Monday, August 12, 2013

Review of "Trial by Fire" by Margarita Gakis‏


Trial by Fire - Covencraft Book One
Margarita Gakis


Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Publisher: Fable Press

Date of Publication:  6/25/2013

Number of pages: 325
Word Count:  84,000

Book Description:

Jade leads a structured life:
Routine job.
Caffeine addiction.
No serious relationships.
And now, she can spontaneously set things on fire with her mind.

Well... perhaps “normal” was never in the cards for her. As she questions her own sanity and spirals out of control, a man appears on her doorstep and tells her that, like him, she’s a witch.

Pulled in all directions, her unbridled magic draws dangerous attention and Jade wonders if she’s made the worst mistake of her life by joining a coven, or if she’ll even live long enough to regret it.

World building: The Coven world building was very interesting and I enjoyed Miss Gakis' rendition of Coven life. I love to read about witches so this story I found very intriguing with the ability for the heroine, an untrained witch, born outside of a coven to set things on fire. I liked the world of covets that was created in Book One of this series.

Characters: I immediately liked the heroine, Jade, from the very beginning. She is strong, independent and I love her quirks, which make her very real, such as her caffeine addiction. Her snark is fresh and not over the top. There wasn't a lot of backstory presented in the opening chapters, which I loved as I looked forward to figuring out the reasons for Jade's attitude and her background. I also enjoyed the hero, Paris almost as much as Jade.

Fresh Factor: As mentioned earlier in this review, I found this story fresh. I liked the world that was created and I found that the characters were people that I could root for. Jade is a typical Urban Fantasy heroine with her spunk and snark, but Miss Gakis' writing voice created a freshness that I found very appealing.

Overall: I don't have much to criticize. The beginning with Paris and Callie was a little slower, but it presented the necessary background information and setup the events of bringing Jade back to their coven. The writing was solid, not too description and I enjoyed the switch with point of views. I enjoyed the story and will be looking for Book Two.

About the Author:

Margarita loves the art, creativity and romanticism of storytelling. Sometimes, however, the act of putting pen to paper proves challenging, elusive. She develops genuine, relatable characters which grow in the hearts of her readers. From that foundation, the stories flourish into a warm friend.

She enjoys pursuits which blur the lines between the analytical and creative sides of her brain. This includes her day job in electronic data management, where she uses her creativity to solve logical problems, and also her lessons learning to play the cello, where she finds beauty in the structure of music and the instrument. She believes there is a place for both logic and imagination to work together. When they do, the results are magical.

Margarita has a special spot in her heart for dogs and lives with three of them. It can be a little overwhelming but the quality snuggle time makes up for it.

Margarita lives in Calgary, Alberta with her family.

http://margaritagakis.wordpress.com

Twitter:  @margaritagakis

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/CovencraftSeries

Rafflecopter Giveaway!!! Five copies of Trial by Fire!!!

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