Monday, May 4, 2015

Flying Sparks (Kindling Flames #2) by Julie Wetzel Review

Hey readers! Happy Monday! I've got an awesome review for you guys to start out your week. You all know how much I love paranormal reads, but did you guys know that vampire stories were some of my favorites? I've been a big fan of this author for a long time now, but I've never even read any of her works! Boy was I in for a surprise! What book are we raving about this time? Kindling Flames: Flying Sparks, the second novel in Julie Wetzel's acclaimed Kindling Flames series!





When Vicky becomes the target of a serial arsonist plaguing the city, Darien calls on the supernatural community to help. Pulling the creatures of the night together to cooperate on any project is troublesome at the best of times. The fact that the one responsible for the city’s woes is a being of fire and magic leads the reluctant groups to a truce that makes Vicky start to think that her job might be a bit more than one normal human can handle.

This is the second book in The Ancient Fire Series
This is part two. The original book was divided due to length.







Julie Wetzel


Originally from Ohio, Julie always dreamed of a job in science. Either shooting for the stars or delving into the mysteries of volcanoes. But, life never leads where you expect. In 2007, she moved to Mississippi to be with her significant other. 

Now a mother of a hyperactive red headed boy, what time she’s not chasing down dirty socks and unsticking toys from the ceiling is spent crafting worlds readers can get lost it. Julie is a self-proclaimed bibliophile and lover of big words. She likes hiking, frogs, interesting earrings, and a plethora of other fun things. 


FIND JULIE WETZEL

*****
My Thoughts:

As you may have noticed in the synopsis, Flying Sparks is the second part of the first book in this novel. It was split into two parts due to length. As you can imagine, the story doesn't slow down much and picks up right where Wetzel left us at the end of Gathering Tinder, hunting down the arsonist threatening the city!

After Vicky's apartment is decimated in the aftermath of a vicious attack, it's up to Darien and the rest of the supernatural community to come together to find the deadly arsonist.

Whereas part one really focused more on the world building for this series, part two really introduces to the rest of the world. It is in this part we become more acquainted with the Council of the Vampires, the local wolf pack, and the kingdom of the fae who all live together on the mortal plane. Well... Not really. Fae are complicated. Anyway.

When it comes to the characters we see a lot more character development between Vicky and Darien. Vicky is trying to come to terms with the new knowledge of the supernatural world's existence while Darien fights his feelings for his assistant. With the inclusion of the Hellhound, Zak, into the mix, our duo of characters are now an unstoppable trio.

Part two, in terms of plot, focuses primarily on Darien gathering the supernatural community on a hunt to track down Vicky's attacker, who has been terrorizing the city. After centuries of fighting, pulling everyone together for a sing cause isn't going to be easy, but if anyone can do it, it's Master Darien Ritter, the eldest and wisest of the Vampires.

Surprisingly Vicky takes all of her newfound knowledge in the greatest way possible and just goes with it instead of fighting it. It was such a change of pace to read a character who says "Okay, this is real. Now what?" instead of spending hundreds of pages denying the existence of the supernatural community. Just leave more time for fun.

And fun we have! In true Julie Wetzel fashion, we don't see a moment of downtime in this action packed second installment. Another fast-paced, emotionally gripping story that will not leave its' readers disappointed in any capacity. I'm only disappointed that I cannot go back and read it again. That being said, this is definitely a series in the true meaning of the word, you must read these books in order or you will not be able to follow along. Wetzel doesn't spend a whole lot of time backtracking and keeps her story moving until the final pages.

I think one of my favorite parts about Flying Sparks was the incredible setting Wetzel created. From Darien's immaculate penthouse to the Kingdom of the Fae, the mind's eye will never be bored creating these remarkable images. It's a true testament to the talent of Wetzel to say that I can close my eyes and envision this entire series on the silver screen. The writing is so vivid and the characters so well-defined that any reader can appreciate the love Wetzel has put into this work.

It is with great excitement that I grant Flying Sparks a well-deserved 5-star review. I don't have a negative thing to say about this series and cannot wait for more. All of you vampire lovers out there definitely do not want to miss this series. If you've been looking for your next favorite series, look no farther, Julie Wetzel is your savior!
*****

Click the cover below to read my 5-star review of 
Gathering Tinder (Kindling Flames #1)



Alright folks, that's all I have for you on the topic of Flying Sparks by Julie Wetzel. As you can see, I kind of fell in love with this series. It's not one you are going to want to miss out on. Head over and pick up your copy now. Also, head over to Julie's social media pages and give her a shout out, tell her Ethan sent ya! She doesn't bite, I promise! Until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan

1 comment:

  1. It's nice to hear when someone likes what I do. Thank you, Ethan!

    ReplyDelete