Review: Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer

Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads summary:


Meridian Sozu is a Fenestra—the half-human, half-angel link between the living and the dead. She has the dark responsibility of helping souls transition safely into the afterlife. If people die without the help of a Fenestra, their souls are left vulnerable to be stolen by the Aternocti, a dark band of forces who disrupt the balance of good and evil in the world and cause chaos.

Having recently lost her beloved Auntie—the woman who showed her what it meant to be a Fenestra—Meridian has hit the road with Tens, her love and sworn protector, in hopes of finding another Fenestra. Their search leads them to Indiana, where Juliet, a responsible and loving teenager, works tirelessly in the nursing home where she and several other foster kids are housed. Surrounded by death, Juliet struggles to make a loving home for the younger kids, and to protect them from the violent whims of their foster mother. But she is struggling against forces she can't understand . . . and even as she feels a pull toward the dying, their sickness seems to infect her, weighing her down. . . .


My review:

Life seriously got in the way of reading and reviewing this week. Between work stress, kid stress and being sick as hell...yeah. Funtimes.

Finally wrapped up the second in the Fenestra series though and while it was a fine read, I think I'll be leaving the world here. The sad part is, there isn't a real defining reason why. I just got to the end of the second book and there was absolutely nothing pushing me to hit Overdrive for the third book. It was more of a "that's done" kind of feeling instead.

I wish I could pin it down to one thing, but I can't. The story was compelling (even though it did have more than a few holes in it) and I absolutely loved being back with Tens and Meridian agan.

I do love Tens, even more in this one than I did in the first one. I understand him a lot better than I did in the first book, and get what drives him to do the things he does...even when I want to reach through the pages and shake him for them.

The supporting characters were a little weak this time around an I think that might be what kept me from really falling in love with it. Rumi was supposed to be cute and quirky with the obscure SAT words but all that did was pull me out of the story. Joi was a little...too much, I think. Too quick to accept, to quick to jump in and give them a place to live, etc.

For Juliet and her crew - again, there wasn't a strong connection to the newest fenestra in town. Maybe I'm just over "ten years of unimaginable suffering" in a character, but I really am. It's just too hard to believe that residents went in to DG and no one ever came to see them again. it's one of those "out of reality" things that seriously keep me from accepting a story. I know I'm reading about half-angels, but I'm sorry. If there are family members paying for care, they'd be there to see the place. If they were being paid from Medicare, they'd be inspected. Someone would have noticed something. Especially in small town Indiana.

Anywho. It's a good series and strong stories, it just didn't pull at me enough to have me continuing.

Review: Meridian by Amber Kizer

Meridian by Amber Kizer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads summary:


Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain. 

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.


My review:

I was all set to start another book when I got the email from the library that my hold was ready for Meridian. I didn't remember putting the hold, but I scanned the synopsis and hit the download. The other book wasn't going anywhere...so I gave it a shot.


And was promptly hooked like a trout. To the point I was up until 3 am finishing it. I tried to go to sleep at around 1am (60% finished). Ten minutes later, my Kindle was open again.

I've had iffy luck with angel stories. There are the good (Unearthly series) and the bad (Fallen series) and several that fall somewhere in the middle. If the first book in the Fenestra series is any indication, this one's going to stay closer to the Unearthly side of that scale.

Meridian is an engaging and very real character. She's not perfect by any stretch. She's got her flaws, her whiny teenager I-didn't-choose-this-I-don't-want-it moments, and a touch of stubborn for good measure. But beneath that is a girl whose been ripped unceremoniously from her life, her family, and is suddenly thrust into a life that centers on what most people shy away from. Death.

One of the things that pulled me in was the way the author frames these half-angels and their reason for existence. The window between this world and the afterlife, the quilts Auntie makes in memory of those she's helped pass through. Meridian's heartbreak over trying to learn how to use her ability tugged at my heartstrings and brought tears to my eyes.

Tens is also everything a leading man should be. A little mysterious, a whole lot standoffish, but always hovering just on the edges to be there if needed. It took me getting further into the story before I realized the reasons behind his reticence. One it was revealed, though, I understood. And it rose him several levels in my estimation.

There's also a slightly dystopian edge to this surrounding the dark presence in Auntie, Tens and Meridian's life. The Pastor and his followers are frightening not only for what they do, but also for how easily such a situation could actually happen.

This is an emotional story in all the best ways. There is enough humor to balance out the sadness, a plot that pulls you in, a twist or two that pull in a few gasps, and a love that will warm your heart even when its fresh from breaking.