Amber Smoke

I don’t really know where to start about this book . You guys do know that anything Greek , Celtic or Indian always gets me right ? Any book that uses Greek myth as a base always turns out wonderful because Greek is magical ! So I’m just wondering what went wrong with this book….So once upon a time , Maiden ( of Maiden , Mother and Crone ) fell in love with a mortal and her love brought a curse over their them and eternal hell itself . Now all ‘evil’ beings that are trapped in that black literal hellhole are coming out of it and this gives the furies chills …because the evil beings would harm us ‘mortals’ . To save the useless mortals and themselves , the furies ( the sisters ) train their only son to save their world .What’s wrong , then ?Now that’s all fine…it is just too cheesy ! I’ve been telling you I hate cheese all along and this book had an overdose of it . It’s like too much for me to take in . And it’s not just that . The characters were just ridiculous and un-connectable- t0 . Eva was stupid and I mean stupid enough make stupid people feel smarter . And Alek is a HUNK , but what next ? Erm…he’s handsome ??I definitely liked the mythical-sounding part of the book which is the first 20 or so pages but the rest of the book was totally on the ‘okay ‘ to ‘ I hate this ‘ level .Should you get it ?I don’t really recommend it , but I’ve been narrating this story to my friends at school and they seem to think the story’s good . So maybe , you should go for it if you’re going to do some story-telling 🙂

I ordered this book as I was intrigued by what this author could do alone. I have long been obsessed with the series she co-authored with her mother, The House of Night series, and I could not help but want more. Honestly, for this book, I wanted to read it because it was getting amazing recommendations by all of Cast's fans, the cover looked mysterious and after reading the blurb/summary- I was hooked. Admittedly, I did start reading it, then put it down for a long time (exams and stuff). However as soon as I picked it back up again properly, I couldn't put it down.It has a very realistic and creative plot line, with clear evidence of research- though with a personal twist to the legends and folklore. The protagonist is relatable because she is definitely not perfect- she makes silly mistakes and gets into a lot of trouble. It is obvious that she has been thrust into this world of mythology and doesn't know what to do or how to deal with it- a reaction most of us would have, I should think. Eva is well built and sassy, yet smart (even if she doesn't always show it) and Alek is her link to mythology. He is at times a humorous character with his somewhat lack of understanding of the modern world and the chink in his chain- his weakness making him, too, quite a relatable character. Bridget adds the fun and stereotypical girliness yet shows loyalty and a protectiveness over her friends.I think this book communicated that as long as you have someone to count on, even if you think your world has gone completely to hell, then everything will somehow work out. It has an underlying moral of friendship and sticking together. That was undoubtedly the powerful message here. The structure of the book is, at first, a little confusing as the chapters skip to different character's points of view - and with no heading as to whose character's point of view this chapter is, you have to kind of figure it out within the first page or so. The plus side is that once all the characters have been introduced, this gets pretty easy to do. I would say that I quite like this structure in telling a story because you get to discover things about more than the main protagonist- like where the side characters go and what their thought processes are.In level of reading, I would rate this fairly easy as the language is not too complex and you can pick up where you left off without having to read back over it. It is simple to go with the flow of the plot line. For sure would recommend, if not for the depth of research into Greek mythology, then for the relatable characters and action packed plot.

I have been a fan of the mother-daughter duo books in the past and so when I saw Kirsten's own books I had to give it a chance.I took a little time to get into as it was set in the famous Tulsa and albeit done for continuity it felt like a samey read. However a third of the book in and I have enjoyed it so much I am on to book two.Her strengths in the story are the way she writes about each character and their personalities are very strong.All in all without giving away the plot it is worth a read for fans.

Not bad. Maybe the next book will take this further. Not sure if I'm going to bother with it for now

this.felt a bit short but that might be because I love reading and read it quickly. Can't wait to start the second one

Just couldn't put the book down and read in a day, always love Kristen Casts books and she does her reaserch well. Was hooked from start to finish and cannot wait for the next book in the series.