August 8, 2012

Summer Reading Tour - Ember by Carol Oates: Review & Giveaway!


Ember (Ember #1)
Author: Carol Oates
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release Date: July 19, 2011 

Description:

When Candra Ember wakes up in hospital after a dangerous encounter with a red-haired woman, she is shocked to discover that seeing a winged boy wasn’t her imagination. Candra is exposed to a world of rivalry and sacrifice she never knew existed, and the aftermath of a war to save humanity thousands of years ago. Soon she finds herself relentlessly stalked by Sebastian, a beautiful and arrogant Watcher Angel and romantically pursued by his darkly seductive rival, Draven. Ultimately, dubious about her own goodness, Candra’s very existence compromises a tentative peace in the city of Acheron.

Review:

Ember is the first book in the Ember series, which deals with Candra - a teenage girl who has her entire world turned upside down when she learns that she is a Nephilim, the offspring of an angel and a human. There are many things that Candra must learn along with her new identity, and it's up to her to decide how things are going to end for all those involved.

There are plenty of paranormal young adult novels out recently that deal with angels and fallen angels. This novel has an interesting take on the mythology of angels, especially by adding in the fascinating myth of Nephilim. I thought the storyline was fresh and pretty unique for the genre. The story itself was well written with a fast pace, which made it a fun and easy read that I sped through in a few hours. The characters are well rounded with their own haunted pasts and difficult choices that must be made. I thought these characteristics made them all the more realistic and easy to identify with. I liked the romance that develops in the book - it was a sweet story of first love and I thought it fit nicely with the narrative. I will be looking forward to reading the next book in the series and I recommend this to lovers of YA paranormal fiction with angels.



Author Bio:
Carol Oates has never been one to remain still for long. After her mother’s mad dash to the hospital through the empty city streets of Dublin, Ireland, Carol made her debut into the world in the early hours of Christmas morning. Since then her pace has not slowed down in the least.
Carol was introduced to the world of supernatural books when, as a child, her family moved to a coastal suburb of north Dublin known as Clontarf; famous as the birthplace of Bram Stoker, the prolific author responsible for breathing life into the legendary story of “Dracula.” This stirred in Carol an early passion for reading about all things supernatural. When that passion was combined with a deep interest in the history and folklore of Ireland, as well as an active and vivid imagination, Carol Oates, the author, was born. Carol’s love of writing about anything not entirely “human" emerged.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 comments:

  1. Awesome review, Steph. It's always nice when an author has a fresh take on a genre that's very popular.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This book has every thing I love in a book, the review was insightful and I will now purchase this book
    vera28546 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete