Cursed by Fire (Blood & Magic #1)
by Danielle Annett
Rating: ★★1/2
Review Copy: ARC
Synopsis: 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.

REVIEW

Cursed by Fire is the start to an Urban Fantasy series in the vein of Kim Harrison, Ilona Andrews and the like. But I do mean that quite literally - it was a start, as in, this particular book raises many questions and answers none. It has a beginning, a middle, but no end, not even to the initial crime of the murdered boy, let alone any of the other mini mysteries raised during the rest of the read, which was a little frustrating.

It seems like an interesting world, similar to many other UF series with vamps, shifters, mages, etc. I did actually note a couple of things that were a little too similar, if you ask me. Like "Lyc-V" and "warrior form". I see those as belonging to Ilona Andrews' world only. Vampires & shifters? Sure, everyone can have their own version of those, but specific terms like that aren't up for grabs, so it irked me to see them here. Very naughty indeed.

Okay, so far I seem to have been very negative. Let me tell you what I did like: the main character, Ari, seems pretty badass. She can control fire and is proficient with a blade. Her relationship with shifter James has potential for growth and there's the whole thing about the woman in the green dress which has me intrigued.

In all honestly, I just feel like someone who knows this genre ought to have given it a read before it was published and told the author a), to remove those borrowed terms because they don't even add anything, and b), to give us at least one small conclusion to something. Anything.

All together, a very mixed bag resulting in 2.5 stars.