Review by Yvonne Monique -- We are Voulhire: The Fires o...

[Yvonne Monique]

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko" by Matthew Tysz.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko is the second book in the ‘We are Voulhire’ fantasy series, consisting of 6 books in total. The protagonists, Galen, Demetrius and Rowan, travel to the industrial city of Virko to obtain iron for Galen’s forge, which he inherited from his great-uncle. In Virko, they find themselves facing a sinister demon lurking in the basement of the house of Virko’s lord, Lord Venden Hrelek. The battle against this demon will change Voulhire’s history forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book of this series. Therefore, I had high expectations of this book and looked forward to keeping on reading about the country of Voulhire and its inhabitants. The Fires of Virko carries on where the first book finishes, but many questions that were left unanswered in the first book are not answered in this sequel. Some of these questions will be probably be answered in the next 4 books, but I felt a little bit disappointed. I would have liked to know if the underground resistance movement ‘Riva Rohavi’ was planning any more attacks, if Beth found her way in this new world or if King Wilhelm was planning a counterattack to revenge the attack on Hillport.

Nonetheless, Matthew Tysz, the author, creates another engaging story and introduces some more intriguing characters, such as Kayden and Folcro. The author uses a comprehensive writing style and changes the point of view with each chapter. Personally, I found this book too short (only 158 pages), and I think it could either have been combined with the first book or with the next one. It feels like Matthew Tysz is waiting for each book to be converted in an episode of a TV series (like ‘Games of Thrones’).

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I do not give it 4 stars because of its shortness and because of the many unanswered questions that I expected to be addressed in this book. This is an exceptionally well-edited book with hardly any errors.

Compared to the first book, the battles and creatures described in this book are more detailed and gruesome. I was not bothered by this, but younger readers might be. There is no explicit sexual content, but the reader will learn about the frustrated homosexual relationship between two of the characters. There is some minor profanity too. Therefore, I would not recommend this book to children or young adults. I definitely recommend this book to readers who love fantasy series and enjoy exploring new worlds.

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
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[TheMazeRunner]

I love the series, and this book is a great read. I love your review!

[Mariana Figueira]

Thanks for the great review!

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for sharing your opinion. Personally, I'm a little disappointed with King Wilhelm's reaction towards Hillport's incident. One of his loyal retainers has died, and he was like "what a pity, that town is on its own then." Has he properly looked into this matter, he might have discovered Meldorath and his plan already.

[Raluca_Mihaila]

I enjoyed this book, as well as the entire series. Thank you for your great review!

[Leyla Ann]

Although this series doesn't fail to catch the reader's attention until the very end, I do agree that the first two books had a very abrupt ending and so many unanswered questions. I believe that was because the first two books mainly served as an introduction to multiple characters, while the rest focused on the events, and therefore, the questions. fortunately, this abruptness ceases starting the third book.

[Yvonne Monique]

Thanks for sharing your opinion. Personally, I'm a little disappointed with King Wilhelm's reaction towards Hillport's incident. One of his loyal retainers has died, and he was like "what a pity, that town is on its own then." Has he properly looked into this matter, he might have discovered Meldorath and his plan already.

Exactly, I thought the same after finishing this book. Any 'normal' king would have taken actions to either take revenge or send massive help to help the citizens of Hillport. King Wilhelm just did not seem to care, but maybe he had a reason for that?

[Yvonne Monique]

Although this series doesn't fail to catch the reader's attention until the very end, I do agree that the first two books had a very abrupt ending and so many unanswered questions. I believe that was because the first two books mainly served as an introduction to multiple characters, while the rest focused on the events, and therefore, the questions. fortunately, this abruptness ceases starting the third book.

Yes, you're right. Maybe the author had better combined the first two books in one, serving as one big introductory novel.

[Yvonne Monique]

I enjoyed this book, as well as the entire series. Thank you for your great review!

Thank you so much for commenting!

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for sharing your opinion. Personally, I'm a little disappointed with King Wilhelm's reaction towards Hillport's incident. One of his loyal retainers has died, and he was like "what a pity, that town is on its own then." Has he properly looked into this matter, he might have discovered Meldorath and his plan already.

Exactly, I thought the same after finishing this book. Any 'normal' king would have taken actions to either take revenge or send massive help to help the citizens of Hillport. King Wilhelm just did not seem to care, but maybe he had a reason for that?

I thought so, too. Unfortunately, book #3 proved that King Wilhelm has indeed let the case slide.

[DANAWEB]

You said "The Fires of Virko carries on where the first book finishes, but many questions that were left unanswered in the first book are not answered in this sequel". I have reviewed the first book of this series very recently and was curious to know the remainder of the story. It seems that most of the questions are unanswered in this sequal as well. Will have to keep on reading the series to find out more.By the way, Thanks for the detailed review!

[Yvonne Monique]

You said "The Fires of Virko carries on where the first book finishes, but many questions that were left unanswered in the first book are not answered in this sequel". I have reviewed the first book of this series very recently and was curious to know the remainder of the story. It seems that most of the questions are unanswered in this sequal as well. Will have to keep on reading the series to find out more.By the way, Thanks for the detailed review!

I have just started book 5 and yes, one needs to carry on reading to get more answers. I am still not quite sure whether some storylines are simply plot holes or will play a more important role further on.