Customer Reviews

Fallen Embers

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was not sure what I was going to think of this book as I don't read a lot of fantasy/ science fiction. After reading it I feel like this book will be missed by a lot of people if they pigeonhole it into that genre. In fact, I would call it more a paranormal romance, similar in ways to both Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series with shades of the Harry Potter series as well. And yet it is so much more than those as well.

Never before have I so readily identified with a heroine as I do with Kiera. Not just that she is a plus size character, as is so much of our society, but also in her strength and maternal instincts. She is a very realistic character who you instantly care for, cheer for and feel like she is someone you know. In fact, I wish I could have her for my best friend.

The remaining characters are just as richly described and animated. Whether you love them or hate them, I did not find a single character who I had no reaction to or questioned their role in the book. I further appreciated the fact that many of those characters were not clearly wearing good guy or bad guy hats, but often wove their way back and forth amongst those labels and all stages between.

The author manages to immerse you in Kiera's life, and the alternate Alaska. She vividly describes all her characters, societies and the settings so that you often find it hard to pull yourself back into your own world when you aren't reading the book. I was so awed by her ability to clearly explain all the magical components, something I am not sure I have ever encountered in another book. The greater challenge was in not only breaking down the magic into understandable concepts, but making it interesting, exciting and very realistic, a challenge this author more than rose to.

I am already awaiting the next in the series and getting to spend more time with Kiera and Marco, Laszlo and Alex, who have come to feel like a family to me. It was a truly amazing and astonishing first book from this author who I feel will have a long career as a writer.

I so enjoyed this book! It is filled with characters that I fell in love with, magic, suspense - and an intriguing, imaginative world. It is very well written - the kind of book that makes you want to keep reading even when you know you should go to bed! I see that it is the first in the series - and can't wait for the next one! I want to see the continuation of Kiera's adventures - I was so pleased to have such a strong heroine - admirable in her commitment to social justice, to compassion, to her love for her nephew and friends. And I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that Kiera has a great supporting cast too. For anyone who is enthralled with shapeshifters and different kinds of magic - this has the same appeal to me as the Charlaine Harris series.

Absolutely FABULOUS book! Lauri Owen has created an amazing alternate world that kept me reading until all hours. I couldn't put this book down! The main character, Kiera, is FIERCE and I appreciate that she's also a big, beautiful woman. I loved the universe Ms. Owen created and found myself thinking about the book even when I wasn't reading it. It's a well-written stay-up-all-night-to-finish book that I recommend to everyone!

Linda Owen

This spellbinding, paranormal romance has a big, beautiful, powerful heroine.
Not only that, the heroine's love interest is a big, gorgeous bear of a man. So cool! To add even more allure for those of us who look for empowering fiction, Lauri Owen has created an alternate, magical world where size and strength in women are valued!

Over the past few years I've become addicted to urban paranormal and paranormal romance novels and I don't know if there is even one other such novel with a BBW protagonist. Tell me if you know of any I've missed, I want to read them!

The book reminds me in many ways of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series--only with the extra added appeal for me of positive, plus-sized characters. I was captivated by the story from the beginning and it held my interest all the way through.

In her debut novel, Lauri J. Owen has created an enthralling world of magic and shapeshifters. The remarkable tale, set in Alaska, starts off with introducing us to Kiera, a plus-sized woman with a tenacious personality, and her young orphan nephew, Alex. After an incident with a mysterious curse and a wild dog, Kiera and Alex are transported to a feudal version of Alaska where the noble class of mages has enslaved a population of shapeshifters. Naturally, Kiera is horrified and becomes involved in the slave rebellion. It helps that she has discovered her own magical affinity. She soon finds herself caught in a struggle between Laszlo, the slave captain of the local army, and Marco, a young mage. It quickly becomes apparent that there is no straight good and evil, but everyone is clouded with grey in this world.

What I truly enjoyed about this book was the realism to all of the characters. Nobody is perfect and the flaws in the characters are what make them interesting. Also, the detailed and well-thought descriptions of the magic in this feudal world were brilliant. I'm looking forward to where Lauri plans to take us next in this wonderful world.

Is one life worth more than another? Which is more important: love or duty? What can we as individuals do to fight inequalities and oppressions? This novel tackles these difficult questions and more as its gritty, smart, idealistic heroine enters a feudal world whose rituals and hierarchies, although set in arctic climes, smartly mirror those of our modern world. Good fantasy is an allegory of contemporary issues and concerns; Owen's novel is this and more.

Kiera is a smart, kind, fierce, and fair heroine who looks and acts just like you or me. How refreshing to find a character that lives and breathes with us.

Kiera, a lawyer and surrogate mom for her orphaned nephew, enters through an act of violence a high-fantasy world (complete with evil feudal overlords and daring enslaved heroes) set brilliantly in an alternate Alaska. (Incidentally, Owen's vivid descriptions of the chilliness of her world made me shiver more than once!) One of her first acts includes using her new magical abilities to save some children from soldiers. (On a slightly different note, I LOVE Owen's original, astrology-based system of magic as well as the cultural richness of her different races of people.) The story unfolds as she travels with an army over the snowy landscape before finding herself bound by convention, promises, and love to a lord's keep in Fairbanks. Highly idealistic Kiera chafes at living a life of comfort, even decadence, on the backs of an enslaved race of people -- one of whom, of course, is her lover and love, the dead sexy and uber-masculine Laszlo.

As Kiera excels at her magic lessons and struggles with her role as aunt/mother to a resentful newphew/son, she contemplates and tries to balance her rights and responsibilities as a fire mage, a "mother," a lover, a friend, and a woman committed to social justice. It seems fantastic and unbelievable that Kiera becomes important to an entire political system (as well as several men's hearts -- ahem!), but Owen makes it believable; we see Kiera make a host of understandable, small decisions and differences that lay the foundations for monumental acts of kindness and heroism.

In short, I love fiery and vulnerable Kiera and celebrate Owen's decision to make a 30-something, full-figured, single mom the focus of such romantic, political, and cultural intrigue.

If you enjoy paranormal romance, but like me want a little bit more, this book is for you. Lauri Owen gives us an entertaining storyline, but also the best heroine I've come across in a long time. Kiera is a single mom, has a social conscience and the courage to stand for others, and just happens to be a large size woman. Fallen Embers holds your interest from beginning to end and I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.

Lauri Owen has crafted a magnificent tale of romance and political intrigue, tightly interwoven through the visions of grandeur and depravity that are her alternate Alaska. From the first page one is gripped by the story as one follows Kiera and Alex, living out a pretty ordinary existence in present day Alaska, through their shocking initiation into the realm of magic, where they must survive or be destroyed. The pages of this book turn of their own accord as one devours the images that flow from them, eager to seek out the mysteries that lie hidden within and, of course, to follow the ultimate conclusion of the romance that is the river of hope wending its way through the book.

The undeniable skill, charm, and sass of Owen's writing has a power rarely encountered. To trudge through the dangers of an unknown Alaska at the side of a thoughtful, compassionate, and stubborn heroine like Keira reminds us of the issues we face in our own present and shows us how we can navigate them with wit, loyalty and courage.

[...]

I normally do not read fantasy fiction, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Owens weaves a compelling tale with believable characters who will keep you spellbound with their adventures. Kiera is a strong-minded heroine with a social conscience who seeks to right wrongs in an alternate Alaska. I was fascinated by her explanations of shapeshifters and her knowledge of magic as she develops into a powerful worker of magic. It was a hard book to put down once I started reading it, and I look forward to finishing the second book in the series. Owens is an excellent writer with a vivid imagination, and the book will keep you on the edge of your seat.