5 Star Book Review | Cursed by Fire by Danielle Annett | Giveaway

It has been six years since the Awakening and peace in Spokane, Washington is still tenuous at best. The vampires and shifters are all vying for control of the city and the humans seem to be the ones suffering the consequences, or so it seems.

Aria Naveed has spent the last two years of her life fighting to make the many wrongs of the world right, but soon finds out that the humans aren’t as weak as they appear and may be a more terrifying foe than any of the other races combined.

When a stranger rolls into town with trouble on his heels, Aria finds herself trapped in the middle of a battle that could cost her more than she has bargained for as a fight for justice turns into an unexpected fight for her life.

I love the cover of this book. The fiery background really puts into mind the power that Aria wields. The fire crawling on her arm and in her hair also shows how far she can go with her power over fire. But you can also imagine the destruction it can cause because of the smoke off to the side. This cover really is perfect for this book.


Cursed by Fire brings us the story of Aria Naveed, a pyrokinetic psyker, as she tries to stop a brewing war between the vampires and the shifters. But when a fellow telekinetic psyker come to town, the pieces start falling into place and the people responsible for all the deaths in town are lead by a woman that Aria thought was dead. This group wants Aria on their side of the war and they'll do anything to get her.

This book starts with Aria arriving to the scene of a young boy's murder too late to save him. She is determined to find out who murdered him but her boss refuses to let her continue. But when the Alpha of the shifters calls wanting to hire her to continue investigating, her boss can't say no and she is to work with her shifter friend James to find who did it. As the investigation continues, they hit dead end after dead end, until a new arrival in town introduces himself. Inarus tries to get Aria to sit down with him to talk about what they are, about psykers, and as Aria learns more the pieces start falling into place and the truth is more unbelievable and disturbing than she could have thought.

The world of this book is a very dangerous place. The peace between the vampires and shifters is precarious, and someone is trying to upset the balance. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book that surprised me, especially the one where the leader of the human faction that wants to destroy all supernaturals is revealed. I never expected that to happen. I loved learning about the vampires and the shifters and their animosity against each other. This book just would not let me go. I was so hooked that I wanted the next book right away. I am just in love with this book!

Something I really enjoyed was the romance, or maybe I should say hints of romance, in this book. There's Aria's shifter friend James, who she sees as a brother, but you can tell that he's harboring some unbrotherly feelings for her, and she's completely clueless. I at times felt bad for James, but there were times were I couldn't help but laugh. That sounds kind of mean, but it's true. Then there's the new guy in town, Inarus. He's a complete mystery, until closer to the end of the book. I really liked him until some truths about him were revealed, then I was all for James winning Aria's heart. But I don't think anything about any possible romance in this series is going to be easy, and I have a feeling some hearts are going to be broken.


I gave Cursed by Fire a 5 STAR rating. There's so much greatness in Cursed by Fire! This is a dark world where different factions are getting ready for all out war, and throughout it all this book is teasingly romantic. I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to happen next!



The light began to fade from his eyes as I crawled across the floor in an effort to reach my father. My nails were raw and bloody as I struggled to carry myself closer to him, digging into the rough wooden floors with each drag of my body.

“I’m coming,” I panted in between breaths. “Just hang on, Papa, I’m coming.”

I woke gasping for breath, drenched in a cold sweat, clutching the hilt of my dagger as if my life depended on it. I frantically looked around the room in search of our attacker while also taking stock of any injuries. I was perfectly whole.

“It was just a nightmare,” I told myself, though that did little to ease the ache in my chest over the remembered pain. I miss you so much.

Rubbing my hands over my face, I pushed back the wet, loose tendrils of hair that had escaped my braid during my fitful rest and returned my dagger to its resting place beneath my pillow. Taking another deep breath I registered a hint of smoke.

Shit!

My eyes roamed over the room, frantically looking for the source of fire.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

I untangled my body from the sheets, tripping and falling into a heap on the floor before I was able to crawl out of my covers and retrieve an old shirt. I frenziedly swatted at the bedroom curtains with the old t-shirt but the flames continued to rise. Deciding there was no other choice, I ripped the curtains from the window and rushed to the kitchen.

Throwing the curtains into the sink and turning the faucet on all the way, I watched as the flames were snuffed and steam began to rise. The curtains ruined.

Turning the water off, I allowed my body to slide down the smooth wooden cabinets until my bottom met the cool tile floor. I folded my arms across my knees and rested my forehead against them. Closing my eyes I took several deep breaths, my heart still racing from the effects of the recurring nightmare. This was getting out of hand. I had thought the nightmares were fading, but something was bringing the memories back with a screaming vengeance and this was the third time this week they’d plagued me. I missed my parents but it’d been over six years now. They weren’t coming back and I needed to let it go. My subconscious needed to let it go and I needed to let Daniel’s death go. Not the case, no, I wouldn’t let that go. But his death was affecting me in ways I couldn’t allow to continue.

I breathed deeply in an effort to calm my nerves. Small tremors racked my body, the nightmare had shaken me more that I’d like to admit. My skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. A physical reminder that I needed to relax before I accidentally caught something else on fire.
Danielle Annett is a reader, writer, photographer, and the blogger behind Coffee and Characters. Born in the SF Bay area, she now resides in Spokane, WA, the primary location for her Blood & Magic series.

Addicted to coffee at an early age, she spends her restless nights putting pen to paper as she tries to get all of the stories out of her head before the dogs wake up the rest of the house and vye for her attention.

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