Melanie's Book Reviews

A few years ago there was the ‘Awakening’ in which supernatural beings came out of the closet, Humans are no longer the top of the food chain. Everything about the world has changed including who holds the power and how they are governed; Vampires and Shifters are rivals for that power and always seem to be teetering on the edge of war with Humans stuck right in the middle….. what the supernaturals don’t know is that the Humans are evolving too and some come with their own abilities that just might be able to help them fight back.

Aria Naveed is one such human, she uses her abilities to investigate crimes – a mercenary if you will. After a particularly bad case involving a child murder that weighs heavily on Aria, she is forced to reopen the case when some new information comes to light. With the reassignment comes a partner, none other than her friend and Shifter – James – and she finally feels they will be able to put this case to bed…… but what if it’s just the beginning? What if the childs death is part of a bigger issue? Can Aria find out before it becomes too late?

If that’s not enough, Aria has a stalker, a strange man that evokes something in her each time they collide, he can do things Aria has never seen….. but can she trust him? Why is he following her?..... all will be revealed

 

I thought Cursed by Fire was an awesome read and a great introduction to the series. Aria is a character that is very likable, she has lost everyone she cares about and only has a couple of people who she trusts and loves, she gives off a slightly lonely vibe but doesn’t let it get in the way of her work. I really liked her magical status (I don’t really want to spoil anything but the clue might be in the title) and how handy it is in dangerous situations but saying that, I thought she needed to master it more.

The story was great and what started out as one thing totally turned into something else but that isn’t unusual for a UF and one of the reasons I love this genre so much. We are introduced to a much different world; with supernaturals being outed, the power dynamic has shifted greatly and the supernaturals have more power than humans, when you have a scenario like this you know what’s going to happen….the underdog is going to rise up and cause hell. We get the stirrings of war and meet all involved but no clear ‘good guy’ just yet because we are just getting to know everyone. I always like the investigative scenario that Aria finds herself in and it unravels some pretty interesting stuff as well as jaw dropping discoveries that come from nowhere. There is a smidge of romance and love triangle but it’s only a smidge and doesn’t detract from the story. I would say that I preferred one to the other and maybe routing for him but the other is more intriguing and I’d be happy to see either develop into something.

I would say the book was very well written and had a Kate Daniels feel to it, which is so not a bad thing in my mind. With it being the first book, it is very much a getting to know you and the world you live in plot but it builds a very strong basis for the series to expand from and plenty of potential for where it could go. I can’t fault it in anyway and thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to more.