Cast in Firelight

Dana Swift opens her Wickery duology with Cast in Firelight, a YA fantasy with magic systems built around fire and water that mark which kingdom you were born to. Adraa is the heir to a kingdom on the verge of an arranged marriage to a prince she has never met. He has the same situation, with the bonus that he is currently undercover in her kingdom and not telling her who he is.

The enemies-to-lovers setup is well worked. Swift gives both characters real reasons to distrust each other, and the slow unlocking of the truth happens at a careful pace.

The magic system gets enough explanation to feel coherent without slowing the plot down. The political stakes are real.

For readers who liked Holly Black’s Folk of the Air trilogy or Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes, this is in adjacent territory with a South Asian inspired setting. The sequel Bound by Firelight closes the duology.