Mini Re-Review--Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast

 

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 am setting myself up for heartbreak here as I dive back into a series I know got canceled, but since I saw Kristin Cast will be attending an event I'm going to later this month, I thought I'd read it and maybe ask her what would've happened! Lol. I remember I read Amber Smoke way back as an ARC before it came out in 2015 and it seems my feelings on it are still pretty much the same. I enjoyed it, but I did find myself lapsing at times. I did really enjoy the Greek mythos aspect, while this isn't necessarily a mythological retelling, the Greek mythos elements are heavily present.

Alek is the son of the Furies, he was created by Hera's magic to one day save his world and the mortal world from total destruction. Tartartus' gates have been broken and the evil entities that are normally trapped inside it are breaking free and venturing to earth and reeking havoc. Alek must find the Oracle who has yet to come into power, but once she does, the two of them are meant to save the mortal world and restore Tartartus back to its full power.

Then we meet Eva, a young college woman who is just trying to figure out what to major in and stick with it so she can graduate. But in the meantime, she's just living the best life that she can. Until the horrible night where she gets kidnapped and is essentially being tortured by a madman who speaks in riddles.

A lot gets packed into this 250 page novella! I was surprised by how much really. Eva is dealing with a lot being held captive for a good deal of time, but rescue eventually does come in the form of Alek. But then the aftermath of the ordeal is where the real chaos lies. The police were already investigating a recent murder of a young woman who appeared to have been kidnapped and tortured before she was killed and they first thought Eva was going to be victim #2, but now they are thinking something else is going on.

There's definitely a chemistry brewing between Alek and Eva, but given the span of the books, I feel like we're just getting something set up between them and I know I am going to have my heart broken since the third book was never released! I would really like to know why or how I keep falling for all these canceled series! It's unreal!

Pacing wise, this was a bit of a mixed bag. It had its ups and downs really, but it did keep me reading the pages for the majority of the day! This time around I got to read it in one day! Thank you holiday! Lol. In this one we get third person point of view from Alek, Eva, and one of the detectives looking for Eva. I don't know if because this was a novella that I never really felt like I got a chance to know Alek and Eva really well. We do get a glimpse of their "everyday" life before chaos strikes, but I don't know. I just felt a bit of a disconnect when it came to them. Or maybe it was just because of the third person point of view. I still enjoyed them as characters of course, I just didn't feel like I formed that connection I usually do when I read.

I totally did not remember this book well at all, given that it was nearly 10 years ago, I suspect that was why! The ending was a total shocker, talk about cliffhangers all around and I am going to be so upset if this happens with the second book with no answers in sight. I ordered the "mini novella?" that is labeled 2.5 in the 3 book series as I was hoping that would bridge some sort of gap between the books but I have the feeling it won't and I'll be there with a list of questions to ask Cast when the time comes as I could not find any information online about what happened to book 3. This is one aspect of Goodreads that I loathe. Why are books that were never published allowed to be on the site with a proposed published date that never happened?! It's insane!

Ultimately, this was still an exciting read and I hesitantly look forward to what will happen next. You can probably expect to see a review of the next book before the weekend ends with me screaming why did I do this to myself! Lol.

Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars (same as last time!)