Review: The Secret Fire by C.J. Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld

The Secret Fire by C.J. Daugherty & 

Carina Rozenfeld

Publisher-Atom

Released-Sept 10th 2015

Purchase- Amazon / B & N

French teen Sacha Winters can't die. He can throw himself off a roof, be stabbed, even shot, and he will always survive. Until the day when history and ancient enmities dictate that he must die. Worse still, his death will trigger something awful. Something deadly. And that day is closing in.Taylor Montclair is a normal English girl, hanging out with her friends and studying for exams, until she starts shorting out the lights with her brain. She’s also the only person on earth who can save Sacha.There’s only one problem: the two of them have never met. They live hundreds of miles apart and powerful forces will stop at nothing to keep them apart.They have eight weeks to find each other.Will they survive long enough to save the world?

My Thoughts:

At first, I didn't even realize this book was co-written. I've never read anything by Rozenfeld before, but I gotta say, she and Daugherty make a good team. The writing was evenly paced, flowed at a steady stream of intrigue and extremely easy to sink into and get lost in the pages. As for Daugherty? She's one of my favorite authors and her Night School books is one of my favorite series. They were unpredictable, gripping and addicting as hell. While I do still miss that world, I was thrilled when I heard that Daugherty was coming out with a new series and I'm even more thrilled to say that it was everything I hoped it would be.

The Secret Fire, has just about everything I like in my reads. It has two unlikely allies, a 300 year old curse, genetic powers and has a ton of gripping suspense. I absolutely love the concept and found it completely fascinating. Sacha Winters is a 17 year old teenager who lives in Paris. He's reckless, fearless and doesn't value his life, but then again he can't die, at least not yet and not from the lack of trying. For as long as anyone could remember his family is cursed. Every first born son on his fathers side will die at the age of 18 and nothing can kill them before then, which I guess explains why Sacha has lost interest in school, friends and well, life.

Taylor Montclair is a 17 year old teenage girl who takes her education seriously. She's an Intelligent straight-A student who enjoys charities, volunteering and dreams of going to Oxford to study with her grandfather. So when her French teacher asks Taylor to tutor a boy who needs help in English, she agrees. When Taylor gets in touch with Sacha, things aren't exactly smooth, but eventually they get it straight and agree to meet on-line and 'study'. In the meantime, Taylor has been getting these strange headaches, losing time and strangest thing has been happening to her. Soon Sacha and Taylor realize that their meeting isn't by chance, and soon they will learn what fate really has in store for them and what they will mean to one another.

There is so many aspects of the story that I really enjoyed. Sacha would put himself through these terrible and dangerous situations, but like a train wreck, I couldn't look away. I loved learning more about the curse and seeing Taylor train her new found powers and was continuously curious how the two connect, which I have to say when the big reveal happened, it was a brilliant twist. I also loved that this wasn't one of those insta-love romances, cause actually there was no real romance at this point, but we do have a real connection between two people who are fated to save the world by saving each other. I loved their deep protective need and fierce determination to go up against exhaustible odds. This book is extremely suspenseful and riddled with endless questions and all it did was make me want more.

I really enjoyed all of these characters. They all have a unique voice and the greatest personality. Taylor is a wonderful character who has a good head on her shoulders. She took the news about her mutated genes well and it was fun watching her strength develop. I wasn't sure what to think of Sacha at first, he lives his life very dangerously and I found him to be obnoxious and rude, but as we got to know him better, I realized that he's just bitter, scared and mad as hell and my heart hurt for him. He's actually very kind and sweet. Louisa is also pretty kickass. She's got sass and great sarcasm and I love what she brings to the story.

Bottom line, I absolutely loved this one, it's exciting, it's fascinating and it's completely consuming. I can't wait to find out what happens next. Bring on the next book! Instant favorite!

                                                                          5 Snowflakes

Find the authors:

C.J. Daugherty- Goodreads/ Website

Carina Rozenfeld- Goodreads   

Review: Fracture by C.J. Daugherty

Fracture by C.J. Daugherty

Publisher- Atom

Released- Aug 15th 2013

Purchase- Amazon / TBD/ Fish Pond

Devastated by the loss of her friend and under constant threat from an unknown spy at Cimmeria Academy, Allie Sheridan is finding it hard to cope.In Fracture, the third book in the Night School series, she’s not the only one losing it – everything is falling apart. And when Nathaniel begins to reveal his game plan, Isabelle starts to lose control.As the school slides into a deadly morass of paranoia and suspicion, everyone is guilty until proved innocent. Anyone can be held without proof, and convicted without a trial. No one is safe.This time Nathaniel doesn’t need to hurt them. This time they’re hurting themselves.

My Thoughts: 
Such a brilliant world! Seriously. C.J. Daugherty's Night School series is one of my favorites books to escape with.  I always look forward to the next installment, craving that heart pounding excitement, alluring mystery and charming romance that I've come to expect from these books. I simply adore Daugherty's writing. She is a true master at pacing her stories in a way that plays with your mind and pulls at your heart. The flow and tone is also pitch perfect, but what I love most about these books is that it's still crazy addicting. I love how unpredictable everything feels, I never know what to expect and I'm continuously guessing from start to finish. I'm happy to say that Fracture is just as riveting and strong as the previous books and once again, an instant favorite!

Tormented after the lost of her best friend, Jo, Allie is beside herself. She feels like everyone at Cimmeria Academy has let her down and she doesn't know who she can trust. Wanting to take action into her own hands, Allie escapes the school and tries to find the answers no one else seems to be going after. But her attempt to escape to London failed and Allie is sent back to the Academy. Fueled only by the desperate need to avenge Jo's death, Allie is filled with a new found hope. Revenge. She will train. She will fight and together with her friends, she will find a way to avenge Jo, stop Nathaniel and find the spy lurking in the walls of Cimmeria Academy.

I always thought that the third book in a series is the most difficult to write. There is a lot of information and truths that need revealing but you don't want to say to much or give away the entire story. Where's the fun in that? After all, there are two more books planned for this series. So, with that said, Fracture is a great in-between novel, but this was more like a filler then anything else. 

With the help of their Night School training, Allie and her friends form a secret group and try to plot out who the spy could be. We are treated to seeing these characters fight back in the only way they know how. United. We also  finally find out what Night School is truly about and while there were scattered clues among the other books, it was still something else to finally get the grand picture after all this time. I loved how Daugherty waited for the perfect moment to let us in on the big secret, it was a great way for Allie to accept and appreciate where her destiny truly lies as well as capturing that curiosity in readers to keep us guessing and invested. Which totally worked. We learn more about Lucinda's role and how it's connected to Isabelle, Nathaniel and eventually Allie. We also get some action packed scenes that involve Nathaniel and his ultimate goal to take over the school, but at last, we still don't know who the spy is. So, while a lot happens in this installment, at the same time, nothing actually gets resolved. This might be disappointing or frustrating to some readers, but I for one love how Daugherty is setting up for future books. The biggest anchor in these novels has always been the building mystery in both story line and characterizations. When I really think about each of the characters I've grown so attached to, I wonder if I really know them at all.  Daugherty has us skeptical of everything about this world. We truly don't' know who we can trust and all we can do is sit back and hope against hope that are favorite characters don't betray us in the end. Yes, the wait can be exasperating, but it also gives us something to ponder and look forward to, which is wonderful since I'm not ready to let these books go just yet. 

Since the death of Jo, all of these characters seem to grieve and grow in different and even surprising ways.

In the begging of the story, Allie is back to her old rebellious ways. She's defiant, hurt and lashes out in mean ways and while she may seem like a brat, she's actually portrayed very realistically. She was the only one there when Jo died. She blames and hates herself and when it doesn't feel big enough, she starts to blame everyone else around her. Later in the book, Allie realizes that she's not the only person who lost a friend that night and that everyone is doing what they can to find the person responsible  for helping Jo's killer get inside the school. My heart really goes out to Allie, but I'm glad she finally snapped out of her grief-stricken stage and decided that the best way to avenge Jo was is to fight back. 

Even Carter and Sylvain decided to put their personal grudge behind them for now and work together, for both Allie and Jo. It was strange to see this unlikely alliance, but it was also really great to see Sylvain and Carter as well as Rachel, Nicole and Zoe work as a team. They have brilliant chemistry and it's exciting and entertaining to see them in action.

I'm still waving my Team Carter flag, but I have to admit, Sylvain is growing on me. For someone who I didn't think could be redeemed, Syl turned out to be the only one who is giving the confidence and warmth Allie desperately needs. Carter is acting like his older self that we met in the first book (not really sure who he was in the second) but he still has a lot of issues that he needs to work out.

Which brings me to the romance. For now, that part of the story is on hold, but I'm actually glad that Daugherty took this step for Allie. She has so many conflicting problems right now that it would feel forced for her to just pick up where she left off with Slyvain at the Winter ball and her heart still breaks when she thinks of Carter. Allie is confused and lost right now and the last thing she needs to focus on is her love life. So there isn't any romance in this book, but we still got a few heated moments that made my heart smile. 

All in all, Fracture is another thrilling installment in the Night school series. I'm enjoying the slow but steady rhythm in the plot, the writing is remarkable and these characters are beautifully complicated and compelling.  I also really liked the way this ended. It was action packed and gripping and I'm mighty curious where Daugherty will take this next. 
Another amazing read in the Night School series!

Find the author:
Goodreads / Website                                4.5 Snowflakes