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ladytiara's review against another edition
3.0
Embers is a terrific start to a new urban fantasy series. Anya Kalinczyk's day job is investigating arson for the Detroit Fire Department. By night, she works with a rag-tag group of ghost hunters. She’s a Lantern, a psychic with an affinity for fire and the ability to see and consume ghosts. She’s also got a salamander who likes to destroy appliances for a familiar (that’s a new urban fantasy twist).
Anya is investigating a series of suspicious fires for her day job, but her investigation begins to take her in a supernatural direction. Detroit is in bad shape economically, and it's a hotbed of crime, both normal and paranormal. Anya suspects that the fires are part of a ritual and she's soon on the tail of a very dangerous man who wants to raise a really scary entity. The idea of paranormal activity taking over a crumbling city is a cool one, and the backdrop of Detroit really works well in this book.
The lines between urban fantasy and paranormal romance often blend, but this book is firmly in the urban fantasy camp. There's a potential romantic interest, but he's very much in the background. Anya, like many urban fantasy heroines, is a loner with serious baggage and she doesn't do well with relationships. (And it's hard to have a guy spend the night when she's used to sleeping with a salamander who's invisible to most of the world.) There's also an attraction to a dangerous guy, but romance is not the focus of this book.
The plot moved well and kept me reading. There was one moment where I sort of stood back and said, huh, but in the end, the plot really came together well, and there’s a lot of potential for the future installments in this series.
Anya is investigating a series of suspicious fires for her day job, but her investigation begins to take her in a supernatural direction. Detroit is in bad shape economically, and it's a hotbed of crime, both normal and paranormal. Anya suspects that the fires are part of a ritual and she's soon on the tail of a very dangerous man who wants to raise a really scary entity. The idea of paranormal activity taking over a crumbling city is a cool one, and the backdrop of Detroit really works well in this book.
The lines between urban fantasy and paranormal romance often blend, but this book is firmly in the urban fantasy camp. There's a potential romantic interest, but he's very much in the background. Anya, like many urban fantasy heroines, is a loner with serious baggage and she doesn't do well with relationships. (And it's hard to have a guy spend the night when she's used to sleeping with a salamander who's invisible to most of the world.) There's also an attraction to a dangerous guy, but romance is not the focus of this book.
The plot moved well and kept me reading. There was one moment where I sort of stood back and said, huh, but in the end, the plot really came together well, and there’s a lot of potential for the future installments in this series.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
4.0
Anya works for the fire department in Detroit but she is also a Lantern-she has the ability to 'eat' troublesome ghosts and remove them from this world. Her talents are often called on by her friends in a ghost hunting group. But now Anya faces a paranormal firebug intent on raising a mythical creature to burn down the city, and has to deal with a demon starting to possess her. Being attracted to the firebug does not help matters...
I liked this book. Anya was a good character and I liked the idea of her being brought in to get rid of troublesome ghosts by eating them. It was a bit different from anything I had read at that point in my urban fantasy reading career! I totally loved Sparky, her salamander familiar with his dog-like antics and love of chewing electrical equipment and causing chaos everywhere he goes. He is a wee rascal who is always getting up to something and she is constantly trying to keep an eye on him. The demon 'Mimi' was quite funny at times and there is a lot of potential there for fun and games. There was a good group dynamic going with the Ghostbusters and all the added interest of tense relationships between them. I like when there are well developed sidekicks that add to the story and the fact that they were a pretty normal bunch made it better.
I didn't really like the romance angle with the psycho firebug though. The guy is an evil lunatic and all you can think about is getting intimate with him? That really annoyed me. He was featuring a bit too much for my liking and I got annoyed with Anya's sympathies for the guy who was murdering people and wanted to sacrifice the city to a big bad beastie. It especially rankled with me when Anya works for an emergency service tasked with saving lives. What is wrong with you, stupid?!!! This is something that can switch me off the paranormal romance side of the genre-heroines getting involved with guys who are scum. However the plot is good enough for me to grit my teeth and get on with it as I really wanted to find out what happened.
Overall this was a good urban fantasy adventure, and those who like this genre and paranormal romance should have a good time with it. Most readers will love Sparky! My Goodreads rating is 4 but I'd give this 3.5 instead if it was possible.
I liked this book. Anya was a good character and I liked the idea of her being brought in to get rid of troublesome ghosts by eating them. It was a bit different from anything I had read at that point in my urban fantasy reading career! I totally loved Sparky, her salamander familiar with his dog-like antics and love of chewing electrical equipment and causing chaos everywhere he goes. He is a wee rascal who is always getting up to something and she is constantly trying to keep an eye on him. The demon 'Mimi' was quite funny at times and there is a lot of potential there for fun and games. There was a good group dynamic going with the Ghostbusters and all the added interest of tense relationships between them. I like when there are well developed sidekicks that add to the story and the fact that they were a pretty normal bunch made it better.
I didn't really like the romance angle with the psycho firebug though. The guy is an evil lunatic and all you can think about is getting intimate with him? That really annoyed me. He was featuring a bit too much for my liking and I got annoyed with Anya's sympathies for the guy who was murdering people and wanted to sacrifice the city to a big bad beastie. It especially rankled with me when Anya works for an emergency service tasked with saving lives. What is wrong with you, stupid?!!! This is something that can switch me off the paranormal romance side of the genre-heroines getting involved with guys who are scum. However the plot is good enough for me to grit my teeth and get on with it as I really wanted to find out what happened.
Overall this was a good urban fantasy adventure, and those who like this genre and paranormal romance should have a good time with it. Most readers will love Sparky! My Goodreads rating is 4 but I'd give this 3.5 instead if it was possible.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
I do love a good sidekick and this book had such a good one. A salamander named Sparky who chased cats and licked toasters cos he likes electricity.
But to the book then. Anya can see ghosts and eats them. Well the bad ones as she does not always feel good afterwards. She is a Lantern. She was not kick-ass but at the same time she was. She was more protective kick-ass. A former firefighter turned fire investigator. To serve and protect. That is who she is. She loves this city.
The story is about her chasing after an arsonist. Can I say more? Well it has darker undertones and here we learn so much more about this world. Demons, ancient mythology, dragons. It's really interesting and we also learn more about Anya. As she does not know much about her gifts, or curse.
I have book two so I will read it, I actually started it first by mistake, oh bad me, so I quickly started book 1 instead ;) But book 2 seemed good too.
A good world, interesting story and characters I'd like to learn more about. It felt like a solid beginning to a series.
But to the book then. Anya can see ghosts and eats them. Well the bad ones as she does not always feel good afterwards. She is a Lantern. She was not kick-ass but at the same time she was. She was more protective kick-ass. A former firefighter turned fire investigator. To serve and protect. That is who she is. She loves this city.
The story is about her chasing after an arsonist. Can I say more? Well it has darker undertones and here we learn so much more about this world. Demons, ancient mythology, dragons. It's really interesting and we also learn more about Anya. As she does not know much about her gifts, or curse.
I have book two so I will read it, I actually started it first by mistake, oh bad me, so I quickly started book 1 instead ;) But book 2 seemed good too.
A good world, interesting story and characters I'd like to learn more about. It felt like a solid beginning to a series.
petealdin's review against another edition
3.0
As urban fantasy goes, not bad. I think you'd need to be more of a genre fan than I am to get into it.
It's well written with great characters. I just found the end a bit of a let down.
It's well written with great characters. I just found the end a bit of a let down.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
I will start off saying that I want a salamander familiar like Sparky. He's a sweetie and is ornery, I like that in a pet. Anya has had Sparky to help her out since she was small and they keep each other company, Anya's been pretty sure Sparky is all she needs. She's a Lantern, ingesting spirits who are basically evil, which makes being a loner a better option. Until she finds out there is another Lantern....one who is causing havoc and ingesting spirits who are not causing problems, ingesting them because he can. Oh, and he's trying to bring about the end of the world with an ancient being.
Anya kicks major ass and I want a Sparky of my own, please.
Five smokin' spirit ingestin' beans.....
Anya kicks major ass and I want a Sparky of my own, please.
Five smokin' spirit ingestin' beans.....
tartbarbie's review against another edition
5.0
I received Embers as part of the blog tour hosted by Bewitching Book Tours in return for an honest review. Anya is a full time fire fighter investigator and part time ghost removal. Which she's she's trying to distance herself from. She has a elemental familiar named Sparky who happens to find electrical devices facinating. Anya wears Sparky around her neck in the from of a salamander necklace, he was passed down from her mother. Anya is a rare lantern with the gift of being able to eat a spirit however she's not very fond of having the ability. Plus with the added bonus of having a giant salamander around he keeps her from getting close.
When fires start springing up with a carving into the ground Anya seeks out the help of a friend who happens to be a witch for more information on the carving. With the help of a ghost in the latest fire she learns that the carving is done by the firebugs hand, but he's eaten before he can tell her more by the firebug she's chasing after. He get's away but not before he can leave her a message counting down the days leading her to believe he's attempting to summon a ancient dragon. When Anya attempts to eat a demon who is possessing a girl she finds herself with a not so nice demon of her own. When her ghost group can't get rid of Mimi she seeks out the enemy for help. Will Anya be able to get rid of her demon and stop him before it's to late.
I really enjoyed reading about Anya she's my first character that deals with ghosts. I've always been a little on the leary side when it comes to ghosts but I think I after reading Ember I may have a new favorite. I like the concept of Anya's character being a Lantern someone who can eat spirits, for me it's a new concept that I feel was executed well. Anya is joined by a elemental familiar even though he can't talk and he's a large salamander he adds a lot to the story which I found just makes it better. The story is created in such a way it's easy to get lost in, I had a hard time taking a break because I wanted to learn more about Anya and read about Sparky. I almost want to get a salamander and name him Sparky because I'm so fond of the character he makes me laugh. Embers is an amazing debut urban fantasy filled with character you can't help connecting with. I can't wait to start the next book in the series and may even stay up super late tonight. Embers is one of those series I highly suggest that everyone who likes the urban fantasy should check out.
rosetyper9's review against another edition
1.0
Ok so this review is rated a 1 raven because I didn't finish it. I just could not drag myself through the pages. I stopped at about 80 but couldn't go further. I apologize for this but, I am not going to make myself read a book that I just can't get in to. I felt that Anya was a bit whiny and she just didn't grab my attention. I like the ideas of this author though, the whole elemental thing is pretty sweet.
elliefufu's review against another edition
3.0
Embers, Anya Kalinczyk Book #1 by Laura Bickle
Grade: C
“Your best bet is to keep this idiot from waking up Sirrush up. If Sirrush shows up to the party, there’s no bouncer in the world big or bad enough to keep him off the dance floor.”
Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator for the Detroit Fire Department and her nights using her special gifts as a Lantern, a very rare type of medium, helping people get rid of very powerful, angry spirits. As a Lantern she has the ability to absorb the spirit into her body and destroy it but she only uses her ability on ghosts and phantoms that are harming people. Between a spike in unfriendly spirit activity, trying to stop an arsonist who is proving very difficult to stop and nightmares involving an ancient spirit Anya is fighting not only for herself but for the entire city of Detroit.
Anya and her Lantern abilities are so rare that she believes that she is the only person who possesses them which makes her a very in demand woman. She sometimes works with a group called the DAGR, a group made up of ghost hunters and some have special abilities, and is only called in on their most difficult cases, usually when everything else has failed. It’s while helping DARG with a very nasty spirit that she discovers a little girl in an old soda machine. The young girl begins to haunt her dreams telling Anya that “Sirrush is coming.” On further investigation Anya discovers Sirrush is an ancient dragon that is believed to be sleeping under Detroit and someone is trying to wake him up.
As a huge fan of urban fantasy I could not wait to read this book but I found myself sadly pretty disappointed. Anya has lost her mother at a young age and believes the fire that killed her mother was her fault. This cause Anya to hole most people at arms length and tries not to get close to anyone, especially in the romantic department. This comes into play later in the story as Anya finds herself in a love triangle.
This is one of the major problems I had with the story because I lost a lot of respect for Anya. Anya has two men that are trying to woo her but neither knows of the other. When one of the men gets hurt and goes into a coma, Anya acts like it’s the end of the world and wants to be with him but while he is in the coma she goes off and has sex with the other man. To me this is very wrong and I got pretty upset. I found myself really upset at the end with how she brushes off her sexual relationship with one man as the other comes out of his coma. I couldn’t get on bored with this plot line and it made me not like Anya at all.
Anya does have a best friend/pet, a salamander named Sparky. Sparky is a fire elemental given to Anya by her mother before she died and he acts as a guard dog to Anya. Sparky can take form as a dog-like creature, is invisible to everyone buy Anya, loves electricity and spends most of his time in the form of a salamander on a necklace that Anya always wears. Sparky provided lots of laughs in a very, very dark book and is one of the best companions that I have ever read about.
I felt that this book was very difficult to read and I struggled to finish it. After I lost respect for Anya I kinda checked out to be honest. I felt that as soon as things got really good for a few pages the next three pages would be awful. I am going to read the next book in the series and I’m really hoping that I enjoy it more then this one. The idea for this book is wonderful and I really want it to get better because new and fresh ideas in urban fantasy is getting harder and harder to find.
Grade: C
“Your best bet is to keep this idiot from waking up Sirrush up. If Sirrush shows up to the party, there’s no bouncer in the world big or bad enough to keep him off the dance floor.”
Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator for the Detroit Fire Department and her nights using her special gifts as a Lantern, a very rare type of medium, helping people get rid of very powerful, angry spirits. As a Lantern she has the ability to absorb the spirit into her body and destroy it but she only uses her ability on ghosts and phantoms that are harming people. Between a spike in unfriendly spirit activity, trying to stop an arsonist who is proving very difficult to stop and nightmares involving an ancient spirit Anya is fighting not only for herself but for the entire city of Detroit.
Anya and her Lantern abilities are so rare that she believes that she is the only person who possesses them which makes her a very in demand woman. She sometimes works with a group called the DAGR, a group made up of ghost hunters and some have special abilities, and is only called in on their most difficult cases, usually when everything else has failed. It’s while helping DARG with a very nasty spirit that she discovers a little girl in an old soda machine. The young girl begins to haunt her dreams telling Anya that “Sirrush is coming.” On further investigation Anya discovers Sirrush is an ancient dragon that is believed to be sleeping under Detroit and someone is trying to wake him up.
As a huge fan of urban fantasy I could not wait to read this book but I found myself sadly pretty disappointed. Anya has lost her mother at a young age and believes the fire that killed her mother was her fault. This cause Anya to hole most people at arms length and tries not to get close to anyone, especially in the romantic department. This comes into play later in the story as Anya finds herself in a love triangle.
This is one of the major problems I had with the story because I lost a lot of respect for Anya. Anya has two men that are trying to woo her but neither knows of the other. When one of the men gets hurt and goes into a coma, Anya acts like it’s the end of the world and wants to be with him but while he is in the coma she goes off and has sex with the other man. To me this is very wrong and I got pretty upset. I found myself really upset at the end with how she brushes off her sexual relationship with one man as the other comes out of his coma. I couldn’t get on bored with this plot line and it made me not like Anya at all.
Anya does have a best friend/pet, a salamander named Sparky. Sparky is a fire elemental given to Anya by her mother before she died and he acts as a guard dog to Anya. Sparky can take form as a dog-like creature, is invisible to everyone buy Anya, loves electricity and spends most of his time in the form of a salamander on a necklace that Anya always wears. Sparky provided lots of laughs in a very, very dark book and is one of the best companions that I have ever read about.
I felt that this book was very difficult to read and I struggled to finish it. After I lost respect for Anya I kinda checked out to be honest. I felt that as soon as things got really good for a few pages the next three pages would be awful. I am going to read the next book in the series and I’m really hoping that I enjoy it more then this one. The idea for this book is wonderful and I really want it to get better because new and fresh ideas in urban fantasy is getting harder and harder to find.
vickybuka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Good world building. But then the book concluded very suddenly.
Really enjoyed the ghost citizens of Detroit. The star of the book is Sparky, the best fire elemental familiar, ever.
Really enjoyed the ghost citizens of Detroit. The star of the book is Sparky, the best fire elemental familiar, ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide and Sexual content
chllybrd's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com
This book had such mixed reviews it took me almost a year to finally read it. Ive read Laura's other series under the name of Alayna Williams and really enjoyed it, I also saw a review of this series from a reviewer I trust the opinion of and finally decided to give it a try. Laura has a wonderful way of bringing unique situations to her books, her writing style is also very engaging. Anya was easy to like and easy to follow, she is very troubled but is also really strong and independent. Sparky Anya's familiar was awesome, his personality shines through the pages and I always looked forward to what he would do next. I wasn't crazy about the love interests, I especially didn't understand the draw to Drake besides the fact that he was a lantern. EMBERS was a neat read with great supporting characters and situations you haven't likely read before so I would recommend you give it a try.
This book had such mixed reviews it took me almost a year to finally read it. Ive read Laura's other series under the name of Alayna Williams and really enjoyed it, I also saw a review of this series from a reviewer I trust the opinion of and finally decided to give it a try. Laura has a wonderful way of bringing unique situations to her books, her writing style is also very engaging. Anya was easy to like and easy to follow, she is very troubled but is also really strong and independent. Sparky Anya's familiar was awesome, his personality shines through the pages and I always looked forward to what he would do next. I wasn't crazy about the love interests, I especially didn't understand the draw to Drake besides the fact that he was a lantern. EMBERS was a neat read with great supporting characters and situations you haven't likely read before so I would recommend you give it a try.