Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble: The Jolie Wilkins Series, Book 1 (edition 2010)

Purchased: Received for review from author

What I Loved: The characters and the world that HP created are very entertaining. They are each unique with their own pros and cons. I felt you really got to know the key players really well and a lot about the society in which they lived. It is a very interesting world that has a richness that I only think we have seen the surface of.

What I Liked: I think HP incorporated almost every kind of "supe" there is into this story. There really is something for everyone. I like how she doesn't exactly follow the rules but the traits are very recognizable for each type.

Complaints: Really only 2: 1) Not enough Sinjun who was by far the most interesting character in the book to me and 2)I just felt like the story ended in the middle of an arc.

Why I gave it a 3: This is closer to a 3.5 (I really should consider getting a half scale LOL)! It was a fantastic read with engaging characters and a wonderful start to a new series.

Who I would recommend it too: Urban Fantasy readers--this doesn't have an HEA but it does have a bunch of hot guys and good heroin. PNR readers would probably like it too as it isn't quite as dark as most UF books.

Author Website: http://www.hpmallory.com ( )

Review to Come ( )

I tried to read this book. I wanted to like it. I found myself avoiding it and trying to justify continuing, and I just couldn't. The characters didn't engage me at all. I just don't care about Jolie or Rand.

So as far as I got? (1/3 of the way)... Jolie is a witch, she didn't know she was one, but stumbled into the paranormal world and discovered that all of those magical creatures were real. There's some sort of turf war/animosity between Rand (the guy that discovered her and took her on a a trainee) and some other Witch. I'm sure there was some sort of resolution to that, but I couldn't make myself care. Oh well. It wasn't bad or anything, I just wasn't engaged. ( )

I tried to read this book. I wanted to like it. I found myself avoiding it and trying to justify continuing, and I just couldn't. The characters didn't engage me at all. I just don't care about Jolie or Rand.

So as far as I got? (1/3 of the way)... Jolie is a witch, she didn't know she was one, but stumbled into the paranormal world and discovered that all of those magical creatures were real. There's some sort of turf war/animosity between Rand (the guy that discovered her and took her on a a trainee) and some other Witch. I'm sure there was some sort of resolution to that, but I couldn't make myself care. Oh well. It wasn't bad or anything, I just wasn't engaged. ( )

This book was good. I didn't love it, but it was good. I'll likely read the next book at some point, but I'm not going to rush to get it.

I liked Jolie at some points and other times I wanted to yell at her for being an idiot. I didn't really like Rand that much, which isn't all that surprising. A lot of things that I didn't like wouldn't have happened if he'd told Jolie things she really needed to know!

I think my favorite char in the whole book had to be Sinjinn. I'm not really sure why, but I didn't really like the main char all that much (Jolie was nice when she wasn't doing stupid things).

The only thing I hated about this book is that we never really learned what Jolie really is. There are hints dropped and I think I know, but it's never said! I might read the next book for that alone. ( )