There is a world that runs parallel to our own, a world in which the souls of the damned are caged, where they are looked over by the Furies, and where they spend eternity in torment, mirroring the devastation and mayhem they created when alive.
Someone has opened the cage.
The worst of terrors has crossed the barrier that separates our world from theirs, and the Furies send a great, albeit untested warrior—their only son, Alek—to try to bring those souls back. He is young and handsome, headstrong and impulsive, and he won’t be able to do it alone.
Eva has grown up, beautiful and beloved, but surrounded by secrets. First, she will be hunted in an ancient feud that will threaten her life. Then, she will become the hunter.
With the police closing in and two worlds on the verge of crumbling around them, Alek and Eva must find each other, discover the limits of their powers, and work together to save everything they hold dear, including one another. Blending elements of mythology with the dazzling storytelling that her fans have devoured through the House of Night series, Kristin Cast weaves a spellbinding and passionate tale that starts a thrilling new series with an explosive charge.
I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.
Many years ago, I tried reading the House of Night series, but never made it past the first book, but yet when I saw Kristin Cast's Amber Smoke on Netgalley I was immediately intrigued! The premise just sounded soooo good! This is definitely a series, because I noticed the pacing was rather slow. At times I didn't mind, but then when nothing continued to happen I was starting to get a bit confused and miffed.
For such a long cover description, I expected so much to happen. And yet, very little did. This definitely reads as a first in series kind of book, because we're being introduced to the world at sort of a slow pace. But by the story's end, we still don't have many answers to the questions that have been brewing. Normally, I'd like to see some kind of moving forward, but it just took the entire novel basically to get Eva and Alek on the right path.
Eva is your average girl, naturally, and one night after a college party goes totally wrong, she leaves and is abducted by basically a crazy dude who's not all that human.
Alek lives I guess in Tartarus with his mothers, the Fates, and Tartartus is in trouble. And if Tartartus is in troble, the Mortal Realm, ie our world, is soon to follow. Eva is predicted to be the one who will help Alek in his mission to save both worlds, but he has to find her first. And the Mortal Realm is pretty huge, basically the entire world.
I know it sounds like I didn't enjoy this one for the most part, but in truth I did. I liked the story idea very much. I just had been expecting more to happen. Instead, we never really got beyond step one and that was Alek finding Eva. There was too much danger going on on the Mortal Realm and then the police got involved. Hijinks ensued definitely!
There was very little or basically no romance in this one. You can tell that there will eventually be something between Alek and Eva, but they literally just meet and don't have any time to be together.
I'm not giving up on this series yet though. While House of Night lost me somewhere within the first book, there was enough storyline here to totally grabbed me and keep me on the edge of my seat. Though very little happened, I feel as if the next book will be a blast because we got this first book and intro stuff out of the way!
If you're feeling daring and like Greek mythology then this might be a read to intrigue you by. The Greek mythos is slim at this point, but its presence is very there. There were a few pieces that felt new to me and that's either the author's imagination or really just new to me info! I'll have to research to discover that answer. Amber Smoke may have started out a bit slow, but it has a dash of intrigue and excitement that totally has me hooked and looking forward to book two!
Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars
Amber Smoke releases June 9, 2015
I read some books from the House of Night series and I gave up, don´t remember exactly which book was, but I´m not looking forward to read more of her books.
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Adriana @ Reading Fictional
The one thing I don't like about series, is that whole introductory first book that just doesn't give much. I like when authors give just enough to whet my appetite but also enough to make me want to come back. I wasn't aware of this book but it does sound intriguing. Maybe I'll try it!
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