Wildefire

I knew this book was going to be good. I mean, look at the cover; it's intriguing. The cover makes you want to read the book. That is a good-looking cover. But, aside from the cover, watch the video. The book video doesn't tell much of anything about the book, but you do learn about Karsten Knight. I mean, a funny guy like him, the book had no chance of being bad.

But, enough about why it should have been good. Why was it good?

The book was definitely different. The beginning felt a little strained to read. The action was all there, but it seemed difficult to find the right connection with the main character, or something. But, you get about one hundred pages in. That's where something clicks.

I'm not gonna lie. I read a lot. I won't talk to people if I'm reading a good book. I won't sleep. Sometimes, I won't even eat until I'm done. That's how this book was for me.

The characters in this series are pretty amazing. They are all different from each other and there aren't too many stereotypes. For instance, the evil blonde cheerleader character gets old fast. She was not in this book. The teachers who turn a blind eye to everything? They weren't here either. And it was pretty refreshing to hear that the main character played tennis. I'm not a big tennis fan, but a change in sports was welcomed. It's always football or soccer or lacrosse. But not in this book.

The action events were happening. Word. Just kidding. But, seriously. There were lots of action scenes, but not so many that there were no character developments or times to catch your breath. Although, there were some confrontations that I personally felt could have been avoided. But, they didn't subtract too much from the storyline.

What I didn't like.
There is definitely going to be another one in the series. I had kind of gotten in a mindset that this was a standalone book...until I read the last page. Don't get me wrong, I want there to be another book, since I felt like a lot more could still be done. But, seriously? It won't be out until this time next year most likely. Bummer.
And Colt. Colt, oh Colt. He was a pretty great character except for he was kind of creepyish. Kudos to our main girl Ashline for seeing a random pretty face in all sorts of weird places and not running away. Honestly, I would have been a little suspicious of a guy like him...especially in a bar...and in this day and age. But, maybe that's just me.

All in all, it was a pretty cool book. Definitely read some and then if you're like me and aren't immediately hooked, just give it some time.

This will not be a full review, because I got about 110 pages in and just couldn't finish it. It came as a huge surprise to me because I normally really like mythology, but this one I just couldn't get into. I skimmed the rest of it and saw the big secret, which is probably the main reason I didn't enjoy it. Even though I had made it 110 pages in, I still had to skim quite a ways until I could get to the actual secret, in which the story is supposed to had been about. Now normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I just felt like the part of the story that I HAD read was full of nothing-ness. I just felt like it could have been cut out.
Also, I felt like it was a little bit too unbelievable. Yes I know this is fiction, but still that first chapter.... It went a little over the top. If you're going to do some realistic scenes, please at least make the realistic scene a little realistic....

Oh, how do I describe this book without giving anything away? The first thing that pops into my mind is the word epic. That's truly what this book is. As soon as I opened Wildefire and started to read, I remembered why I love books so much. Karsten Knight has written a gem. It will draw you in, and dig its claws into you until the very end. Best part? You'll love every minute of it.

Ashline and her sister Eve are the best example of sisters at odds that I have ever seen. There is so much depth to their characters. The reader is treated to seeing the delicate balance that lies between these two. Ashline's love for her sister is truly apparent, as is Eve's, however they also ooze tension in their interactions. The inner battle between these two feelings is palpable and delicious. Can feelings be delicious? I think so. When you can drink them off the page because they are so strong, yes, I'd say so. Mixed in with all of this are the petty, and violent moods of goddesses. This I appreciated so much! Ah, to be a god.

Lest you think that this whole book revolves around these two (which I would completely be okay with) I'll assure you that you will also be treated to other reincarnated gods as well! From the typical surfer boy character, down to the tall, dark and handsome character, each one of Ashline's entourage has a vivid and unique personality! I fell in love with every single one of them. Each of these characters brings something unique to the table, and Ashline flourishes with their friendship. I'm going to have to admit that she kind of stole the show for me though. Ashline is amazing!

Story wise, Wildefire is executed perfectly. The book is written in third-person, which I usually tend to shy away from. However being in Ashline's head was never once uncomfortable or awkward. Quite the opposite actually! I enjoyed seeing her inner thoughts and memories so much that I honestly didn't notice the third-person aspect for most of the book. It was as though once I was in her head, nothing else mattered. All that my own mind was concentrated on was what Ashline would do next. This girl is damaged to be sure, but her ability to take that and turn it into perseverance and fantastically witty sarcasm made me bond with her.

The ending is a killer cliffhanger. I'll warn you now. Most of the overall story is wrapped up and I honestly didn't see the very end coming at all. When I got to the last page, my jaw dropped open and I seriously momentarily debated on throwing the book against the wall. Not because I didn't love it! Rather I am now completely frustrated that I will now have to wait to see what happens next. Knight has my heart as a reader. It's true!

I'll end here because if I gush anymore you might all drown in my love for this book. Fresh, fun and unique, Wildefire is an epic ride! If you haven't yet added this to your reading list you need to do it now. Seriously. Once again I'll state that this book reminded me why I love reading in the first place. A great storyline, vivid characters, and so many twists that your draw will drop. That's what you'll find in Wildefire. I want more.

What to say? I didn't love it, but I did like it, but not enough to really be invested in the sequel(to be honest I am so tired of books with sequels! Can't there just be one and be done with it!).

There were some really unrealistic parts in it, not in the sense that it's fantasy and made up and all that, but in the sense that things wouldn't work like that in general, fantasy world or not. They kind of annoyed me at the time, but now I can't even think of an example so they must not have been too overbearingly annoying.

I also didn't like how the story jumped around so much without explanation. It pulled me out of the story and left me bored and confused. A lot of small things that should have been explained weren't, that made it difficult to follow as well. Also, the book was slow. There were a lot of parts that seemed unneeded and boring that should have just been left out or cut down upon. It took me a really long time to finish Wildefire because of that. When I came to those parts I'd take a break and read another book that was more interesting. However, the parts that were not boring were really interesting and I enjoyed a lot.

Also, political correctness annoys me. Especially when it is thrown into the book for absolutely no reason but to spout it off. And there were two instances of that in Wildefire that were totally unnecessary additions. So that made me like the book a little less, but not a lot because they were quite small and I just tried to ignore it.

I did however really like the characters, which surprised me because I didn't think that would happen, considering they all annoyed me a lot in the beginning, but they grew on me. I also liked how real they felt they weren't over dramatic and they didn't take themselves too seriously, and it was just refreshing and fun to read about characters that are very down to earth and fun.

I also really liked the mythology of it, how the author used mythologies that weren't mainstream, like Greek and Roman and such. He used little known ones that were just as interesting and fun to learn about.

So did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No. Do I want to read the sequel? If it's free or at the library.

Wildefire is a fun and violent romp. For all that Ash is much too quick to use her fists, she is a really awesome heroine. She kicks serious butt, she's sarcastic and she deals with everything on her own terms. She has this crazy but realistic confidence that almost makes me envy her. Ash feels so much like a real person and one that I would not perhaps be friends with, but might admire and enjoy facebook stalking. Plus, it's kind of nice to read a book where there's a girl who's a bit of a juvenile delinquent. There are a lot of reformable, sexy bad boys, but you don't see too many ladies of that ilk.

Colt, however, I never liked. For one thing, I personally am confused and a bit creeped out by any guy who's too interested when you first meet. Colt, a college student, sees Ash across the bar and leaves the seriously hot girl he's with to pursue her doggedly. After hitting on her in the bar to little avail (since she left to investigate the screams), he shows up at her tennis practice. The fact that she's cute does not make this non-stalkerish. Besides, as much as Ash was feeling it, I did not sense much chemistry between them at all. There conversations almost all dealt with how he thought they should be together. I really hope he either improves or is not THE guy that she will be drama-ing with for the rest of the series.

The plot was fun and moved along at a really nice pace. Some things definitely have not coalesced yet, like the black monsters with blue flame eyes that are supposedly the 'villains.' I had trouble taking them seriously, because I do not yet know enough about them. The mythology was awesome, since I'm a big ol' mythology nerd, especially since it was a cool way for folks to have awesome powers. In terms of storyline, nothing was really resolved in this book at all. It's clearly going to need another book, which I will most definitely be reading.

If you're looking for a totally fun, dark, violent book about hot teens with superpowers, you found it.