Review--Cursed by Fire by Danielle Annett

It has been six years since the Awakening and peace in Spokane, Washington is still tenuous at best. The vampires and shifters are all vying for control of the city and the humans seem to be the ones suffering the consequences, or so it seems.

Aria Naveed has spent the last two years of her life fighting to make the many wrongs of the world right, but soon finds out that the humans aren’t as weak as they appear and may be a more terrifying foe than any of the other races combined.

When a stranger rolls into town with trouble on his heels, Aria finds herself trapped in the middle of a battle that could cost her more than she has bargained for as a fight for justice turns into an unexpected fight for her life.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


Danielle Annett brings forth a fascinating new Urban Fantasy read that really keeps you on your toes! Cursed by Fire is an amazing new story with a heroine who you could easily relate to. There was so much mystery and secrets in this one that I am still left reeling!

The world here is different from our own, but still a familiar setting. Paranormals are out in the open, Shifters, Vampires, etc. Life really hasn't changed too much with their coming out. Though there are some differences, such as doctors, medicines, schools and those little things, not being available anymore like they once were. Not everyone is happy about this way of life though, and that's where our story begins when Aria finds the body of a young Shifter boy.

Aria is a human herself, but special, she has fire wielding abilities that mark her a Psyker. Her powers have caused her a few problems in life, but they've also been a lot of help too. She's a private investigator of sorts. The Shifters send her one of their own to help aid her in the case of the boy's murder, which appears to have been done by vampires. But nothing is ever easy.

James is a Wolf shifter, so werewolf. I got the sense that he and Aria have been friends for a long time. They have a causal, easygoing relationship between them. Their occasional banter was always enjoyable.

There was more to the story as well that surrounds Aria and her past. I don't want to get into all of that for spoiler territory, but we can easily say that she learns more about herself in this first novel. There was also yet another mysterious man in Aria's life, Inarus who shares a few similarities with her. It was hard to say if this was a love triangle in the works or not. Aria and James were never romantic with one another, but there is an underlying tension between them at times. I felt like Danielle gave us hints to tiny moments that might lead to something more. Plus, before we even got to the ending, I was all for Team James!

The mystery elements to this one were really good! There were more secrets that kept popping up all over the place, but yet seamlessly tied together. There's still quite a bit left unsaid by the ending though. I could understand the reasoning to that with some of the mystery, but I still felt like I didn't really know all the whodunits, we did get some answers, but not quite enough I thought. But I am still rather curious to read more in this new found series!  

Aria is a strong heroine, just the type I like reading in my Urban Fantasies! She has a good sense of humor to her and she isn't without flaws. James was another character I enjoyed, there's always something about werewolves that I find ever so sexy! And I gotta say the males are usually very alpha like and while I can find that unattractive at times, most authors I've read with male werewolves have the right blend of alpha to them, so they don't come off as unappealing and possessive! Danielle was definitely one of those kinds of authors! 

The ending, though still left me feeling there was quite a bit unsaid about the main murder mystery of the Shifter boy, was still quite exciting! This is definitely the beginning of Aria's story and I for one, am looking forward to reading more!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars