Arson is a seventeen year old who was born with the ability to create fire, but is lacking the ability to control it. After the death of his mother during his birth, he is raised by his abusive and crazy grandmother who rarely let's him forget how dirty and evil she thinks he is. Aside from working at a local ice cream parlor, he spends most of his time alone. When Emery, who hides behind a mask, moves in next door with baggage of her own, a friendship forms as they learn to cope with the lives they were given.
This was a very hard book to rate. It left me very undecided. While I enjoyed the growing relationship between Arson and Emery. Their conversations and actions were entertaining to read. However, there were aspects to the story that really brought it down for me. Throughout the story, there was so much build up around Arson's ability, I expected some crazy action to start happening all through the book. Then the scene or point of view would change, and that "Wow" moment never came. I'm still not sure where the plot was hiding, but in the last few chapters the action picked up it's pace quite a bit. By that time, it was a little late and left many unanswered questions, but it did give me higher hopes for the sequel. There is a moment in the book that may be better suited to a more mature young adult audience depending on parental preferences.
Overall, I enjoyed the author's writing style. Reading the different perspectives on many of the characters in the book was very unique. You weren't limited to only Arson and Emery's point of view. You got to see life through the eyes of Arson's grandmother as well as Emery's parents. This gave you a wide understanding of the lives involved in the story. The cover is eerily attractive and combines aspects of both Arson and Emery very well.
To learn more about this book and the author, visit the Estevan Vega's website. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Read my review on Ashes, Book 2 in the Arson Series.
This book was sent to me from the author for review. The opinions are my own.
You can also find this review on Examiner
The cover is pretty cool. Hopefully the sequel will answer your questions. I want to try this book out, because it sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely check it out! :o) I started reading the sequel. I'm only in chapter 3, but so far I like it so much better! Let me know what you think once you read it. :o)
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