City In Embers by Stacey Marie Brown Pages: 458
Published by Twisted Fairy Publishing on February 4, 2015
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Love & Romance, New Adult, Paranormal
Source: eARC from Author
Zoey Daniels has been tossed from foster home to foster home, where she grows up fast and tough. When she is placed in her “last-chance” home, she finds a reason to stay and turn her life around: her foster sister, Lexie, who is paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Zoey will do anything to keep her safe. After high school, Zoey is hired by a special government agency, the Department of Molecular Genetics (DMG), where she meets the other reason to remain: Daniel, her co-worker. The man she loves.
But there is something unique about Zoey. She can see fae. Because of this, the DMG hires her to work as a Collector: catching, researching, testing, and using the fae to save human lives. The work never registers on her sympathy radar. She was raised to think of fae as beasts that feed on humans and want to destroy them.
When devastation hits Seattle, Zoey's whole world is turned upside down. The electric storm connects her to a ruthless fae, a Wanderer named Ryker, whose dealings expose them to even more trouble and danger. They embark on a journey, running and hiding from both the government and fae, both of which threaten their lives and those they love.
City in Embers is the first book in a new paranormal action series, called the Collectors. As you may know, Stacey Marie Brown’s Darkness series is one of my favorite New Adult paranormal series. The Collectors is set in the same world as that one and the electrical storm caused by the Dae in the Darkness series is what has rocked Seattle, where the main characters are on the run in City of Embers. Which I thought was the perfect crossover between the two worlds. It really added to the atmosphere throughout the story, and it was a cool throwback that fans of the Darkness Series would get. But you absolutely do not need to read the darkness series to get this one. They are very separate, with all new characters. I thought this book had a very different feel than the Darkness series. One that I ended up really enjoying. (But the Darkness Series is still my favorite.)
Zoey grew up really bad off in the foster system. I didn’t particularly love how stereo typically cruel her foster parents were but you get over it because so many other things start to happen that they fade into the background very quickly. There is a lot of fast paced action once you got into the book a little ways. I had a really hard time getting into this book. It took me maybe 18-20% mark on my kindle before I really started to like the story. It was all up hill from there, but I took me a while to get interested. So if that happens to you, don’t give up on the book! It gets so so much better!
Ryker and Zoey had an interesting relationship. I liked that they really disliked each other for most of the book, and only later on did they come to realize that they cared for the other person. And even so, this thing they had (I don’t even want to call it a romance, not yet.) was never anything close to warm and mushy. They are two tough cookies that don’t like opening up to other people. So when they tell each other something from their past, that is about as mushy and romantic as they get. And it works for them. I liked that the focus was much more on the running and the action than it was on these two and their romance. Now, that is not to say that I don’t want to see more of them together in the future, because I do. But for the first book this worked.
I loved that the fae and creatures were consistent with Stacey’s darkness series. And I loved how much action there was this book. I have no idea where the next book is going to take us because there was one heck of a cliffhanger at the end of this one. But most of all, I am glad that I didn’t give up on this book, like I wanted to more than once, because I ended up really liking it a lot.
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kindlemom1
Okay gorgeous cover! So glad this was a good one.
Kate @ Ex Libris
I’m glad that the story picked up for you!
Megan MCDade
Wow this sounds great.
Heren Sokken
overall plot: There is a lot going on here, this is the first in what i am hoping is more than a two part series XD there is so much we need to learn in this book and so much that starts us off running. Ryker *swoon* modern fey Viking with a badass attitude and has so much more to him then we realize. Its more than getting his powers back and honestly i was sort of dying to read in his pov, i just want to know what he is thinking. Eli was pretty open compared to Ryker and if you know Eli you know how insane that sounds XD sorry im so weird i know…anyways! Ryker has more on his plate then just getting his powers back which have been transported into Zoey. Zoey is a fey hating and hunting seer who works for the government. but there is so much more to her beginnings then we realize. this really just gets just into the feel of the new Settle, and the characters and how they work together. please don’t take that as this book is boring and nothing happens because there is so much excitement and so much going on. There are gangs, other fey looking for Ryker, and there is the government as well…there is so much! ahhhh it was awesome. the pacing was again insanely well done never once did i feel like we were dragging or there was unnecessary scenes. the tension between Ryker and Zoey is just off the charts awesome.