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Jaclyn Canada

Phoenixes!

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2017

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The Good

You know what I haven't read about yet, but is a creature I absolutely adore?? Phoenixes! And Arthur has provided me with an investigative type series with a phoenix as the main character. I really enjoyed the Riley Jenson series when I read it a while ago, so all signs point to 'Go' with this series. Learning the ins and outs of phoenix life was quite fun. Emberly has quite a few neat tricks up her sleeve. I'm not going to go into detail with her power or the mythology around the phoenixes too much, but it was incredibly interesting to dive into. There is also a good element of needing recharged and power draining which I liked or she would never be in any real danger and it helps to make her much more relatable.

This one also has the mystery element. Emberly finds herself in the midst of an investigation which provides the majority of the plot. There was a great mixture of phoenix, red cloaks, fae, vampires, werewolves, and I'm sure there will be more to come in the future. I'm not quite sure what's going on with the 'darkness' mentioned numerous times that resides in Sam. However, it's great to follow the investigation filled with some inventive bad guys and good guys.

I enjoyed the characters. Some we only had brief glimpses of like Rory, but since he's Emberly's partner through life then I'm sure I'll learn all about him in more detail. Jackson was a fun one and HOT. He's a fire fae that Emberly finds herself working with since he's a private investigator.

The Bad

The overused mention of Sam's 'darkness' and how bad Emberly wanted him every time he came on scene was a little annoying. There was also no resolution to the mystery in this one which means it must continue on. There was a clear ending to the book, just no solving of what they were investigating.

The Romance

I actually really like the curse element on Emberly and all the phoenixes. Apparently, they have to mate with a phoenix forever and that person is with them through all their rebirths, but they will never emotionally be in love with them. It also means they can't really find love elsewhere either since they will always be cheating on them with their mate. It's very saddening to imagine multiple lives without true love, but I'm hoping Arthur has something good in store for us in the future. Also, it's amazing that Emberly hasn't given up hope about finding her love. There was a lot of lust to go around though, and this is very adult.

Conclusion

A good start to the series with a new-for-me creature that's very interesting to learn about. The pace was full of action, never boring, and the characters were entertaining. While there were a few blips that I could have done without, I really enjoyed it and will continue with the series. There are some similarities here with the Riley Jenson series (detective work, lots of hooking up, and the supernatural creatures), but it kept everything I loved and was enough different to not be a replica. Recommended.

C Thilmany

Playing with fire

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2014

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Unlike the author’s Riley Jenson and Dark Angels series, while still in a world with vampires and shifters, this world, also set in Australia, appears to have a different take on other species, which ones are known about by humans and the policing force that handles non-humans.

Emberly Pearson is a phoenix, meaning she’s a spirit of fire that takes a human form, a fire form and can also shift into a firebird. She’s lived a number of lifetimes with Rory, her phoenix soul partner, and they need each other to survive, but the species is cursed to never be in a loving relationship. Each lifetime she finds a man she loves, but her heart is broken every time. When Emberly dreams about the death of Sam, a cop she’d fallen for who dumped her five years ago because he assumed she was cheating on him with Rory, she saves his life and finds herself in the middle of a drama involving a new scary breed of a type of vampire, the murder of her boss, issues with Sam, an investigation with a fire fae and a whole lot of trouble.

Each of the Riley Jensen stories was an individual story itself. This one, not so much as the only conclusion to this first book is surviving a major confrontation and establishing a relationship to go forward with tackling a rather large ongoing threat.

Plenty of drama and action as trouble follows Emberly at every turn. The author’s characters are never shy about casual sex, so we also get some pretty steamy scenes and sexual tension. And thankfully, while well-written, we don’t get explicit details each and every time. The phoenix aspect is unique to any other urban fantasy story I’ve ever read and Emberly is both smart and capable, and doesn't back down. The main characters are both likeable as well as interesting, as is the threat being faced.

I found it to be an enjoyable read that was difficult to put down and the next story will be an automatic pre-order.

Me2Tsundoku

Novelty, but then vamps, fae and shifters and a lot of running around without enough of a conclusion to make it satisfying.

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2014

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Emberly is tough and sexy and enjoys life...over and over again - as a phoenix. The phoenix manifest as a human is something new, something I've never come across before. It's novel, but what is also refreshing is that Emberly is not angsty or jaded for having been around so long.

The reason I'm giving this story 3 stars is that I felt it lacked a substantial ending. We are introduced to the ex, who has become a bit of a mystery, there is a new and mysterious evil lurking about, there are murders but those aren't completely solved by the end and along the way we discover a lot about Emberly's history, the important people in her life, her new allies, her abilities, weaknesses and strengths, and to add to all that, Emberly has also been noticed by the aforementioned mysterious evil. In my opinion the story ended up being like a long and detailed set-up and teaser because of the lack of any major resolution or revelation (no big mysteries are cleared up). The lack of a substantial pay-off at the end of this book means that I'm not particularly anticipating the next book.

Top reviews from other countries

FireFly

Had a lot of promise

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2014

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This book should have been amazing, fast paced and full of twists and turns. Unfortunately it was short, jumpy and wildly unpredictable. Changing from one moment to the next with very little warning or flow. It was good. I read it in one sitting, and it defiantly left a cliffhanger but mainly it just didn't answer any of the questions it raised. And that, for me, is almost unforgivable. It's not a book, it's an introduction and at the very least you'll want to wait until book 2 is out before reading. Since if you like the style better than me and find yourself drawn into the character's problems and mysteries you'll be left frustrated at the end of it.

Emberly is an alright character and I think that's such a shame. She could have been, and should have been, fantastic. But she was scattershot and half formed, all angst and she seemed to be described far too much through the men around her rather than herself. Lots of random remarks about doomed love and a confidently bitter ex-boyfriend she's forced to work closely with. The story might be jumpy but it still manages to be predictable. Obvious hints about how this time and this life and this love are different but it's sort of thrown out there and left hanging while the plot charges on through the action which is pretty much non-stop but not particularly scary or interesting. When a character gets taken out I want to feel it, not wonder how long it is before they simply get up and leave. Perhaps that's the problem, Emberly is almost too powerful, there's hints of vulnerability but you don't really feel it. There's no real sense of danger and risk just a kind of playful need to walk the edge. Exactly as I would expect an old immortal being who gets reborn when they die to act. And it would be fine if the hints of vulnerability weren't so obvious about trying to make her so, about trying to pull out that fear and make it real instead of just exciting.

Well that's my recommendation, if you want to read this, wait for the next one.

Happy reading

ImReallyAnElf

Such A Disappointment

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2014

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Really disappointing. The writing style as usual for Keri Arthur was very good, but the story was mundane and the action never really took off. I enjoyed that it was written in the first person, and I quite liked the characters though I could never claim them to be among those whom I feel, at the ending of the book, are friends I'm saying goodbye to (my standard for a great series!).

My main gripe however is that throughout the book we're told that due to a curse, the heroine can never have a lifetime with a happy ending regarding love, and each lifetime loses a love of that life. Apparently her species can never have a happy ending though they can be loving friends with benefits (which both need to survive) so presumably neither can her male counterpart find happiness.

I found that both depressing and tedious - I read this genre because it usually has loads of action, a good storyline and, at least at the end of a series a "happy ever after" ending. I can't help but feel that there's quite enough heartache in real life without reading about it as well.

Shan't be buying the next in the series.

Kindle Customer

Loved the book but wish I hadn't bothered

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2020

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Another unfinished series. Having thoroughly invested in the characters, the story and my hard earned money I feel cheated and bitterly disappointed that there doesn't seem to be any intention by the author to finish this series. Wish I'd read the reviews on the "last" book before I purchased the first.

Krystal Shilling

Loved it!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2018

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Another book of hers I just couldn't put down. Definitely a reason she is one of my favourite authors. Nothing better than a book that you can loose yourself in and just have to read to the end.

BOOKWORM1304

LOVED IT

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2015

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I love these kind of books with a bit of bite and a damn good underlying story come detective book and of course a bit of steamy romance well worth reading and a nice length as well.

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