Wildefire: Triple Review

Author: Karsten Knight

Publishing date: July 26th, 2011
ARC recieved from:Simon & Schuster
Reviewer: All

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm. (Via Shelfari)

Megzarooni's review:

Romance, War, and Gods...oh my! Karsten Knight is sure to make a stunning debut with his eagerly anticipated novel Wildefire. The cover is gorgeous and the novel’s plot is just as appealing. When I read from the description that Wildefire was about a group of teenage gods and goddesses, I honestly started jumping for joy. I love mythology and Karsten’s concept of mixing our modern day society with the destructive powers of the gods is nothing short of enjoyable. His cast of intriguing characters are reincarnations of gods and goddesses from a variety of different cultures, which is a nice change from most of today’s novels. It’s not that I dislike Greek mythology, but it was refreshing to learn about gods and goddesses that I’ve either never heard about or knew little of. Although Karsten’s characters are gods and goddesses, they act like teenagers and believe me, because I’m a teen, when I tell you his depiction of how most of us act couldn’t have been more accurate. Ashline, his main character, and the others are the most comical, witty and mischievous group of teens I’ve had the pleasure of reading about in a YA novel to date. The story itself is amazingly well written and although the first few chapters start off a little slow; the rest of the novel makes up for it with hot romance, fast passed action scenes, and an ending that will blow your mind.

5/5 Broken alarm clocks

Kaependragon's review:

I’ll admit that I knew nothing about this novel until I had received it in the mail but I soon found it to be a pleasant surprise and I finished it within a few sit downs. I love Knight’s writing style! It was easy to get into and he created an environment that was believable. His clever and witty humour was evident throughout the novel and it kept me laughing! One of my favourite things about this novel is the mythology! I like how Knight included gods and goddesses from different cultures—Egyptian, Norse, Polynesian, and a few others! The relationships between characters had nice development and readers will discover why they do what they do and what happened to them in their pasts. It’s rare to come across a well written book that has an interesting plot, connectible characters and a romance that was a few degrees above smokin’! I can’t forget to mention that the tension and sense of danger enlaced in the pages was riveting and blunt to the point of shocking. I honestly cannot wait for the next book! I recommend this novel to anyone who’s looking for a new book that will keep you on the edge of your seat! You guys better be itchin’ for the release of this book because I can assure you, it was worth staying up in the middle of the night just to finish reading it! Prepare to be immersed in a world where no one is who they think they are and the people they love can change like the wind.

4/5 fireballs!

Brittknee's review:

Wildefire is truly a unique and wonderful story. Ashline, Karsten’s main character, definitely surprised me. At first I didn't feel very drawn to her in anyway; she didn't seem to connect well with me. But that surely changed. Ashline’s independence, loyalty and sense of humour lovingly grew on me. She is now one of my favourite characters, ever. The plot also didn't grab my attention right away, but that again surely changed. While reading the first few chapters I didn't feel as if I HAD to know what was going to happen next, but I was curious to see how the plot would develop. This coupled with Karsten’s writing style kept me reading, and I got to the point where I rarely put it down. Overall I surprisingly loved this novel, It’s truly is a wonderful read! I recommend it to anyone!

5/5 All nighters!

Covers to Gush Over (1)

This is a new weekly feature on the blog where the Literature Monsters will be talking about seven covers that they enjoy. Each week has its own theme and to start off week one the theme is spring flower(s)!

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Elizabeth’s book is the perfect one to kick off our new weekly feature and this week’s spring flower theme. The cover is amazing. I really like that they played with focal points. The sharpness of the model paired with the unfocused background make the cover look surreal and calming. The Sunflower adds a burst of colour, which is what originally attracted me to the cover. Sunflowers are my favorite and its position on the cover reminds me of the sun and how nice it feels to lie outside and feel the warmth of its rays on your body.

Kissed By An Angel by Elizabeth Chandler

I love Kissed By An Angel’s new cover. The black background makes the pink rose pop and the purple petal tips are a nice added touch. What really made this cover interesting, to me, are the falling petals. It seems as if a few of them were replaced with tiny feathers, which I find rather adorable.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Everything about this cover is appealing. The bright yellow eyes; the soft varying shades of purple; the glittery eye makeup; but the real attention getter is the lilies. Kaypendragon, who picked this cover as her contribution, described it best when she said: The contrast between the white of the calla lilies and the blood draws the eye to the cover. It also gives a subtle hint at the story inside and makes you think about what the bloody Calla lilies could symbolize.

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Smoke, when used right, has a magical way of looking astonishingly beautiful, which is why I love it so much. Well, you can imagine my delight when I saw Jennifer L. Armentrout’s cover of Half-Blood. The use of different shdes of purple is incredible and using smoke to create the Hibiscus flower, if I’m not mistaken, is such a unique idea. The best part about Jennifer’s cover is that it enchantingly harmonizes with Half-Blood’s prequel Daimon and its sequel Pure.

Wildefire by Karsten Knight

I just recently acquired Karsten’s book for review from Simon and Shuster and when I opened the package the first thought I had about the book was “This cover is gorgeous!” I love how in a sea of dark, almost colourless, flowers one is brightly lit and spewing smoke. It’s this kind of center burst of colour that really appeals to me. It’s eye-catching and the flowers look so real. When I first touched the cover I was almost expected the velvet feel of petals. The smoke also adds a stunning visual interest to the cover I realized as my eyes followed its winding path to the top of the page. Whoever designed Karsten’s cover has a new fan.

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

Brittknee is the one who suggested Awaken for the list and I totally agree with her choice. Katie’s cover is exquisite. I love the antique feel of the cover’s colours and Mason jar. The large pixels surrounding the jar are a great portrayal of the novels futuristic plot. I’m not quite sure what type the flowers within the jar are, but they look like Corn marigold. This type of flower is classified as a weed, but the Awaken cover makes them look captivating.

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Lauren’s cover for shine is amazing. The barren looking land in the background and the leafless tree really enhance the single blooming flower. The blue sky and pink flower coupled with the tan surroundings really complement each other. I think the whole thing looks rather poetic, like a painting someone created to give us glimpse of the struggle the main character in Shine has to go through.