{"id":9304,"date":"2017-09-29T10:42:09","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T14:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9304"},"modified":"2024-05-13T20:19:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T00:19:30","slug":"firebug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9304","title":{"rendered":"Firebug"},"content":{"rendered":"

Firebug<\/a><\/em> (2014) Lish McBride<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I have this thing where if I really love an author, I sometimes have difficulty starting a book in a new series. Because I’m afraid the new book won’t live up to my expectations of the other books I’ve read, so I keep putting off reading it.<\/p>\n

Lish McBride fell into that category. I loved the Hold Me Closer, Necromancer<\/a><\/em> series, and so when a new parallel series started I wanted the book immediately, but… didn’t want to read it.<\/p>\n

Silly Michelle.<\/p>\n

Ava is a firebug–a firestarter–but is trapped into a contract with the Coterie (think supernatural mob) as an enforcer, made to keep the one person she cares about safe from harm. But now she has new friends, and Venus (head of the Coterie) has more things with which to threaten her, and she is trapped into a contract she can’t escape but won’t fulfill.<\/p>\n

I was chattel to Venus, queen of the manor and head of the Coterie. Lock and Ezra at least had the illusion of hope. Since they were tithes, their blood pacts were over at age twenty-five. They donated a few years of service to the Coterie, and Venus left their families alone. My contract only ended with death\u2014 mine or Venus\u2019s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ava is your typical snarky teen, and delightful and complicated.<\/p>\n

Duncan nudged a pot of jam closer to me. \u201cTo go with your butter,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

I slathered my biscuit with jam. \u201cDo you hear that cheering? That\u2019s all the cholesterol in my arteries welcoming their new friends, butter and sugar. Yaaay, new friends.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My immediate response wasn\u2019t just no, it was hell, no. Extreme no. No ad infinitum, ad nauseam, with trained No! dancers doing a routine in sequins on top.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But it’s also supernatural fantasy, which means it has all kinds of interesting creatures, like Baba Yaga’s hut (a personal favorite).<\/p>\n

Then we tracked it by the giant mounds of chicken poo. Lock stopped at one big pile with what was clearly a beanstalk growing out of it. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe moron is feeding it magic beans.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s afraid,\u201d I said. Lock squeezed my hand. Fear of the Coterie, of Venus, was something we both knew well. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to have to burn these,\u201d he said after we\u2019d had our moment. \u201cThey\u2019re an invasive species.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also like that as a YA book, there are bits scattered here and there that are thoughtful and useful but not overdone.<\/p>\n

(W)hen you drink a lot, things tend to come out. I\u2019ve seen drunk girls throw themselves at guys they wouldn\u2019t normally give the time of day to, cry over ancient troubles, and generally place themselves in dangerous situations with questionable people. I\u2019ve seen drunk guys act just as bad. This is not to say every drunk person I\u2019ve ever seen is a train wreck, but when you mix a depressant with hormone-crazed kids who are already depressed most of the time, the mess gets worse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s spot-on for the character, but also an interesting point to give to teens. <\/p>\n

It’s also realistic in important ways.<\/p>\n

Please. Let us make it out. Let me have this<\/em>. I wanted those boats just as full when we left as when we arrived. <\/p>\n

But even as I prayed I knew it wouldn\u2019t happen. Coups were bought with blood. And no whispered entreaty to nameless deities would change that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s a nice touch.<\/p>\n

So of course it was good and of course I highly recommend it. Now I just have to watch for a price drop on the sequel.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Macmillan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Firebug (2014) Lish McBride I have this thing where if I really love an author, I sometimes have difficulty starting a book in a new series. Because I’m afraid the new book won’t live up to my expectations of the other books I’ve read, so I keep putting off reading it. Lish McBride fell into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,2,48,204,34,20],"tags":[149],"class_list":["post-9304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-fantasy","category-female","category-good","category-urban-fantasy","category-young-adult","tag-lish-mcbride"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/siQkW-firebug","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6434,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/6434","url_meta":{"origin":9304,"position":0},"title":"Burnt Sugar","author":"Michelle","date":"January 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Burnt Sugar (2014) Lish McBride Ava, Lock, and Ezra have been sent by the Coterie (magical mafia) to collect a tithe from a witch who has missed payment. But when the find a gingerbread house, they know things are more serious than they expected. Lock stopped and crossed his arms,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/burnt-sugar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11186,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11186","url_meta":{"origin":9304,"position":1},"title":"Pyromantic","author":"Michelle","date":"October 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Pyromantic (2017) Lish McBride The sequel to Firebug is set a few months after those events. Ava and Cade are adjusting to their changed relationship, and also rebuilding Cade's bookstore, which was burned down amidst everything else. Luckily, the head of the new Coterie believes that the incident was a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Pyromantic.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2377,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2377","url_meta":{"origin":9304,"position":2},"title":"Necromancer: A Novella","author":"Michelle","date":"May 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Necromancer: A Novella (2011) Lish McBride One of the things I'm coming to adore about the Kindle (and there are many) is authors can put up short stories and novellas--for free!--to give you an introduction to their work. Which is how I ended up downloading \"Necromancer: A Novella\" because who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Necromancer.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10836,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10836","url_meta":{"origin":9304,"position":3},"title":"Freaks & Other Family","author":"Michelle","date":"May 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Freaks & Other Family (2016) Lish McBride You Make Me Feel So Young Halfway Through the Wood This collection is two stories about the characters from Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, Sam and Ramon. Sam is now a necromancer. Ramon is now a were-bear. Luckily, Sam's inheritance also included a house\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Freaks-Other-Family.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2560,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2560","url_meta":{"origin":9304,"position":4},"title":"Hold Me Closer, Necromancer","author":"Michelle","date":"October 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (2010) Lish McBride Sam can't decide what to do with himself, which means that by default he has fallen to the painful default of food service. His life is going nowhere, he's job is crap, but he has friends, and friends can make anything easier. Even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Hold-Me-Closer-Necromancer.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3226,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3226","url_meta":{"origin":9304,"position":5},"title":"Necromancing the Stone","author":"Michelle","date":"October 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Necromancing the Stone (2012) Lish McBride This is a sequel to the YA book, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, which I really liked. Luckily, I like Necromancing the Stone just as well. Sam LaCroix is still trying to adjust to being a necromancer. And to having a position on the local\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Necromancing-the-Stone.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}