Review: Ashes Reborn

Ashes Reborn by Keri Arthur
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Must read book filled with action, heartbreak and tough choices. Emberly is back in the 4th book in this series. This can not be read as a standalone. Read the books in the order to understand what has happened as these books build upon one another.

The life of a phoenix is hard as there are no happy endings. There is just a constant cycle of not meeting the right person at the right time. In addition, the complication of needing more than one lover hurts Emberly to no end. This no win situation with her love life carries over into her work life. Even though Emberly has done everything she can to help the Paranormal Investigations Team and wants out of the crazy vampires, she is still stuck. Someone has it in for her and her lovers. Is it Rinaldo? Who is really the villain behind the curtain? Ms. Arthur's writing style tends to give readers red herrings for the real villain. And sometimes, it is hard to tell if a character is a villain or just an anti-hero. Ms. Arthur does love her anti-heroes and trusted friends who become betrayers. It makes a reader wonder if Ms. Arthur has suffered through betrayal from someone close to her. It is a recurring theme in all her series. I digress.

This fast moving story also contains delicious sexual tension. Emberly's continued attraction and sexual interludes with Jackson are guilt free and arousing. Emberly's strained relationship with Sam is still unresolved and becomes more tense in this one. Clearly Sam wants to make some sort of amends and Emberly isn't willing to listen. I get it. He broke her heart and then shacks up with a bloody beyotch. Talk about totally settling from second best. It makes a reader wonder if Emberly will ever get her happily ever after. Especially as Ms. Arthur is known of killing off characters and giving bittersweet endings. Maybe Emberly will be the first to come through unscathed. She is a phoenix who can handle fire.

The plot in this story does move forward and yet it brings about more questions. It also allows Emberly to build more allies as well as make more enemies. The complexity of the characters and the plot make this story rich in layers. I revel in the details and the little hints Ms. Arthur drops throughout the book. This urban fantasy is highly recommended to readers who want a complex story with complicated characters and even more complicated love lives.

*provided by NetGalley