Destiny's Fire by Trisha Wolfe

Destiny’s Fire by Trisha Wolfe (Debut)

Release Date: January 10, 2012

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Age Group: Older Young Adult (16+)

Available Formats: Paperback and eBook
My Shelf: Own (eBook)

Buy the Book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

It’s the year 2040, and sixteen-year-old Dez Harkly is one of the last of her kind—part of a nearly extinct race of shape-shifters descended from guardians to the Egyptian pharaohs. Her home and her secret are threatened when the Council lowers the barrier, allowing the enemy race to enter the Shythe haven.

As the Narcolym airships approach, Dez and her friends rebel against their Council and secretly train for battle. Not only is Dez wary of war and her growing affection for her best friend Jace, but she fears the change her birthday will bring. When Dez’s newfound power rockets out of control, it’s a Narcolym who could change her fate… if she can trust him.

Dez’s guarded world crumbles when she discovers why the Narcos have really come to Haven Falls, and she's forced to choose between the race who raised her and the enemy she's feared her whole life.

Review:

Destiny’s Fire might just be the best debut of 2012 thus far. Trisha Wolfe has definitely crafted an amazing steampunk world filled with supernatural beings and events. I was enthralled with the story from page one, and it is brimming with action, romance, and mystery.

The world Wolfe creates is extensive and creative. The reader is immediately thrust into Dez’s world. There is no slow explanation of who is who and what is what. Instead, the reader has to piece it together bit by bit. I think this was a great move by Wolfe. Trying to explain the dynamics of politics, economy, and people would have made everything seem more complicated than it actually is and would have detracted from the story. The plot is rather simple to understand, and the plot twists had me enthralled, especially towards the end. There were times I was squirming in seat, eager to find out what happened next! And something I cannot mention or gush about enough is Wolfe’s writing. Her descriptions and details are exquisite, making the world she created really easy to visualize and get drawn into. She is able to convey the characters thoughts and feelings really well, making them very easy to relate to and understand.

Wolfe’s characters are all unique in their own way, and I liked all of them. Dez is a great female lead. She is strong, courageous, and hates being told what to do. She is also an excellent fighter, and she is not afraid to put a boy in his place. She holds a secret that makes her wanted by some and dead by others. I really liked how she was willing to always be in the action. She did not let people fight to protect her; she jumped into the fray herself. I really like female characters who standup for themselves and doesn’t let others fight their battles. Jace, coincidentally enough, is a lot like the Jace from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. They are both hotheaded and always gearing up for a fight (but Jace from TMI is way more egotistical). He is always there for Dez, and he will do anything to protect her and his brother and sister. Then there is the new guy, the ridiculously hot Reese. Excuse me for the swoon fest that is about to ensue. I have no idea what it is about Reese, but the minute he was introduced in the book, I was a lost cause. Like Jace, he is stubborn and willful, but there is something about his character that I found super intriguing. I seriously loved his character, and he is definitely on my list of favorites. Even the side characters, like Jace’s brother and sister, Nick and Lana, were great. Lana is quirky and fun, and I think she is a great friend for Dez. Nick is a lot like his brother, and he fights for what he believes in. The character dynamics were great, and I loved how they all meshed together, especially the main three.

This leads me to my next point. I know a bunch of other people mentioned a love triangle. In the beginning, there might have been a bit of one, yes. However, at the end of the book, the love triangle has all but disappeared. In fact, I really do not consider the relationship between Dez, Reese, and Jace to be a love triangle. Why? Dez cares for both of them, but there is only one she is interested in romantically. In my opinion, a love triangle is where the main character cannot choose between two people. She (or he) loves them both and is unable to decide who she/he wants to be with.  According to Wikipedia, the keeper of All Knowledge, there are two types of love triangles: there is the rivalrous triangle, where the lover is competing with a rival for the love of the beloved, and the split-object triangle, where a lover has split their attention between two love objects. (Thank you, Wiki.) The relationship dynamics featured in Destiny’s Fire does not match either definition. There were one or two moments where Reese and Jace ‘competed,’ but most of this rivalry perpetuated from the deep running hatred between the Narcolyms and Shythe. *SPOILER*(There was also this one part where Dez leads on one of the boys, which was a bad move on her part, but she did it to avoid hurting the guy’s feelings and also because she thought the other guy would never talk to her again. She did not do it because she was romantically interested in the guy.)*END SPOILER* Even when Dez is with one of the boys, who I will call Boy A, she is constantly thinking about Boy B. When she is with Boy A, she mentions how something is ‘missing,’ but when she is with Boy B, she feels like she is finally ‘home.’ In fact, she admits to never being able to be with another person besides Boy B, and she always wants them to be together forever. The only thing she is afraid of is hurting Boy A emotionally for being unable to reciprocate his feelings. (And at the end of the book, Boy A bows out and accepts the fact that he will never have Dez the way he wants.) Even though there was some relationship drama, I do not think that this constitutes a love triangle.

I am not sure if Wolfe intentionally tried to write a love triangle, but as I have already mentioned rather extensively, I personally do not think there was one (which is a good thing since I hate them!) If you like love triangles, this book might have enough drama to make you happy, but if you are like me and hate everything about them, then have no fear! There may be some moments when you get frustrated, but there is a very clearly defined romantic relationship between two of the characters, so you should have no worries.

Overall, Destiny’s Fire was an exceptional read, one everyone should check out. Wolfe is an amazing storyteller, and this book was an AWESOME debut. I cannot wait for more! There is no information about a sequel just yet, but I am sure there will be one, right, Ms. Wolfe?? (Please say yes!) Wolfe also has a novelette out, entitled Unveiled, and I am eager to get my hands on it. The premise of the story sounds interesting, so be sure to check that out as well! 

The Greatest Escape!

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Release Date: January 1, 2011

Publisher: Sterling

Author Information: Website / Blog / Twitter
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Mythology 

Available Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

My Shelf: Borrowed

Buy the Book: Amazon

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world.

But that’s exactly what happened.

Face-to-face with dark forces, spell- binding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

Review:

As much as I hate to admit it, the main thing that drew me to this book was the cover. I read the synopsis and it seemed interesting, but the cover art and detail were what finalized the purchase. I try to stay true to the saying “Never judge a book by its cover,” but this is one of the few instances where I was shallow. All the different hues of blue are beautiful and I love the texture!

As far as the plot and premise of the book are concerned, I appreciated the originality of the story (it is like Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones go to India). I have never read a book that deals with Indian religion and/or mythology, so it was definitely something different for me. I have to say with all the books dealing with vampires, werewolves, faeries, nephilim/fallen angels, etc. nowadays, this book was a refreshing read. Colleen Houck does a good job weaving in elements of Indian mythology and shaping a story around an Indian curse and tigers.

Houck also did an okay job with the characters. They are not the greatest characters ever and most of them just had mundane and generic personalities that can be found in almost any other book. I have to say I did not particularly care for Ren or Kelsey, and I was worried about how much I would like the story when I did not care for the main characters. But then you meet Kishan, Ren’s brother. Oh man, Kishan. Why are you a minor character? WHY? He is the reason why Houck did an ‘okay’ job with the characters. Kishan, being the bad boy he is and stirring up trouble, salvaged this book. Lots of people go on about Ren and how great he is, but he cannot hold a candle to Kishan. Kishan has the real personality of the two. Ren was described as being perfect and the only thing that could get under his skin was Kelsey, but that does not make him ‘real.’ People are not perfect and everyone has flaws. While some people liked Ren for that reason, it was the same reason why I did not like him. Kishan is the one that actually seemed to have faults and regrets from the past, which is what makes a good character and enables a reader to connect to him. And boy, did I connect (hello, sir).

The things that really took away from this book was the childish writing and plot/character inconsistencies. I am sorry, but this book honestly could have been written by a ten year old. The dialogue was weak, and in some cases it seemed like Houck just looked up a word in the thesaurus and picked one that seemed most SAT-esque. And the details….oh, the details.

I thought I had a little bit of OCD because my drawers were also meticulously tidy. My socks were all rolled in balls, arranged from the front of the drawer to the back. I usually grabbed the front ones and worked my way to the back. White socks were lined up on the right, black ones in the middle, and colored ones on the left.

I picked up the first one. The label read “Hot Dog Buns.” I hauled it over to the hot dog stand, then went back to get another box. It said “Neon Necklaces.” I took that one to the memorabilia stand.

Not. Necessary. Details like this do not help the story progress in the least, and they just frustrated me. It was another reason I thought the writing was childish and left a lot to be desired.

Another thing that really annoyed me was Phet. I did not dislike the character, but his way of speaking just really irked me.

“At the present, you must respite. Important sunrise is tomorrow. Phet must pray in the dark hours, and you necessity sleep. Embark on tomorrow your traverse. It’s hard as difficult. In first light, Phet assist you in the company of tiger. Durga’s secret to unveil. Now go drowse.”

 Really? For a man who is obviously not fluent in English, he certainly uses some big words, no? One would think that if he knew words like this, grammar would be a cinch. This REALLY got on my nerves. In Houck’s defense, Phet was not around for very long. However, coupled with her immature writing style, Phet’s speaking abilities were just….UGH (insert shudder here).

Another thing that really grated on me was plot holes and inconsistencies. Kelsey decides she is going to go to India randomly to take care of a tiger, and her foster parents do not even blink an eye. There was also the time she was able to get a passport in an hour and there were no security problems for bringing a tiger along on a private airplane. There were many moments like this in the story where things just went by a little too smoothly to be believable. These moments were not terribly important to the overall plot, but they distracted from the book itself and made Houck’s writing seem even worse than it actually is (or is it just naturally that bad?). It displayed one of the weaker points of her writing abilities. The inconsistencies just continue from there. Ren is a gentleman stuck in the past, where he cannot kiss Kelsey without asking for her permission and is very behind on current dating practices and culture references (he does not even know about Shakespeare). So how, pray tell, is he able to make jokes about wet t-shirts? How does he even know about wet t-shirts? Maybe this kind of knowledge is just innate in a man, or maybe there were wet t-shirts in India 300 years ago. Sorry, but I find it very unbelievable and unrealistic.

And then there was the beginning and ending of the story. The first 100 pages of the story were really not needed. It was supposed to be an introduction to Ren and Kelsey, but it served almost no purpose besides making the book longer than it should have been. And the ending, WTF? Kelsey decides that Ren is too perfect for her, so she leaves? “I am sorry, Ren. I love you, but I must leave you for you are too amazing.” Seriously? If it wasn’t the end of the book, I would have hurled it at the wall, pretty cover and all. Not to mention the bickering that went on for 50 pages or so when she decides she wants to split from Ren and he gets angry about it. Here are the two main characters on a life and death quest, and while running from danger, they are yelling insults at one another. In some cases, it can be comedic (like in an Indiana Jones movie), but in this case, it was just SUPER ANNOYING.

Overall, the novel had a very original story and plot (and pretty cover), but poor writing and inconsistencies really dragged it down. I respect the fact that Houck tried to make a story based on Indian mythology, but when compared to other books dealing with mythology, such as Percy Jackson and the Olympians, she is a little out of her league.  I will try reading the next book in the series, but my expectations are going to be much lower.

A Small Escape