Book Review: The Secret Fire by C J Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld

Title: The Secret Fire
Author: C J Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld
Published: 10th September 2015
Publisher: Atom 

I think this is only my second experience of reading a book that has been co-written and I never know what to expect, as I was wondering if there would be a break in the writing style or things wouldn't match up somehow. But anyway these thoughts were quickly dispelled as this is a well written and intriguing story.
The Secret Fire has split viewpoints between the two main characters, Taylor and Sacha and they could not be more different. Taylor is a straight A-student, good girl type living in England and Sacha is almost a school drop out who gets involved in some very dodgy things and hangs around with some very unsavoury people in France. Sacha's attitude is however understandable as he knows when he is going to die and cannot die before, no matter what crazy stunts he puts his body through. What Taylor and Sacha don't yet know is that Taylor is the only one that can save him, and with only eight weeks to go until Sacha's 18th birthday, time is running out for them both!
This is definitely one of those books that you need to sit down and really get into, it's not one that I found you could just read a few pages here and there and be gripped instantly, you need to read it at chunks at a time. Although saying that, this is still a really easy read. I also loved the different POV's of the main characters and really connected with them both, so this really helped with the story.
I do think it is increasingly harder for YA fantasy books to stand out, but The Secret Fire still managed to be different with Sacha's situation. There were a few things that didn't quite fit in for me like the otherwordly characters that pursue Sacha and Taylor- I would have liked a bit more explanation around them, but apart from that there was some really gripping bits to this.
The ending has left me with lots of questions and wondering what will happen next. I look forward to part two!