Embers & Echoes (Wildefire) [Hardcover]

Karsten Knight (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 28, 2012 | Series: Wildefire

A teenage Polynesian volcano goddess fires up her search for love and family in this sequel to Wildefire.

Every flame casts a shadow.

Ashline Wilde is about to discover that when you're the reincarnation of a Polynesian volcano goddess, "new beginnings" are just a myth.

Leaving the fiery ruins of her sophomore year behind her, Ash travels to the sizzling beaches of Miami, hot on the trail of the little sister she's only seen in visions. But her happy family reunion isn't all palm trees and paradise. A cult of evil gods-on-earth, known as the Four Seasons, has kidnapped her sister to use in its terrifying new religion. Soon, the streets of Miami erupt in chaos and violence...and Ash gets caught right in the tropical crossfire.

Ash isn't without help, however. Unexpected romance arrives in the form of Wes, an Aztec god of night with his own vendetta against the Four Seasons. As memories of Ash's previous life begin to flicker into her dreams, the boundaries between ally and enemy, life and death, and love and hate all bleed together. And when a mysterious trickster from her past reappears to derail her new quest, Ash must choose between the echoes of a once-forgotten yesterday and the embers of an uncertain future.

Because when old flames return from the dead, even a volcano goddess can get burned.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-When Ashline Wilde, 16, reincarnation of the volcano goddess Pele, learns that her younger sister has been abducted by a dangerous Miami-based cult, she heads to Florida to rescue her. Ash discovers that the Four Seasons are power-hungry deities, and that the group's leader hopes to use the child's powers to open a portal into the netherworld where their older sister is trapped. To complicate matters, Aztec god Wes and former flame, the trickster Colt, are vying for Ash's affection. Each one has his own agenda. When buried memories from her past incarnations resurface, Ash learns of her volatile history with both boys-and with her sisters. She must reconcile her past if she's to have a future. This thrilling follow-up to Wildefire (S & S, 2011) reads like the script for an action movie. Despite the mythological angle, however, the haphazard mishmash of deities makes the story feel more X-Men than Clash of the Titans. Violence; underage drinking; and steamy sexual innuendo between characters make this title better suited to older teens. Exciting plot twists, interesting characters, and snappy dialogue will keep them hooked, and a cliff-hanger ending will leave them burning for the final installment.-Alissa J. Bach, Oxford Public Library, MIα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About the Author

Karsten Knight has been writing since the age of six, when he completed his first masterpiece: a picture book series about an adventurous worm. In the two decades that have followed, Karsten has worked as a proofreader, a bookseller, and a college admissions counselor before he finally decided that his true calling was to be a volcano goddess biographer. He lives in Boston, and for more information or to watch his video blog, visit KarstenKnight.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (August 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442450304
• ISBN-13: 978-1442450301
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #457,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karsten Knight has been writing since the age of six, when he completed his first masterpiece: a picture book series about an adventurous worm. In the two decades that have followed, Karsten worked as a proofreader, a bookseller, and a college admissions counselor before finally deciding that his true calling was as a volcano goddess biographer. He resides in Boston, where he lives for fall weather and football, and is on a far-too-successful quest to visit every restaurant in the city. For more information on Karsten or to watch his video blog, visit karstenknight.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An intense, action-packed and riveting must read sequel August 28, 2012

By Fiktshun

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ashline Wilde wanted nothing more than to leave Blackwood Academy behind and to escape the memories of everything that happened that May. But as she learned when she arrived at Blackwood, you can't always run from your past.

It will follow you. And ignoring it can have devastating consequences. Consequences she's still reeling from.

But when her end of year plans take a drastic turn, she decides to face what she'd been trying to avoid and heads to Miami to track down the sister she knows only from visions. Her six-year-old sister Rose.

With barely any information to go on, she only knows that she has to try. Because her latest visions reveal that Rose could be in even more danger than she was before. And returning to Scarsdale without her is not a future Ash is willing to accept.

Being a volcano goddess may have its perks, a fiery temper not always being one of them, but it also means that things can turn deadly. Fast.

So when the search for her sister lands her in the path of a group of gods and goddess that have a bloodthirsty agenda, Ash must decide whether saving her sister is enough or whether she will have to become a hero for all of humanity.

***

Embers & Echoes is the dynamic, riveting, wildly entertaining and action-packed follow-up to Karsten Knight's powerhouse debut novel Wildefire. This sequel, that brings together gods and goddesses from around the globe, not only packs a punch, but has an easy flow that will make the pages fly.

The author doesn't just continue this incredibly unique story. He broadens the setting, lengthens the timeline, enlarges the cast of characters and expands the world. And he does all this in a way that feels natural to the story, right for the characters and easy to follow for the reader.

Embers & Echoes picks up where it left off in the first book, just moments after Wildefire's jaw-dropping conclusion. With no pause in the timeline, the story is able to continue at its break-neck pace and pull readers right back into Ash's story.

Leaving Blackwood Academy behind her, Ashline Wilde sets off on a quest to find her younger sister. One that will introduce her to new friends and put her face-to-face with old enemies. One that holds the promise of a new love but will make her confront an old one. And one that will put her life at risk time and time again.

Author Karsten Knight has crafted a story that is inventive, exciting, shocking, heartbreaking and utterly spellbinding. With characters that don't fit a stereotype or behave predictably and a plot that does the same, Embers & Echoes will keep readers on edge, continue to astound and leave them wondering just what happened.

With its beautiful and fluid writing that brings both crushing and heartrending losses and surprising and violent ends, this sequel allows readers to make a stronger emotional connection with the characters and story. It puts the heroine in more dangerous and challenging situations that force her to make difficult life and death decisions with consequences that she'll have to live with. And it leaves the door open for a number of possible outcomes, many of which couldn't possibly end happily.

Embers & Echoes is an absolute must read second book in this series for those who enjoy exquisitely crafted stories that have an incredibly strong heroine who never could be - or would allow herself to be - called a damsel in distress, stories that include a diverse mix of mythological gods and goddesses and stories that will transport them into a world that is dark, deadly and filled to the brim with action.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing-emotional rollercoaster September 3, 2012

By Van @ Short and Sweet reviews

Format:Hardcover

Embers and Echoes, the sequel to Wildefire was an amazing-emotional rollercoaster! I read Wildefire last year and really enjoyed it. Karsten left readers with a shocking cliff hanger...so I knew I had to read the sequel ASAP. Embers and Echoes starts off exactly where the last book ended, with Ashline and Colt emerging from the motorcycle accident, and where readers learn the revelations about Colt's true identity (don't want to spoil the series for those who haven't read it yet). Ashline has a dream of Rose, her younger sister, and follows the clues to Miami. Once she arrives in Miami, she saves another young man who happens to be a deity just like Ash. As Ash and her new friends search for her sister Rose, it leads them to the Four Seasons. The Four Seasons has Rose, and she's part of their master plan to reveal themselves to the human population. Not only does Ash have to save her sister but stop the Four Season before they wreck havoc on the streets of Miami.

If you read Wildefire, you'll definitely get everything you enjoyed in the first book and more! Like the first book, Embers and Echoes is broken up into three parts and there are chapters of Ashline dreaming of her past lives and dreams that are seen through Rose's eyes. Readers get a new playground as they leave the academy in California, and explore Miami. Knight had no problem getting rid of characters in this book, as the list of casualties piled up. I was pretty shocked to see certain characters go and others were kind of expected LOL. This was a very quick read, regardless of it being almost 500 pages (480 pages). The book is full of action, suspense, crazy twist and shocking betrayals! A must read for everyone, and if you haven't read the first book...what are you waiting for?! Go buy it now!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! September 21, 2012

By Llovaglio

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Karsten Knight does it again! Embers and echoes is a must read! I can't wait for the third book in the series to come out!