am so glad to say that the characters did address what happened with the guy and Lillia in book 1 at that party. I was glad it was addressed because it was one of the only critiques I had for book 1.

Just like Burn for Burn the ending of Fire with Fire is crazy. It left me with a lot of questions and I had to pick up the next book as soon as I finished it.

Ashes to Ashes (vague spoilers for Burn for Burn and Ashes to Ashes)

Ashes to Ashes is my least favourite book in the Burn for Burn series but that is not to say it still wasn't as much fun and addictive as the two previous books.

I think I wasn't as big a fan of this book because I was confused about Reeve. I had so many complex feeling about him- I wasn't sure if I should I like him or not because of his previous actions and I wasn't really behind his and Lillia's relationship which was a big part of the book.

I was also confused about some of the paranormal elements in this book. In Fire with Fire it is hinted at that there is some paranormal stuff going on with Mary and that is a big part of the story line in Ashes to Ashes. The paranormal aspects were very vague and explained very poorly. I wanted more explanations and a lot of my questions weren't answered. I will say that the paranormal stuff added a creepy atmosphere to the story though. This book felt  a lot darker than the previous two and there were definitely creepy scenes here and there.

In the first two books I didn't even notice the books were co-written; Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian did a good job blending their styles but in Ashes for Ashes I knew when I was reading something Jenny Han wrote. I would just read a line and know it was her because I am a huge fan of her books I know her style and it was really evident in a few scenes.

The ending was great; everything is wrapped up nicely but I wish the epilogue was fleshed out more. We are just told what happens everyone and I would have liked a scene or something instead to actually see how they were getting o.

Overall, I really enjoyed this series and had a lot of fun reading it.

My rating: 4 star series