Scan barcode
kathydavie's review
4.0
Fourth in the Souls of Fire paranormal fantasy series and revolving around a phoenix who is a private detective, Emberly Pearson, in Melbourne, Australia.
My Take
Ooh, that Arthur is mean. She keeps us off-balance with how much power Rinaldo actually has, De Luca's loose vampires desperate for security, Sam's thawing attitude, and all those conflicting scientists-turned-vampires who are working on the formula. Then there are the various shifter packs who work to undermine each other.
She also stirs the pot with all those conflicting loyalties that are thrown about. Who is Frederick loyal to? What does Sam really want?
Arthur uses a first person protagonist point-of-view from Emberly's perspective, so everything we know is what she experiences and thinks.
It's a convoluted story that confuses the heck out of me what with all the twists and turns and the multitude of characters who do their own twisting and turning.
In Ashes Reborn, there is quite a bit in the process of being born again. The promise of the phoenix's resurrection (as well as its threat). Those condemned vampires from De Luca's den and the man, vampire, to whom they pledge their allegiance. Which side Baker or Radcliffe will decide their bread is better buttered on. The fate awaiting Jackson. And Sam's desperation at the end.
And Arthur is making me wait for #5 in the series...dagnabbit...
The Story
It's vampire culture that's playing against Emberly and PIT, as no one but Rinaldo is willing to take in De Luca's now-leaderless den. A group that is stubbornly determined to destroy Emberly and Jackson.
It's blackmail Rinaldo threatens, claiming he controls the red cloaks. Vampires who could spread a deadly plague throughout Melbourne, throughout the world.
Emberly and Jackson's mission is plagued by leaks and ambushes, right and left. Someone has betrayed them...and now a final battle looms.
The Characters
Emberly Pearson is a phoenix, partnered forever with Rory Jones, another phoenix, one who died in Flameout, 3. The mother is earth, a being worshipped by phoenixes and to whom they eventually return.
Jackson Miller is an infected fire fae who owns Hellfire Investigations, a private investigations agency, with Emberly. He's struggling to contain the flaming ability he got from Emberly. Adán and Dmitri are earth fae who are friends of Jackson's and who have helped out before. Makani, an air fae who has stepped away from reading the wind, is another, ahem, friend of Jackson's. She's volunteering to play secretary. Her son, Hava, is in training to become a fiosaiche.
Paranormal Investigations Team is...
...the paranormal policing unit, a specialist squad of humans and supernaturals to solve paranormal crimes. Chief Inspector Henrietta Richmond, Sam's boss, seems trustworthy.
Detective Sam Turner is one of PIT's top investigators. Rochelle, another dark fae, had been Sam's partner. Adam, a vampire, is Sam's current partner. Other PIT operatives include Brad Harvey and Lidia, who is the inspector's second.
The Witches
Grace Harkwell is a witch who had hired Hellfire in Flameout. Ronda Peterson is not the witch.
The Werewolves
Baker is the alpha of the city pack. Theodore Hunt is a werewolf hitman determined to kill Emberly.
The Rats
Marcus Radcliffe III runs the rat shifters' gambling operations as well as a string of secondhand stores that are a front for black market goods and information.
The Sindicati are...
...the collective name for the various vampire groups operating in Melbourne. Rinaldo, a.k.a. Reginald, is an evil vampire blackmailing Emberly and Jackson. Frederick is an infected witch working with him, who had been working with Luke.
Luke, the crazed leader of the red cloak vampires, had been Sam's brother. De Luca had led one faction but was killed.
The Coalition of Nonhumans is...
...a resource center providing financial and legal help to vampires and werewolves. With a very profitable side. "Harry Jones" and "Stephen White" are vampire assassins. Lee Rawlings is one of their bagmen.
Rosen Pharmaceuticals is...
...one of two private labs trying to find a cure for Crimson Death, the red cloak virus, a one-way plague resulting in either crazy pseudo vampires in a hive mind, a typical vampire still bound to the hive, or a vampire not bound to a hive mind. Denny Rosen had owned and run the lab (Fireborn, 1). Janice Green had been his secretary. Denny Rosen Jr is his son.
"Felicity Hocking" is Janice's lover.
Professor James Wilson believes he's isolated the gene that causes vampirism. Amanda Wilson had pretended to be his wife, as she worked for the sindicati.
Chase Medical Research Institute is...
...the second private lab and where Professor Baltimore, another scientist working on the same problem, had worked. Emberly had been Baltimore's assistant.
Holdright Industries...
...specializes in warehouse storage manufacture. James Hamberly, Rosen Jr's sometime lover, used to work here (and was a victim of the Aswang in Flameout); Mark Terral has replaced him. Mike, Gale, Frank Newton, and Brad Jenson works here.
Inspector James Cobden investigates the explosion at the cabin. VicRoads, a.k.a. the Roads Corporation of Victoria, is the Australian version of the DMV. Shona is a security guard who's seeing Jackson. Lan is a Filipino shaman and a friend of Emberly's and Makani's.
N41A is a drug that inhibits some magic. An inverter makes a wearer immune to telepathic intrusion. Fiosaiche is a fae term for shaman.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a dark backdrop of Melbourne with most of the cover taken up by a crouching Emberly, her body, in its jeans and black tank top, and red hair rising upward in a blanket of flames. At the very top is an info blurb in white. The author's name spans the top just below it in a bright blue. Beneath that is a testimonial in white with the writer's name in a paler blue. At the bottom, spanning Emberly's elbows is the title in white with the series info below that in the blue.
The title is all about Rory, for his Ashes Reborn.
My Take
Ooh, that Arthur is mean. She keeps us off-balance with how much power Rinaldo actually has, De Luca's loose vampires desperate for security, Sam's thawing attitude, and all those conflicting scientists-turned-vampires who are working on the formula. Then there are the various shifter packs who work to undermine each other.
She also stirs the pot with all those conflicting loyalties that are thrown about. Who is Frederick loyal to? What does Sam really want?
Arthur uses a first person protagonist point-of-view from Emberly's perspective, so everything we know is what she experiences and thinks.
It's a convoluted story that confuses the heck out of me what with all the twists and turns and the multitude of characters who do their own twisting and turning.
In Ashes Reborn, there is quite a bit in the process of being born again. The promise of the phoenix's resurrection (as well as its threat). Those condemned vampires from De Luca's den and the man, vampire, to whom they pledge their allegiance. Which side Baker or Radcliffe will decide their bread is better buttered on. The fate awaiting Jackson. And Sam's desperation at the end.
And Arthur is making me wait for #5 in the series...dagnabbit...
The Story
It's vampire culture that's playing against Emberly and PIT, as no one but Rinaldo is willing to take in De Luca's now-leaderless den. A group that is stubbornly determined to destroy Emberly and Jackson.
It's blackmail Rinaldo threatens, claiming he controls the red cloaks. Vampires who could spread a deadly plague throughout Melbourne, throughout the world.
Emberly and Jackson's mission is plagued by leaks and ambushes, right and left. Someone has betrayed them...and now a final battle looms.
The Characters
Emberly Pearson is a phoenix, partnered forever with Rory Jones, another phoenix, one who died in Flameout, 3. The mother is earth, a being worshipped by phoenixes and to whom they eventually return.
Jackson Miller is an infected fire fae who owns Hellfire Investigations, a private investigations agency, with Emberly. He's struggling to contain the flaming ability he got from Emberly. Adán and Dmitri are earth fae who are friends of Jackson's and who have helped out before. Makani, an air fae who has stepped away from reading the wind, is another, ahem, friend of Jackson's. She's volunteering to play secretary. Her son, Hava, is in training to become a fiosaiche.
Paranormal Investigations Team is...
...the paranormal policing unit, a specialist squad of humans and supernaturals to solve paranormal crimes. Chief Inspector Henrietta Richmond, Sam's boss, seems trustworthy.
Detective Sam Turner is one of PIT's top investigators. Rochelle, another dark fae, had been Sam's partner. Adam, a vampire, is Sam's current partner. Other PIT operatives include Brad Harvey and Lidia, who is the inspector's second.
The Witches
Grace Harkwell is a witch who had hired Hellfire in Flameout. Ronda Peterson is not the witch.
The Werewolves
Baker is the alpha of the city pack. Theodore Hunt is a werewolf hitman determined to kill Emberly.
The Rats
Marcus Radcliffe III runs the rat shifters' gambling operations as well as a string of secondhand stores that are a front for black market goods and information.
The Sindicati are...
...the collective name for the various vampire groups operating in Melbourne. Rinaldo, a.k.a. Reginald, is an evil vampire blackmailing Emberly and Jackson. Frederick is an infected witch working with him, who had been working with Luke.
Luke, the crazed leader of the red cloak vampires, had been Sam's brother. De Luca had led one faction but was killed.
The Coalition of Nonhumans is...
...a resource center providing financial and legal help to vampires and werewolves. With a very profitable side. "Harry Jones" and "Stephen White" are vampire assassins. Lee Rawlings is one of their bagmen.
Rosen Pharmaceuticals is...
...one of two private labs trying to find a cure for Crimson Death, the red cloak virus, a one-way plague resulting in either crazy pseudo vampires in a hive mind, a typical vampire still bound to the hive, or a vampire not bound to a hive mind. Denny Rosen had owned and run the lab (Fireborn, 1). Janice Green had been his secretary. Denny Rosen Jr is his son.
"Felicity Hocking" is Janice's lover.
Professor James Wilson believes he's isolated the gene that causes vampirism. Amanda Wilson had pretended to be his wife, as she worked for the sindicati.
Chase Medical Research Institute is...
...the second private lab and where Professor Baltimore, another scientist working on the same problem, had worked. Emberly had been Baltimore's assistant.
Holdright Industries...
...specializes in warehouse storage manufacture. James Hamberly, Rosen Jr's sometime lover, used to work here (and was a victim of the Aswang in Flameout); Mark Terral has replaced him. Mike, Gale, Frank Newton, and Brad Jenson works here.
Inspector James Cobden investigates the explosion at the cabin. VicRoads, a.k.a. the Roads Corporation of Victoria, is the Australian version of the DMV. Shona is a security guard who's seeing Jackson. Lan is a Filipino shaman and a friend of Emberly's and Makani's.
N41A is a drug that inhibits some magic. An inverter makes a wearer immune to telepathic intrusion. Fiosaiche is a fae term for shaman.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a dark backdrop of Melbourne with most of the cover taken up by a crouching Emberly, her body, in its jeans and black tank top, and red hair rising upward in a blanket of flames. At the very top is an info blurb in white. The author's name spans the top just below it in a bright blue. Beneath that is a testimonial in white with the writer's name in a paler blue. At the bottom, spanning Emberly's elbows is the title in white with the series info below that in the blue.
The title is all about Rory, for his Ashes Reborn.
winterreader40's review
4.5
Emberly and Jackson are still on the case of the missing notes mostly because they are constantly being threatened in one way or another by any number of people to find them. In the midst of all this Emberly pulls Rory through his rebirth and Emberly and Jackson are also hunting Rinaldo, the vampire everyone wants dead and a few other things as well.
I really like how the relationships in this series are set up, Emberly and Rory are soulmates but are fated to never be in love, Emberly and Jackson are friends and sex partners but Fae don't do commitment and that's cool, then we have Emberly and Sam(her one true love for this lifetime) who have already loved and lost and he's been infected by the crimson death so who knows what will happen there, but as far as I can tell this is the last book in this series so it's a choose your own adventure for who you want her to wind up with and why. The story itself focuses more on the PI things than the romance but the steam is good.
I really like how the relationships in this series are set up, Emberly and Rory are soulmates but are fated to never be in love, Emberly and Jackson are friends and sex partners but Fae don't do commitment and that's cool, then we have Emberly and Sam(her one true love for this lifetime) who have already loved and lost and he's been infected by the crimson death so who knows what will happen there, but as far as I can tell this is the last book in this series so it's a choose your own adventure for who you want her to wind up with and why. The story itself focuses more on the PI things than the romance but the steam is good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
misfitmoxie's review against another edition
3.0
Apparently this is the end of the series, which is odd because a lot is left unfinished. I don't mind messy endings, but this felt like there was meant to be a last book... Still a good book, but not a satisfying ending to the series.
cbevan24's review against another edition
5.0
Ashes Reborn is the fourth book in the Souls of Fire series and unfortunately could end up being another Memory Zero. Dread is, unfortunately, overshadowing my enjoyment of this action-packed instalment.
Ashes Reborn picks up a couple of days after the roaring events of Flameout. Emberly races against the clock to get revenge against the sadistic and mysterious Rinaldo for Rory's death and the pain of his rebirth. Emberly and Jackson are forced to reach out to the Paranormal Investigations Team for help even though they are certain there's a mole within their ranks.
First off, I need more of this series immediately. Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen anytime soon, if ever. This series has been dropped by the publisher and all future Keri Arthur books will be self-published for the foreseeable. Keri Arthur has outlined the rest of the series but has not yet begun writing and is currently unsure if she will continue with the series. Prepare yourselves for another Memory Zero!
Ashes Reborn was a typical Keri Arthur. It was fast-paced, action-packed and did not skimp on the gory details.
Keri Arthur's writing just gets better and better. She has fine-tuned her storytelling to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Almost every scene in Ashes Reborn moves the series and the characters forward. There is very little time for unnecessary exposition and aside from the characteristic recap included within snippets of the first chapter, Ashes Reborn is all forward momentum.
This is an urban fantasy not for the faint of heart. Be warned this book does contain a rape scene which could very easily have been avoided but the author felt it was necessary so I personally accept that. The manner in which Arthur deals with the rape was, for me, within character. I believe it would be dealt with in future instalments as Emberly helps Jackson come to terms with it.
This book hinted at so many things to come that when I read the final line, I found myself filled with dread. The ties binding Emberly and Jackson to PIT grew exponentially during this books, and there were countless hints about future events and the darkness spreading across Australia.
Ashes Reborn answered numerous questions and ended many plot lines, but it also opened countless more and left us wanting more from Emberly and Sam's relationship.
Reading this book was a joy and I really wish the knowledge of the series potential end hadn't overshadowed that. Even so, I am rating it on my reading experience.
Ashes Reborn picks up a couple of days after the roaring events of Flameout. Emberly races against the clock to get revenge against the sadistic and mysterious Rinaldo for Rory's death and the pain of his rebirth. Emberly and Jackson are forced to reach out to the Paranormal Investigations Team for help even though they are certain there's a mole within their ranks.
First off, I need more of this series immediately. Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen anytime soon, if ever. This series has been dropped by the publisher and all future Keri Arthur books will be self-published for the foreseeable. Keri Arthur has outlined the rest of the series but has not yet begun writing and is currently unsure if she will continue with the series. Prepare yourselves for another Memory Zero!
Ashes Reborn was a typical Keri Arthur. It was fast-paced, action-packed and did not skimp on the gory details.
Keri Arthur's writing just gets better and better. She has fine-tuned her storytelling to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Almost every scene in Ashes Reborn moves the series and the characters forward. There is very little time for unnecessary exposition and aside from the characteristic recap included within snippets of the first chapter, Ashes Reborn is all forward momentum.
This is an urban fantasy not for the faint of heart. Be warned this book does contain a rape scene which could very easily have been avoided but the author felt it was necessary so I personally accept that. The manner in which Arthur deals with the rape was, for me, within character. I believe it would be dealt with in future instalments as Emberly helps Jackson come to terms with it.
This book hinted at so many things to come that when I read the final line, I found myself filled with dread. The ties binding Emberly and Jackson to PIT grew exponentially during this books, and there were countless hints about future events and the darkness spreading across Australia.
Ashes Reborn answered numerous questions and ended many plot lines, but it also opened countless more and left us wanting more from Emberly and Sam's relationship.
Reading this book was a joy and I really wish the knowledge of the series potential end hadn't overshadowed that. Even so, I am rating it on my reading experience.
wetdryvac's review against another edition
2.0
EXPLICIT RAPE WARNING.
This book contains explicit rape. And y'know, if I knew that were on the table, I'd probably work with it, but I didn't, and I didn't, so consider me fairly pissed off.
It's probably written as well or better than the previous books in the series, but you'll pardon me if I don't sing its praises.
This book contains explicit rape. And y'know, if I knew that were on the table, I'd probably work with it, but I didn't, and I didn't, so consider me fairly pissed off.
It's probably written as well or better than the previous books in the series, but you'll pardon me if I don't sing its praises.
chllybrd's review
4.0
I gave it 3.5 stars
The Phoenix is so interesting to me and ASHES REBORN threw in another reason why I wouldn't mind being one. Who wouldn't want to be able to be reborn into yourself again?
I continue to like the characters in the Souls of Fire series. I like some more than others, but they are all well developed and bring something to the storyline.
I hate to say it, but I have to be honest. The romance between Emberly and Jackson is boring me. Maybe that is what the author is going for and if so she is doing a great job, but I don't enjoy them together as a couple at all anymore and I keep waiting for Emberly and a certain someone to get over their hurt and give it another shot.
My only real issue with this series is that there is a little too much going on. There are multiple different groups with multiple different issues and it can get a little confusing at times. My only issue with ASHES REBORN is that there is a rape involved and I didn't feel like it was taken as seriously as I expected. I understand that people react differently to things of this nature, but the worry wasn't really for the person that was physically raped, but for another character. It could just be my issue, but bothered me, so I had to mention it.
I had it in my head that ASHES REBORN was the final book of the series which isn't the case and I look forward to seeing how everything ends when the end comes.
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The Phoenix is so interesting to me and ASHES REBORN threw in another reason why I wouldn't mind being one. Who wouldn't want to be able to be reborn into yourself again?
I continue to like the characters in the Souls of Fire series. I like some more than others, but they are all well developed and bring something to the storyline.
I hate to say it, but I have to be honest. The romance between Emberly and Jackson is boring me. Maybe that is what the author is going for and if so she is doing a great job, but I don't enjoy them together as a couple at all anymore and I keep waiting for Emberly and a certain someone to get over their hurt and give it another shot.
My only real issue with this series is that there is a little too much going on. There are multiple different groups with multiple different issues and it can get a little confusing at times. My only issue with ASHES REBORN is that there is a rape involved and I didn't feel like it was taken as seriously as I expected. I understand that people react differently to things of this nature, but the worry wasn't really for the person that was physically raped, but for another character. It could just be my issue, but bothered me, so I had to mention it.
I had it in my head that ASHES REBORN was the final book of the series which isn't the case and I look forward to seeing how everything ends when the end comes.
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
mdlaclair's review
3.0
This was a good a good addition to the series. This book continues the overall plot line nicely. While the mystery was fast passed and keeps you guessing there was some interesting plot twist that i didn't like. overall this was a solid book in the series.
delaneybull's review
3.0
This one dragged a little. I think if I had read it immediately after the third installment it would have been alright, but I struggled to remember all the major players, and wanted more of the ease and humor of the first two books.
depirox's review
2.0
I just don’t like Keri Arthur. I don’t feel like I give a shit about these characters or the plot or anything. I didn’t finish the book and o don’t really give a shit. 🤷♀️