Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Review: Embers by Laura Bickle

Embers
Author: Laura Bickle
Publication: Pocket; 1 edition (March 30, 2010)
 
Description: Truth burns. Unemployment, despair, anger—visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.
 
Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya—who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern—suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders.
 
By Devil’s Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya—with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team—can stop it. Anya’s accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she’s risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she’s ever faced.
 
My Thoughts: This was an interesting new sort of paranormal. Anya works as an arson investigator for the fire department and learns that a series of fires are being started magically by someone who wants to raise a dragon-sort of demon to cleanse the city of Detroit by burning it up and sacrificing the inhabitants. Anya works with her elemental Sparky and a number of her fellow paranormal investigator colleagues to capture the man trying to raise the demon. Along the way she becomes possessed with another ancient demon and has a romantic relationship with the fire starter.
 
My favorite parts of the book were those showing her relationship with Sparky. He is a combination pet and protector. Only Anya, ghosts, and cats and dogs can see him. Others who are sensitive to things paranormal can sometimes feel his presence. I liked that he was fascinated with anything electric and liked to play with it. The burn-out microwave was a particularly clear image. I liked how she was sometimes exasperated with him but always the love between them was clear.
 
I recommend this book to lovers of the paranormal who want to read about interesting characters and a new paranormal talent.
 
Challenges: RYOB Reading Challenge
 

5 comments:

  1. Hey I know you read your blogs in google reader - so I thought you might not know that The Reading Addict has you listed in their awesome blog sidebar! Congrats! Here is the link - http://addicted2reading4evr.blogspot.com/

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  2. Great review! The teaser you posted hinted at how well this book was written.

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  3. He passed! Now he's a driver - can't decide how I feel about it! Started Once Bitten and Touch the Dark yesterday - wish me luck!

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  4. Thanks so much for taking the time to pick up EMBERS! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it. :-)

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  5. Just finished and I loved it. Was sooo good to read after the very disappointing chick lit book I read last week.

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