DNF at 50%…I really wanted to like this book. It had everything I loved, a tough heroine, a demon love interest, and sisterly love. But, I couldn’t connect to the story or any of the characters.

I didn’t like the protagonist…I found her reckless and annoying. The love interest wasn’t much better…I didn’t find him sexy or desirable. I felt like it was a girl meets bad boy who shows no interest in her yet she throws herself at him story, and I don’t enjoy that. I actually was shipping her and her best friend instead. Still, I found it interesting enough up until 40% or so, tried to push through and then completely lost interest at 50%.

Also, I got really confused on the genre. It’s marketed as YA and the heroine is 17-18, but I felt there were too many steamy love scenes and swearing for it to be YA (to be clear, I have no issue with either).

I tried to like it and I really wanted to, but maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea. ( )

This is your introduction to Harley, a seriously AWESOME female lead you won’t soon forget! Think Buffy before she knew what she was but with a murkier background, a tiny bit of a death wish, and a total desire to see all things evil put to rights. She has the same hardcore protection of loved ones build into her DNA, the same questionable choice in friends/acquaintances/boyfriends, and the same ability to smell BS a mile away...even if she doesn’t necessarily have a plan of attack on how to end it before it begins. She rides by the seat of her pants, but she kinda likes it that way too. I mean, she’d love a different life for herself, but she’ll make sure her little sister gets one...come heck or high water...which, by the way, both TECHNICALLY come! By book’s end, you’ll be on the edge of your seat as trusts are broken, alliances are made, and right becomes wrong and back again, all in an effort to stop something BIG, something DARK, something WORLD ENDING from coming to pass. Are they successful? Well...it all depends on how you look at it.


*ebook received for review; opinions are my own ( )

Demons and angels clash in this quick-paced novel, where a teen battles against the threat of Hell on Earth.

This is the first book in a new series, which features demons and angels. The main character is a teen with a gritty past. Abuse, stronger language, and spicier scenes make this one for the upper end of the young adult group. Hayley is a strong heroine, who has a lot to figure out, especially when the paranormal end rolls in. Her reactions are understandable, and her hopes and determination make her easy to root for. She's fun to follow the whole way through.

The book did have a slower beginning and I did find myself skipping over a paragraph now and then, but still, I didn't really want to give up on it either. Which was a good choice. The pace quickly gains as the tale goes on until it's action pure by the end. As the last chapters hit, it was impossible to put the book down. So much is happening, and Hayley has more than her hands full. Add the journey of her figuring out herself and the new world opening up around her...along with the very deadly dangers, and there's simply a lot to enjoy.

It does end with a cliff-hanger, and I'd definitely recommend grabbing up book two, since that one is even better than this first one. I received a complimentary copy and was drawn into the adventure. ( )

**I was given an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

To preface, this book is far outside my comfort zone. I was actually kind of shocked that this was put in the hands of a YA reviewer. While this is definitely an NA book that was perhaps miscategorized, this was an amazing NA book that I was pleasantly surprised by. Ember of Night is a gritty, 16 , paranormal, "chose one" book that was a wild ride. Very well-written deceptions and betrayals await Lee's readers. The last page all on its own added a whole star to this book for me!

My one gripe was that there were a lot of fighting scenes that could have been removed or merged. In the middle of the book Harley gets attacked by demons, gets attacked by more demons, gets attacked by even more demons and nothing about those scenes or the brief spaces between them advances the plot in any way. It unfortunately made the middle a little monotonous and this pacing issue could have been easily fixed with making the demon attacks separate waves in one fight, or having Harley getting breaks where we actually learn new information before she gets attacked again. While the middle was a bit murky, the beginning and the end were really strong (oh my god that ENDING).

I know it's always great to have some warnings for edgier content so below is some more information on whether this awesome book is the right book for you!

CW for the book: familial physical abuse, graphic gore (non-human), lots of swearing, sex-adjacent activities ( )

What the...flip! I'm sorry...I now have to wait until WHEN to read the next book? It's fine...it's just fine...I'll be over here rereading Ember of Night until NOVEMBER, thanks.
Forewarning, that epilogue might make you want to chuck the book across the room...justsayin'.

Okay, so in all seriousness though, if you like your main character to be rescued by an attractive, broody male but also be able to kick some ass all while they have no idea who they are...this book is definitely up your alley! It's a fairly common trope for these types of books with demons and the like, but I am here for it.

Harley suffers some pretty intense abuse from her father and is trying to keep her baby sister, Ray, sheltered from him (and doing a damn good job of it too!). Enter in broody male, Draven. Add in some burn-the-page tension between him and Harley. Throw in a few plot twists, and boom...hit with a hell of an epilogue. Making Ember of Night contain everything that makes a fantastic upper YA Fantasy/Paranormal novel.

This is really a great book from Molly E. Lee and I am super excited to read the next one!

HUGE thank you to Entangled Publishing for the ARC to read and honestly review! ( )