Monday, September 8, 2014

Review: Firebug

FIREBUG
Firebug #1
Lish McBride
Paranormal Young Adult
336 pages
Henry Holt and Co.
Available September 23rd
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Ava can start fires with her mind . . . but is it a blessing or a curse?

Ava is a firebug—she can start fires with her mind. Which would all be well and good if she weren't caught in a deadly contract with the Coterie, a magical mafia. She's one of their main hit men . . . and she doesn't like it one bit. Not least because her mother's death was ordered by Venus—who is now her boss.

When Venus asks Ava to kill a family friend, Ava rebels. She knows very well that you can't say no to the Coterie and expect to get away with it, though, so she and her friends hit the road, trying desperately to think of a way out of the mess they find themselves in. Preferably keeping the murder to a minimum.


MY THOUGHTS
Firebug is a bit of an unexpected story, one that has us fully prepared for events on the darker and grittier side thanks the mention of mafia hit men, contracts and a murdered mother in the synopsis, and while all of the aforementioned play a major part in this tale, they’re woven in between a healthy dose of humor and snark. As a result, Ava’s battle with the Coterie exists in what one might call a label limbo, funny enough to have us laughing out loud on a number of occasions, but also more than serious enough that words like “cute” and “fun” don’t entirely fit. Our inability to affix appropriate adjectives to this story, however, in no way means it’s disappointing, instead the opposite is actually true and Firebug proves itself to be hugely entertaining from beginning to end.

Characters with an extraordinarily dry wit and healthy appreciation for sarcasm tend to be fairly polarizing in terms of readers, that type of humor difficult to pull off without the benefit of facial expressions or tone of voice to really sell it. As a result, many a reader can often be put off when snark is done poorly or grossly exaggerated for effect, but Ms. McBride has created in Ava someone whose humor translates beautifully, her lightning fast comebacks and hilarious banter with best friends Lock and Ezra keeping a smile on our faces throughout.

In addition to being adorably and endearingly sarcastic, Ava also proves herself to be a young woman who is not rendered mute when a cute boy suddenly morphs from sweet and charming to a spectacular douchebag, opening her mouth to let him know his behavior will neither stand unaddressed nor be allowed to continue if he wants to remain in her good graces. She calls things as she sees them, hoping for the best in people but refusing to strap blinders to her face when their true nature rears its ugly head, and there are innumerable times when we want nothing more than to hug her for being true to herself without compromise.

There’s a very mild romance in this first installment, or what might be better described as the potential for romance, but it remains solidly in the background as an element we can’t wait to see explored further as the series continues. The battle against the Coterie remains firmly in the spotlight, reminding us again and again just how serious Ava’s circumstances are when her humor has the tendency to make us forget. Though Firebug is the first of this series, we’re thankfully given a complete story arc–no awful cliffhanger or stunning revelation waiting to sucker punch us on the last page, only a door cracked open for us to slide through when it comes time for the release of book two.

Rating: 4/5
 

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

39 comments:

  1. Aw man I never downloaded this one although I was super tempted to! You have me thinking I should have now. Great review Jenny!

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    1. I think you'd really enjoy it Ali! It was a really entertaining read:)

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  2. well at least there is no cliffie ;)

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    1. YES! I could have hugged this book for that alone:)

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  3. I took a look at that cover and immediately thought it was a fantasy, but a book about the mafia? I'm intrigued!
    Also yay for snark done well. I completely agree with you. If wit is not written well, it can come across as condescending and rude. I'm going to have to take a deeper look at this book, Jenny! :)
    Gorgeous review!

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    1. As is probably obvious, I'm a little partial to a sarcastic sense of humor, but it's so tricky to pull off in written form. Lish does it really well, and I just adored Ava:)

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  4. I actually hadn't heard of this one until now, Jenny, but I love books involving murder and hit men. I also really like the sound of Ava due to her honesty and humour. Thanks for the recommendation; I'll be adding this one to my wishlist :)

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    1. YAY! Glad I could put this one on your radar Z!

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  5. I love the dark and gritty sound to Firebug and the humor and sarcasm the reader gets through Ave. Plus, the Mafia right?! Wonderful review Jenny :)

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  6. OK, I think I need to go steal this back from my coblogger. You had me a gritty. I love darker books, so I'm bummed I passed this to Gabrielle to review!

    I need ALL THE BOOKS, JENNY.

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    1. I was expecting gritty and it was that in parts for sure, but it also had a lot of humor as well which I really liked. Hope you get to steal this back from Gabrielle ;-)

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  7. You mean she meets a cute boy and she still has the ability to speak in coherent sentences? Oh wow, I must meet this Ava!
    I adore Lish McBride's sense of humor. Her necromancer books were just hilarious and I have no doubt I'll enjoy this one as well.

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    1. RIGHT?!!! I loved her so much. When this boy's attitude started to change she was all "what is your problem?" instead of getting really introverted and wondering what she did wrong to cause the change. She knew it wasn't her and she didn't let him get away with it:)

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  8. Ava's humor sounds fantastic! And I'm so glad to hear that there isn't a cliffhanger - I love it when books conclude. Leaving a reader hanging always feels like a cheap trick!

    Great review, Jenny! :D

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    1. I have to confess that I flipped to the back before starting this one just to make sure there wasn't a cliffie and I may have done a happy dance when I saw there wasn't:)

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  9. Oh this is the first time i'm hearing of this one but I already know me and Ava are going to be getting along just fine! Her humour is defintly going to be a selling point for me!Great review :)

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    1. I loved her humor Lily! She was an all around winner for me:)

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  10. Oooh I wondered about this one! I like the sound of the humor in this book and the fact that the heroine is able to hold her ground against a dumb boy. But I was previously going to hold off on this until sequels because of the slowness of the romance. I'm not sure it would be enough for me? And someone told me it ends sort of unresolved? But, I like that there isn't a cliffhanger and in a series, slow moving romance often works best for me. After your review, this book is definitely still on the table for me. I need to think more about it!

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    1. It does end unresolved, but Ava does not seem like the type of girl to get embroiled in a lot of drama, so I'm hopeful that the situation will get sorted out quickly and with the same honesty with which she approached everything in this book. I think you're safe reading this one even with the sequel being a year off Lauren, it's really angst-free!

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  11. If this one is anything like the Curseworker series by Holly Black, I'm going to love this one. I already adore Ava for her snark and sarcasm.Glad to know this one doesn't end on a huge cliffhanger. I've been meaning to pick something up by this author so I guess this is the book to start with.

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    1. I haven't read that series so I can't tell you how this one compares, only that I loved it:) Hope you try it Rummanah!

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  12. I really love her characters. Have you read her other series? They are GREAT! She really does the snarky character really well. I'm really hoping for more romance development quickly. Fingers crossed it's not dragged out too long!

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    1. I haven't, but they are definitely on my list now!!!!

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  13. Oh everything sounds great. I don't know why but it's the first time I hear about this one but now you intrigued me as well. I think I could like it.

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  14. I'm so STOKED to read this one I do like her writing. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I had a feeling there would be at least one snarktastic (it's a word...) character since Lish writes them well. I'm also so happy there isn't a cliffie here as well!

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    1. She does right snarktastic characters well Melissa, I was all about Ava in this book!

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  15. I have been wanting to read this author for awhile. I like that this is full of sarcasm, and that the romance is nothing more than a hint. I think I will enjoy this one.

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    1. I thought it was great Heidi, really different from anything I'd read prior to it, and it was just such a nice change of pace:)

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  16. Well, I'm super happy to hear you liked this one and that the book is not only full of action and a dark side, but also a lot of snark and humour!
    Great review as always, Jenny!

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  17. Lish McBride has a new book! I didn't know about this. What a fabulous review, Jenny! This is so exciting and I feel like I love Ava already. Plus, I'm the kind of reader who doesn't actually like the romance to take over the plot so this is definitely a plus for me. And no cliffhanger? Give this book to me now!

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    1. So many good things happening in this book Sarah! I loved that we got a complete story, but there's definitely room for more so the sequels won't feel like they're trying to hard to pull more story out of thin air:)

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  18. I liked this one more than I thought! I actually didn't realize it was a series (which is good because that shows it was a good ending to me). Loved Ava and her snark.

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    1. YES! I feel we would be friends with Ava in real life Mary:)

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  19. YES! I of course would have loved a little more romance, but I liked that the focus wasn't on that completely, and we got a complete story in this first installment which seems to be a YA rarity these days!

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  20. I don't know if I can take that much sarcasm. I prefer irony I think. Or when the personality is close to Magnus Bane's. ^^ Hmm, thought I do like the fact that the romance is mild. I will check it out, Jenny. Great review! :D

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  21. Thanks for this review Jenny. And no cliffhanger sounds like a win to me. I need to loving at the end.

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