BLOG TOUR: Early Review--Flameout by Keri Arthur (+CONTEST!)

New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Embers cranks up the tension in the next Souls of Fire novel, featuring Emberly Pearson, a phoenix who assumes human form to fight death at every turn.…

Emberly and her red hot partner, Jackson, have hit an impasse in their battle against the crazed humans infected by a plague-like virus derived from vampire blood. Their quest to unearth the leader of the group leads them into an ambush—and leaves Emberly at odds with her former lover, Sam, who’s pressuring her to join his Paranormal Investigations Team.

To make matters worse, three local witches have been kidnapped—and if their spells fall into the wrong hands, Emberly’s powers could end up smothered. With time ticking until the virus consumes the world, Emberly and Jackson must race to save the witches, find a cure, and smoke out their nemesis—or go down in a blaze of glory...

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

Keri Arthur’s Flameout is one hot and explosive read, no puns intended! LOL! Or not! But seriously, when it comes to having a phoenix heroine, is hard to avoid the fire puns! Anyway, Flameout is the latest installment in her Souls of Fire series and things really heat up in all sorts of ways! Emberly is about to face one epic blowout!

To start with, this is a series and it should be read in order, because it’s one long streaming plot we’re focused on with a virus that could infect all of society and basically start an Armageddon in some ways. So spoilers from previous books are likely to happen here.

Emberly and Jackson are our main characters here for the most part, Sam, her old lover, still makes an occasional appearance, but since he’s be infected, he’s mostly out of the picture in quarantine, though he still pops up every now and then. There are so many players in this game, that sometimes it got a little hard to keep everyone straight. You have your bad guys, your bad buys who aren’t so bad, and the bad guys who are a pain in the you-know-what! So basically, a lot of people you can’t trust. Which makes things even more difficult for Emberly.

It wasn’t enough that she has to find Luke, who happens to be Sam’s brother, who’s sort of our main bad guy and the one who controls the red coats—the people infected with the Crimson Death and are a sort of mad, crazy vampire type—and also added to her plate is to find three missing witches. All while still trying to find the elusive notes the good doctor wrote about the virus and which hopefully contains the formula to a possible cure. Easy peasy, right?

What you basically have here is one kickbutt, action-packed thrill ride that once again just makes me love the Urban Fantasy genre so much! Add in some smexy romance and you have the makings of one great read!! The characters are all incredibly awesome! Emberly is the kind of Urban Fantasy heroine I enjoy, tough, strong, has a bit of an attitude, but also not without feelings. Then we have Jackson, a dark fae who’s all snarks and laughs with his own dark edge. There was always so much tension between these two. I can never decide if I want them to be together or still hold out hope for Sam to come back around into Emberly’s life. It’s definitely a pickle, but really, it’s hard not to like Jackson!

While my poorly abused memory can’t always remember every book I read, I was still able to follow along rather well with this one. We have the same goal that’s been around for the past two books, so that was a help! Though, as always, new things are being added into the mix that just makes Emberly’s to-do list that much longer.

The ending was definitely a jaw dropper! There was an amazing action pack battle scene happening and there was SO much happening within that! And then just when you think things are over…BAM! A whopper of a cliffhanger! One that leaves you both shocked and emotional! But just remember to think things over. You get the hint too, so there’s that! And I’m cutting myself off from that point before I head into spoiler territory! Let’s just say that the next book will be AMAZING!! Of course, this is Keri Arthur, so I usually expect nothing short of amazing from her!

Keri Arthur brings us yet another amazing Urban Fantasy read that has everything from action to romance bound within its pages! Flameout is not a read to be missed by the paranormal fans, so be sure to check this series out! And remember, start at the beginning with Fireborn! ;)

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars—again, a minor takeoff because I couldn’t quite remember what had happened beforehand, but that’s just more a me thing! Had I better memory, this would sooo be a 5 star read!

CONTEST TIME!! The publisher has graciously offered up a copy of Flameout to one winner! US & CANADA addresses only please, as this contest is sponsored by them! In order to enter, just leave a meaningful comment on the review ALONG WITH your email address so I can contact you if you win! Have at it! Contest will end July 7th.