Firebirds

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Firebirds in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start out by saying that A.J. Ryan is a phenomenal writer. This book felt like she was sitting right next to me, telling me this story. I'm not even part of Gen X and I felt the nostalgic atmosphere seeping through the pages.

That being said, I don't think the aspect of Angela's life focused on here necessitated this story. I was expecting a hard hitting look at teenage issues but everything seemed to take a backdrop to one specific relationship pretty much off the bat. It was a lot of "We had sex" (vague narration to inform us classes and life are still happening) "then we had sex again" (more vague narration) "then we had sex again". This is not a 'sex in books? Gross!' review (if anyone tries to make that point it's wildly invalid. Nothing explicit or graphic happens in this) and I would have the same take if sex was replaced with anything else. This book's first half just felt boring and repetitive.

It does build up momentum again at the end but this just wasn't the book for me.

Firebirds is an interesting read. It's got a hugely relatable plot that will strike a chord with many readers. It just feels slightly confused, it's not got enough depth to fit in to women fiction, and it' doesn't quite fit in to being a YA, It's like it's stuck in the middle,

As a Gen Xer, I was really excited to read this book. Described as a “colorful, romantic, and tragic story [that] deftly weaves serious topics like high school bullying, attempted suicide, and young widowhood with the excitement of first lust, the discovery of muscle cars, and a decades-old mystery into a nostalgic tapestry that will appeal to any woman born into Generation X.”

Firebird is a true coming-of-age story told through the eyes of small town, ‘80s high school student, Angela. It is a mix of high school drama, first loves, fast cars, and ‘80s music. While it is part women’s fiction and part YA, I think it is best suited for Gen Xers, who will relish in being transported back to days gone by.

Although it was a quick read, the story, at times, meandered, and I found myself losing interest in the story and characters. For that, I gave Firebird 3.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley for the providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Firebirds is a true coming of age story and perfect for Gen Xers, who will love being transported back to the 80s and the days gone by. This was phenomenally written, I’m not part of Gen X myself but even I could feel the nostalgia bursting out of the pages.

However I was expecting a hard hitting look at the issues teenagers can go through, but the majority of the story seemed to focus on one specific relationship right from the start, and the beginning half of the book did begin to feel quite repetitive after a while. Despite this I thoroughly enjoyed the second half.

The other part of the book which I found a little confusing is the genre, it doesn’t quite fit into YA but also doesn’t go into enough depth to fit into Women’s Fiction.

All in all I enjoyed this book and feel it addresses issues that a lot of readers can relate to.

I received a free electronic ARC of this memoir/romantic novel on July 21, 2020, from Netgalley, A. J. Ryan, and the publisher, BookBaby. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Firebirds was a very interesting read, and I can happily recommend this work to friends and family.

Firebirds will have a special appeal to lovers of muscle cars and those who remember the angst and uncertainty of high school love affairs in the 1980s, especially in small towns. Taking place in a wide spot in the road in Oregon mountains where timber is the Employment God, I found the descriptive passages of this lovely country enough to make me wish for a road trip, and I am also grateful that the twenty years between my mid-1960s highschool days and Angelia's saved me from some of this soul searching and bitterness. Not all the tension and animosity, unfortunately, and my children were 1990's high schoolers in a small rice farming community in Texas. Scary even as we lived through it. In retrospect, it could have been a lot worse... And a lot more sexually explicit...
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this was a really interesting read, I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and the world that was built. It was a great start to a series.

I was surprised at the depth of the story and mystery, I won't give it away, but wow I had no idea what was coming! Great descriptive scenes. You can actually live it right along with Angela! The sights, sounds of 80's music and rumbling exhaust, that old muscle car smell, and the rollercoaster of emotion is spot on