Phoenix Burn (From The Ashes Trilogy Book 1)
by Karina Espinosa
My review of Advanced Reader copy.
Phoenix Burn (Ashes Trilogy Book 1)
by Karina Espinosa
The girl’s night out, ended for Camila on a lonely roof top
garage when a man with a gun shot and killed her. When she later awoke in a
pool of her own blood with the bullet lying on the ground next to her, she knew
she had to disappear if she wanted to stay alive and keep her family safe.
Six months later she
has a new name, Octavia, and fake ID while working at Nightcrawlers, a club. Laying
low, trying to find who wanted her dead was her main goal in life, that and
trying not to break her neck in the stiletto heels she wore. The patrons at the
club were usually drunk, and loud. Asked to work the VIP room, one night, was
better until one of the elite seemed to take an instant dislike to her, sending
her back downstairs. She managed to avoid him until, the night that several
huge men came barging in, and began trashing the joint. Trying to reach an exit,
one of the men cut her off. As she lashed out to hit him, he morphed into a
monster that slashed his claws across her stomach.
Here we go again.
This time she woke up in a bed, dressed in a t-shirt, not
hers, and a bandage on her stomach. The penthouse apartment was modern, chic,
and expensive. But the man in the kitchen was Tristan, the guy, from the VIP
room. Why was she here and who was he? It didn’t take long to find out. She had
been caught in the middle of a dispute between vampires and shifters, those who
morphed into a variety of animals. Nightcrawlers was a club for the vamps and
the brutes that had trashed the place and injured her were shifters.
When the Killian, the Alpha of the shifters, came after her,
expecting to claim her as part of their pack, Tristan offered him a deal.
Octavia for a truce between them. Realizing she had only been used as a pawn
between the two groups. Octavia lit up, literally
when they began to argue over her. She burst into flames, as the legendary
Phoenix materialized behind her. As soon as Tristian saw what she had become,
the deal was off. What was she? Why was she suddenly so important to both the Vampires
and Shifters? And she still didn’t know who wanted her dead and why?
Something or someone new has been added to the cast of
horror characters when the Phoenix rises. In this first book of the trilogy
Phoenix Burn by Karina Espinosa, readers learn some of the history of these vastly
different beings. After so many centuries Tristan, leader of the Vampires, has
become colder more distant, caring only for his own kind. Maverick is
gregarious and flirtatious, while Echo is a police officer, smart, tough, and
friendly. Each with a distinct personally beyond their bloodless state. In
spite of himself Tristan is drawn to Octavia and finds himself wanting to help
her and possibly more.
Killian, Alpha of
the shifters, is about family. When a human is bitten, they become a shifter,
so it is important to locate them quickly to help them transition and become
part of the larger pack. The packs live
in the more wilderness areas. When the packs gather it becomes a homespun party
of rough house games, pranks, good food and warm. There is a history between
the Shifters and Phoenix, but that isn’t the only reason Killian is interested
in Octavia, he is drawn to her. But not all of the shifters feel so warmly towards
her.
The characters are a rich part of this story, they had me
laughing, crying and wanting to strangle someone. I quickly began to care about them, so
different and yet each had developed personalities that fall in with the
characteristics of their beings and with different lifestyles that suit them. The
storyline draws, in part, on the history between the Vampires and Shifters, while
the Phoenix may be a bit of an enigma for some and will be an intriguing
addition to the story. To round out the tale there is a murderer on the loose
and mysteries to solve, heartbreak, death, ancient hatreds, romance and
adventure.
In the end I felt like I was sitting in the old movie theatre
on a Saturday watching a chapter serial that leaves me hanging: the hero has
gone over the cliff! Now I will have to wait to see if they will live or die! Thankfully,
Karina Espinosa has taken pity on us, as the sequel appears to be set for
release on October 16, 2020.
