Firelight

Hello? Um....hello? Anyone out there? Wow. Isn't this site neglected? Who is responsible for this terrible oversight? Oh, wait. That would be me. Oops. Looking at the date on the last post I made shows that it has been nearly two years since I wrote anything on here. I would like to say that some hugely miraculous event has prevented activity on this blog. Sadly, it has simply been life, work and a seriously lack of Internet connection at home. For two years? Yeah, pretty much. Moving across the country and teaching at schools with high needs tends to take a lot out of a girl. I have been reading, however. Some new books, many a beloved reread. I like to think that this site has been sitting here waiting for the book that so engaged my mind that it demanded to be written about. I finished that book last night.

Firelight by Kristen Callihan has so many elements that work for me. It pushed all my buttons, in a good way. You have Lord Archer the dark, mysterious tortured hero. He holds everyone at bay, hiding the tragic results of an experiment gone wrong behind an eerie black mask. He is wonderfully strong, yet horribly vulnerable. He yearns so desperately for love but feels that he is unworthy. He is a fabulous mix of the Phantom and the Beast. (two archetypes that I will read in an instant.). The heroine, Miranda, is strong and feisty. This is no cowering miss. In fact, she is nearly fearless in regards to her own safety. You learn she has a very good reason for this. These two characters balance one another. Their strengths and weaknesses make them intriguing. Their faults make them seem very human, yet their "gifts" lend them the extraordinary. There is a mystery plot to the book involving ancient mysteries, murder, and some gruesome slice and dice. It kept me interested through the middle where the romance seemed to take a back seat for a short while. I felt that the mysterious source of Archer's disfigurement was different from what you have read in other tellings of this type of story. This book would be considered an Historical Paranormal Romance. That's a mouthful. It is also wonderful. I highly recommend this book to any and all fans of the genre. For a debut novel I am wildly impressed. I am eagerly anticipating the upcoming release of the second book in the series. Mmmm... Historical werewolves!