Trial By Fire

Trail by Fire is the first book in Josephine Angelini's new Worldwalker trilogy. I read her Starcrossed series and I was absolutely blown away by it! I thought that it was so good, I like the idea and I thought that she did a really good job with it. Now I've had Trial by Fire on my Kobo for a while and I started it but didn't really get into it. Lily wasn't Helen and Tristan just wasn't Lucas; I guess I just needed time to let go of the Starcrossed universe before I fully sank myself into Trial by Fire and the Worldwalker's gang. Now Lily is not Helen but Helen had her struggles too upon finding out what she was and Lily suffers from a number of allergies and has a lot of troubles. Tristan is one of her only friends and well of course she falls for him. How could she not? Her sister Juliet is someone that she is very close to and her Mom, Samantha, is a bit out to lunch. She keeps talking about other Lily's and other worlds. However, Lily moves past that and she decides that she is going to a party and Tristan is her boyfriend but he's still treating her like she's made of glass and that she will break in a thousand bits. So long story short, he cheats on her with some trollop, and she has a seizure where she hears herself talking to her.
Now, Lily thinks that she is dying but she ends up in a completely different place where people keep calling her Lady. She meets up with Juliet and Juliet treats her with so much love but yet, something's not right and she ends up running through this city banging into someone who is hot and ok I can admit it's good to meet the good guy. Cause Tristan just ain't him, pardon my use of the hated ain't. We later learn that his name is Rowan and he takes her out of the city and into the woods, or the forest, whatever. He doesn't believe that she is not Lillian, as the Lily of this reality refers to herself. Despite many people telling him otherwise. She meets the Tristan of this world and discovers that much like her Tristan he loves to flirt and he loves the ladies.  But she is also meeting shamans and a guy named Aleric, and they all seem to be a big deal but she's very confused because they don't seem to have things the way that the do in her world. Although she's still very confused and all she wants to do is go home. So she reaches out to Juliet because when you're confused, you do accidentally talk to those you love through your mind, that's just want you do. When Juliet shows up she accidentally brings the bad guys with her and the bad guys are known as Gideon and Carrick. Rowan, Tristan, and Caleb separate and Rowan takes Lily with him because he's the strongest. Lily sees Gideon, not that she knows his name at this point, torturing a man because he taught science. She then learns that science is not something that is taught or learned in this world because of her or well her double Lillain.
On her trek through the forest with Rowan, she learns that she's known as a crucible, an untrained witch basically. Her body gives off heat and energy and Rowan can take that from her which is why he doesn't need to eat or drink when he is with her. He can also tell what she needs from touching her. Around this time they start to talk about the stones that everyone wears around their necks. Rowan tells her about them and how everyone has one and that they all have their own frequency. They're called Willstones and if a crucible or a witch touches them they can take over the minds of the person wearing them. They own them in a sense and it's different. Lily doesn't really understand this and I didn't either and I don't think that she truly understands it until she has a willstone of her own. They are a bit like pieces of yourself living on your neck, they make you very vulnerable and if people grab them or handle them roughly it hurts you. And of course it's used in a sexual way as seen later but that's besides the point right? There are 13 cities in this world and the remainder of the people are known as Outlanders (uh huh, I laughed) and they seems to be like the Native Americans type of a thing. Also there are the Woven who were created for a purpose, maybe farming, but they just got out of control and are so dangerous and would eat you whole, like leave nothing but the fricking bones! So the Outlanders are dealing with the Woven and the Coven/The 13 Cities are dealing with the Outlanders, the diseases that they are getting, and the Woven as well. Basically Lillian is the head witch and she makes all the rules but right now she's very sick and is continuing to get sicker. Lily doesn't understand this world and may be getting in over her head.
Lily and Rowan are wandering around the woods, go into a cabin, share a moment but he totally hates her because he hates Lillian because they had a thing but she turned evil and had his father killed. But she has a reason, that's the thing with this book, Lillian seems to be all knowing and has a reason but Lily is trying to do the right thing. Home girl is a vegan, and I would never be a vegan, but that's the thing about it, I can't help but wonder if she will do more damage trying to do good and in a way she does. She ends up claiming Rowan to fight off the Woven and they sneak her into the city by dying her hair and having her hide out in his apartment. He and Tristan start to train her, all the while they are looking for a shaman to get her back home. Rowan is really standoffish because of the whole Lillian thing and he's falling for her, Lily. Obviously, what would this book be without dram and romantic drama is the best. (Sarcasm). Caleb's partner dies while they are trying to sneak them out of the city, Lily claims Caleb, Tristan gets angry and feels left out, she claims Tristan. They try to dig out a tunnel and uber skank Esmeralda rats them out. Gideon takes Lily, all the while he's scheming about how to get Lillian out of power and get some for himself. Carrick is discovered to be Rowan's half brother and he's angry and hurts Lily while she's in jail by playing with her Willstones which isn't cool. Rowan uses Juliet, who is growing real tired of her sister's crap(Lillian),  to talk to Lily and using Carrick he discovers where she is. She thinks that she is being taught to spirit/worldwalk by a shaman and it is later discovered that said shaman is dead.
Lillian arrests scientists who are trying to cure children and sentences them to death, Juliet finds out that she has no intention of helping children and ends up getting arrested herself. The three muskateers save Lily and help her get through her weakness. She realizes that she is being used by a lot of people including the Outlanders but decides to help them get the scientists out anyway. They do a jail break and to get Juliet out, Lily must claim a lot of people, but she does get her out. This means war and war means stepping onto the pyre and firewalking so that she can send energy to her armies. Big battle, yadada, talk to other self, fight with other self, and then haul loverboy into your world because you can suddenly do that!
Thoughts 
It's a lot isn't it? A whole bunch of new worlds and new terms. I have a headache from this book but it's in a good way. I got into it and though I don't find it to be as good as Starcrossed and that series I think it has a lot of potential. I think there will be a whole lot of doublecrossing and trying to figure out the world before Lily figures out her place in it all. We know that she's not supposed to be there and that she should go home. The shaman said so but let's be honest, in the end Lilian will probably take Lily's place and Lily will take hers because Lillian will be able to be cured in Lily's world and Lily will want to stay with Rowan and Tristan will have some heroic deed that will be very useful much like the guy from Starcrossed who ended up in the underworld. Orion? Yes I can figure out the end and it will be interesting to find out if I am indeed right but we're not there yet. I like the series and I like the way that Angelini builds worlds and how detailed she is about it. I think this series has a lot of potential and yeah it's a bit typical of YA Fantasy/Fiction but if you want something like that, then you want it. You don't always want the Game of Thrones, everyone dies; so don't like everyone. You don't want the typical romance, you want somthing different and you get it! Which is why I like this genre. I'll admit that Greek Gods appeal to me more than witches but I'm sure I will get over that. 
I'd give this 6 Willstones! Not bad at all.. Lots of potential and it will be interesting to see how close to the ending I will get! 

Also isn't John Proctor a character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller?