Blurb: "After a fire consumes the Ellis family fortune, the beautiful and resourceful Miranda finds herself faced with an impossible dilemma: enter a life of petty crime or watch her family succumb to poverty. But once her fiancée learns of her descent into danger--and of the strange, new powers she's discovered --saving her family may come at the high price of her heart.
When Lord Benjamin Archer's one chance for redemption is destroyed by corrupt London antiquarian Hector Ellis, he vows to take what Ellis values most-his daughter Miranda. Forced to hide his face behind masks, Archer travels the world hoping to escape the curse that plagues him so that he can finally claim his prize.
But once Archer returns home to London, will it be revenge he seeks? Or will the flame-haired beauty ignite new, undeniable desires?"
Ember is an 8 chapter short prequel to a new series, and has completely caught my imagination. The prequel is set in 1800s London, with rich language and absorbing characters. The story covers two POVs - Miranda (the fire-starter) and Archer (mysterious dark man) - and is the backstory for both characters who the key players in Kristen's Firelight series. I haven't read the series yet, but I'm so going to!
Good: The writing is powerful, and took me straight into Miranda's life. She is forced by her gambler/wastrel father to steal, and in the process Burns an attacker. The author's language uses street London argot, feels authentic!
Bad: Its hard to tell from a short novella like this, but my initial read of the prequel and the first few chapters in Firelight was pretty positive.
Should You read it?
Yes, and I'd even suggest going straight into the main series Firelight - if the writing is anything as good as the prequel, its a must-read for paranormal & historical romance fans!
The novella also comes with decent sized previews of Firelight and Moonglow - the first books in two new series.
Note: This novella was provided for review by NetGalley
, where she writes the story of the eldest of 3 sisters in a very dysfunctional family. The sisters are a quarter Gypsy by blood, and the most wild of them, Amy, has the power to hear the name of a person's True Love on physical contact. She has no qualms in playing up this ability, and survives on con games and luck. The eldest sister Cecilia is a repressed doctor, and the youngest has been missing for several years.
is the story of the youngest sister, who is painfully shy around men. Her inability to have a conversation with a good-looking guy is so funny to read! She also runs out of interviews (which is secretly something I would so have loved to do at some point!) and still manages to run a successful business.
follows Amy, with the mystical power, as she proceeds to lose her magic, and struggle between choosing True Love or recovering her talent. With a very sexy chef, and plenty of delicious cooking, this book is for the foodie reader.
