ARC Review--Firelight by Kristen Callihan

London, 1881

Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

I received this e-ARC for review from Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley

Kristen Callihan's debut--at least I believe it's her debut--Firelight, was really good! I'll admit at first I thought that this was going to be a steampunk kind of novel and overall I get the feeling that it wasn't. It was just sort of set in the 1800s, there was no gizmos or other machine creations, but we don't really get that here. 

But there is a good deal of secrets and other slightly paranormal things going on. Of course most of it remains a mystery until the end. But it was still a fab story! For most of the beginning I got the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale vibe from it. But sort of twisted, we have Miranda forced into a marriage by this man who always wears a mask. Odd yes, but there is something else strange about the man that Miranda can't pinpoint yet. 

The two are obviously a good match though since Miranda has her own secret she's harboring. And when people her husband knows suddenly start showing up dead, he's the likely suspect. Yet she herself can't decide if he's guilty or not.

The book had its ups and downs. There were moments when I felt a little bored, because not much was happening. There was definite mystery vibes going on that were entertaining, yet there was a lack of excitement in them at times. But then the excitement would suddenly pick up again. It was definitely a rollar coaster kind of read for me. And the ending, was heartfelt and satisfying, but it's the very last line that will nag at you! It nagged at me and now I am curious about a future installment, yet feeling like there are no guarantees just yet. At least none that I know of.

So overall it's definitely an interesting book, just a few moments here and there that I felt just weren't exciting enough for me, but it did help build the story up.

Overall rating 3.75/5 stars--yes another awkward rating, I say it's really close to a 4, yet the sporadic slow moments were a little too much of a drag for me, yet still an amazing read!

Firelight releases January 31, 2012