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There is one True World, and then there are the four mirror worlds: fire, water, air, and stone. And each has a magic of its own…
In the Fire World, seventeen-year-old Leah is the illegitimate daughter of one of the realm’s most powerful lords. She’s hot-blooded—able to communicate with the tempestuous volcano gods. But she has another gift…the ability to Call her twin “Otherselves” on other worlds.
Holly resides in the Water World—our world. When she’s called by Leah from the Fire World, she nearly drowns. Suddenly the world Holly thought she knew is filled with secrets, magic…and deadly peril.
For a malevolent force seeks to destroy the mirror worlds. And as Leah and Holly are swept up in the tides of chaos and danger, they have only one choice to save the mirror worlds—to shatter every rule they’ve ever known…
4/5 Stars
***I received this eARC as a gift in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley & Entangled.
Through Fire and Sea is a multidimensional thrill ride. Worlds based on elements, traveling through mirrors, and meeting “otherselves” through the glass, Through Fire & Sea is a gripping epic that’s as refreshing as it is inventive.
PROS:
- The world-building is astounding. Everything is intricately plotted and flows seamlessly together. The diversity between worlds is genius. Details in abundance. You can picture everything from scenery to secondary characters. The worlds are drastically different, it almost feels as though you’re travelling through time. It’s adventurous, lively, and keeps you guessing from start to finish.
- There’s an interesting blend of creation myth, gods & goddesses, and science fiction. The volcanoes are temperamental and have distinct personalities. Personification at its finest. The link between elemental power and emotions is spell-binding. When the volcano mourns, lava flows and sulfur suffocates, when the sea weeps, waves rise to tsunami level. Just wow.
- Leah is a feisty, fiery beauty. She’s inquisitive, calculating, and emotional. She risks everything and puts lives on the line to save the world and at the same time, she’s got a beautiful, compassionate heart. Leah yearns for the affection of her father, the duke, but as a bastard she’s used as a pawn in a political game that leaves her emotions reeling. Leah struggles to balance what is right with pleasing her father. Leah is smart, she pushes through her insecurities to hone in on her skills and is pretty BA at everything she does. Leah embraces her hot-blooded nature and uses her elemental skills to battle the ultimate villain, a destroyer of worlds. Even though Leah has several reasons to give up, she pushes through and comes out stronger.
- Gideon and Leah are perfect together. Their interactions are natural and full of understanding. Leah tames his hysteria and Gideon calms her soul. It’s sweet and heartwarming watching their love grow.
- Holly feels a magnetic pull towards Ryan. Their connection is instantaneous and full of heat. Holly refuses to give up on Ryan despite everything they go through with Ryan’s rising stardom. Their relationship is imperfect and incredibly real (apart from the paranormal aspects).
- Qeturah is a force to be reckoned with, a serious villain. She’s consistently steps ahead of everyone and her end game is a mystery that is impossible to crack. Qeturah wants to wreak havoc on the universe and she makes a good job of it.
- THAT ENDING. I will be waiting not so patiently for the next book because holy hot mess. The world is in danger and those most equipped for saving it are in no position to do so.
CONS:
- Secondary characters were unlikable and fairly predictable. Both worlds had a snotty mean girl and absentee parents that were forgettable.
- Holly’s character lacked the development Leah’s had. Her likes and dislikes fell into the background for what was expected of her and how the world perceived her. I wondered what Holly wanted to be, her dreams and aspirations. It seemed everything was related to someone else’s desires or happiness.
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There is one True World, and then there are the four Mirror Worlds: Fire, Water, Air, and Stone.
Audrey and Dorotea are “otherselves”—twin copies of each other who live on different Mirror Worlds.
On Air, Audrey has the ability to communicate with wind spirits. As war looms, she’s torn between loyalty to her country and her feelings for a roguish phantom who may be a dangerous spy.
Blackouts and earthquakes threaten the few remaining humans on Stone, who have been forced to live underground. To save her injured sister, Dorotea breaks taboo and releases an imprisoned gargoyle. Brooding, sensitive Jasper makes her wonder if gargoyles aretruly traitors, as she’s always been told.
Unbeknownst to them, they both face the same enemy—an evil sorceress bent on shattering all the Mirror Worlds.
4/5 Stars
***I received this eARC as a gift in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley & Entangled Teen
READ THIS BOOK IF:
- You like strong female protagonists.
- You’re into world building.
- Books that span genres excite you.
Amid Wind and Stone is a brilliant continuation of the Otherselves series. At first, I was a little hesitant to dive in because I loved the first two girls in Through Fire and Sea so much but OMG was I surprised. The romance feels as fresh as the quirky storyline and creative as the characters.
PROS:
- Audrey.Man that little minx. I love her to pieces. She’s ballsy and a total feminist. She loathes the female expectations and pressures of her upper-class life. Think Victorian/Steampunk. If you’re a Jane Austen fan, forget about it, this girl is PERFECT for you. Audrey is brave, fierce; she doesn’t let anything get in the way of her passions and dreams. She gets in trouble, sneaks around, takes risks, and does what so many are scared to, she lives, fully and vibrantly. She jumps through the air and rides the wind, she dresses up as boys to join the military, I mean, seriously, what is not to love about her? On top of that, she is cheeky, funny, and full of heart.
- Phantom.Playful, flirty, forward, and oh-so-swoon-worthy. He’s an invisible knight in shining armor with questionable behavior and secrets. There’s something about him that’s dangerous and thrilling that will make you fall hard. The vulnerable side…is there anything sexier than a guy who opens up and puts his fears and heart on full display?
- Phantom and Audrey. Sweet, teasing, addictive flirtation. I wanted whole books on this relationship.
- Dorotea’s story is a little different but provocative, pervasive, and so relevant. Dorotea’s story is about indoctrination, the teachings of our parents, and how prejudice is spread without knowing the full story. Dorotea has powerful beliefs but they’re rooted in lies. This makes her mean sometimes and hardheaded. At first, it’s hard to get behind her, she seems needlessly cruel but once you understand her reasoning, it’s easy to see where that’s coming from. Underneath the prejudice is just a girl who loves beyond everything. She grows on you.
- Jasper.Holy hotness. Think Beauty and the Beast. The way he burrows through rock and transforms. Give me more of that. Jasper challenges Dorotea, makes her step outside herself and it’s like a revelation.
CONS:
- The climax was a bit of a letdown. For so long (if you’ve been eagerly anticipating revenge since book 1 like I have) we’ve waited for the reckoning, the moment when Qeturah would have to answer for her devious behavior and horrendous crimes and when it happens, it was abrupt and unsettling but something…I guess the processing by Leah and the others, wasn’t where it could have been to pack that emotional sucker punch.
- The feels weren’t as pronounced as in book 1. I didn’t have the same emotional connection to characters.
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What she can’t remember could ruin her life.
The Mirror Worlds are but dull reflections of the True World, where magic and technology blend together…
On the True World, Belinda Loring has known from childhood that she must Bond with the son of another noble First Family. Uniting the families ensures hers will hold onto its powerful position, and so she’s always pushed down the tender feelings she has for her best friend—gorgeous, steadfast Demian, who isn’t noble.
But when the ceremonial magic goes disastrously wrong, Belinda becomes a national disgrace. Scorned as Broken, she turns to Demian for help getting revenge on the man who ruined her: the radical Malachi.
But the seeds of Malachi’s murderous plans lie buried in Belinda’s past, in the dark days of her kidnapping—a period of which she has no memory. And Demian may hold the key to recovering all that she’s lost—and saving the worlds.
3.5/5 Stars
*** I received this eARC as a gift in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley & Entangled Teen
In Truth and Ashes is full of unexpected twists, complex relationships, and an epic fantasy world. With memorable characters, romance, and multiple worlds to keep you ensnared, it’s a magical and exhilarating read.
PROS:
- I love Leah and Gideon’s story arc. From the beginning, I was completed consumed by their ill-fated romance. It’s complex, dangerous, full of fire and respect and learning each other. And the adrenaline. It’s fantastic. When I saw Leah pop up in this book, I prayed she’s have a huge roll and she does. Her love story gets even more emotional and chaotic. My heart broke for her. You can feel every ounce of her sadness and desperation, her pain…it’s brutal and beautiful and OMG I needed them to be okay because if they weren’t there was no such thing as happy endings. That scene at the end, the last one with Leah, be still my little black heart because heavy, dreamy sigh. Whoever said they didn’t like long-winded, straight from the heart confessions, is full of it.
- Belinda is not at all what I expected. From the previous books I assumed she was this snobby, cold, robot of a girl, but that is so not the case. Her back story is epic and mysterious and terrifying. She struggles with fierce loyalty to her family and trusting her heart. She’s brave, takes huge risks, and will do anything to save the world. She’s a full on heroine who is far from perfect, takes a few hits, and makes terrible assumptions, but she definitely redeems herself.
- Demian and Belinda. It’s sweet, playful, and who doesn’t love a sexy artist who is dynamite with his hands? His past is dark, complicated, and full of secrets that make him both endearing and magnetic. And those kisses ❤
- The ending was shocking. I never saw it coming. I never expected it to end the way it did and it’s insanely creative the way it’s done.
CONS:
- If you hoping to see Holly, Audrey, and Dorotea, there parts are so fleeting and minimal that you almost forget they were there at all. I missed Audrey’s daredevil attitude and her saucy wit. I yearned for Dorotea’s heart and determination. I felt nostalgic and at a loss at some points without them. On the plus side, that means they were totally wonderful characters in the previous books and left a great impression, plus we finally got to see Belinda. On the minus side, it felt like the story was incomplete without them. As a final book (or what reads like one at least) I expected a more solid goodbye and it felt rushed to the conclusion.
- The fight seemed to go on forever because there were so many non-fights that dragged and were resolved in a too-simple fashion. Yes, people have elemental powers, but the struggle…until the last bit of the book (for Belinda and Demian) was a little soft.
Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads
Nicole Luiken wrote her first book at age 13 and never stopped.
She is the author of nine published books for young adults, including Violet Eyes and its sequels Silver Eyes and Angels Eyes, Frost, Unlocking the Doors, The Catalyst, Escape to the Overworld, Dreamfire and the sequel Dreamline. Through Fire & Sea, book one of Otherselves, and Amid Wind & Stone, book two of Otherselves, are her most recent releases. She also has an adult thriller, Running on Instinct, under the name N.M. Luiken and a fantasy romance series, Gate to Kandrith and Soul of Kandrith.
Nicole lives with her family in Edmonton, AB. It is physically impossible for her to go more than three days in a row without writing.
Nightmare
Fire World
Leah wept in her sleep. And dreamed:
She was a dragon, floating on an orange sea of molten rock. Far above her was a hole like an eye, the Volcano Lord Thunderhead’s caldera. At first, the heat felt pleasant, soaking away the lingering chill of death, but then it increased in intensity as the magma invaded every nerve and lit them each on fire. She screamed through her ruined throat and convulsed—
Leah bolted upright and found herself in the Aerie, the top room of Qeturah’s Tower. She must have fallen asleep on Gideon’s bed.
She was shaking, her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest. Her skin felt clammy. What a terrible, awful nightmare.
One whole side of the Aerie opened out onto a large natural stone balcony. Outside, the sun silhouetted Thunderhead’s steep-sided black cone against the red sky. Thin trails of lava trickled down his sides as he erupted again.
The Volcano Lord grieved for the loss of his son, just as Leah grieved.
Leah had met Gideon here in this very room. He’d been feverish, and she’d been spying for her father, Duke Ruben, trying to prove that the evil sorceress Qeturah had something to do with the dragon attacks on their valley. Only, by the time she found out Gideon shape-shifted into the dragon at night and his mother Qeturah used a magic amulet to control him, Leah had already fallen in love with Gideon, and turning him in had been unthinkable.
But in the end, she’d been unable to protect him from her father. Duke Ruben’s army had shot the dragon down with a huge crossbow, and Gideon had died. And his death had signaled the beginning of the end of Fire World.
Gideon’s father, Thunderhead, had erupted and killed Duke Ruben and three other dukes. Their deaths, in turn, had sent the Volcano Lords linked to them into a mindless fury, and they’d all exploded. Those not killed in the eruptions would likely starve in the next year, since falling ash had blighted all the crops.
And Leah could barely bring herself to care.
Gideon was dead. Duke Ruben, her father, whom she’d alternately feared and wanted to please, was dead. Likely so were Jehannah, her half-sister, and her mother, Beulah. Her childhood home was destroyed.
Leah had spent all her time since the cataclysm struggling to stop Qeturah. But now Qeturah was dead, too. And Leah had no purpose.
Oh, the war hadn’t ended: Qeturah had had a mentor named Malachi who had supported her. He was still out there, no doubt still scheming to shatter the other Mirror Worlds, but Leah had run out of energy to fight. Let someone else take him down, someone from the True World.
Malachi wasn’t her problem.
Leah would just stay here with her memories. Alone.
Only the thought of the nightmare returning kept her from sleeping the rest of the day away.
Other Stops on the Tour
January 2nd
For Love of Books4 – Spotlight Post
YA Book Madness – Review Book #3
January 3rd
RoloPoloBookBlog – Spotlight Post
January 4th
Queekie Girl Reads – Guest Post
January 5th
YaReads – Author Interview
Sizzling Hot Books – Review Book #1
January 6th
The Book Beacon – Review Book #3
Pearls Cast Before A McPig – Spotlight Post
January 7th
Just One More Chapter – Spotlight Post
January 8th
Roxy’s Book Reviews – Spotlight Post
January 9th
Mythical Books – Author Interview
The Crafty Engineer’s Bookshelf- Review Book #3- Review Book #3
January 10th
Captivated Reading – Guest Post
January 11th
Crossroad Reviews – Spotlight Post
Splashes Into Books – Review Book #3
January 12th
YA Book Divas – Guest Post
January 13th
Sleeps on Tables – Spotlight Post
Home of Writing – Review Book #2
January 14th
Verbosity Reviews – Review Book #1
January 15th
Tales of the Ravenous Reader – Author Interview
Magical reading,
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