Book Review: Girls On Fire Box Set

Crushed on by Kelly BookCrushin, on June 22, 2014, in New Releases, Reviews / 1 Comment

Book Review: Girls On Fire Box Set

BookCrushin is excited to help spread the word for this awesome compilation of 10 award-winning, critically acclaimed YA authors that brought together 10 amazing heroines in the GIRLS ON FIRE boxed set. I will be reviewing two of the stories within the box set. Please add this box set to your goodreads & be sure to pick it up for only $0.99!

Girls On Fire

Category: Young Adult, Paranormal, Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance
Publication: June 16th, 2014; Dauntless
Purchase: Amazon

[book rating=5.0/5.0]

WITCH FALL – Amber Argyle
High Fantasy

Supreme in their dominion over seasons, storms, and sea, the witches have forgotten the unmatched destructiveness of mankind. And among the weapons men seek are the magical songs of the witches. Born of witches but raised among their enemies, Lilette searches for a way to heal the rift between mankind and the witches. But it may be too late to save either. For if there is one thing Lilette has come to know for certain, it’s that all things fall.

ETERNAL STARLING – Angela Corbett
Paranormal Romance

For centuries, Alex Night and Emil Stone have yearned for Evie Starling. When both men claim to be her soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that she’s not the person she thought she was, and her soul is about to become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war.

AWAKENING – Christy Dorrity
Fantasy

When an ancient curse threatens McKayla McCleery’s family, she must decide what in her life is real and what is fantasy. Based in Celtic mythology, Awakening is a gripping young adult fantasy that is rife with magic, romance, and mystery.

INEVITABLE – Tamara Hart Heiner
Suspense

Visions of death plague Jayne, who thinks watching her sister die is the worst that could happen to her. But when she witnesses a murder, Jayne realizes that the next death she sees might be her own.

WATCHED – Cindy M. Hogan
Romantic Suspense

Change. She longed for it.

A murder. She will never be the same.

THE FORGOTTEN ONES – Laura Howard
Fantasy

ELEMENTAL HUNGER – Elana Johnson
Futuristic Fantasy

Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Kilpatrick can shoot fire from her hands, which would be great if she didn’t get blamed for a blazing inferno that kills 17 schoolmates. Gabby will have to learn who she can trust, how to control her own power, and most of all, how to lead a Council of Elementals, most of whom have more control over their power than she does. If she can’t, she’ll find herself just like those 17 schoolmates: burned and six feet under.

THE FAERIE GUARDIAN – Rachel Morgan
Fantasy

Kickbutt faerie Violet is about to graduate as the top guardian trainee of her class, but when an assignment goes wrong and the human boy she’s meant to be protecting follows her back into the fae realm, a dangerous plot is set in motion.

PERCEPTION – Lee Strauss
Dystopian/Romance

Eternal Life is to Die For.

A spoiled genetically altered girl needs the help of a jaded “natural” boy to find her missing brother.

INTRINSICAL – Lani Woodland
Paranormal

The gene that allows the women in Yara’s family to see and communicate with spirits seems to have passed her over. Until the night she rescues a local hottie from an attacking ghost. Her act of heroism attracts the attention of the evil spirit, and she finds herself entrenched in the middle of a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening her own life as well as that of her friends.

Spoiler-Free Review:

I read two of the novels included in the Girls On Fire box set and I will give brief spoiler-free reviews of each and my overall thoughts on the box set!

I started with Inevitable by Tamara Hart Heiner. The description grabbed my attention and it was one of the few books included that I haven’t heard of before so I thought that was a good place to start! Plus it was categorized as suspense and I don’t read enough of those books so I thought it would be original, at least to me. It’s also a bit paranormal but YA suspense is the way I would categorize it as well.

Inevitable was a thrilling suspenseful read. Once I started I couldn’t put the story down. My biggest complaint was that it was too short. I wanted more. I wanted the secondary characters more developed & I wanted more from our heroine, Jayne too. As for a YA this story is perfect, it has a fresh perspective on having it all in High School. Jayne is pretty, smart, has cool parents and no lack of interested boys. She just can’t keep a job or a crush because her special ability, ‘Seeing’ people’s awful deaths, kinda puts a damper on a social life, especially working with the public or trying to date. Jayne can’t tell anyone, because when she does everyone just thinks she’s crazy and it never seems to do anyone any good. Jayne grows leaps and bounds as a character, there are consequences for her actions and I wanted her to conquer her fears and start living her life for her. To take the upper hand and stop fearing her curse/gift.

Inevitable is a 4 heart read and highly enjoyable. I liked the spin on her gift and I loved the characters! Hoping for more to come from Jayne!

I have had The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard on my TBR list for way too long. I have no reasons for not reading it sooner and I am glad it was included in this box set, because I finally dove in and was enthralled!

This is the story of 21yo Allison, who if I am being honest, is a little too stick-in-the-mud stuffy for my tastes. Maybe I am just too selfish, but Allison thinks she’s doing the right thing by choosing to have no life, in order to take on the care of her schizophrenic mother. It bothered me that she felt she could have nothing for herself especially when her grandparents seem to be raising her right, to be responsible and to have a life/future of her own.

Then Allison’s life is flipped around when her father, whom she’s never met, shows up with stories about the Tuatha de Danaan (the Fae), and that her mother & her are in danger. With that Allison turns into a strong-willed, risk taker in order to try to make things right for the ones she loves. She will do whatever it takes to help her family and that is when the heroine we are expecting delivers.

The story is beautifully written and I may have mixed up characters and had to re-read to make sure I was following correctly, but then again, I was reading with distractions, but I couldn’t put the book down! Then it ended…not with a cliffhanger, but with an ending that promises so much more and lucky for us, book 2, The Stone of Destiny is available now!

The Forgotten Ones is a 4 heart read and I love all things fae! Can’t wait to see where book 2 takes us. Book 1 is Upper YA suitable, nothing too mature.

Now since I rated both books I read at 4 hearts, I am sure you’re wondering why I rated the box set at 5 hearts? Well it’s because I love the idea of packaging 10 kick-butt YA heroines into 1 collection, and you cannot beat the price! I would have paid $0.99 for each of the two books I read in the collection so far, so honestly you are getting a great deal in price plus these books are actually really, really GOOD! Both I read were wonderfully written, well edited, with smart plots and of course kick-butt leading ladies! There are a variety of genres included so even if you read one paranormal, you then can switch it up to dystopian or suspense! Even if you read one or two of these books already, there are a bunch more to read at that stellar price of $0.99! I plan on reading all of the books in the collection, maybe even on a nice sunny beach!

[book rating=5.0/5.0] The eARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review.