Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 372pgs

The Story

London, 1881

Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help but being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

The Review

FIRELIGHT is the debut novel written by Kristen Callihan and she enters the book world with such an explosive start to first adult paranormal series which was wonderfully crossed between a historical and a gothic romance with a little naughty twist to the story of Beauty and the Beast, and my oh my it was quite the little gem this debut novel was. I don't know exactly why I adored this book so much - whether it was because of the shrouded mystery that was happening throughout the storyline or it was because I loved reading about this strong female lead whom I was very, very happy with - but all you need to know right now is that this book is awesome and I, Erin, owner of this wonderful little book review blog, command you to go and read it . . . in the nicest possible way of course!

Miranda Ellis and Lord Archer first meet when Miranda is nineteen-years-old. Intending to kill her father, Lord Archer encounters Miranda being surrounded by a group of men and immediately he's captured by her and her beauty. But once these two people meet and have an awkward introduction to one another, there isn't a day that goes by where Lord Archer cannot forget this beautiful, fiery, red-headed young woman. So when several years later pass between them, Miranda is informed by her penniless father that she is to marry a man named Lord Archer and despite her opinion of him, she instead marries him. But behind the mask he wears, there are many dark secrets surrounding her new husband and Miranda will do almost anything to find out what those secrets are . . . even if she ends up falling hopelessly in love with him in the process.

Miranda Rose Ellis was a highly-spirited young woman with a fiery secret, but for a very long time she has managed to keep her secrets well hidden and I admired that quality about her so, so much. Her secretive, mysterious side that is. Miranda in all honesty was a favourite character of mine from the get-go. From the first page, in the exact moment when I was introduced to her, I knew Miranda - even the younger version of herself - was going to be a mighty fighter in the future and just like I suspected, she continued to be this fiery personality throughout the entire book, one of whom continued to fight for those she loves the most. Now I don't know what it is exactly that I love most about her, but there was just something magical and addictive about her character and the way she was portrayed. I admit, she was certainly one of the most passionate female characters I've ever read about. At least in a long while yet. I just loved her - what can I say?

The same mushy feelings passes along to her new and highly seductive husband, Lord Archer, whom was the beast we all wanted to tame. When you read this book . . . you will know what I mean. His mask and his whole demure alone had this Phantom-of-the-Opera-esque way about him and this author had really got my curiosity going, especially since Archer is such a stubborn character but he's also the most complexed one as well. Straight off there was such depth in his character arc when I met him in the beginning and I loved him wholeheartedly for attracting my attention non-stop - whether it was his emotions, his intellect, his honor, his respect or his simple love of Miranda . . . just everything about him was perfect. No matter the mystery and no matter the darkness swarming over him. Readers . . . you're going to eat your heart out with this man!

Overall, I would highly recommend Kristen Callihan's FIRELIGHT book to lovers of the dark historical and paranormal romance kind. With the book very well-written, descriptive in every scene, action-packed and every bit as romantic as one would expect it to be, I can see many readers enjoying - and not to mention adoring - this book and I'm eagerly looking forward to reading more from this awesome author!

The Rating5/5 stars