Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright
Habitat Series #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 276 (paperback)
Source: Author
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Description:
Since the 1970s humans have forced supernaturals to live in caged cities. Silver brands embedded in their foreheads identify them by species: a full moon for Vampires, a crescent moon for Shifters, a pair of wings for Fairies, and the list goes on, for each supernatural species has been tagged and categorized by humans. Lanore Vesta is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds, second-class citizens shunned by society. She stays to herself, revealing her ability to create fire only during emergencies. All she wants to do is graduate college and stop having to steal to survive. But when she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she catches the attention of a supernatural killer. Now all she wants is to stop finding dead bodies in her apartment. Enlisting help from her Were-cheetah ex-boyfriend MeShack and a new mysterious friend named Zulu, she is steered through the habitat’s raunchy nightlife. But their presence sometimes proves to be more burden than help, as they fight for her attention. While the corpses pile up, and the scent of blood fills the air, Lanore is left wondering: will she find the psycho or die trying?
My Rating:
My Review: While running from the the local police (known in the habitat as habbies), Lenore stumbles upon a murder. Feeling guilty for not trying to help save the woman, she finds herself trying to probe into her death. While she hoped to discover the identity of the killer, she draws the killer's attention of the killer. She starts to receive gruesome gifts and Lenore knows that she must discover the identity of the killer before the people that loves becomes victims. Through all the adventure, Lenore finds herself in between to hunky Mixies, Zulu and Meshack. Meshack is her childhood friend and ex-boyfriend and Zulu is her good friend from the MFE movement.
I loved this book!! It was so different that I couldn't help but disappear into this dark dingy world. At first, I was concerned about the world building, but I really had nothing to worry about. Ms. Wright slowly unveils a world of supernatural beings, racial tensions, and an imprisoned society. I loved the murder mystery. I figured out the murderer right before Lenore. The big reveal wrapped up pretty quickly but I was pretty satisfied; it wasn't to quick. There is a love triangle but unlike most series, Lenore makes her choice in the first book. Somehow I don't think her choice will stick but that's just my opinion. I thought it was interesting that both her boy choices were very similar in my mind. One was the militant leader of a movement and the other was a lead singer in a band who drove females crazy. But they seemed very similar. It might have been the high levels of testosterone and clothes ripping.
A little warning...this story can be a bit graphic in terms of violence and sex. Though there aren't many sexual scenes, the descriptions of the make-out sessions are a bit higher on the graphic scale. This is definitely an adult book.
I recommend this any adult reader who want to explore a refreshing read with wonderful world building and an exciting mystery and action.