Sapphira is a ticking time bomb. Two years ago, she lost control of the unstable energies within her and caused a horrific supernatural incident. Since then, she and her family have lived in constant fear of another—and her freedom seems only a distant memory. In Huskers Grove, Iowa, a darkness looms. A great and faceless evil. An evil that wants Sapphira. Can she master her abilities to save the ones she loves or will she fall victim to the enemy that seeks to take what is rightfully hers?
AMBER LYNN NATUSCH is the author of the bestselling Caged series for adults. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, and is still deeply attached to her Canadian roots. She loves to dance and practice Muay Thai―but spends most of her time running a chiropractic practice with her husband, raising two young children, and attempting to write when she can lock herself in the bathroom for ten minutes of peace. Dare You to Lie is her debut YA novel with Tor Teen.
I read this on a whim and because I needed something short and sweet. This turned out to be pretty good! I was hit with a little deja vu as the character develops amnesia and I just read Box of Frogs which also has an amnesiac character. Sapphira is a girl with fantastical powers, she's essentially a nuclear bomb and she's had a hard time dealing with her power and the aftermath of a catastrophe that she unintentionally caused. She manages to convince her brothers to bring her on their newest work mission and that's where things go wrong.
Sapphira ends up trapped on a farm with no memories of who she is or how she got there. Luckily, there's a sexy farm boy to the rescue. The middle of this book was interesting since Phira goes around trying to remember things and helping around the farm. There's also several mysterious near death experiences for her. I did enjoy seeing Phira regain her memories and skills over this time period. What I was not fond of was the out of context and blatant sex shaming Phira did to herself. There's nothing wrong with having sex even as a woman. And she just had a complete meltdown about it and kept going on about how she wasn't "pure" or some ridiculous shit. That part definitely bothered me.
I am dnf'ing this. I'm sorry. A lot of people seemed to enjoy this book but if I have to read one other page where Sapphira is talking about how she's allowed to be a slut and a bitch because her life is "oh so hard", I am putting my head down the toilet and flush until my brain is cleansed.
There are a lot of things that I want to like about this book but they're not quite enough to overpower some of the things I really did not like. I almost gave up after the first chapter but I wasn't quite put off enough to stop reading.
So the good things—the main character, Sapphira, is really intriguing. When we meet her, she's having sex with a stranger to help take the edge off her powers, which seem to be even a mystery to her. I love when authors "remix" established stories—in this case it's Greek and Roman mythology mixed with some additional supernatural beings—and I wish there'd been more of that world in the story. But there were a lot of things that just bothered me.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this series, as it is a spin-off of the Caged series. I absolutely love the Caged series: Ruby, Sean, Scarlet, and the boys. It's hard for me to read a spin-off to a series I love because what if I don't love the new one? What if I don't like the characters or the way the story lines are used? It's a lot of what ifs and unknowns and sometimes it can be scary.
So, Sapphira is the daughter of two very powerful supernaturals, and when you find out who they are, wow! The pressure that this woman has on her shoulders is huge! She can't control her powers and her family can't trust her. She hates her life and lashes out at anyone and everyone to show her frustration.
This is a supernatural, fantasy story but has a romantic element to it. During some of the story in Iowa, I was wondering why Amber Lynn Natusch doesn't have many contemporary romances in her repertoire. She has some amazing skill at writing these characters that have attraction but have such complicated issues going on that it almost makes it impossible to have a relationship. She doesn't write "love at first sight" type stories; they have depth, complexity, ups, downs, attraction, and steam. I am someone who doesn't like to read many romance novels, however I love the romantic aspects of her stories, especially this one.
Bottom line, if you love the Caged series (how could you not?), then get this book. If you love romance with a little supernatural bad-a$$ery thrown in, then get this book. You might want to read the Caged series first, but you don't have to. But!! Don't read this first and then read the Caged series. Huge spoilers abound in here!!
Sapphira, or Phira, is having some anger issues to say the least. She is under constant monitoring since a supernatural incident that left a town destroyed. The constant babysitting doesn’t help her rage issues either. While she always has her twin brothers, Nico and Alek, or The Specialist, TS, with her at all times she feels lonely. Everyone around her feels her wrath because she has no choice in what she can do with her life and she can’t soothe the anger she feels. Circumstances are set in motion for Phira to find her true self.
Live Wire grabs your imagination and holds it to the very end. It is the perfect blend of action, mystery, and suspense to keep you glued to the story. There is even a little romance throw in there that is perfectly done. My heart ached for Phira during this story as she found true self.
This book is part of the Caged World. You DO NOT have to read Caged to understand this book. This series stands on its own. If you liked or loved Live Wire like I did, check out the check out the completed Caged Series.
wow.... Having sex with with many men makes you "a dirty whore" "disgusting" and a "Bad Person" Slut shaming much? She "Had" to have sex with many men though, so that makes it a bit forgivable Seriously? Having sex with many guys not make you a "Whore" there is nothing wrong with fucking a lot of people. It doesn't make you bad, impure or disgusting. Trying to Finish the book, but already now halfway through I'm tired of this misogynistic shaming bullshit. It's too bad, cause the story seems like it could be somewhat interesting, but this shit is distracting as fuck
She's done it again!! Where to begin?? This woman is Midas when she writes!! This book has all kinds of kick ass action, love and the right amount of magic! It was fun to get to see Sean again. Missed that guy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This series is another one of my favorite and a go to series to read when I am in a slump. Sapphira is amazing at kicking my ass back into gear!
Two years ago Sapphira made a grave mistake that resulted in wiping an entire town from existence. Since then she has struggled with maintaining control over the power that is inside of her. Guarded constantly by her babysitter TS, all she wants is her freedom. Finally allowed a taste of freedom results in Sapphira having no clue who she is. Found by Gabe, a struggling farmer in Iowa who also cares for his addling mother. The pair discover that everything is not as it seems, and their lives might be more entwined then either could have imagined.
This is a story about discovering exactly what you are and coming to terms with it. Sapphira’s story is the first book I read of Amber’s and I am so glad that I discovered her stories. This book absolutely blew me away and the books in the series keep on getting better!
This book is a part of the Caged World, there is some character crossover but you do not need to read the Caged Series first.
What a great start to what I'm sure will be an amazing series! I was so happy to jump into The Caged world again! I was sad to see Ruby's series end, but thankfully we get to catch up with her children in this heart stopping Urban Fantasy! I can't wait to see what happens next
The strong points of this story out-weight the week ones, but only just. Saphira, as introduced at the start of the novel is a most unlikable character. Profane, promiscuous and combative, there is no reason for the reader to like her. Very quickly she loses her memory and we are left with a new, much more likeable protagonist who spends most of the story trying to get her memory back. By the end of the book we end up with a third character (and sort of a fourth that coexists with her. There were editing problems where the story seems to skip, almost as though a few connecting paragraphs were missing. The author seems to have a hard time visualizing the scene she describes at times. In one instance, Phira is halfway up the stairs when she notices Gabe's mother watching her. This seems improbable as I would think that her back would be to the room and using crutches to navigate would make twisting in the middle of a staircase difficult if not dangerous. The story did bog down during Phira's stay at the farm. I was almost ready to put the book down when the pace finally began to pick up again. Phira's defeat of the Anemoi was so quick and perfunctory that it was almost anticlimactic. Not sure if I'd read any more of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
DNF*
I didn't like the MC, so no point continuing to waste my time.
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: No
Would you recommend?: No
------------ How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author) 4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author). 3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series) or 3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them! - 2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.) 1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
I enjoyed this. It was short and sweet, but still enjoyed it. It did read like a romance novel for the majority of the book, but I guess I like that sort of thing. I guess the only thing I didn't like was the possible? love triangle. Because the last love triangle in the Caged series had me on the wrong team. Not that I didn't enjoy the ride. Anyways. All I can say is team TS. Gabe was nice and all, but I'm not loving him. I don't know, something was missing and that could be the point. I hope the next one goes somewhere good. I would hate it to be a repeat of the Caged arc. I want Phira to be differentiated from Ruby. Her inner monologues are almost the same voice though. Still looking forward to the next one.
It’s been a while since I first read this series. I will say that I started with this first instead of the Caged series and that is where the problem was.
I understand this book so much more after reading about Phira’s parents and how they came to be.
This book is more like a precursor to what will happen and can seem kind of slow and unnecessary in some areas but it is quite the opposite.
Phira is easily my favorite character in this series because of how much she grows. It’s slow going in this book because she didn’t know who she was for a small amount of it but she understands who she is and who she wants to be.
I missed the world and I will definitely always come back to it!
Meet Sapphira, the daughter of Sean and Ruby from the caged series. I loved the caged series and I'm so happy this is sort of a continuation of that series. Don't think this book is about characters from the caged series, because it is all about Sapphira and what powers she has and how they impact her life along with the people in her life.Some characters from caged make small appearances, but that's it and I happy to get to know other characters set in this world. Get set for an interesting read full of action, adventure , and mystery.
This book was a flop:( cool cover though. The story just wasn’t engaging and by the end of it I didn’t care about anybody involved. The main antagonist was beaten, her new powers came out of left field and there’s nothing to pique further curiosity for the series
I think the main issue was that we were introduced to one character and then had to endure her amnesia on a very boring farm, then when she’s back, she’s got a another person in her head (super random) SO I was never able to connect with the mc.. and after 200+ pages I’d expect to at least on a base level
This was an author I had heard good things about but hadn't had a chance to explore yet. I can't say I'm disappointed.
The building of characters and the intricate weave of the story was brilliant. We were able to see how a shattered life can be put back together with a little self belief.
I felt like this was just a rambling narrative. It's like the author didn't know where she was going with this story or what type of story line she really wanted, but kept typing to meet an end.
I've read her books in the past and enjoyed them. This one...not so much.
For one I am SO Happy that the Caged series continued with the children and the development of each character and their super natural power. So far it has just added to the overall experience for me and I am in Live with Gabe and Phire she is totally kick ass and I can’t wait to see what happens next with her!
This book doesn't start well, and the ending is just as eyebrow arching. The greater part of the dialogue is "I'm a whore, I'm a whore, what a whore, I'm a bitch". It becomes a bit more interesting somewhere in the middle, but that's about it. The cover was promising, but the actual book, not so much. Perhaps she develops some maturity and insight in the next book.
I took a chance on a different genera and different subject with the end result being meh. I didn't love this book but I didn't hate it. It's VERY well written, just not my preference!
I really needed a Shaun and Ruby fix and their daughter's story did not disappoint. A riveting story that pulled me in from the first word to the last. I will be binge reading every book in this series....I recommend you follow my lead.
conversation were not believable. Neither was the time line. Gabe was supposedly caring for his parilized mother while running a farm full time with no help? Nope. That doesn't make sense. But a good story nonetheless.
A very interesting twist on a PNR story with hints of hot romance and a snarky heroine who grows through her unpredictable circumstances to become a (slightly) better person.
Wow what a absolute beauty of a start to this sensational series.
Incredibly written and absolutely beautiful inside and out. A story that is one of a kind truly. Only book 1 in and I’m already inlove with the story. The cover doesn’t even do it’s justice.
superb! I couldn't get enough of Phira! just overall really good and fun read! I didn't want this book (or the second one) to end! i can not wait for the third book!