Character Connection

We all have characters we love. Let's spotlight these fantastic creations! Whether you want to be friends with them or you have a full-blown crush on them, you know you love them and want everyone else to love them too!

Character Connection host by TheIntrovertedReader.blogspot.com

My Character Connection today is Anya from Laura Bickle's Embers.

But Lanterns were unusual. She had never met another Lantern. She only knew the term from her conversations with Ciro. It was not a role she relished playing. Katie had said that Anya had the blessing of fire upon her. Like a human bug zapper, she took spirits into her inner elemental light and devoured them, incinerating them. She hated the cold touch of spirits in her throat; they tasted hard and metallic, like water with too much iron. After devouring one, it seemed that days would pass before she could feel truly warm again.

I like Anya because she, #1 has a great name, (my daughter's name) two is cynical, snarky and a little bit damaged, which is my favorite kind of Urban Fantasy heroine. And lastly has a pet that could play with my dog and maybe where him down a bit. This is my pic of Anya in her corset...looking all pin-up girl style. The necklace might be a bit long, but, hey a girl can be stylish while still wearing her elemental, right?

 

Embers by Laura Bickle

Embers by Laura Bickle
Review copy provided by Simon & Schuster
Author Web Site

PJVs QUICKIE POV: Not to be trite, but Embers by Laura Bickle smolders with urban fantasy originality and suppressed emotional turmoil.  With each turn of the page, Bickle sucked me deeper into the heated world of inner city Detroit and held no punches regarding a city that is on the brink of collapse. Bickle exploits everything that makes a good urban fantasy in Embers. A tragically haunted main character that is tough as nails, yet close to breaking because of emotional strain.  A background urban setting that sets the tone of the novel.  An originally crafted plot that sets itself apart from all the other vampire and werewolf stories that are jostling each other for recognition. A simmering romance that isn't the main focus, but is touched on just enough to build tension.  I was highly impressed with Bickle's debut and was very excited to read this book, I'm glad it lived up to the hype - and was chosen as a BWB adult selection.

REVIEW: Anya, tragic urban fantasy heroine, is a Lantern. She can see spirits and literally absorb them within herself. A souleater, she also is in possession of an elemental spirit, in the form of a Salamander named Sparky. A charming character, Sparky wraps himself around Anya and protects her from the spirits that are constantly harassing the only person that can really see them.

Anya is also an arson investigator and she is on the trail of a ritualistic arsonist.  The arsonists crimes are almost perfect in their total destruction and they always leave one clue, the scorched depiction of a serpent.  On top of her investigation, Anya also participates in a ghost researching unit that calls itself DAGR.  It is a reluctant relationship, because Anya is the only one that really sees the spirits and is forced to absorb the nasty ones, and sometimes even deal in demon possessions, something she does not like to do.

Anya's life is a tough one, she is stretched thin and still dealing with numerous ghosts from her past that haunt every step she takes. As the investigation of the arsonists is launched to a murder investigation, when a firefighter dies, Anya must evaluate her life, what she is, and just what she holds dear.

A superb example of the Urban Fantasy genre, Embers is an easy and entertaining adult read. Prime for fans of the UF genre and a great starter for those that would love to jump into this genre.  If you can't tell I really liked this one.  The only problems that I found with it were a few plot threads that didn't make sense. I really didn't understand, who could and could not see the spirits. It seems no one but Anya could see them at the beginning, but then that the DAGR team could by the end. Small problem though.  One thing I must mention though, that I have been obsessing about it since I read this, where do I get a pair of dancer shoes, and um why haven't I heard of this before?

RECOMMENDATIONS: Urban fantasy lovers and starters, go for it, a great read. It is an adult selection.  There are some hot scenes, but nothing graphically explicit.

BWB 4/4

1. So if you had the chance would you have a pet elemental, even with the inconvenience of broken microwaves?
1. The Christmas light incident was really scary.  I'm a bit on the scattered brain side when it comes to shutting off lights and turning up the A/C, so I think while Sparky seems like a great companion, I might have to pass on adopting the next salamander that crosses my path.
2. What did you think about the relationship between, Brian, Anya and Drake?
1. I didn't really connect with Brian, he was cute but I didn't find the depth of emotion that she ended up feeling. I thought the Drake element added some flavor that you don't necessarily find. 
3. Did the book make you want to visit Detroit or steer clear?
1. Steer clear.  While she did go into some redeeming qualities by the end, I don't think I would want to live there. 
4. A big part of Embers surrounds paranormal activity and the whole Scooby style system....What do you think of shows like Ghost Hunter, Paranormal State and the such? 
1. I think they are probably all staged. I just watched The Fourth Kind last night and now I am completely POd at Hollywood in general that they really tried to pull over that crazy scam. So those shows are probably hoaxes. 
5. Do you believe in the paranormal world around us or chalk it up to complete fantasy and make believe?
1. I believe that there are so many stories that are rampant throughout the world. Stories that coincide from one culture to the next that are similar in nature.  From vampires, to werewolves, to Big Foot, to Ghosts...their stories are all very similar and hard to discount just because of lack of actual hard evidence, I'm waiting for the vamps to come out of the closet. LOL. Regarding actual ghosts it's probably the one aspect of the paranormal that I'm pretty sure is real. You see, I'm from New Orleans and it is a very haunted city. I've actually lived in a haunted house up until Katrina. I've watched a 10 lb jar, filled with orange slices slide from the back of the refrigerator to slam down on the back of my stepsister's head, almost landing her in the hospital (the ghost didn't like teenagers). I've also woken in the night to hear the ghost banging on an internal window in the house - internal meaning we had an addition added to the house, and instead of pulling out the window it looked out to a shelving unit that was only accessible from inside the house.  There was never anyone there. So yes I believe in spirits. And I wonder what happened to our spirit, whom I believe was a WWII soldier who died shortly after returning form the war in that house. You see the house was under 13 feet of water for Katrina and we razed it, so now it is just a lot. I wonder if he haunts the lot?

Happy Easter - In My Mailbox!

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi The Story Siren. This meme features books that I have purchased or received in the mail this past week.

Morpheus Road by DJ MacHale

#1 NYT bestselling author D.J. MacHale's Morpheus Road trilogy brings readers down an ethereal pathway between the worlds of the living and dead.

Embers  by Laura Bickle

Truth burns.Unemployment, despair, anger—visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya—who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern—suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil’s Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya—with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team—can stop it.Anya’s accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she’s risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she’s ever faced.

Embers

Master of None by Sonya Bateman

ONE UNLUCKY THIEF. ONE UNLIKELY GENIE. ONE VERY ODD COUPLE.Gavyn Donatti is the world’s unluckiest thief. Just ask all the partners he’s lost over the years. And when he misplaces an irreplaceable item he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor’s thugs have him cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.Unfortunately, this genie—who goes by the very non-magical name of “Ian”—is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn’t interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life’s purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.At first Donatti’s too concerned with his own survival to look a gift genie in the mouth, but when his ex-girlfriend Jazz and her young son get drawn into the crossfire, the stakes skyrocket. And when Ian reveals that he has an agenda of his own—with both Donatti and the murderous Trevor at the center of it—Donatti will have to become the man he never knew he could be, or the entire world could pay the price. . . .

 Hex Hall (Book 1) by Rachel Hawkins

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

What books did you get this week? Join the meme...