Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer

Release Date: 12th July, 2011

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 528pgs

The Story

Meridian Sozu is a Fenestra - a human-angel link between the dying and the beyond. It is her calling to help souls safely make the transition into the afterlife. Though she appears human to the living, she is the light that the dying see as they prepare to leave this world. But she and all Fenestras are threatened by the Aternocti, dark forces who snatch souls from the Light and suck them into the void of Evil, causing chaos.

At Meridian's side, Tens Valdes, her Soul Mate and destined Protector, must learn his responsibilities not only to Meridian but also to the humans who need them. Still mourning their beloved Auntie - the woman who taught them everything they know - Meridian and Tens have hit the road seeking another Fenestra. Their search leads them from Colorado to Indiana, to a dilapidated facility called Dunklebarger that houses foster children and the dyying elderly, as well as a corrupt system set up by the Aternocti to find young Fenestras.

Dunklebarger is the only home Juliet remembers. Surrounded by death and illness, she struggles to make a loving home for the youngest kids and to protect them from the violent whims of the headmistress. As she nears her sixteen birthday, Juliet's light and her will to escape weaken with each passing day . . . and she feels a seductive pull toward the dying, whose sickness seems to infect her, forcing her closer to the end . . .

Will Juliet hang on long enough for Meridian and Tens to find her? Or will the Aternocti that lurk in the very house Juliet calls home to get to her first?

The Review

I loved Amber Kizer's debut novel Meridian and now after a few years fans will finally get to read the much anticipated sequel WILDCAT FIREFLIES. When this book landed on my doorstep, I was pretty much over the moon with excitement and had this buzzing feel when I held the book with my two hands. I've been waiting for this book - soooooooooooooo bloody long - to come and now that I finished it, I thought I would be dancing by now. Unfortunately for me and unfortunately for my love of Meridian, this book wasn't all I hoped it would be.

Before I get into that, I was looking forward to meeting back up with Meridian and Tens, whom from the first book, were really strong and well-minded characters. Not only that but I was looking forward to getting back into the creative mythology Kizer created. Sadly I didn't like Meridian and Tens in this sequel. The characters I knew back then to the characters I know now have changed. Meridian turned into a paranoid teenage girl with too many irrational thoughts - and was a little immature at times - whereas Tens, whom I absolutely loved from the first book, changed into a guy that well . . . let's just say he's not the guy I knew him to be from Meridian. But the huge disappointment for me was Juliet, another Fenestra character you're introduced to and this time round - inbetween Meridian's point-of-view - we get chapters through Juliet's eyes. Which I wasn't a fan of as I didn't care about her nor did I want to read her POV. I skimmed most of her POV. I wanted everything Meridian.

Another pet peeve of mine was the ending. The ending. Sigh. When we finally get our bad guy out into the open, readers will rejoice and ask for a showdown of some sort to occur and to create a spark of tension. Sadly you'll be disappointed. The whole plot get's swept under a rug and the bad guy is defeated but not the way you imagined. This certain someone is scared off in the matter of one paragraph. Not exactly what I wanted. Not at all what I wanted. I've heard there's another two more books in this series, so it'll be interesting what Kizer will do next with the story. Anyway, the positive thing about WILDCAT FIREFLIES is that Amber Kizer still manages to create a dark story, and she does that really well much like she did in Meridian. She doesn't shy away from anything which I love her for as an author and I also still loved the chemistry she put into Meridian and Tens. For me, it was the only real excitement in the book. The hot and almost sex scenes. Though I do admit they were a little verbose for my liking and I recommend this for older teens. But nonetheless they were hot, hot, HOT and I was surprise by these scenes happening so quickly. But I wanted more of them. *smirks*

Okay, so where does this leave us? If you're a fan of Meridian like myself, then be sure to check out this book as you will want to continue the series and to see what happens to Meridian and her hottie protector/boyfriend Tens. I like the bones of the story and while I didn't love it as much as I loved Meridian I still highly recommend this series!

The Rating

3/5 stars