Series: Ember #1
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
First published: July 18th, 2011
Source: Received from publisher
Format: eBook (Kindle)
Goodreads Summary:When Candra Ember wakes up in hospital after a dangerous encounter with a red-haired woman, she is shocked to discover that seeing a winged boy wasn’t her imagination. Candra is exposed to a world of rivalry and sacrifice she never knew existed, and the aftermath of a war to save humanity thousands of years ago. Soon she finds herself relentlessly stalked by Sebastian, a beautiful and arrogant Watcher Angel and romantically pursued by his darkly seductive rival, Draven. Ultimately, dubious about her own goodness, Candra’s very existence compromises a tentative peace in the city of Acheron.
I'd recommend this for an older audience (16+).
My Rating: 3.0 / 5
First thoughts:
After having loved some parts of Ember very much but feeling unsure about certain other moments, I decided to rate this with three stars. It was definitely an enjoyable read and I'm very curious about what will happen in this world after that very interesting ending. Nonetheless I would have loved to feel a deeper connection to the characters, which would have made me enjoy it even more.
More detailed:
I put Ember on my to-read list almost immediately when I found out about it in 2011, but never got around to buy a copy and finally read it. So of course I jumped at the chance to review it for its sequel's blog tour. And even though my expectations might have been a bit higher, I'd definitely recommend it to everyone who is looking for a unique angel story.
Novels that focus on angels can be either really awesome or... not so awesome. Ember's paranormal aspects are definitely very enjoyable, especially because they don't focus too much on the religious elements. And while at times I found it a bit hard to follow every single explanation we get (which can probably blamed on my current chronic fatigue), I really like the background story Carol Oates created.
Like I said above, I would have preferred to feel more connected to the characters. While Candra is a likeable main character, I found almost every character to be a tiny bit too unpredictable, which led to some frustration - especially when they behaved in a way that I didn't want them to. Maybe, though, I just needed to much time to get used to the third person narrator, because I usually like a first person narrator more - which is just a very personal preference and shouldn't stop you from reading this.
Ember's love story is, just like its angel lore, very unique and, just like its characters, a tiny bit frustrating. But in this case it's a good kind of frustration, because which love story would be complete without its heartbreaking and tear-inducing moments? And even though we are confronted with elements of a love triangle, I'd still recommend it for people who usually dislike these - just see for yourself why.
All in all, Ember is the first book of a series that seems to have lots of potential. I'm definitely looking forward to read its sequel, Iridescent, and can't wait to see what Carol Oates has planned for these characters.
This review is part of Iridescent's blog tour,
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