It's a rare book that can keep me up past my bedtime, but this one did. Like Kristin Cashore's Graceling before it, there's something about the Seven Kingdoms stories that keeps me reading. Fire reads a bit more like a romance, however, which did dampen my enthusiasm a bit. And, like Graceling, there are several themes in the book that keep me from recommending it as a Young Adult read. Bottom line is that for me, a good story (even a predictable one), still trumps minor annoyances like Kristin Cashore's author's odd choices for character names.

I'd recommend it to anybody who enjoys well-crafted mythical worlds.