Of Fire And Roses - Erlanis Chronicles #1
by Danielle Belwater
What they say: Nate West’s mother is dead, his dad a lost cause. Anger has become a way of life, until he meets and falls in love with Cora Ewell. But Cora has a secret, one that could kill them both.
Nate moves from the big city to a small, forest town with his father after his mother’s tragic death. Alone and angry, Nate feels even more isolated by his father’s inability to communicate and relate to his only son in the wake of their loss.
Nate takes to the forest in an attempt to find some peace, but instead finds a beautiful girl with flaming red hair. But before he can speak with her, she vanishes. Unsure if the girl is a vision or real he searches desperately for her.
When Nate finally meets Cora, his world is turned upside down and inside out.
Dreams of his own death plague his sleep as old dark magic, hidden for centuries, resurfaces and has its sights clearly set on Nate.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review!
What I say: After a pretty horrible year Nate and his Dad move to a new town where he meets a beautiful girl called Cora. Of Fire & Roses sees Nate and Cora immersed in a battle against bad magic and an evil curse.
It was an interesting change to read a YA book told in the guys POV and I enjoyed getting inside Nate's head. I did get confused at times because Nate's inner thoughts didn't always seem that congruent with a teenage guy. The language didn't always seem to 'flow' as the dialogue sometimes seemed a little immature but I'm sure this can easily be 'tightened' to increase the natural ebb and flow.
I liked Cora and would have liked to have seen her developed a little more. The family history stuff reminded me a little of that in the Caster Chronicles (in particular Beautiful Creatures).
I'm not generally a big fan of insta-love because I usually find it unrealistic, but when I considered the age of the characters and remembered how emotionally charged teenagers can be I was more willing to accept it.
The book is short and sweet, combined with a clever concept and an interesting twist. I hadn't seen certain events coming and was happy with the ending. It would have been nice to have had the events spread over a longer time frame as everything seemed to happen rather quickly. The backstory with Stafford was intriguing and I enjoyed the supernatural element. Of Fire & Roses is a fun and intriguing introduction to Danielle Belwater's Erlanis series.
3 - 3.5 Stars in my Sky!
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