Fire and Bone

By: Rachel A. Marks

Narrated by: Will Damron, Kate Rudd

Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

In Hollywood's underworld of demigods, druids, and ancient bonds, one girl has a dangerous future.

Sage is eighteen, down on her luck, and struggling to survive on the streets of Los Angeles. Everything changes the night she's invited to a party - one that turns out to be a trap.

Thrust into a magical world hidden within the City of Angels, Sage discovers that she's the daughter of a Celtic goddess, with powers that are only in their infancy. Now that she is of age, she's asked to pledge her service to one of the five deities, all keen on winning her favor by any means possible. She has to admit that she's tempted - especially when this new life comes with spells, Hollywood glam, and a bodyguard with secrets of his own. Not to mention a prince whose proposal could boost her rank in the Otherworld.

As loyalties shift, and as the two men vie for her attention, Sage tries to figure out whom to trust in a realm she doesn't understand. One thing is for sure: the trap she's in has bigger claws than she thought. And it's going to take a lot more than magic for this Celtic demigoddess to make it out alive.

©2018 Rachel A. Mark (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Language keeps it a four star

This story could have been just as excellent without the foul language. This is not appropriate for YA reading but could have been. Narrators are fabulous.

Good

I really Liked the story, but the 2 different narrators really messes me up as it changes the characters

Outstanding !!

My first book by Rachel Marks, but definitely not my last. She created a vivid world that I could see, feel, smell and wish to share. Her twining of the world of the Fey with the present day is convincingly portrayed. The characters are well developed with their strengths and weaknesses laid bare. The plot has unexpected twists and turns, with an ending not what I anticipated. Will Damron and Kate Rudd brought the main characters to life, a job excellently done!!
The Gods and Mythos of the Celtic people have always fascinated me and been a part of me! Thank you, Rachel A. Marks, for a magical adventure!!!

INTERESTING START.

A interesting storyline. The main character, Sage was brought up as a human and she was totally in the dark to her past history. During an incident at a party she was "rescued" and taken to a safe place. Faelan, the male protagonist who became her bodyguard to teach and protect her from her many enemies. There were also a number of secondary characters that added to the enjoyment of the story. The two narrators, Will Damron and Kate Rudd performed excellently though I would have preferred if the voices of the different characters were maintained throughout the story be performed by the same narrator. This way it would make more sense for the voices for the individuals to sound the same. Does that make sense? Other than that it was very interesting and I was totally engrossed with the story which kept awake through the night to finish the book. Rachel A Marks is a talented writer and I am looking forward for the next book to be published.

Celtic Urban Fantasy

*** Review Courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy ***

FIRE AND BONE is a refreshing addition to the Urban Fantasy genre. Greek and Roman mythology have been way over done, Norse mythology is starting to get to that point, but there are so few stories about Celtic mythology out there. FIRE AND BONE does a great job weaving the Celtic mythos into an excellent story.

I love diving into new series, but I’m always wary of the dreaded info dump. There weren’t any in FIRE AND BONE! Rachel Marks has created a rich world and great characters all built around Celtic mythos without having pages and pages of info dumps. All the information about the world is provided beautifully and seamlessly.

My biggest complaint with FIRE AND BONE is the love triangle. Not a fan of love triangle stories in the slightest. However, the synopsis made it very clear there was a love triangle so I knew what I was getting into and didn’t let that get in the way of a great story. Sage also handles the love triangle well. She doesn't spend every waking moment moping over which boy to chose. She worries about her real problems, while any relationship is clearly secondary. The end of FIRE AND BONE had a great plot twist, but it’s going to make the love triangle even worse for the future books in the Otherborn series.

FIRE AND BONE is an amazing book that I highly recommend. I listened to the whole book in a day and I wish I could already move on to the next book in the Otherborn series. The mix of Celtic mythology and a beautifully built world with great characters were definitely spawn a great series.

Captivating

Loved it, both the book and the performance. And waiting for the story to continue.

Amazing

Well written, kept my attention the entire time. I really liked the different perspectives. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.

Urban fantasy you need to hear!

Sage is most interested in getting a shower and finding a safe space to spend the night for her and her friend Ziggy, so in an uncharacteristic act, she agrees to go to a Halloween party if it means being safe for a night. But after falling asleep in a strange bed, Sage wakes up and realizes that something is not right. A drink made by a friend ends up taking away all her worries- that is until she ends up draining the life from the guy she was dancing with, a guy who was not human at all. But, Sage might not be human herself, and the world she is thrust into may be more dangerous than even her... and everything may burn.

"It's like I won a weekend at a five-star resort. With deadly creatures and mayhem, but still...It's pretty close."

I am always looking for new urban fantasy books to escape into and I was excited when Fire and Bone crossed my radar- I loved the cover with the bright color choices as well as the synopsis caught my attention. I was going to read this, it was only a matter of when- luckily my friend Sarah over at the Clever Reader website offered me a copy to review. Well, I am so glad that I could read this right now, especially since I am on an urban fantasy kick- and keep in mind that I read a LOT of Urban Fantasy (it's my favorite!). I was really happy with what I discovered beneath the gorgeous cover of Fire and Bone- an equally developed, complicated and unique world unlike anything I have delved into before. The book was roughly 450 pages but only cover a few days time, so the pages were so full of action, descriptions of the world and magical creatures (from vampires, pixies, ghouls, selkies, Demigods, Goddesses, wraiths, druids...) that sprung from Danu the goddess, mythology and legends that the world builds on, as well as fleshed out characters. There is a little bit of something for everyone wrapped up in this book.

The story alternates narration between Sage and Faelan, the person assigned to train and protect Sage while she transitions to her new life. I really enjoyed how Rachel was able to give them very different personalities and voices throughout the boom. Sage is cynical and wary of accepting help due to her past, knows nothing about this world she apparently belongs to, and is basically a pawn who is bumbling her way to understanding. But yet, inside her she has the fire and heat that could make people bow down to her, so we will have to see how she wants to play her cards. Faelan on the other hand is centuries old, stoic, controlled and uncompromising- basically an incredibly attractive badass who marches to his own strict code. Sage and Faelan butt heads left and right, yet it makes me wonder if the sparks (ha, a Sage related pun!) are a sign of what is building between the two of them.

Occasionally, we were able to see through another characters eyes, such as the mysterious Kieran, who I thought was a great, complicated character and I kind of rooted for him- but I usually like the bad guys and he basically killed Sage within the first 30% of the book, but nobody is perfect. And my favorite character is Aelin (who is actually a side character), the Druid who appears to be a flighty, superficial, self-centered character but really has depth and heart and a really entertaining personality that made me laugh with her over the top antics. She is totally underrated in their world and I hope she gets a chance to show what she is capable of later.

This book had 2 main characters and I loved that it was dual narrated, giving two voices to listen to. I really enjoyed both narrator's voices, characters and dynamics, and I would highly recommend listening to this just as much as I enjoyed reading it.

This was my first book by Rachel A. Marks but it won't be my last- I can't wait to read the Dark Cycle series while I am waiting for the next installment of Sage's story- because let me tell you, this was just the beginning and the ending of the book caused just as many questions as it answered. Sage is just learning who she is and what she is capable of, as well as the underlying darkness that is motivating the plans against her (ok, I will admit that the twists that happened right at the ending filled me with rage that I can't pick up the next book right this minute, but I will try to cope and fill the hole in my heart that waiting for more Demigod mayhem caused- yes I am overly dramatic). Overall I really enjoyed this story and all the twists and turns the plot took as well as the dynamics between the characters. I highly recommend this YA- Urban fantasy crossover for anyone looking for something different.

Very good book

This is a good book in it, The main character is a demi God , one of a few. And you know there has to be back stabbing going on. Cause one can't have more power than the other. But in this one the main was brought up one foster care. With a lot of being bounce around, being brought up this way among mortals. She has no idea what she is or the power she has and now she has a huge choice to make and only a short time to make. Everyone wants her and her power. But who to trust? That's the question.

Great start for this series.

I have just started to get into this type of Fantasy genre and I really enjoyed this book. Good character development and interesting story lines . The narrators were very good aside from a few pronunciation issues. Got involved in the story quickly and it kept my interest. Kind of disappointed the next book isn't ready yet. I would like to be able to stay in Sage's world instead of going to a different one.