Author: Trish Wolfe
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Synopsis:
It’s the year 2040, and sixteen-year-old Dez Harkly is one of the last of her kind—part of a nearly extinct race of shape-shifters descended from guardians to the Egyptian pharaohs. Her home and her secret are threatened when the Council lowers the barrier, allowing the enemy race to enter the Shythe haven.
As the Narcolym airships approach, Dez and her friends rebel against their Council and secretly train for battle. Not only is Dez wary of war and her growing affection for her best friend Jace, but she fears the change her birthday will bring. When Dez’s newfound power rockets out of control, it’s a Narcolym who could change her fate... if she can trust him.
Dez’s guarded world crumbles when she discovers why the Narcos have really come to Haven Falls, and she's forced to choose between the race who raised her and the enemy she's feared her whole life.
Review:
By the first paragraph I was hooked onto this fantasy/romance/steampunk-type book and by the end of the chapter, I could hardly take my eyes off it's pages. If you've read the book, then you know why. The book takes off in the middle of an action-y scene that leads you to meet three of the most interesting characters in the book (Jace, Lana, Nick). Honestly, it was the first chapter that set the books pace; it kept moving along at a constant rate from then on, running headlong from one amazing scene to another with out rushing and lack of detail. That's one of the best things, really; the author knew how to give the right amount of buildup in the plot to justify her story from beginning to end.
But despite the amazing story line and everything I LOVED about this book, I clouldn't help but wish for a little more of a stronger... first impression... pretaining to the characters. Throughout the course of this book you end up knowing/loving/hating/wanting to slap the majority of the characters as you go but when they were first introduced, it was too much of a BAM! here they are. I would have liked it to have a little bit more of an intro so I could get a firmer grasp on the vision certain characters were made to create. What I'm trying to say is that first impressions were only so-so but as the book went, you got a clearer picture of what you hould have seen in the beginning. Wow. I'm trying to put my thoughts into words while making it make sense...but it's not working well so I'm moving on. :)
Dez is different in more ways then one. The most obvious to everyone is her lack of preference for the more "girly" clothing in their time. She dislikes the skirts and corsets her best friend is always pushing at her. To me, this shows that her character doesn't give care much of what others may think of her and I respect that in her. Anyway, the less obvious complication/difference in her is the fact that she doesn't fit in her own race of Kythan Guardians, the Shythe. Not to mention she's the outcome of a "failed" experiment between the Shythe and the Narcolym (two races of Kythan that have been at war for a long time).
Jace... ahh... famous Shadowhunter he is not. But he is one kick a** Shythe with a knack for fighting and being constantly moody. To me, the thing that make him who he is is how extreme he gets about everything, be it their fighting club, his hate towards the Narcolyn or his need to keep his siblings and Dez safe. At the beginning I was seriously rooting for Jace and Dez, I mean they obviously liked each other and had been friends for there entire lives... not to mention the fact that Jace is totally smoking ;)
Reese was raised as a Narcolym (the enemy of the Shythe race) and ends up more or less pushing his way into Dez's life. Of course, being the "evil" race of the Kythan, Dez and her triplet friends don't like or trust him. At least... not untill he catches Dez's interest.
Lana is that best friend who is always joking and pushing you to do things you normally wouldn't. Let's face it, everyone has one of those and we all love them to pieces. Anyway, Lana is extreme in a completely different way then her brother. For her, everything she does, she gives 100%. She can the silliest person in the world or the most serious. Honestly, without her, the book would have been not necessarily dull but it would have been definitely not as exciting and moving as it was.
To me the most responsible and levelheaded of Dez's friends (and the triplets) is Nick. I honestly there was a bit more of him in the book because while he was in the book, he was mostly a presence in the background.
Now that you have the lowdown on someone the more main characters, I'll move on.
To me, everything past the climax of the book was the most exciting parts of the book. But, if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the ending.
The ending had the most drama and the most action then nearly any other part in the book. You discover so much about certain characters and one side of the Kythan races. As I read it, I literally stayed up all night and felt both nocturnal and sleep deprived for three days afterward. Now, I am counting down the days until the release of the next book of the Kythan Guardians series. I am eager for more of Reese, Jace, Dez and I can't wait to see what will happen between the Shythe and the Narcolym in the next book.
Destiny's Fire has the perfect amount of action, love, conflict and plain awesomeness to keep the reader enthralled until the very end and then begging for the next book the second they turn that last page. For this reason and countless others you can only understand if you've read the book, I give this book a sincere rating of an A. Recommended for paranormal romance lovers and people who like steampunk-type books. Oh, and anyone following this blog tour around the internet, will probably like it, too. :)
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