Great plot and characters! Definitely a page turner. Note: I received an ARC in exchange of an honest and unbiased review.

Great book, love this author and how they can keep my attention to the end! The plot is well developed, characters are believable and they obviously paid attention to detail to make the story worth your time to read.

My rating is 3.5 / 5 Stars.

The main character Sage is thrust into a world of mythological beings and fairy tales in this fun urban fantasy.

I'm stuck on my opinion about this one. I enjoyed it. I read into the late hours of the night, but at the same time, I didn't think it was fantastic. I can only describe it as an addictive story. I just kept reading and I can only theories that it was because of the plot. The concept was not new, but the plot was exciting and had me coming back for more.

There were some funny moments. Most of them born out of extremely awkward encounters. Like Sage angrily saying something about being a virgin just to find a bunch of 'royals' standing directly behind her.
I highlighted one quote that I thought was hilarious (no offense):
"You don't have even the simplest grasp of history or literature. What sort of education did you get?"
"An American one."

Sage is funny in an awkward "I don't know what I'm doing" way. When realistic dreams start terrifying her, she realizes there is much more happening around her than she realized. Few people will tell her what is happening and the world around her is confusing. The way the story started had me doing a double-take. Our main character is homeless, waiting for leftover food outside a diner. Sexy right? I knew that there had to be an aspect of romance in it. I mean, what paranormal, urban fantasy have you read with no romance? But I did not expect that beginning.
So when Sage gets a little drunk at a party and weird things start to happen, like she burns a man and an iron collar is put on her, she is pretty confused. The confusion only gets worse in the first few chapters. No one explains anything to her and it frustrated me to no end.
I appreciated Sage's sassiness. She is stubborn and defiant. However, her character irritated me a lot. Being thrust into a new world is definitely confusing but she is confused and she fights her integration for most of the book and I just wanted to shout at her to get over it.

The other character, Faelan, is a handsome Irish man. He is stoic and stubborn and basically similar to most characters we would expect to find in this kind of book. He has an interesting story and it was fun to put the puzzle pieces of his past together.

Then we have the Dark Prince, Kieran. The character who I would have loved to see so much more of. In my opinion, he is the most interesting out of everyone and he was genuinely the only character I loved. I'm a sucker for the morally grey, broody, 'she's mine', secretly good under all the bad characters. So Kieran was my weak spot. He has a great part to play in the story.

There was one other character that I LOVED. Lailoken is the eccentric, completely crazy, really clever old man who lives in the middle of the forest in a tree. As I said, he is crazy but his crazy is actually just his clever mind working to tell everyone what they need to know. But of course, they don't listen to wise old crazy man because what would he know?

There was a lot of mythological influence and I really loved that about this story. I think overall the only thing that bought this story down for me were all the characters except Kieran and Lailoken. Which is disappointing since characters are always my favorite part of a story. The plot was brilliantly done, executed well and full of just the right amount of tension. There was a sort of dual narrative as we follow Sage in the present and we see her older sister in the past. Sometimes the past would drag and slow down the pace unnecessarily. However, I did enjoy some of the moments we got to glimpse from the past.

The ending was fantastic. I didn't love most of the characters but the ending left me wanting to read the sequel simply because it alluded to the fact that we are going to get A LOT more Kieran time in book 2.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very fast reader for me as it is one of those books where you keep turning the pages late into the night to find out what’s going to happen. I definitely recommend this one.

A completely different genre from my usual reads. I enjoyed the story very much. I liked Sage and her brave actions.
I loved delving into the fantasy world and am looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks to Netgalley and Rachel Marks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’d sought out Fire and Bone after having read a previous book by Rachael Marks: Darkness Brutal. For those who enjoy fantasy, folklore, paranormal or young adult novels, this is the book for you. Rachael has a way with words and her descriptive writing puts the reader into the scene as if watching a movie. Fire and Bone takes the reader along with Sage, who is initially confused, wary and resistant to the hidden world of demigods, pixies, selkies and more with emphasis on the creatures from Irish folklore. I do enjoy a bit of Irish Folklore/Celtic mythology (Song of the Sea, etc).
At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of this story. I don’t typically enjoy the fantasy genre. But the characters she introduced were engaging, some likable, others…not so much. A perfect mix. I initially took to Faelan with his no-nonsense attitude. And after reading 3/4s of the way through or so the action really picked up. I can tell when this happens because though I’m typically a slow reader, my reading speed increased and before I realized it, I was at the end.
While I might have said I’m “Team Faelen”, by the end I realized that nah…I’m more like “Team Keiran”. Gosh, what does that say about me? LOL I wholeheartedly agreed with his take on Sage’s choice. So I expect great things from this character in the next book.
You got that, Rachael?! 🙂
If you like fantasy, vampires, fairies, selkies and sooo many other creatures, you’ll enjoy it. Or if you like a good action fantasy young adult novel (that’s a mouthful) you’ll want to snatch up a copy. The story comes complete with a love triangle and plenty of teen angst (it’s a requirement for YA, ok??) with very little adulting. You do not want to miss this book. Sit by the fire and make s’mores. It’s perfect for summer reading.

I wanted to love this, and for the more part I did, but I struggled with the heroine at times. While I loved the plot and setting, and even the characters, I felt the main character managed to get herself into trouble more often than necessary. Maybe it was just me, but I felt like she should have been able to think her way out of danger at least some of the time, no? Anyway I loved the Celtic lore enough to keep reading, and ended up really enjoying the story.

I received a copy from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: Confession time: I've been meaning to write this review for ages *hangs head in shame* so before I'm sent to blogger jail I thought it was about time I posted this...

An unexpected invitation turns Sage from homeless teen to key player *ahem* pawn in a supernatural war. Sage went from the care system to finding herself living on the streets. It's a huge surprise to discover that supernatural beings are real and that she's the daughter of a Celtic Goddess.

As the daughter of a deity, Sage is expected to join a house. Think Hogwarts houses meets Divergent factions. The different houses scheme and manipulate to get their way. I loved all the backstabbing and drama. Sage has trouble trying to find her way without allowing herself to be manipulated by pretty much everyone. She discovers that it's really difficult to fight fate...

I loved the Celtic mythology Marks seamlessly incorporates into the story. It was a joy to read about the druid politics and supernatural hierarchy.

The romance: triangle warning!!! Keiran, the Raven King - oh the drama!

The action really picks up as the story progresses then builds to a crescendo with one heck of a cliffy ending.

3.5 Stars in my Sky!

I am a total geek for anything Celtic, so this book was totally up my alley! I savored it from the beginning until the very exciting end! Anytime I come across an author who can successfully disguise a retelling of a god/goddess anecdote in modern times, I go completely fangirl and buy up all their work! Well done Rachel Marks! You have earned a lifetime fan and I totally look forward to reading all of your other novels!
On just a normally crappy day of dumpster diving for her own survival, LA street rat Sage has a chance encounter of the preordained kind! Talk about having your world turned upside down! Sage discovers that there are beings called Otherworlders and that she has been living lie. Not only is she one of them herself, but she is descendant of a Celtic Goddess.
Sage soon finds that everyone is vying for her join their houses and are not below bestowing hefty gifts upon her to reach that end! She must decide where she belongs and who to trust because each of the 5 houses could potentially make the right fit for her.
Fire and Bone is like a fantastic grown-up version of Percy Jackson and I was elated to read it! Rachel Marks set up the perfect new realm to explore with just enough romance to bind it all together! She clearly did her research into the mythological aspects of the book and laid out the base story in perfect clarity by the mid-way mark of the book.
I absolutely adore a book that has witty banter, sarcasm in spades, and can make me literally laugh out loud! This book delivered a check for each of those statements!
Sage only wants to find a safe place for and Ziggy. I loved that she questioned everything and everyone’s motives when her reality changed. I hate when books have MC’s making “insta” connections and all is happy and well. Through the betrayals and bumbling her way through an unknown world, Sage keeps her fire within and does not accept defeat! She is my new favorite MC!
Faelan and Sage’s relationship, I use that term loosely, reminds me of Rose and Dimitri from Vampire Academy. He is older (way older in Faelin’s case), wiser, and has more field experience. Sage gets under his skin and as much as they want to deny it, there are sparks flying! I cannot wait to see where their relationship goes in book 2!
Even if the book did not end with a huge Cliff Hanger (AHH!! Are you kidding me!!!???) I would still be down to read the next installment of this series because it is going somewhere fast! In the meantime, I am going to devour all of the Dark Cycle series and hope that states my thirst until we see what book 2 has in store!

4. I thought this was an interesting twist on mythology. I love mythology stories but it is very seldom Celtic myths and legends. Sage was an interesting character to me, I enjoyed reading along with her as she discovers more about herself and who she really is. Follow as she discovers the world of the known and the unknown. Thank you for allowing me to read this and write about it.

FIRE AND BONE is a refreshing addition to the Urban Fantasy genre. Greek and Roman mythology have been way over done, Norse mythology is starting to get to that point, but there are so few stories about Celtic mythology out there. FIRE AND BONE does a great job weaving the Celtic mythos into an excellent story.

I love diving into new series, but I’m always wary of the dreaded info dump. There weren’t any in FIRE AND BONE! Rachel Marks has created a rich world and great characters all built around Celtic mythos without having pages and pages of info dumps. All the information about the world is provided beautifully and seamlessly.

My biggest complaint with FIRE AND BONE is the love triangle. Not a fan of love triangle stories in the slightest. However, the synopsis made it very clear there was a love triangle so I knew what I was getting into and didn’t let that get in the way of a great story. Sage also handles the love triangle well. She doesn't spend every waking moment moping over which boy to chose. She worries about her real problems, while any relationship is clearly secondary. The end of FIRE AND BONE had a great plot twist, but it’s going to make the love triangle even worse for the future books in the Otherborn series.

FIRE AND BONE is an amazing book that I highly recommend. I listened to the whole book in a day and I wish I could already move on to the next book in the Otherborn series. The mix of Celtic mythology and a beautifully built world with great characters were definitely spawn a great series.

The concept of the book sounded interesting and a little unusual but I never developed a great interest in it. The characters seemed a little one-dimensional and bland. I think perhaps the book is better suited to a younger reader.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I haven’t seen Gossip Girl but have read snippets of the Percy Jackson series and have thoroughly enjoyed the world, so this one intrigued me. However, it wasn’t quite what I had envisaged. For starters, the romance features more than I had expected from reading the blurb – and as the story wore on, I realised there was the dreaded love triangle. I am not a fan of this dynamic, but I will say that Marks manages to make it seem a lot less sleazy than is often the case, as the extra character’s involvement is far more to do with what happened in the distant past.

It did take me a while to fully bond with Sage as she is continually plagued with visions and dreams which have the effect of swamping her rather chippy character, after she works through the clueless phase when she is struggling to work out exactly what is happening to her. There is a dark, tragic underbelly to this story that the blurb hasn’t highlighted and it isn’t our hapless protagonist navigating the social shark-tank of demi-god high society that I had envisaged – but the desperate story of a maddened Celtic queen who slays her king that eventually snagged me.

Given I was expecting something quite different – was what I got sufficiently engrossing to hook me anyway? Oh yes. There are some surprising plot twists in this story, particularly towards the end where the pace picks up and the stakes become a lot higher which had me reading into the early hours to discover what happened.

Be warned though – while a couple of the story elements are sorted out, this book ends on an almighty cliff-hanger. I’m hoping, therefore, that the second book is due to be released without too much delay as I would really like to know what happens next to Sage.
8/10

I’m a humongous fan of urban fantasy, but I’ve found a lot of young adult UF lacking. There’s only so many Twilight clones a person can read, you know? Luckily, this was a refreshing new entry, based on the Celtic pantheon with an interesting magic system.

“No one looks at me with openness or even curiosity; it’s all cunning and manipulation. I recognize it immediately, the all-too- familiar search for a weakness.
In the foster homes, a lot of the adults or older kids would look at me that way: What can I get out of you? What can you give to me?
I was a means to an end, a monthly check, a possible hit, a potential lay. Never just Sage.
And here I am again, a thing.”


I liked Sage. While she was street-smart and cynical, she also had a deep kind streak and a general unwillingness to take any BS from anyone, freaky Celtic demigod or not. I liked how down-to-earth she was, and how she coped with basically finding out that her whole life was a lie, with a bit of humor. She does have a bit of that “most special ever!!!” thing going on, but since Sage is so level-headed, it comes across more of another problem for her to deal with and another thing that sets her apart.

And, of course, what’s UF without a bit of romance? There’s a secondary romance threaded through the latter half of the book that quite lovely, and it’s not til the very end that we find out how Sage and the couple in her dreams are tied together. Sage’s romance triangle, unfortunately, didn’t work as well for me. While I liked one of the love interests, and the other came to grow on me, I didn’t feel either particularly understood Sage – it felt more like her romantic options were the guys she was stuck with rather than ones who actually deserved her. I did, however, appreciate that there was no insta-love, but rather the relationships that develop are more slow-burn.

“’I mean, she’s an alfar, for Danu’s sake, right?’ she asks me, as if I know what she’s talking about. ‘Who wants to suck face with a girl that tastes like a kale cleanse? I don’t know how Faelan did it all those years. Blech.’
I start to wonder if I’ve really entered a world of gods and goddesses or a live broadcast of TMZ.”


The secondary characters were fun. Though Aelia got seriously annoying at times, I got a serious kick out of a spoiled Valley Girl druid priestess. I wished there was more of Ziggy, since the little we did see I liked. The world building was excellent. I liked the idea of the various houses based on the different Celtic gods and goddesses descended from the goddess Danu, and the way the different castes of magic worked. Because Sage is the daughter of Brighid, she starts out at the house of Brighid. But, in a few short weeks, she’ll be able to choose to swear allegiance to any of the five houses.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a ton, and I’m looking forward to the next in the series! While the story doesn’t end on a cliff-hanger, there’s enough plot threads left hanging and new information that promise for a very exciting next book. Highly recommended if you’re looking for some YA urban fantasy!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I gave it 3.5 stars

Although it took me a little bit to get into the story, FIRE AND BONE ended up being entertaining.

I almost gave up on FIRE AND BONE when I first started reading, but decided to keep going. I ended up enjoying the world, the mythology and the characters. Sage had a lot of mystery to her. She doesn't know much about herself and we learn about it along with her. I will admit that a lot of things were confusing until more was explained—which could be frustrating—but I' glad I stuck with it.

I can't say the romance was my favorite part of FIRE AND BONE. It isn't heavy on romance, but the romance that does take place happens to be a triangle. Ugh a triangle. As with most triangles, I like one and don't care for the other.

With slow reveals, interesting characters and a unique storyline, FIRE AND BONE was a great start to a new urban fantasy series.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sage had always had a thing for fires. Ziggy and Sage had known each other three months and were homeless on the streets of LA. Star was the daughter of the owner of Granola Grounds when ever she worked she put the food that was to be tossed in a resealable bag and often added things like water for Ziggy and Sage. Tonight there was a party Star was going to and she talked the girls into going. Sage had agreed as she was promised a shower and it had been awhile since she had one and Ziggy agreed for food. Sage had taken to the streets rather than be in a group transition home. Her last social worker had labeled Sage as difficult to place. Sage had run away from her last foster home as she wasn’t going to be anyone punching bag anymore. Sage felt she was broken maybe because at age ten she was taken from her mother for good. She had been in numerous foster homes and went to her head because there sneers and fists could be ignored. Sage liked to read. She had become the master of conflict avoidance Her default mode was leave if things got tense. Sage made it on her own now. Once at the house the party was to be at Sage asked Star about the shower and she told her where to go to take one. Sage got some clean clothes from a drawer and fell to sleep. When Sage wakes up three guys are staring at her and the Star comes in and makes them leave and gives Sage a drink. It turned out the drink was drugged and when Sage comes out she is drawn to ben and touches his arm and her touch burns him.Sage learns she is a demigoddess and her mother was the goddess of fire. Faelon- who is a grumpy hunter- comes for Sage and becomes her protector and mentor. Faelon takes her a magical city under the streets of LA. Sage learns she must choose one out of five houses . The houses are each based on one of the elements,- and she must serve one.The houses will do almost do anything for Sage to serve them. There is also Keiran who is dark.dangerous and mysterious. There is now a love triangle with Faelon, Sage , and Keiran.
I enjoyed this book. I liked the plot and rapid pace. I liked how the characters interacted with each other. This was confusing at times especially at first but I wanted to know what happened to Sage as she got her powers and everything else so kept reading. I laughed at times while reading this book. I didn’t really care for the going back and forth in the book but that is usual for me. I especially loved the twists in this book. This had a little of everything: a hidden magical city under LA. spells, magic, five houses, pixies, demigods, druids, goddesses, vampires,intrigue, some romance, powers, and so much more. I loved the characters and the twists and turns of this story and I recommend.

Fire and Bone is the first installment in author Rachel Marks Otherborn series. 18-year old Sage has spent an enormous amount of time on the streets of Los Angeles scrambling to keep herself fed and safe while running away from foster homes. Sage loves books with legends, & Gods, & cursed Kings, & castles. After being invited to a party where there is supposed to be plenty of food, Sage wakes to the reality that she has stepped into another world that has apparently been there the entire time.

A world where she is a half human demigoddess and the second daughter of the Goddess Brighid. Oh, and her origin powers are ready to burst lose now that she is 18. She must train alongside a hunter named Faelan for her emergence, where she will pick one of the five houses each based off one of the elements: fire (Brighid), water (Lyr), earth (Cernunnos), air (Arwen), and spirit (Morrigan). Sage is a character who goes from being completely and totally out of her element, to growing leaps and bounds as she discovers more about herself, the world that is forever linked to, and what she is meant to do.

This isn't just Sage's story. The author actually alternatives between Sage, and Faelan, while also tossing in the Dark Prince of the House of Morrigan,Kieran, who makes Sage's life more than interesting. Reader also should know that the author taunts you with the backstory of Sage's sister, Queen Lily. It is fair to say that I didn't much connect with Lily at all. While the author does her best to make you understand why you should care about Lily, it is Sage who is growing into someone you can stand alongside.

Faelan is a curious sort of character. He's dark, dangerous, mysterious, and alluring. He is the hunter who is chosen to protect and train Sage for her Emergence. He is supposed to stand by her side while enemies try to kill or lure her to their way of thinking with expensive gifts. Faelan and Sage's story is a twisted one because of her bravado, sass, and lacking of education when it comes to the mythology for which she was born into, but abandoned to live as a human. One could say that there is a twisted sort of love triangle. Sage is pulled in the direction of both Faelan and Kieran who has more secrets to shake a stick at. Is Kieran an ally, a nemesis, a possible lover, or just a hurdle for Sage's happy ending?

**4.5 Stars**
Review on https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Sage is most interested in getting a shower and finding a safe space to spend the night for her and her friend Ziggy, so in an uncharacteristic act, she agrees to go to a Halloween party if it means being safe for a night. But after falling asleep in a strange bed, Sage wakes up and realizes that something is not right. A drink made by a friend ends up taking away all her worries- that is until she ends up draining the life from the guy she was dancing with, a guy who was not human at all. But, Sage might not be human herself, and the world she is thrust into may be more dangerous than even her... and everything may burn.

It's like I won a weekend at a five-star resort. With deadly creatures and mayhem, but still...It's pretty close.

I am always looking for new urban fantasy books to escape into and I was excited when Fire and Bone crossed my radar- I loved the cover with the bright color choices as well as the synopsis caught my attention. I was going to read this, it was only a matter of when- luckily my friend Sarah over at the Clever Reader website offered me a copy to review. Well, I am so glad that I could read this right now, especially since I am on an urban fantasy kick- and keep in mind that I read a LOT of Urban Fantasy (it's my favorite!). I was really happy with what I discovered beneath the gorgeous cover of Fire and Bone- an equally developed, complicated and unique world unlike anything I have delved into before. The book was roughly 450 pages but only cover a few days time, so the pages were so full of action, descriptions of the world and magical creatures (from vampires, pixies, ghouls, selkies, Demigods, Goddesses, wraiths, druids...) that sprung from Danu the goddess, mythology and legends that the world builds on, as well as fleshed out characters. There is a little bit of something for everyone wrapped up in this book.

The story alternates narration between Sage and Faelan, the person assigned to train and protect Sage while she transitions to her new life. I really enjoyed how Rachel was able to give them very different personalities and voices throughout the boom. Sage is cynical and wary of accepting help due to her past, knows nothing about this world she apparently belongs to, and is basically a pawn who is bumbling her way to understanding. But yet, inside her she has the fire and heat that could make people bow down to her, so we will have to see how she wants to play her cards. Faelan on the other hand is centuries old, stoic, controlled and uncompromising- basically an incredibly attractive badass who marches to his own strict code. Sage and Faelan butt heads left and right, yet it makes me wonder if the sparks (ha, a Sage related pun!) are a sign of what is building between the two of them.

Occasionally, we were able to see through another characters eyes, such as the mysterious Kieran, who I thought was a great, complicated character and I kind of rooted for him- but I usually like the bad guys and he basically killed Sage within the first 30% of the book, but nobody is perfect. And my favorite character is Aelin (who is actually a side character), the Druid who appears to be a flighty, superficial, self-centered character but really has depth and heart and a really entertaining personality that made me laugh with her over the top antics. She is totally underrated in their world and I hope she gets a chance to show what she is capable of later.

This was my first book by Rachel A. Marks but it won't be my last- I can't wait to read the Dark Cycle series while I am waiting for the next installment of Sage's story- because let me tell you, this was just the beginning and the ending of the book caused just as many questions as it answered. Sage is just learning who she is and what she is capable of, as well as the underlying darkness that is motivating the plans against her (ok, I will admit that the twists that happened right at the ending filled me with rage that I can't pick up the next book right this minute, but I will try to cope and fill the hole in my heart that waiting for more Demigod mayhem caused- yes I am overly dramatic). Overall I really enjoyed this story and all the twists and turns the plot took as well as the dynamics between the characters. I highly recommend this YA- Urban fantasy crossover for anyone looking for something different.

I read this book to review.

OMG, This book was sooooo good. It was my first book by Rachel A. Marks and I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. This book was a perfect YA urban fantasy read that left me wanting for more. I enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed ACOTAR. It was a very entertaining UF read that has so many magical beings like  demigods, shades, wraiths, druids, vampires, selkies, Pixies, fae etc. I really loved all the aspects of this book. The characters were very intriguing, the magic was interesting, and the plot was engaging through out. This is really a great start for a new series and I want more of it.

Sage is an eighteen year old orphan who lives on the streets of L.A and struggles to survive everyday. Her whole world changes when she and her friend gets invited to a Halloween party but she wasn't aware that it was a trap set for her. She was suddenly thrusted into otherworld that she never knew existed. What makes it even worse is that she was one of them, a celtic demi god that has a power of fire. She was captured and taken to one of the lavish mansions at the uptown L.A. Sage wants to escape from her captors but she has no choice because she has this new power that could turn deadly and dangerous to others if it wasn't controlled properly. She was asked to pledge her service to one of the five deities, the house of Brighid. She was assigned to a new broody bodyguard who harbors so many secrets. She was pursued by a dark handsome prince who thinks that she belongs to him. With so many trying to win her favor, Sage doesn't know whom to trust but in the end, she has to make a decision that'll change her whole fate. 

Sage is a strong protagonist and I really loved her character in this book. She's rebellious, sassy, and fun. I enjoyed her character growth throughout the novel. At the beginning she was very confused and also a bit naive about the other world and the Celtic mythology, but as the story progresses, she slowly becomes confident and strong as she gets familiar with everything and slowly gets control of her powers. Faelan, Sage's broody and grumpy bodyguard was a swoon worthy character. This guy has an interesting back story. He is a bounty hunter and reluctantly becomes Sage's mentor. I quite enjoyed the relationship between Sage and Faelan. It was a slow burn romance and I pretty much enjoyed the chemistry between them. I'm totally shipping them! On the other hand, we have dark raven prince, Kieran. I liked his fun and dark personality. I actually hated him at the beginning because of what he does at his first appearance, but slowly he grew on me. Now I'm pretty much confused to whom to root for. As for the secondary characters, I liked Sage's friend Ziggy. I'm pretty mad for what she has done but still I hope to see more of her. I also liked Lailoken, wizard of the wood. He's an old wise monk that turned a bit crazy with time. I didn't liked Marius's daughter Aelia, she's such a spoiled brat and very cunning.

The plot was interesting, mysterious, and engaging through out. I loved the unique elements in the book which makes it different from the other typical YA Urban fantasy reads. From the beginning to the end, I was hooked to the plot. The mystery of the Raven King and Queen Lily in the plot made the story even more interesting. It took some time for me to understand all the Celtic mythology and how everyone is connected to the story. The pacing was good and there were some interesting twists in the plot that I didn't see coming. The writing was addictive and I enjoyed the dual POV(first person). The whole setting was pretty good. I liked how the author mixed the modern world of LA with the magical otherworld and the Celtic mythology. There are actually five powerful  houses that controls the otherworld and all of them are based off by their elemental powers.  Lyr (water), Arwen(darkness), Cerunnunos (earth), Brighid (fire), Morrigan (Spirit). They're all the descendants of Danu, ancient celtic goddess.

Overall, I loved this book!  It was a very entertaining read filled with magic, mythology, political intrigue, action, mystery, and a dash of romance. It's not a total perfection but I absolutely enjoyed it and that's what matters to me most. The book concludes with a surprising twist which left me wanting for more and I really can't wait to read the next book.

While I have run across Celtic lore in Urban Fantasy, it's not all that common, so that combined with my love of the genre made me eager to read this one. Unfortunately, that eager attitude didn't last long. The story started out well enough and the premise is great, but the execution of that premise was not so great. World building is an important aspect of UF and there is quite a lot of that here, but at times it tends to get bogged down in the details. The author was so overly descriptive that I was tempted to skim more often than not throughout this lengthy tale. Setting aside the fact that many of them are more like vampires than gods or demigods, the characters are a hodge podge of developed and interesting to not so much of either. Speaking of characters, our heroine, and I use that term loosely, is not very likable or interesting. She has an intriguing affinity for fire, but she proves over and over that she isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. She's kidnapped and thrown into a world full of things she doesn't understand, but she just seems to go with the flow and manages to get herself into situations where someone has to come to the rescue. Unfortunately, Sage isn't the only female in this story that with negative traits. The story is geared toward teens and young adults, but in a day when strong female characters are so needed, I would have a hard time recommending this one to any teen. There is some action and even a handful of interesting characters, but in the end, there were just too many negatives to make me want to read more about this world.