Novel Review: Firebug (Firebug, #1) by Lish McBride

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Release Date: September 23, 2014

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ava can start fires with her mind . . . but is it a blessing or a curse?

Ava is a firebug—she can start fires with her mind. Which would all be well and good if she weren't caught in a deadly contract with the Coterie, a magical mafia. She's one of their main hit men . . . and she doesn't like it one bit. Not least because her mother's death was ordered by Venus—who is now her boss.

When Venus asks Ava to kill a family friend, Ava rebels. She knows very well that you can't say no to the Coterie and expect to get away with it, though, so she and her friends hit the road, trying desperately to think of a way out of the mess they find themselves in. Preferably keeping the murder to a minimum.

The Cover:

I actually rather like this cover. I couldn't tell what it was at first zoomed out, but the image definitely fits the book. I like that it is emphasizing her powers and the supernatural element, instead of romance or something else. I also like that it's more simple and just pretty to look at.

Review:

I was very excited for this book. And I will say it was not as amazing as her previous one, but it was still definitely enjoyable.

McBride has a certain flair, a creativity that she puts into her world, that adds its own element of fun. Her writing style is nice, a little simple, but easy to read. Her story is a little slow, but definitely interesting and leading to the climax.

I liked Ava. She’s a firebug, still getting control of her powers but mostly there. Having lived on the run before her mother died, now she lives with Cade, a father-figure, and working for the Coterie, the supernatural group her mother was running from. She works with Ezra and Lock for the Coterie, two other supernaturals. Ezra is fun, and a bit adorable; Lock is more serious, more protective, but also just as fun. The dynamic between the three was probably my favorite—they get along so well, and the budding romance was very underplayed, although the mess-up at the end was frustrating.

The father-daughter relationship between Ava and Cade was also really nice, and the development there at the end of the book has me really happy and excited to see more in the next book.

The Coterie was in a new place at the end of the book, and I’m interested to see where it goes next. It could be good, but something is surely going to go wrong.

This was a very nice book, a little slow, but enjoyable. McBride is already on my auto-buy list, so I look forward to her next book. I also do hope that this series intertwines with her Necromancer series, although I doubt it will, sadly. Maybe I just miss that group, though.

Review: Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

~3 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Goodreads Synopsis: 

From Jessi Kirby, a debut novel about confronting the past in order to move ahead.

I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now, I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both.

Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love- a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.

While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing- not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death- stays buried forever.

 Review:

I was expecting to like this more than I did. I still enjoyed it, though.

The writing was kind of simple. It was pretty, like when describing the water and the scenes with her mother, but still kind of simple. It wasn't as pretty as I was expecting, I think, so I was a little disappointed. It doesn't particularly stick out to me; it was a simple, easy, not particularly remember-able read.

Anna, the main character, didn't seem as thought out as she could have been. In the beginning, at least. Near the beginning, she wanted guys attention and thought quite highly of herself in how others thought of her, and this bothered me. It seemed kind of exaggerated, or it didn't work as well as it could have. I might just not have liked it because I don't relate to that way of thinking, so that might be why it bothered me. But then she seemed more thought out later, when thinking about her mother and with the ending. Some of her thinking, like when she added that she might become friends with Jillian, seemed kind of like an afterthought. I liked the other parts of her, and she seemed to get better near the end, and I was legitimately liking her.

Tyler, I did not like. He was arrogant, cocky, and he just really annoyed me through most of it. Part of it might be that he's not my type, at all, but he also didn't seem to be showing genuine interest or seem that good for Anna. Through out most of the book I didn't understand why she was still interested in him, because he was acting like a jerk and she had even pointed this out, if subtly. I was even wondering, hoping, till about half way through, that there would be another love interest to show up. I was disappointed that one didn't. Near the end, he was starting to grow on me, and he was starting to act nice toward her. He's still not my type, though.

The one character that I really liked, and that I would have liked seeing more of, would be Ashley. She was fun and interesting. I wouldn't mind a book about her.

The plot line, about Anna's mother, was interesting. I was intrigued, even if it wasn't all that surprising, and the downfall was nice to read. What happens at the track meet, and then later at the ocean, was mildly satisfying. Things usually don't happen like that, I'll think of the idea, but they don't play out like that. I was nice seeing it actually happen, but not as satisfying as I thought it would be. Or as it could have been. The beach scene was more satisfying than the track meet. And then the scene with her dad, later, I wanted there to be more of.

I think most things in this book fell a little flat. But it wasn't as bad as I'm possibly making it out to be. I would still read her next book.