Fireborn
A Soul of Fire Novel, Book #1
By Keri Arthur
ISBN#9780451419576
Author’s Website: http://www.keriarthur.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele
Synopsis:
From New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur comes a brand new series featuring heroine Emberly Pearson—a phoenix capable of taking on human form, and cursed with the ability to foresee death…
Emberly has spent a good number of her many lives trying to save humans. So when her prophetic dreams reveal the death of Sam, a man she once loved, she does everything in her power to prevent that from happening. But in saving his life, she gets more than she bargained for.
Sam is working undercover for the Paranormal Investigations Team, and those who are trying to murder him are actually humans infected by a plague-like virus, the Crimson Death—a by-product of a failed government experiment that attempted to identify the enzymes that make vampires immortal. Now, all those infected must be eliminated.
But when Emberly’s boss is murdered and his irreplaceable research stolen, she needs to find the guilty party before she goes down in flames….(Goodreads)
Review:
Fireborn is the first book in the Souls of Fire Urban Fantasy/Romance series, and it caught my attention because the main character is a phoenix. I am no UF expert, but I cannot recall a phoenix in any other series. And the phoenix angle is the best part of the book. Phoenix can take the form of “human” flesh, bird, and fire. Their mythology is interesting – beings that are essentially immortal and reborn every century, they are paired as soul mates and life sustaining partners but, due to a curse, not meant to love each other. They are destined to find and lose a true love during each lifetime, and maintain the memories of past lives. This has potential to be fascinating stuff. There are also fresh twists on vampires, elemental fae, weres, and newly created zombie/vampish creatures infected with the Crimson Death virus called red cloaks.
Most of the book feels like set up…introducing characters, world building, and the foundation of a multi book story arc. We meet phoenixes Emberly and Rory, fire fae Jackson, members of the vampire mafia called Sindicati, and Emberly’s human ex-boyfriend Sam. Emberly dreams about Sam’s death and does all she can to prevent it. He is a policeman working for a paranormal investigations team and is hunting the red cloaks. Then her medical researcher boss is murdered and his research stolen. She meets private investigator Jackson, who is investigating another scientist’s death. All of these threads intersect…peril and adventure ensue.
I would have given this book a higher star rating if it had not been for two elements. There is a lot of sex, meaningless physical interactions between Emberly and Jackson and the rejuvenating and life sustaining sex between Emberly and Rory, but nothing remotely including love. When you throw in unresolved feelings between Emberly and Sam, there is just too much, a love square if you will, and I am just not into that. My other quibble is that after hundreds of pages of building up the story and tensions, it just ends without any significant satisfactory plot resolutions. The final page was literally a “WTH?” moment for me.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, especially the fantasy elements. I love the idea of the phoenix. There is a great balance between the paranormal and real worlds. I would consider reading more of the series if the romantic aspects are toned down a bit (at least a little more monogamous). As it stands, the romance is awkward and a little pathetically sad. Recommended for UF fans.
