Review on Kiss of Fire

Oh wow. This book takes you on a wild ride. Wild, I say! I’m left with my heart in my throat, tears in my eyes, and a burning desire to get the next book. Now.
Kiss of Fire by Rebecca Ethington
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.
Series: Imdalind, #1
Age: 14 years and up
Review: 4.5 butterflies
I probably shouldn’t be writing this so soon after finishing the book, because my emotions are highest, but I don’t care. I need to get all of these thoughts out before I forget them.

Joclyn doesn’t know much about a mark she has right below her ear, just that it changed everything. It changed her dad—causing him to leave them—and it changed herself, making her become a girl who hides and tries not to be noticed.

And Joclyn has a friend. Her very best friend, Ryland. Ryland has secrets—very, very dark ones. Secrets that are intertwined with Joclyn.

Ryland has been through a lot, some might even say too much. But I admired him (and quite honestly I was in awe of how he kept it together after finding out what he’d been through) and I steadily grew to really like him. He was one of my favorite characters.

Joclyn is stubborn. All throughout this book, she’s stubborn. But I liked that when the secrets were revealed, she accepted them and didn’t make too big of a deal at saying stuff like “No, this can’t be possible,” because it is and she knows it. I grew to really like her too, and found myself truly understanding what she was going through. Her reactions were believable, which is always something I love reading in paranormal books.

The plot. Oh, the plot. It was brilliant. The secrets, the hints, the language! I absolutely loved it all. The world and the language seemed really well thought out, which is always a fantastic plus. I also loved how each piece of information was realistically given to us, there was no “let me bombard you with all of this information.”

And the secondary characters were fantastic as well! Ilyan and Wyn especially (although I feel as if Ovailia has reasons for her actions). I really enjoyed reading about them, though Ilyan intrigues me as well.

But this book had something that I completely love—if it’s done right: true love. Soul mates. A pure bond between two people. Or, as this book puts it, a Zêlství (though technically that means something slightly different, but I just wanted to use the beautiful words that the author created). And this was definitely done right.

The beginning of the book, though I know was necessary, was a bit frustrating. All of the secrets surrounding Jos, and though I knew something was happening I didn’t know what. I just wanted everyone to come out with it, but nooooo, let’s just not say anything, shall we?

Finally when things are revealed is when things start to get good. Or rather, should I say great? At that point you couldn’t pull me away from the book, I was glued. I also might have snapped a little at my family members for interrupting me. Whoops. But the book got so addicting, I kept just reading and flipping pages to see what was going to happen next; how they were going to succeed; how things would get better.

But, this is a series. And as we all know, not everything gets resolved in the first book of the series. The book ended up with a cliffhanger, yes, but it also gave us a little bit of hope. (Though the last sentence killed me. Gah!)

I most definitely recommend this book for people who want angst, action, true love, magic, and series, for I most definitely will not stop at this book. (Read: I am quickly going to get the next book because I HAVE TO.)
Book links: Goodreads * Amazon * B&N * Kobo
This book is free on all sites for a limited time.

Stay tuned — tomorrow I will post my review on the next book, Eyes of Ember.

Yours,

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