Born in Fire

5 holy tater tit stars!~

I LOVED THIS! Seriously, Miss Breene herself claims it is not a romance, however happily I would like to disagree! We can agree to disagree! The tension between Reagan and Darius makes me downright smitten!



Reagan is hilarious! Her internal dialogue had me grinning ear to ear throughout the entire book! The fact that she is a bad ass heroin who can pretty much take care of herself (and others in the male variety) has giddy! Bravo! On to book 2~

I loved this book enough to read the trilogy over less than a 2 day span the first time, and re-read it already before the year is out.

Reagan is fun. She's independent, she's fierce, she's funny, she's resistant, she's harboring major hiding secrets for good cause. Darius and her are like oil and water - not a mix, he's infuriating at first but their relationship is funny, then steamy, then funny again, then intriguing. I love the pair, especially now that I've completed their trilogy.

The world-building is complex. I won't give away Reagan's secret for those who haven't read the book, but it opens up that world-building, expands it from the Brink that is ruled with patrolling shapeshifters who corporate with the elves. There's a show more vampire realm of sorts, with it's own layers and secrets. There's an underworld. Basically most of the factions are either at war, or on unstable ground trying to have their leaders secretly make deals (Vlad, we're looking at you). It's full-fledged and it's fascinating.

Reagan divides her attention by working as a bounty hunter of sort, hence the investigative mystery and plot of the story - but she also spends time in a run-down neighborhood with quirky and fun human companions, and meets a hilarious older couple who are the ruling weapon mages in the town, Dizzie and Callie. How fun these two are, a delight.

The characters stand out, the humor works without feeling forced, the world-building layered, the plot story-filled, the focus and anticipating of more to come exciting, the romance slow-burn, the fighting and abilities from the MC unique and superior. It pushed all my favorite UF buttons. show less

What a fun story! I really enjoyed this urban fantasy. Reagan is my kind of bounty hunter – efficient with weapons and full of sass. I so enjoyed all her quips and how that affected those around her. Through a series of work technicalities, she gets stuck working with a powerful and handsome vampire Darius. They are hunting down some strange magics.

Now this isn’t your typical vampire tale. While there is a hint of flirtation that could develop into romance, there are no sex scenes in this story. It’s all about solving the mystery and if a few instances of dry humping occur, that’s just one of the hazards of dealing with magic. While Darius is all for entering into a formal bond with Reagan, she’s an independent sort and not show more interested.

Reagan has her secrets and apparently some old family friends (Callie and Dizzy) know some of those secrets plus a few more. Reagan’s magic isn’t like any other magic she knows and she goes to good lengths to conceal that. I can see how Callie could become a surrogate mother to Reagan as the series moves forward.

There’s plenty of humor in this story and I applaud the use of sarcasm and pointing out the obvious. Her mouth lands her in trouble a few times but she has the muscle and magic to handle it. Sword, gun, and magic all get equal time in the fights.

When I finished this book, I was quite ready to jump into the next. Looking forward to the rest of the series. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Nicole Poole was a perfect fit for this book. Her voice for Reagan is spot on and she makes a sexy Darius as well. I love her harsh voices for Reagan’s neighbors, Callie’s commanding shout, Dizzy’s old man apologetic voice, and the mechanical modified voice of the Big Baddie. I felt that Poole had a lot of fun with this story; her enthusiasm shows in the performance. 5/5 stars. show less

Cover/Title: The cover/synopsis is what drew me in to read this book.

Characters: I loved the characters in this book. Reagan is funny and can kick ass to boot! Dizzy and Callie are just plain fun. I love when they bicker with each other. Darius may seem abrupt and rude but I kinda like him and I think he is perfect for Reagan. They balance each other out.

Plot: Reagan is a supernatural bounty hunter and Darius is a vampire who gets in her way. Forced to work together, they piece together an odd friendship. Throw in some mages, magic battles and lots of mayhem.

Overall: I loved this book and I fully intend to explore more of this series.

Fun

A little stream-of-consciousness, but it fits the main character. The snarky one-liners mid-fight can be a bit tiresome. I generally like the character, though.

The main character being Uber-powerful but forced to hide her power keeps the fighting interesting. Can’t swat people like flies if it gives away your secret.

No grammar or spelling crimes to mention.

I’m going to buy book 2 now. Best recommendation I can make.

This review is posted on both my personal account and the account for Crossroads Public Library.

Funny and entertaining. The Kate Daniel's comparisons are valid - if you enjoy Kate, you're going to love Reagan. I also got some Jane Yellowrock vibes? It's entirely possible that that's because of the setting (New Orleans) and the vampires. The world building was interesting - magic is a secret but I'm not sure how great of a job any of the magical community is doing to protect it. I wouldn't say any of it's ground breaking, but it's unique enough and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

Fun

A little stream-of-consciousness, but it fits the main character. The snarky one-liners mid-fight can be a bit tiresome. I generally like the character, though.

The main character being Uber-powerful but forced to hide her power keeps the fighting interesting. Can’t swat people like flies if it gives away your secret.

No grammar or spelling crimes to mention.

I’m going to buy book 2 now. Best recommendation I can make.