Kiss of Fire (Imdalind #1)
by Rebecca Ethington
Summary: Joclyn Despain has been marred by a brand on her skin. She doesn't know why the mark appeared on her neck, but she doesn't want anyone to see it, including her best friend Ryland, who knows everything else about her. The scar is the reason she hides herself behind baggy clothes, and won't let the idea of kissing Ryland enter her mind, no matter how much she wants to.The scar is the reason she is being hunted.
If only she knew that she was.
If only she had known that the cursed stone her estranged father sent for her 16th birthday would trigger a change in her. Now, she is being stalked by a tall blonde man, and is miraculously throwing her high school bully ten feet in the air.
Joclyn attempts to find some answers and the courage to follow her heart. When Ryland finds her scar; only he knows what it means, and who will kill her because of it.
Release Date: Oct 30, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance/Fantasy
Where to Buy: Amazon
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Source: I purchased a copy for Kindle.
Review:
I loved Kiss of Fire. It was unpredictable, unique, full of magic, mystery, and love. I don’t know how this series escaped my attention before now, but it came highly recommended to me by an author I love and I’m glad she told me about it!
For a YA paranormal, it was fairly unique. None of the creatures I was expecting showed up. Instead, the paranormal aspects took some of the familiar and wrapped them up in a new, original package. I love when I get something new from the genre! What I also loved about Kiss of Fire was the relationship aspect. At first, I was thinking there would be a horrible love triangle, which turned me off because I really thought Jos and Ryland had a huge connection and I would have been disappointed if she skipped off into the arms of someone else. Fortunately, it wasn’t a triangle at all. I can’t really explain how it’s not a triangle in detail without spoiling some major events, but it is not. And the heroine, while self conscious and uncomfortable in her own skin, was not a wishy-washy heroine at all.
Another aspect of Kiss of Fire that I appreciated was Joclyn as the heroine. I’m so used to the young, shy girl finding out about her paranormal origins and suddenly being amazing at using new powers or abilities. Joclyn was not like that. She struggled very hard to do the small things she could do with training. She was capable of a lot of power, but without proper training, she was unable to control it. I love the more kick ass, focused heroines in YA, but I think the whole weak to strong character growth is sometimes overused and predictable. I like that she was still floundering a bit to control herself. I don’t think it made her weak as a person, but it made her more believable since it takes practice to be good at anything, even when you have innate talent.
Kiss of Fire was very good and well written. The first half of the book was a bit slow as the mystery and paranormal aspects starting to unfold, but I was still totally hooked and I loved getting to know the characters. The action and answers started to come out around the halfway point and I was hooked for that, too. I can’t wait to read more of the series and find out what happens next. I highly recommend the book.
