Book Blurb:
THE LANTERN'S EMBER by Colleen Houck
Pub. Date: September 11, 2018
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Welcome to a world where nightmarish creatures reign supreme.
Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It’s difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So, he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern—one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal—or not-so-mortal—soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O’Dare.
Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack’s warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane with the help of a mysterious and debonair vampire—and the chase through a dazzling, dangerous world is on. Jack must do everything in his power to get Ember back where she belongs before both the earthly and unearthly worlds descend into chaos.
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My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Another-World, Ghosts, Historical, Mystery, Romance, Royal-Court, Supernatural, Teen, Vampires, Witches--
Jack has been given the lonely task of being a Lantern for the last 500 years, a being who guards the crossroads from both sides- be it humans trying to pass to the Otherworld or creatures trying to pass to the human world. In the small town he currently protects, there lives a girl who is not just a girl, but a witch. Instead of reporting Ember O'Dare to his superior and having her be executed, he has kept quiet and watched her grow up, coming into her power and personality. But the winds of change are blowing in and Jack's secret will not stay secret forever.
Let's just spend a minute gushing over my cover love and the title to the book. The title to the book as well as the cover image could not be more perfect for this story! Jack is a Lantern, and Ember is the female main character aka witch, and the two have a secret, totally not allowed connection that makes the title so appropriate.
The skull imagery I assumed was just a because it was creepy and appealing at the same time, but really shows Jack's true nature as it was revealed. And the random lights just wrap it all together so nicely. I feel like at times covers and titles are thrown together just cause or just kind of relate to the book, but this one nailed it out of the park and I could not love it more.
My favorite part of the book was the world that Colleen built. It was so cool- a mash-up of steampunk with supernatural elements and all kinds of monsters and creatures that roam free. The human world is a simple time of the 1800ish (per my guesstimate, don't quote me), with little to no technology as was the time. And then on the other side of the guarded crossroads is the Otherworld, with amazing gadgets and inventions run by witch power as an energy source, so ahead of anything the humans would even fathom. I so easily got lost in the Otherworld right along with Ember, her awe was my own. And the supernatural creatures that came to life were terrifying and inventive, with the oddest little quirks to give them personality- Colleen's imagination knows no bounds... and beware the Boogeyman.
As per the norm for Colleen, there is a love triangle thrown into the story, perfect for those who need an extra dose of angst along with their plot. We have one headstrong girl (witch) who makes some very questionable choices right off the bat (Why would you let a strange vampire you just met take you on a dangerous quest from a mysterious demand AND let him drink half your blood to purposefully weaken you?? Yep, I have no answer to that besides temporary insanity.) but luckily for Ember, she is crazy strong and can hold her own in a crazy situation. Next we have sweet, lonely Lantern (magical gate keeper) Jack who watched Ember grow up and went against his calling to instead protect her- he is the tie to the sleepy hollow story which made me so happy! And then there is Dev the very old, very charming vampire who has ulterior motives and does not understand being turned down. I knew who I rooted for but it was interesting to see what direction Ember took (and ps she basically had a super internse orgasm but without the word actually being used within the first 20% of the story- just an fyi!)
The ending of The Lantern's Ember was all that I hoped for, wrapping up every character the best way possible and leaving no loose ends. I really like that this was a standalone, making it the delightfully fun pre-Halloween read to get you hooked on the supernatural. This was a nice blend of fantasy and romance, making it the perfect escapism read.
Author Bio:
New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she’s not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.
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Week One:
9/3/2018- Captivated Reading- Review
9/4/2018- Jrsbookreviews- Review
9/5/2018- Portrait of a Book- Review
9/6/2018- YA Books Central- Interview
9/7/2018- Zach's YA Reviews- Review
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Week Two:
9/10/2018- Such A Novel Idea- Review
9/11/2018- Lisa Loves Literature- Review
9/12/2018- Wishful Endings- Interview
9/13/2018- The Bookish Libra- Review
9/14/2018- Here's to Happy Endings- Review
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Week Three:
9/17/2018- The Desert Bibliophile- Review
9/18/2018- Smada's Book Smack- Review
9/19/2018- Book-Keeping- Review
9/20/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Review
9/21/2018- A Court of Coffee and Books- Review
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Week Four:
9/24/2018- Do You Dog-ear?- Review
9/25/2018- Savings in Seconds- Review
9/26/2018- Book Briefs- Review
9/27/2018- Pacific Northwest Bookworm- Review
9/28/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
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Review tour provided by Rockstar Book Tours
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