rosetyper9's review against another edition
1.0
Ok so this review is rated a 1 raven because I didn't finish it. I just could not drag myself through the pages. I stopped at about 80 but couldn't go further. I apologize for this but, I am not going to make myself read a book that I just can't get in to. I felt that Anya was a bit whiny and she just didn't grab my attention. I like the ideas of this author though, the whole elemental thing is pretty sweet.
elliefufu's review against another edition
3.0
Embers, Anya Kalinczyk Book #1 by Laura Bickle
Grade: C
“Your best bet is to keep this idiot from waking up Sirrush up. If Sirrush shows up to the party, there’s no bouncer in the world big or bad enough to keep him off the dance floor.”
Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator for the Detroit Fire Department and her nights using her special gifts as a Lantern, a very rare type of medium, helping people get rid of very powerful, angry spirits. As a Lantern she has the ability to absorb the spirit into her body and destroy it but she only uses her ability on ghosts and phantoms that are harming people. Between a spike in unfriendly spirit activity, trying to stop an arsonist who is proving very difficult to stop and nightmares involving an ancient spirit Anya is fighting not only for herself but for the entire city of Detroit.
Anya and her Lantern abilities are so rare that she believes that she is the only person who possesses them which makes her a very in demand woman. She sometimes works with a group called the DAGR, a group made up of ghost hunters and some have special abilities, and is only called in on their most difficult cases, usually when everything else has failed. It’s while helping DARG with a very nasty spirit that she discovers a little girl in an old soda machine. The young girl begins to haunt her dreams telling Anya that “Sirrush is coming.” On further investigation Anya discovers Sirrush is an ancient dragon that is believed to be sleeping under Detroit and someone is trying to wake him up.
As a huge fan of urban fantasy I could not wait to read this book but I found myself sadly pretty disappointed. Anya has lost her mother at a young age and believes the fire that killed her mother was her fault. This cause Anya to hole most people at arms length and tries not to get close to anyone, especially in the romantic department. This comes into play later in the story as Anya finds herself in a love triangle.
This is one of the major problems I had with the story because I lost a lot of respect for Anya. Anya has two men that are trying to woo her but neither knows of the other. When one of the men gets hurt and goes into a coma, Anya acts like it’s the end of the world and wants to be with him but while he is in the coma she goes off and has sex with the other man. To me this is very wrong and I got pretty upset. I found myself really upset at the end with how she brushes off her sexual relationship with one man as the other comes out of his coma. I couldn’t get on bored with this plot line and it made me not like Anya at all.
Anya does have a best friend/pet, a salamander named Sparky. Sparky is a fire elemental given to Anya by her mother before she died and he acts as a guard dog to Anya. Sparky can take form as a dog-like creature, is invisible to everyone buy Anya, loves electricity and spends most of his time in the form of a salamander on a necklace that Anya always wears. Sparky provided lots of laughs in a very, very dark book and is one of the best companions that I have ever read about.
I felt that this book was very difficult to read and I struggled to finish it. After I lost respect for Anya I kinda checked out to be honest. I felt that as soon as things got really good for a few pages the next three pages would be awful. I am going to read the next book in the series and I’m really hoping that I enjoy it more then this one. The idea for this book is wonderful and I really want it to get better because new and fresh ideas in urban fantasy is getting harder and harder to find.
Grade: C
“Your best bet is to keep this idiot from waking up Sirrush up. If Sirrush shows up to the party, there’s no bouncer in the world big or bad enough to keep him off the dance floor.”
Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator for the Detroit Fire Department and her nights using her special gifts as a Lantern, a very rare type of medium, helping people get rid of very powerful, angry spirits. As a Lantern she has the ability to absorb the spirit into her body and destroy it but she only uses her ability on ghosts and phantoms that are harming people. Between a spike in unfriendly spirit activity, trying to stop an arsonist who is proving very difficult to stop and nightmares involving an ancient spirit Anya is fighting not only for herself but for the entire city of Detroit.
Anya and her Lantern abilities are so rare that she believes that she is the only person who possesses them which makes her a very in demand woman. She sometimes works with a group called the DAGR, a group made up of ghost hunters and some have special abilities, and is only called in on their most difficult cases, usually when everything else has failed. It’s while helping DARG with a very nasty spirit that she discovers a little girl in an old soda machine. The young girl begins to haunt her dreams telling Anya that “Sirrush is coming.” On further investigation Anya discovers Sirrush is an ancient dragon that is believed to be sleeping under Detroit and someone is trying to wake him up.
As a huge fan of urban fantasy I could not wait to read this book but I found myself sadly pretty disappointed. Anya has lost her mother at a young age and believes the fire that killed her mother was her fault. This cause Anya to hole most people at arms length and tries not to get close to anyone, especially in the romantic department. This comes into play later in the story as Anya finds herself in a love triangle.
This is one of the major problems I had with the story because I lost a lot of respect for Anya. Anya has two men that are trying to woo her but neither knows of the other. When one of the men gets hurt and goes into a coma, Anya acts like it’s the end of the world and wants to be with him but while he is in the coma she goes off and has sex with the other man. To me this is very wrong and I got pretty upset. I found myself really upset at the end with how she brushes off her sexual relationship with one man as the other comes out of his coma. I couldn’t get on bored with this plot line and it made me not like Anya at all.
Anya does have a best friend/pet, a salamander named Sparky. Sparky is a fire elemental given to Anya by her mother before she died and he acts as a guard dog to Anya. Sparky can take form as a dog-like creature, is invisible to everyone buy Anya, loves electricity and spends most of his time in the form of a salamander on a necklace that Anya always wears. Sparky provided lots of laughs in a very, very dark book and is one of the best companions that I have ever read about.
I felt that this book was very difficult to read and I struggled to finish it. After I lost respect for Anya I kinda checked out to be honest. I felt that as soon as things got really good for a few pages the next three pages would be awful. I am going to read the next book in the series and I’m really hoping that I enjoy it more then this one. The idea for this book is wonderful and I really want it to get better because new and fresh ideas in urban fantasy is getting harder and harder to find.
vickybuka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Good world building. But then the book concluded very suddenly.
Really enjoyed the ghost citizens of Detroit. The star of the book is Sparky, the best fire elemental familiar, ever.
Really enjoyed the ghost citizens of Detroit. The star of the book is Sparky, the best fire elemental familiar, ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide and Sexual content
chllybrd's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com
This book had such mixed reviews it took me almost a year to finally read it. Ive read Laura's other series under the name of Alayna Williams and really enjoyed it, I also saw a review of this series from a reviewer I trust the opinion of and finally decided to give it a try. Laura has a wonderful way of bringing unique situations to her books, her writing style is also very engaging. Anya was easy to like and easy to follow, she is very troubled but is also really strong and independent. Sparky Anya's familiar was awesome, his personality shines through the pages and I always looked forward to what he would do next. I wasn't crazy about the love interests, I especially didn't understand the draw to Drake besides the fact that he was a lantern. EMBERS was a neat read with great supporting characters and situations you haven't likely read before so I would recommend you give it a try.
This book had such mixed reviews it took me almost a year to finally read it. Ive read Laura's other series under the name of Alayna Williams and really enjoyed it, I also saw a review of this series from a reviewer I trust the opinion of and finally decided to give it a try. Laura has a wonderful way of bringing unique situations to her books, her writing style is also very engaging. Anya was easy to like and easy to follow, she is very troubled but is also really strong and independent. Sparky Anya's familiar was awesome, his personality shines through the pages and I always looked forward to what he would do next. I wasn't crazy about the love interests, I especially didn't understand the draw to Drake besides the fact that he was a lantern. EMBERS was a neat read with great supporting characters and situations you haven't likely read before so I would recommend you give it a try.
aphelia88's review against another edition
5.0
The cover art for this book is one of my favourite Chris McGrath covers ever, and I have heard a lot of great things about this series over the years so I was thrilled to finally find a copy. I think this may be Bickle's first novel, and while the pacing is a little rough in places and there are a few minor issues, it has some very interesting and unusual ideas and a satisfying ending that makes me eager to read the sequel, [b:Sparks|7568425|Sparks (Anya Kalinczyk, #2)|Laura Bickle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421562774l/7568425._SY75_.jpg|9908051].
Anya is an arson investigator in Detroit with a secret: she can see, interact with, and consume ghosts and demons. She is a Lantern, a rare type of medium and she thought she was the only one. Until she meets Drake Ferrer, an intense artist and architect. Their shared nature, and the chance to finally talk to someone who can do what she can do, draws Anya like a moth to a flame, despite her misgivings.
I really liked Anya! She has a tragic past and this leads her to draw away from her only friends: an odd but skilled group of amateur ghostbusters. Elderly Aro is a demonologist, Jules is a man of faith, Max is his smart-mouthed teenage protégé, Katie is a witch and Brian is the tech guy that Anya can't admit she cares for. Anya also throws herself into her work. She is scarred, but stubborn.
Her relationship with her fire Elemental Guardian - a Salamander named Sparky, who likes to play with electricity for fun - was my favourite part of the story. Sparky lives in the metal collar that Anya inherited from her Mother, and always wears around her neck (as seen in the beautiful cover art) when he's not manifesting. He is like a child, mischievous, sometimes petulant, but sweet.
Bickle writes great banter, and there is some humour to lighten the otherwise dark and tense story. I also really enjoyed Sirrush the dragon, although I wish he had had more page time. Very entertaining, and an author to watch!
Anya is an arson investigator in Detroit with a secret: she can see, interact with, and consume ghosts and demons. She is a Lantern, a rare type of medium and she thought she was the only one. Until she meets Drake Ferrer, an intense artist and architect. Their shared nature, and the chance to finally talk to someone who can do what she can do, draws Anya like a moth to a flame, despite her misgivings.
I really liked Anya! She has a tragic past and this leads her to draw away from her only friends: an odd but skilled group of amateur ghostbusters. Elderly Aro is a demonologist, Jules is a man of faith, Max is his smart-mouthed teenage protégé, Katie is a witch and Brian is the tech guy that Anya can't admit she cares for. Anya also throws herself into her work. She is scarred, but stubborn.
Her relationship with her fire Elemental Guardian - a Salamander named Sparky, who likes to play with electricity for fun - was my favourite part of the story. Sparky lives in the metal collar that Anya inherited from her Mother, and always wears around her neck (as seen in the beautiful cover art) when he's not manifesting. He is like a child, mischievous, sometimes petulant, but sweet.
Bickle writes great banter, and there is some humour to lighten the otherwise dark and tense story. I also really enjoyed Sirrush the dragon, although I wish he had had more page time. Very entertaining, and an author to watch!
lalabristow's review against another edition
4.0
My Rating: 3 & 1/2 stars out of 5!
I absolutely love the Urban Fantasy (UF) genre, along with Paranormal Romance, it definitely gets the top spot in my heart as for my taste in reading. It is specially amazing when a new book or series comes along with a new take on an old theme or deals with a subject that hasn’t been written about before.
Embers is all about fire and fire creatures, it tells the story of Anya, a Arson Investigator for the Detroit Fire department that is also a Lantern. She can see and consume spirits with ease and in her free time, she helps the DAGR and group that fights demons and evil spirits.
Anya has got job cut out for her when a series of arsons leave a number of victims and weird looking marks that point to a much more sinister reason for the fires, than simple insurance fraud.
Embers is pure UF with action, mythical elements, a great cast of supporting characters, an ambivalent villain, mythical creatures and a great plot that grips you until the end. I have to admit that the beginning was a bit slow for me, but it did pick about a third way in and it got great.
Anya is a very interesting and complex character. I loved how flawed she was and even though she got on my nerves a few time, in the end she is just human and flawed, therefore making her more lovable in my opinion.
Anya is not a kick-ass kind of leading lady, but she is definitely strong and capable of making though choices and decisions. I loved her blooming relationship with Brian, I feel there is a lot of potential there and it makes me really happy that there will be at least another book in this series.
All in all, Embers is a full plate of goodness for any Urban Fantasy lover out there. Intriguing plot and great characters that definitely make it a great read. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book, Sparks, coming out at the end of August this year.
I absolutely love the Urban Fantasy (UF) genre, along with Paranormal Romance, it definitely gets the top spot in my heart as for my taste in reading. It is specially amazing when a new book or series comes along with a new take on an old theme or deals with a subject that hasn’t been written about before.
Embers is all about fire and fire creatures, it tells the story of Anya, a Arson Investigator for the Detroit Fire department that is also a Lantern. She can see and consume spirits with ease and in her free time, she helps the DAGR and group that fights demons and evil spirits.
Anya has got job cut out for her when a series of arsons leave a number of victims and weird looking marks that point to a much more sinister reason for the fires, than simple insurance fraud.
Embers is pure UF with action, mythical elements, a great cast of supporting characters, an ambivalent villain, mythical creatures and a great plot that grips you until the end. I have to admit that the beginning was a bit slow for me, but it did pick about a third way in and it got great.
Anya is a very interesting and complex character. I loved how flawed she was and even though she got on my nerves a few time, in the end she is just human and flawed, therefore making her more lovable in my opinion.
Anya is not a kick-ass kind of leading lady, but she is definitely strong and capable of making though choices and decisions. I loved her blooming relationship with Brian, I feel there is a lot of potential there and it makes me really happy that there will be at least another book in this series.
All in all, Embers is a full plate of goodness for any Urban Fantasy lover out there. Intriguing plot and great characters that definitely make it a great read. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book, Sparks, coming out at the end of August this year.
colls's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable escapist read about a fire investigator in Detroit who moonlights as a ghost hunter. I'll probably seek out the next in the series soon.
buuboobaby's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I liked Embers a lot! Great characters, tons of suspense, a really mean demon, and Sparky the fire elemental! The ending was a bit too pat, but the premise and setting kept me locked on the story. I am looking forward to more books by Laura Bickle - I love her storytelling style.
Full review soon at www.mangamaniaccafe.com
I liked Embers a lot! Great characters, tons of suspense, a really mean demon, and Sparky the fire elemental! The ending was a bit too pat, but the premise and setting kept me locked on the story. I am looking forward to more books by Laura Bickle - I love her storytelling style.
Full review soon at www.mangamaniaccafe.com
midlifehedgewitch's review against another edition
4.0
This book was about 10 times better than I expected it to be. A good first foray into urban fantasy, without the schmoozy romance stuff. The background research into Wicca, Egyptian and Babylonian mythology could have been a deeper (but then, not everyone has done their Honours thesis on paganism like me :) ), but otherwise, an enjoyable beach read!