Review: Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble by HP Mallory

Book: Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble (HP Mallory)
Stand-Alone or Series: Series -Jolie Wilkins #1

Word Count: Approx. 116,261
Genre: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance

Format: E-book (in a number of different E-book/E-Reader formats)

Purchase Price: $2.99

How did I get this book: From the author for review

Read Chapter 1
Description (From Goodreads):

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin.

Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand. 

I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into when I began reading Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble. I had heard a lot of great things about the book - but I still wasn't entirely convinced I would like it. Let me just say that this book officially knocked my socks off.

I would have to say that my favorite aspect of this book is the characters. Jolie, the protagonist, is an up-and-coming witch. The problem is, that she doesn't know she is a witch. She struggles with self confidence and simply cannot believe that she is a powerful witch that people are actually fighting over. She likes to think of herself as a psychic - and a mediocre one at that. Jolie's narrative is incredibly witty and her personality makes her easy to love. She is an absolute hoot and not afraid to call it like it is. I love the fact that she doesn't exactly understand her power yet, or fully understand her effect on people, because it creates so wonderful moments. 

Along for the ride is Jolie's partner in crime and lifelong BFF, Christa. Christa is everything Jolie is not - confident, collected and comfortable in her sexuality. She is fully aware of herself as a woman and often uses her charms to get what she wants. I don't want to make her out as a bad person or a bad friend, because she isn't. She would never hurt Jolie, she just likes to use her feminine charms on men. She is the kind of friend everyone wants - someone who balances you out and would drop everything in a heartbeat for you. 

This book is also chock-full of supernatural cuties. Jolie's definitely got her hands full in the love department; which is an entirely new situation for her. The first of her potential love interests is Rand. Rand is a super powerful Warlock who discovers Jolie's abilities. He is really what pulls her into her new life and acts sort of as a mentor. These two have some mad chemistry, but Rand has conflicting emotions about dating in new employee. There are some absolutely amazing scenes between these two, because they are constantly pushing each other to their limits.

 

However, like I said before Jolie certainly has options. There is also a werewolf vying for her attentions as well as a Faerie King and the occasional vampire. While this book does have a lot of romantic subplots, the characters and overall plot do not suffer. A lot of times, I find that books center on the love triangles too much and everything else suffers. Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble certainly does not have this problem. The plot is fast paced, action packed, exciting and unique. Mallory does an amazing job recreating and redefining types of characters (like werewolves, witches and faeries) that we have seen time and time again.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good urban fantasy or paranormal romance. While the tone wasn't as dark as your typical urban fantasy, the change in pace is definitely refreshing. This book was entertaining, hilarious and an overall great time. I am eagerly waiting for book 2 in the Jolie Wilkins series, I cannot wait to see what happens next!

 

*If you don't have a nook or kindle, fear not. You can download the book in a number of different formats, including online reading, epub, pdf and rtf. For a complete list of formats go to HP Mallory's website. If you click on ebook, a list of formats (with previews) will pop up. Oh and just an FYI - you can read epub documents on iphones and itouches now with the Bluefire Reader App.

Review: The Summoning

Book: The Summoning (Kelley Armstrong)
Stand-Alone or Series:  Series, Darkest Powers #1
Pages: 390
Genre: Young Adult
Preview on Google Books  
Description (From Goodreads):
After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it 
isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either… 

 I have heard a lot of great things about the Darkest Powers Series. I love Kelley Armstrong's writing, so I figured it was about time to read The Summoning. I have to say, this is one of those wonderful cases when the book lives up to all the hype. 

Kelley does an amazing job, as always, creating a well-rounded, diverse, cast of characters. Chloe Saunders is the main character in this book and she soon discovers she is an necromancer. Chloe in a great character - she is loyal and determined, but still possess the qualities of an average teenager. I hate when books that are about kids and teens feature characters who act like adults. Chloe is constantly afraid of her surroundings and  reacts to situations in the way a normal girl would. Oh, and her stutter is ingenious and completely endearing.

The fact that Chloe is a necromancer is a huge bonus.  I have only read a few ghost stories, so the idea is still relatively new to me. The change in pace from vampires and other immortal characters was utterly refreshing.

The rest of Chloe's gang, if you will, are also fabulously written. There are two brothers, Simon and Derek who live at the Lyle House with Chloe. Simon is a sorcerer and Derek, well he is special in his own way; I don't want to spoil it for you. My favorite of the two boys is easily Derek. At first he comes off as a complete jerk, but he really isn't. He is just afraid. I love complex characters and Derek is definitely complex. I really hope that there is more, um, lets say interaction between him and Chloe in the feature books. I cannot tell you how hilarious I found the scenes when they pretend to be an item. For those of you who have read the book, you know what I mean.

The rest of the cast, Rae, Liz and Tori are more of secondary characters. All three of them live at the Lyle house with the rest of the teens; Rae and Liz become friends with Chloe. Tori, however, assumes the role of Chloe's sworn enemy. I enjoyed all of these characters as well, and I am excited to see more of them in the next book. 

Like most books that begin new series, there was a lot of build up weaved into the storyline. However, the author was able to keep the plot moving, while sewing seeds for future setups. Not once did I feel the urge to skip a paragraph or page, which is quite rare. 

The only gripe I have with this book, is the massive cliffhanger at the end. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for those of you who read this book back in 2008. I would not want to wait an entire year to see what happens next. In fact, I already placed book 2, The Awakening, on hold at library.  

As you can see, I thoroughly enjoyed The Summoning. The characters were all beautifully written, the premise was exciting and intriguing and it left me eagerly anticipating the next book. I know that I am extremely late on the bandwagon for this one, but if you haven't read it yet, please do. You will not regret it.