A review by tartbarbie
Embers by Laura Bickle

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.