Amber Smoke

The Escaped #1

by Kristin Cast

There is a world that runs parallel to our own, a world in which the souls of the damned are caged, where they are looked over by the Furies, and where they spend eternity in torment, mirroring the devastation and mayhem they created when alive.

Someone has opened the cage.

The worst of terrors has crossed the barrier that separates our world from theirs, and the Furies send a great, albeit untested warrior—their only son, Alek—to try to bring those souls back. He is young and handsome, headstrong and impulsive, and he won’t be able to do it alone.

Eva has grown up, beautiful and beloved, but surrounded by secrets. First, she will be hunted in an ancient feud that will threaten her life. Then, she will become the hunter.

With the police closing in and two worlds on the verge of crumbling around them, Alek and Eva must find each other, discover the limits of their powers, and work together to save everything they hold dear, including one another. Blending elements of mythology with the dazzling storytelling that her fans have devoured through the House of Night series, Kristin Cast weaves a spellbinding and passionate tale that starts a thrilling new series with an explosive charge.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Mythology, Romance, Young Adult, New Adult, Urban Fantasy

275 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 2015

About the author

Kristin is a #1 NYT and #1 USA Today bestselling author with over 30 million books in print.

She is proudly neurodivergent (ASD + OCD) and deeply consumed by character-driven chaos, emotionally vulnerable heroes, and smart, sexy heroines who always get the last word and the hot guy. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her devouring thriller, horror, and romance novels, practicing witchcraft, and being the exact kind of unhinged that makes group chats worth opening.

Reviews

[Always Pouting · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once upon a time one of the furies fell in love with a sol passing through the underworld and brought upon a curse to it. Now all the terrible things trapped in the underworld are breaking out and there's only one chance at getting them back. That love affair that brought the curse onto the underworld also gave the furies their only son Alek, an untested warrior who must now set out to find the descendant of the Oracle, Eva, who can help him save his home. Eva doesn't know about her ancestry and becomes tangled up with the police when they begin to investigate murders, pulling Alek into the mess with her.

I loved the House of Night books that I've read so far and so I thought I might enjoy this as well but boy was I wrong. This was really terrible. Nothing is ever built up to, and the explanations offered are flimsy. I still don't understand where the curse came from or why Alek needed to find Eva anyways? Also the fact that they fall in love right off the bat made me so annoyed. There was no build up to it like I understand that people can be attracted to one another right away or drawn but I still need the author to build up to things like trust. Also the whole thing when Alek tries to find Eva and just happens to run into her best friend like wow super convenient. I just didn't enjoy this at all and I'm mad I spent any of my time reading it, and also now I'm iffy about finishing the House of Night series because I read it so long ago it was probably not as good as I remember it being.

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁]

DNF

If you've ever wondered how much of the annoying dialogue in the HOUSE OF NIGHT series the daughter of the mother/daughter writing duo was responsible for, here's your answer: ALL of it.

And without Mommy to at least keep the plot on track, this was an absolute disaster. I think I made it about a third of the way in before I couldn't take any more. TSTL heroine, idiotic hero, ridikkulous mythology, just STAHP.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Diversion Books and NetGalley.)

“Only at the moment when her mortal heart ceases to beat will her destiny ignite and the strengths of the Oracle become free. This will be the future, or your beloved Tartarus will decay beyond repair, and you will be responsible for its extinction.”



This book had some really cheesy, melodramatic moments, but it wasn’t too bad overall.

Eva was maybe a little bit naïve for parking her car in a dark place, leaving it unlocked, and then returning to it alone. She was hardly being safe by doing that!

“Always check the backseat. It’s safer.”



Alek was a bit annoying really. I just found him to be so innocent and trusting and blind to what the world was really like! Fair enough he hadn’t lived there, but surely he should have watched enough stuff going on down on earth to know what the place was like?

"Eva, descendant of the great Oracle Pythia, I will find you. I will save you. Together, we will restore my home and rid this realm of evil."



The storyline in this was about Eva being kidnapped, and Alek trying to rescue her, with some mythology thrown in there, and some very melodramatic moments to boot. I did find the story quite irritating and boring in places, although it did improve a bit towards the end.

“How was I supposed to know it was a police vehicle? It was just blue. It wasn’t even marked.”



I didn’t really feel that there was much romance in here at all, other than an occasional reference to Eva and Alek having a destiny together, and a couple of kisses.

“She kissed him with newly discovered longing, and he returned her desire.”



The ending to this was just one cliff-hanger after another! Really!



6 out of 10.

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 2 out of 5]

5 Words: Mythology, immortals, evil, attraction, Grecian.

Honestly? I didn't set my hopes too high for this one.

And I'm quite glad I didn't because it meant I wasn't too disappointed. And at times I even enjoyed myself when I was reading this. But.

But.

The writing was so overly flowery it was laughable at times. It was like the author had sat with a thesaurus and whenever she was describing something would then jab her finger at a random word that means something vaguely similar and go with whatever the meaning was supposed to be. Or she was trying to make up her word target. Whatever.

Storm clouds hung low and painted the Oklahoma sky gray. They spit rain from their pregnant puffs and echoes rumbles of thunder. Trapped beneath the thick blanker of clouds, the sun's rays still illuminated the earth with a sickly yellow. Tall grass, golden from months of heat, bowed to each pulse of wind. Lightning dissected the churning skies and slapped the soil with a crack.

And it felt like this was the beginning of a story, not part of a series. As a single book it does not work. Perhaps it works as a series, but as the start of one it's no good. It just drops off and all of a sudden you're left stranded in the middle of the story. I felt that nothing was tied up, like it was a longer story that had been randomly hacked into multiple parts to get more money from it, like those "serials" you find on Amazon.

And oh yes, there was our good old staple insta-love nestled in their too. Yawn.

I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A handful of years ago, I became addicted to the The House of Night Series: Books 1-12 written by P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin. When the series ended, I was sad, both women said they were finished, and I moved on (with a bit of sadness) to other books. So, I was fairly excited when Kristin announced that she was branching out on her own. Amber Smoke has a few of the same qualities of HON- supernatural, located in Tulsa, girl with a prophecy... but I guess what it really was missing was KC making this her own story. I felt that the story left me with so many unresolved questions and I couldn't get a handle on the story. Don't think that I'll read the rest of the series.

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Initial reaction: My brain hurts after reading this book because it's very much all over the place. I think the long and short version is that this book tried to be a female mythologically D-grade sex horror comedy based version of Highlander and failed miserably.

If you don't understand that combination, trust me, neither can I.

Full review:

I was going to wait a night to meditate on my reaction to this book, but you know what, I think I'm ready just to react right now.

This book was terrible, irredeemably terrible. I honestly went into it thinking "You know, I didn't like the House of Night series, but if Kristin Cast wants to try her hand on her own to write a New Adult mythological horror novel, who am I to judge? Let's go with it."

And to be fair, I liked the prologue of this book. I thought more of the book was going to be like that with the dark intrigue and prophecy fulfilling aspects. Instead, I ended up getting a really haphazard, unorganized story loosely based on an interesting piece of mythological backstory. I don't think this novel knew what it wanted to be. A romance? Psssh. There was too much instaloving going on and not enough connectivity to make that happen. And the gratuitous sex scenes (and sexual harassment/rapish scenes) seemed to come out of nowhere. A comedy? I'll admit I laughed, but for all the wrong reasons. I'll admit I laughed at Alek's stoic cluelessness (which was probably the only instance where I was supposed to laugh), but all the other characters were cookie cutter stereotypes that fumbled and bumbled around so much that I couldn't really care about them one way or the other.

Was this book supposed to be a horror? Yeah, definitely there were creepy moments in this book to be had, but some of them came across as very immature and cartoonish. Almost to the point where it overshadowed some of the moments where the graphic ickiness really did come across the way it was supposed to.

I definitely stand by my comparison to this being a female-lead mythological D-grade sex horror comedic version of Highlander. It has the whole TCO, it has the bare minimum mythos, the gratuitous violence...insta relationships, but it's just laughably bad. (And no Sean Connery or "the quickening". Darn.)

Yeah, I won't be picking up the sequel to this, not unless it takes a sledgehammer, breaks apart all the cheese and inconsistencies of this book and actually organizes it into something resembling an actual story.

Overall score: 1/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Diversion Books.

[D · Rating 1 out of 5]

If a book were ever a smear of shit ground into a white carpet and blasted with a hairdryer, it’s AMBER SMOKE. I’ve never read any of the HOUSE OF NIGHT books and I’ve never read a New Adult book so this was a first for me a couple of times over. The blurb just sounded interesting to me. Ignoring every screaming instinct inside me, I requested the book to read. I wanted to give it a shot. Now those instincts are smugly drinking wine and going ‘fucking told you so, didn’t we?’ Yes, yes they did. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a lulz book. September of 2014 was the last one. Before that it was 2012. I don’t come across these too often. But when I do . . .

What I know of NA is that it’s Cinemax for the YA set, which is kind of creepy. But again, benefit of the doubt here. My doubt was pooped on. The MC is this petite little thing with tits like Jenna Jameson and hips like Marilyn Monroe, giving her a GORGEOUS hourglass figure. She’s 23 and still in college. While I certainly can’t complain about that (I didn’t officially get my BA until I was 24) what I can complain about is that Eva isn’t allowed to work because her mom, who’s paying her way, says she wants her to focus on school. With all that FOCUS Eva ends up on the 10 year track because she can’t decide on a major. While I was busy amassing student loan debt, had my parents been paying my way I one: wouldn’t have been able to live at home as if I were in high school while my parents paid for EVERYTHING (that didn’t even happen when I was in high school) and two: that generosity certainly wouldn’t have been bottomless as I farted my way through school trying to find myself. Fuck that.

On top of that she looks like she’s under 17 (there’s mention that she gets carded for R-rated movies). That’s not squicky AT ALL. The dream sex scene that happens later on doesn’t make me cringe IN THE SLIGHTEST. And also, despite her beauty she’s homely BECAUSE SHE HAS GLASSES. How awful. And her daddy abandoned her. What would NA be without a damaged heroine? Nothing, I tell you.

So what we have here is every shitty cliche, with absolutely nothing done to them, rolled into a single book. The chosen one syndrome and insta-love come in a little later. DON’T WORRY.

What was even worse than this line:

Eva felt like her stomach was going to fall out of her butt.

(used to describe Eva’s nervousness when talking to her crush, because anal-expelling stomach contents is the kind of imagery I want in my head when a character is crushing on a guy she’s hot for) was the pseudo-rape scene as a means of building character. Because I couldn’t tell the writing was subpar already, I needed the main character to get sexually assaulted so she could have something to moon over (which she doesn’t so it appears that assault scene was in there for absolutely no reason, which makes it even worse). Look, guys? If rape isn’t necessary to the plot DON’T FUCKING USE IT. There were a million and one ways to show Eva’s crush being a total douchebag that didn’t include her nearly getting raped by him. Just like needlessly killing animals for the sake of character motivation is an abhorrent and unforgivable act of writing, so is using rape to show character, for anyone. Stop it.

Then there’s the scene of the big-boobied MC running away from her attacker (another one, she attracts them) in inappropriately fashionable high heels. Add that to the cliche list. Another to the check list, everyone in positions of authority are absolutely fucking derp heads. Like so dumb how they brush their teeth in the morning without shoving their toothbrushes down their throats I have no idea dumb. From the police to the doctors and nurses, everyone’s a fucking idiot except the MC and her love interest. Best friend helps break you out of the hospital and everyone actually knows that fact. Where’s the safest place to go where no one will THINK to find you? Why, your best friend’s country house, of course. DUH. Derp OMG whur iz she?
Alek, the love interest, is Thor. He’s so Thor that the book actually recognizes that like OMG LOOK HOW SELF-AWARE I AM BUT NO REALLY GUYS HE’S TOTALLY MY OWN CREATION BUT HAHA HE ACTS LIKE THOR. Stop it. I’m pretty sure Cast had just watched the Avengers or something before writing this. And the best friend drops that she may be bi-sexual but it’s in more of an attention-seeking “if someone were hot and had money and wanted to protect me I’d fuck ’em, guy or girl” instead of an actual bi-sexual character sort of way. So we have pandering to a marginalized demographic in a completely insulting sort of way. Fun. But, you know, big up to bi-sexuals. Or something . . .

And the relationship between Eva and Alek? The first time they meet she’s unconscious and he rescues her from a torture situation (for real, torture) and by the time he leaves she still hasn’t regained consciousness so EVA hasn’t actually met him yet so we’re looking at maybe 3 minutes of interaction where one party was not in commission and it’s love. For real. And these two are going to come together and fuck for the future in order to save the world. Or something. That’s alluded to in the story.

But I wouldn’t actually know because the book doesn’t have an ending. It’s merely a cut-off point and read the next book to find out what happens. I keep seeing these more and more and it’s infuriating. Don’t pitch me a book as if it’s an actual complete book when it’s not. This is not a complete book. Nothing is actually resolved in it. Shit just keeps getting piled on top of shit and it’s left to fester as the last page ends. That’s not a book. That’s part 1.

So yeah. This made all my worst fears about NA come true. I know I shouldn’t judge a genre by a single book but from what I hear from people whose opinions I trust and have read far more NA than I have, it’s all the same. This trash wasn’t even amusingly awful. I couldn’t enjoy myself at all because it was just atrocious. The writing, the character development, even the other world itself was blah and not what it could be because it was described as little more than caves. There was nothing here for me to latch on to to even nominally enjoy. It was insufferable and made such a short book seem to go on forever.

No more.

1

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Althea Ann]

DNF at 11%.

I began to have severe doubts when a Grecian mythological figure's diaphanous robes were described as "see-through."

I gave up after the random body-shame, and during the scene where the modern family is salivating over the Jimmy Choos.

[Suzan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anlayan ve seven varsa helal olsun

[Tatiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

O-MY-GODDDDD! :D Ничего я не ждала, ничего и не получила.

Написано не плохо, типично для жанра - конец света, только героиня может спасти мир и она, конечно, же не в зуб ногой что такая особенная, герои из Тартара, весь ТАКОЙ прям РАЗ ТАКОЙ, главная подружка богачка-пошлячка, трешка Гарпий, хрен какой-та злой и пара детективов, которые вообще не понятно зачем в сюжете. НО все связано по дурацки, кажется что ты включил американский сериал на 15 сезоне 11 серии, и нифига местами не понимает что-зачем-и-почему. Герои очень блекло типичные. Никакой изюминки. У меня даже подозрение, что Кристин вытащила героев, место действия и сюжет из "Дома Ночи". Ну ооочень все схоже. Ничего нового автор не замутила.

INSTALOVE - аж зубы сводит. Есть немного эшкена, непонятные погони.

Вообщем, анонсировали, что Каст представит миру оригинальный, мистический любовный роман с закосом в хоррор. Но, кажется, что ты читаешь черную комедию, потому что вокруг героев происходит фигня, герои ведут себя на редкость по дурацки. Единственный плюс - читается легко, много диалогов, и по объему роман не большой.

Вердикт - жаль потраченного времени. Читать продолжение не буду!

[Beatrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Diversion Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Final rating: 2.5 stars

I'm a bit disappointed with this book. When I heard Kristin Cast has a new book, I was looking forward to it because I did enjoy the House of Night series. There's so much potential in this book. I like there's a touch of Greek Mythology here. Pretty concept actually. It's just that most parts of this book bored me to death and some parts aren't REALLY necessary. The mystery wasn't just as exciting as I have thought. It is indeed a quick read, but I just didn't enjoyed this as much as I wanted to. Some parts of the story are just confusing and the characters are DULL.

PFFT.....

I think I would have enjoyed this more if this is written in First Person. With that I could really get to know more of the characters. Maybe I will just pick this up some other time and attempt reading this again.

[Lia Angelidou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted in Bookland@wordpress.

I received an ARC from the publisher, via netGalley, in exchange for an honest review .

I was about to give up on this book and rate it with a single star but after reading more than half of it, the story finally began.
The blurb was so promising and was talking about how "Alek and Eva must find each other, discover the limits of their powers, and work together to save everything they hold dear, including one another." I was expecting some action and something thrilling but all I got was a crime book about a couple detectives that were trying to solve a case of murder. Eva and Alek found each other but we barely got a glimpse of Eva's and Alek's power. So, there was no "dicovering the limits of their powers" as promised and they only met at the very end.
Ok I admit that Alek trying to find Eva was a bit interesting but I was bored really fast. Things got better when the story started focusing on Eva mostly and that's when I changed my mind about giving up.

I was sad because I didn't have the chance to get to know Eva and Alek. The third person POV was not helping at all and focusing on too many characters was frustrating. At the end I know more about the Furies and the detectives than the two very main leads.
I don't care at all about the detectives and what they think about Alek and Eva or how the investigation about the murder goes. I only care about what the two of them think and plan on doing and how they experience things. I want to see through their eyes and I want to feel what they feel. It's really important to understand their character and relate but I can't. How did Eva really feel about the charges? What was Alek opinion about Eva? How was Eva experiencing her new powers? Was she scared? Excited? I really do hate guessing. They both look like they're secondary characters in their own story and this is really unfair.

Thankfully the last chapters were finally about Eva and Alek and the story began. It's a pity that I had to go through all the unimportant details and stuff before that. I lost my interest and I reached that point out of pure luck. The book has a lot of potential but it's lacking. I am giving it three stars because I hope that the second book will really be about Eva and Alek. Just them.

I know I am strict and difficult to please but I need to write honest reviews that will trully help the publishers and the author. Hopefully nobody will be offended because of my humble opinion. I respect the authors hard work and the publisher's efforts. The book was definitelly not bad but it could be better and it's not really difficult to succeed in doing so.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kristin Cast's New Adult paranormal romance is perhaps a bit cheesy, predictable and frustrating to read at times, but it's also quite fun in a guilty-pleasure kind of way, and it seems like a promising beginning to a great new series. I think fans of House of Night universe will definitely appreciate Cast's new series.

Amber Smoke offers a pretty unique twist on the Greek Myth about Furies. The story doesn't focus on the Furies themselves, though they do appear in it every now and then, and they play quite a significant role. The world-building is on a decent level - we get plenty of interesting details, though the descriptions of people and places are somewhat lacking. Undeniably, there is a whole lot of meaningless chitter-chatter and plenty of unnecessarily dramatic and/or awkward situations. The unevenly paced plot line is pretty hard to follow at first. Not much is happening for almost 1/3 of the book, instead we get to witness our lead characters, Eva and Alek, making a series of really bad choices that make you wonder about their IQ levels. However, once the action picks up and things start happening, the book gets much more interesting and definitely more fun to read.

I really enjoyed the mythology in this book and wished more time was spent on exploring the parallel universe. I liked the premise of this story and the part about one of the Furies breaking the rules and falling in love with one of the damned ones. While pretty superficially described, the scenes that took place in the prologue were fascinating and interesting to read.

As far as character development is concerned, I thought Kristin Cast could've done a better job. Both Alek and Eva seemed so stereotypical and, unfortunately, very childish and silly. These two had no common sense whatsoever. Eva would park her car in a dark and empty alley, leave the door unlocked and then get into the car without checking the backseat. Alek would get tangled in all sorts of awkward and frustrating to read situations that were probably supposed to be funny, but really, they were excruciating to read. The truth is, I didn't like these two at all. I couldn't relate to them, and therefore, I didn't feel invested in their story. I kept reading, because I wanted to find out where the story will go. Overall, I don't regret finishing the book. The cliffhanger ending made me want to jump straight into volume two, which is a good sign. I think this is a pretty good story for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance stories and doesn't mind cheesy sense of humor and a bit of awkwardness.

This is somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me.

[Ola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mam wrażenie, iż Kristin Cast kompletnie nie przyłożyła się do tej książki. Wymyśliła świetny początek i równie dobre zakończenie, a na środek machnęła ręką. Powieść czyta się szybko i nie jest napisana złym stylem, ale jej chaotyczność nie pozwoliła mi na bycie usatysfakcjonowaną tym, co przeczytałam. Bursztynowy dym polecam tylko i wyłącznie fanom Domu Nocy, bo jeśli nie polubiliście tamtej serii, ta na pewno nie przypadnie wam do gustu. Sama będę musiała się zastanowić, czy sięgnę po kolejny tom cyklu Uciekinierzy. Bardzo zawiodłam się na tej pozycji.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kristin Cast’s Amber Smoke brings a tale based on Greek mythology to life when the human world and the underworld face complete destruction when terrors are escaping from the cages of Tartarus and spreading their evil across the veils. A hero from each realm must come forward, chosen by the fates or by ancestry neither will be prepared, but as time runs out, they must learn to trust and work together. How does a woman from the mortal world come to grips with her godly heritage trust in a man from the underworld, who claims to be the son of the furies. Are either prepared to take on evil?

Kristin Cast has built a world of fantasy, populated it with a cast of characters that run from mythological beings with haughty attitudes and fierce powers to an unprepared warrior who has never really been tested and a human woman who has no idea what is going on. If you enjoy the world of the gods and the conflict they bring to the human world, the brilliant scenes that Ms. Cast creates will spark the imagination with all of the what-ifs we can escape into.
In this first tale in a new series a firm foundation has been set from each scene to the characters involved as everything was fleshed out and colored in. As the action began, and the meat of the story took shape, there promises to be a lot to escape into in each subsequent book. Being patient has its rewards when fantasy is involved!

I received an ARC edition from Diversion Books in exchange for my honest review.

Series: The Escaped - Book 1
Publication Date: June 9, 2015
Publisher: Diversion Books
ISBN: 9781626815520
Genre: New Adult Romance
Available from: Amazon |  Barnes & Noble

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really had a hard time finishing this one, but finish it I did!

The characters felt incredibly one dimensional and the story line felt like a poorly executed knock off of better versions of this mythological tale.

I think it's safe to say I won't be reading the next in the series.

[Carrie (The Butterfly Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
I always round up.
full review to come.

[Miriam Brickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it but it was not on fire. I really liked the chemistry between Alek and Bridget. The mythology was on FLEEK

[Gamze · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yazar grubunun gece evi serisinden sadece ilk iki kitabını okumuş ve hiçç sevmemiştim.
Şimdi hangi akla hizmet bu kitabını merak ettim cidden anlam veremiyorum kendime.
Belki mitolojisiydi beni çeken.
Bilmiyorum ama bu sondu.
Karakterlerin analizine bile girmeye gerek yok.
Baştan sona -bullshit-

[Madelyn Blake]

Sounds Interesting... But I don't know, with the train wreck that the house of series is...

[Songül · Rating 3 out of 5]

Güzeldi.. neyseki seri kısa 👍🏻😉

[Toni FGMAMTC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amber Smoke is my first time reading this author; thus, I went in with no preconceived notions on what was to come. The blurb seemed interesting so I wanted to give it a try. This novel is a mix of suspense, murder mystery, action, mild humor, detective, Greek mythology, heroic fantasy and NA romance told in third person omniscient point of view.

It begins in Tartarus with the Furies. An authentic tale similar to the classic ones told of gods and heroes is given to set the reason behind everything in the series. Although, I believe it to be as good as any of the myths through history, this starting bit is my least favorite part.

Most of the storyline takes place in the real world. Many characters and sequences come together in this first installment of The Escaped series. Eva is a college student who lives with her single mother. They are very close. She and her best friend are spoiled, but they aren't bad girls. Alek is on a quest to find Eva. Not being from this realm, he has no understanding of many things which provides some light comedy. Murders have been happening. Detectives are trying to solve these cases. During some of the scenes, I was so nervous I was leaning on the edge of my seat inhaling the words. At one point, I was reading late at night in the dark and got the creeps so badly that I had to get up and turn on the light.

The writing is fantastic. The plot sucked me and left me yearning for the next installment. I recommend this story for readers who like YA fantasy but want something more mature. I really want the next book. Now.

***Copy given in exchange for an honest review***

toni

FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

FULL REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.bl...

[Felicia [Felicia's Ink(t)] · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Not all of your foes will appear in their true form. You must learn to trust your instincts.”

I was happy to be back in Kristin's books again. I love the House of Night series very much!! It's been to long reading a book written by P.C. or Kristin.... And now I'm reading The escaped series, The Scent of Salt & Sand and Moon Chosen this month!! =] yay me

I already loved it when I read the prologue and saw the word furies. I love mythology, so this was a good start for me. I could definitely tell this was written by Kristin. I recognized her writing style from the HoN books..This book was very exciting to read, it was fast-paced, action packed, fun and easy dialogues and descriptive. You get plunged right into the story and that is something I like. Some stories have a ginormous build-up, but some start of a bit slow and boring because of that. This book is definitely not slow and boring!! We see multiple POVs, which make the story even faster and more interesting. Even the POVs are very different. We not only see the main characters POVs, but in this book also the POV of a cop. And that's something I did not expect, I thought it made the story more intriguing.

I feel a romance coming, but it's not here yet. I feel it growing between Alek and Eva. But I don't know if it will happen or it will be doomed like was foretold. It's nice to read a fantasy novel without a big part of it revolving around a romance.

One thing which was absolutely fabulous was the fact people talked about guys and girls pretending to be vampires with cresent moons painted onto their faces. Uhuh, we know better ;] Love the reference!!

So far, I loved reading this book and it feels like a new start of a larger series =]


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[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

AMBER SMOKE is a super quick read with an interesting twist on Greek mythology, a start to a romance that looks to sizzle, and the beginning of a series that promises to be exciting. It sets the stage for what is to come in the series, introduces its main characters, and leaves off with a cliffhanger ending that is sure to make readers anxious for the next book.

The Underworld needs saving and there’s only one chance left to do so. With the trapped souls escaping, wreaking havoc in the Mortal Realm, the Furies have to send their son, their warrior, Alek out to try and bring them back and close the door between the worlds. And he’ll need to find Eva, the descendant of the first Oracle of Delphi, to help him.

But with a killer on the loose and his sights set on Eva, Alek doesn’t have much time to find her and restore her powers. He’ll have to channel his abilities, abilities he’s not even sure how to use, if he has any hope of success. And he can’t afford to fail. Because with time running out, any mistake could mean the end for both worlds.

Kristin Cast put a different and intriguing spin on Greek myth in her new series. With a curse allowing an unknown number evil souls to escape, an inexperienced and untrained warrior along with an Oracle who doesn’t even know what she’s capable of the only hope for saving Tartarus, this series looks like it will be a nail-biter. Especially given the cliffhanger ending and the teaser for what’s up next.

AMBER SMOKE started with a captivating prologue but then took some time for the story to grab hold and there were a number of elements that took away from the story. At times the story felt a bit too juvenile for having characters in their early- to mid-twenties. For such a short story there was too much of a focus on things that seemed frivolous and not germane in any way to the characters or the story. Eva’s poor decision-making seemed an unrealistic vehicle to further the story. And there some inconsistencies to Alek’s assimilation into the Mortal Realm.

Nevertheless, it is an engaging and entertaining read and it looks to be a series that is just as addictive as the author’s other series.

[claireloueeez]

I know it looks like I took a while to read this but I literally read this in 2 days xD THAT ENDING THOUGH!

[Jojo]

This is a really great cover, but being I didn't really care for the House of Night series, I am a little hesitant to read this. Have to see what the reviews say.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 1 out of 5]

First in The Escaped urban fantasy series for the young end of Young Adults and revolving around Eva and Alek, destined to save both their worlds.

This ARC was sent to me by NetGalley and Diversion Books for, unfortunately, an honest review.

My Take
Oh, boy. I think Cast needs to have a chat with momma about show versus tell. It was something of a blend between reading a screenplay and a children's book, and I have no interest in reading book #2.

The prologue was cute with a teen-angsty Maiden pouting at Mother, as if the two of them really were a teenager whining at her mom. I suspect it's intended to make teen readers identify with the Maiden. It was also hard to believe as I didn't believe in a Maiden who was this ignorant. Nor did Cast make me believe that a "love so pure" could create a curse in Tartarus. How lame is that? Ooh, then Hera "gifts" Maiden with a son born of her love, and he will become a warrior and save Tartarus from this awful curse. Oh, brother. The writing is on the wall about how this series will go. Besides downhill, I mean.

Cast did nothing interesting with the cliché of mother love unable to see her child as a man. No, gagging does not count as interesting. Then there's the young man. He's twenty-three now and has had experience in the Mortal Realm, supposedly. Not enough that he has a clue about how anything operates in our world — in spite of the fact that he and his three mothers can observe what's happening on earth. He doesn't appear to have had any training in warrior pursuits, his language skills are limited to dude. Maiden mommy whines that he hasn't experienced the true baddies, and all I can say is, he's twenty-flippin'-three years old. He should have had plenty of experience by now. Instead he's so incredibly immature, that that is the more shocking aspect. He has no clue about the respect due to someone like the Pythia, not that he even knows who she is *eye roll*. He cowers. He hides behind chairs. His actions make him seem more like someone born yesterday who shot up to full growth overnight. Why didn't they train him on the whole focus/concentration routine earlier? In fact, just what has Alek been learning all these years? Anything?

Where does this bit about Eva being his true master come from?

The melodramatic writing doesn't help, and I truly, truly wish that Cast had some clue about infusing emotion into her story. Telling me that she's crying isn't as engaging as making me feel her tears, her fears, her panic. Heck, that scene where Mom, oops, I mean, Lori, is panicking because her daughter hasn't come home sounds more like she's about to invite the detectives in for tea and cookies and ask them how their day is going. There's no emotion in that. Nothing to tip me off that she's alarmed let alone terrified. WTF?

I'm confused about that whole time thing. His mothers say it's been an eternity, he says it's only been a few days, and then he goes on to say that the days are too long. Did Cast mean to say the "days are too short"? I'm also confused about that text message Bridget sends Eva about the link she sends her. Is this a new slang thing that I've not yet heard: "…won't get out of my ass about…"?? Maybe she meant off?

Just how is it that Bill manages to kidnap Eva if he's at the ballet with Lori? I do like how hard Eva fights. I hate a female character who just stands around whining, and Eva does not do this. She fights back. Actually, the scenes in which her kidnapper is talking to her are seriously creepy. It's a well-done bit of writing.

Bridget should stop drinking now. How does Schilling come to the conclusion of the x in the tree branch meaning that the killer has ended that part of the victim's family? Did Cast give him a preview of what's coming? Does Alek know how to get into a house without breaking down the door?

I know I'm just being picky. It's because I'm feeling pissy. But I did do a double take when I read "She posed with a hand on each hip of her white dress". I got this image of her having like six hips or maybe the dress had extra hips. Why not just say on her hips? I don't think that would count as a cliché. More pickiness. What's with calling James Graham James throughout the story, but Schilling is always just Schilling?

Why didn't they pick up a burner phone for Eva? I think it's too late for Bridget. The drinking has affected her mind. First she forces Eva to come out and get lunch, and then she turns around and tells her that she'd be curled up in the fetal position in bed if she were Eva.

Oh, and, oh man, L. O. L., what's with that conclusion the detectives come to at the end, after they have evidence that this serial killer has been engaged in his particular style of killing for years in Mexico? Can someone explain that one? Did Cast even have editors? Do they really believe her readers are that DUMB??? The whole story is full of stupid contradictions and idiotic clichés. It's almost as if this were a contest between Cast and another writer to see how much they could make their readers swallow.

The Story
Love has caused a curse to rise up within Tartarus and only the warrior son of the Maiden can destroy the curse. He must return the evil that escaped the Underworld before the curse destroys Tartarus itself.

Young Alek must ally himself with the Oracle, once he finds her, to save her world and his.

The Characters
Twenty-three-year-old Eva Kostas is attending college, trying on all the majors. Bridget Falling is Eva's best friend, with a trust fund, and she's more interested in her and Eva's social life than anything else. Yiayiá is Eva's Greek grandmother. Lori is Mom, and why Eva calls her mother "Lori", I have no idea. William Morgan is Lori's boyfriend recently back from a mission trip to build houses in Mexico. Dean is the husband who took off.

Alek is the Warrior who will save Tartarus from the curse. The Furies are sisters: Crone, Mother, and Maiden. The three live in Tartarus where they keep evil imprisoned. Galen Argyris is the dead man, giving up his place to save his son. Pythia is the Oracle of Delphi. Atropos is one of the three Fates and a sister to the Furies. Charon is the ferryman for the dead. Aeacus, Rhadamanthus, and Minos are the judges of Tartarus.

Alastor the Great Avenger is one of the prisoners who escape.

Tulsa County Sheriff
Gordon Charles is the chief of police. (I'd a thought he'd be the sheriff if he's at the sheriff's department and giving statements.) Dr. Catherine Pierce is the medical examiner. Veronica is back working at the ME's office.

Detectives Schilling (Jeannine is his wife) and James Graham are the leads for the serial killer case. There's some mystery about Graham's past and a woman named Mel. Captain Alvarez is their boss. Officer Winslow keeps showing up with pictures, tips, and more. Nina is a police officer who doesn't know what she's got and prefers to arrest people in private, *snicker*

Maya is the nurse at the hospital. Dr. Cole needs to work on her bedside manner.

Madeline Bailey is the latest victim. Chera Kimiko and Tailia Kirk are on-air reporters. Spencer Burke is a gorgeous guy with a lousy approach to women. Jill is some friend (?) at the party. Red, a.k.a., Bethany, Brown, Black, and Blonde are the college girls from whom Alek is demanding answers. Jason may be a jerk, but he did step up to protect the girls. Counselor O'Brien is Bridget's lawyer. Tyson Andrews will be a new type of victim. Monica is/was his girlfriend.

The Cover and Title
The cover is the best part with its dark background relieved only by the evil-feeling swirl of gray smoke curling up out of the fog alongside Eva's bare back, her right hand clasping her shoulder, her profile to us, slightly masked by her long, wavy, brown hair. The clincher is that silhouette of a many-branched bare tree.

The title refers to the Amber Smoke that will breathe life into the savior of Tartarus.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious about this one for many reasons- Greek mythology element, new to me author, and general feeling of curiosity after reading the blurb. I'm always game to satisfy curiosity so into it I plunged. I had a few shaky moments, but for the most part, I'll give it a cautious thumbs up for a beginning story in a series and see where it goes.

The story opens on a prologue when the youngest of the three Furies has a forbidden romance down in Tartarus with disastrous unplanned results. Tartarus is not just a place for the damned to spend their eternal suffering, but it is a prison and when it is weakened, the prisoners start to slip free and head to earth to runamok.

So, this begins the need for a hero. Two heroes. One is the warrior son of the Furies and result of the forbidden love affair, Alek, but the other is the descendant of the Oracle of Delphi. Alek must find the Oracle on earth and they must work together to repair Tartarus by restoring its escapees. Unfortunately, Alek's Oracle partner isn't aware of who and what she is and he has no idea where to find her only that the Fates and Pythia have shared that she must be found right at the point of her human death and restored with the Furie's magic to become the Oracle. Alek is weakened whenever he enters the earth realm and he is confused by the modern Earth customs, but he has to race against time to save his partner at the point of death and get her up to speed.

Eva is the average girl and studious college student. She lives at home with her mom. Her mom is cool about things and makes great effort for Eva to feel like an adult so she is comfortable living at home. They are alone since Eva's dad left, but they are doing all right. Well, alright save her mom's creepy boyfriend, Billy. He makes her nervous for some reason.

Eva's vivacious best friend, Bridget, is determined to get her best friend to live a little and not be so serious all the time. A party. A guy. Things go wrong- so very wrong. And Eva's world has changed irrevocably.

Meanwhile, Detective James Graham and his partner at the police department are working on a gruesome homicide that has all the markings of a killer who will not stop with one. His investigation leads him to another disappearance and the suspicious behavior of Eva, Bridget, and Alek.

This book is one of those that makes it hard for me to rate it. This one felt very much like quick introduction instead a fully fleshed out story installment. Sometimes when I'm reading books in a series, my ultimate opinion about the first book will depend on what comes after it. This is one of those instances. There were some aspects that had appeal, but there was also a whole lot of stuff that was either not working for me or potentially not going to work. It's not a story written with depth or complexity- it skims the surface of its potential. And it is shaping up to be one that might be trying to do too much, but then again, it might turn out to be brilliant.

Pacing of the story was fine though it does hop about between scenes so keeps the reader on her toes.

The worldbuilding needed teasing out though the overall direction of the series had strong appeal for me. There was enough of a story and plot for me to mildly enjoy, but not enough to really grab me. And on top of that, there were some elements that still leave me confused. The whole premise about Tartarus being cursed and the solution for it doesn't make sense to me. And how Eva as the Oracle can help is still a mystery and unexplained.

The characters are given moderate development. I felt a lack in them, but there was enough to have some feel for them as they moved through the story. I do hope that the author takes the time to fill things in as the story goes.
Eva was average girl who goes through a whole lot of changes rapidly. I liked that the author wrote her with that cautious nature and didn't have her buying everything too quickly. More authentic. It will be interesting to see her come into her own.
James, the detective was the most appealing character and his plot line the most interesting to me and he's still very much an enigma.
Although, Alek's cheesy dialogue and Dudley Do-right persona were a little cute. I have a suspicion that he'll grow edgier as he experiences the work they have to do containing the escaped demon threats. He's untried and inexperienced, but willing.

That leads to the genre blend of the plot. I love mystery and suspense so I enjoyed that this element was added to the story, but at the same time, I was distracted by how rough the blend of the paranormal mythology elements were with the contemporary suspense ones. Maybe by the next book this will be smoothed out better. In this one, it was somewhat jarring and distracting.

The only solid relationship development at this point is the girls' friendship. Bridget is a hoot. That girl doesn't let much disturb her high on life and she's good to getting Eva to lighten up while Eva helps Bridget stay grounded. Bridget is daring and handles the need for quick, decisive action and thinking on the move well.
There is foreshadowing that the main players will all end up working together and maybe developing romantic interests, but at the moment it was mostly introduction and solving the first challenge.
The story hints at attraction between Alek and Eva. I'm glad it didn't go there yet because this pair does not fit well together to me. Friends and partners in saving the world? Sure. Romance pair? Uh uh. But we shall see. There is always James.

I've seen this one placed in Young Adult and New Adult categories and I can see why. The age of the characters is New Adult, but the choices, thinking, dialogue, and actions of the characters gave me the feeling of reading Young Adult (with the exception of James who actually feels like he should be in an adult book).

All in all, this was a confusing one for me. I will be proceeding to the next book because there was enough to make me want to give this series more time to hook me in and see if it will develop more as it goes. I think it will have appeal to YA Urban Fantasy fans who like a YA feel to the story and are looking for just a fun, quick read.

My thanks to Diversion Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Moony (Captain Mischief) MeowPoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like it and had so high hopes for the book, but the hopes were sadly crushed. It had me at twist at greek mythology, but i didn`t feel it. I didn`t like it.
I was mostly inbetween wierded out, bored and confused for around 60-70% of the book and then i was just meh, bored for the rest. I didn`t enjoy any of the characters, even though i wanted to. But i`m glad i got to read it, because now i know this book ain`t for me.

[Neria_Luce · Rating 2 out of 5]

268 sayfada hiçbir şey anlatamamakta ayrı bir başarı tabi. Resmen boş bir kitap olmuş. Ayrıca buradan Pegasus editörlerine de seslenmek istiyorum 268 sayfaya 25 TL fiyat basarken çıkan üründen de emin olsanız keşke. Bir Alek, bir Alex nedir yahu. Bu sefer olmamış be Cast abla başka seferlere artık.