Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve watching cartoons on YTV (it's a Canadian children's network for anyone not from Canada); YTV introduced me to some AMAZING shows, including Sailor Moon, so as soon as I saw the description of FATE OF FLAMES, I was pretty much jumping up and down with excitement! It's been pitched as a mix of Buffy, Pacific Rim, and Sailor Moon, and I think that description is perfect! 
 FATE OF FLAMES starts off with a bang. We meet the main character, Maia, and quickly see our first Phantom. Then we see one of the famous Effigies, Belle, fighting the Phantom, and we're thrust into a world eerily similar to our own. The big difference between our world and Maia's is that monsters called Phantoms exist and the only things keeping us from all being destroyed are anti-phantom technology and young women imbued with the power to control the elements, called Effigies! 
 Since I loved Sailor Moon and Buffy, I definitely enjoyed seeing the Effigies and their various powers! I really liked Maia as a narrator because I loved her snarky sense of humour, but I was a little disappointed that she didn't push herself to try her powers more. She did have reasons for holding back, but I still wish she'd pushed herself more when she actually was trying to train...if I had the kind of power that she had, I'd be all over it! I really loved seeing Belle, Lake, and Chae Rin use their elemental powers though, and I absolutely loved seeing all of the dynamics develop between the four girls!! I also really loved Rhys...I'm always a sucker for a good romance subplot, and I was definitely rooting for Maia and Rhys! 
 Other than the amazing elemental powers that the Effigies had, my favourite part of FATE OF FLAMES was the world-building. I thought it was extremely interesting, and all of the technology that they'd created to combat the Phantoms fascinated me! I also loved seeing how Maia's world differed from our own. FATE OF FLAMES seemed to take place during our time now, but it was as if their history had been rewritten to include Phantoms and Effigies[?]like an alternate universe dystopia! 
 Overall, I really enjoyed FATE OF FLAMES. I absolutely loved the world-building, the powers of the Effigies and all of the character dynamics, but I was a little disappointed with how Maia handled her powers. I'll cut her some slack though because she was already starting to gain confidence in herself and in her abilities by the end of FATE OF FLAMES. Needless to say, I'm extremely excited for book 2, and I CANNOT wait to see more of Maia, Lake, Chae Rin, Belle, Rhys...and even Saul, in the sequel!! I'd recommend FATE OF FLAMES to anyone who loved Sailor Moon, or to anyone who enjoys elemental magic!