Format: EBook, 378 pages
Release Date: March 13, 2020
Publisher: Bookwyrm Books; 2nd edition
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Young Adult / Urban Fantasy
The balance between good and evil comes down to one girl.
But is the darkness really so bad?
Emma Duvall starts senior year with one thing in mind: make Seattle, home.
All
her life her mother lived with one foot out the door, but no more. That
is, until Emma discovers she has the power to turn terrifying creatures
of the night to ash with a single touch. That one moment unveils a
hidden world of supernatural beings, both good and bad.
Suddenly
her best friend is acting strange, the new guy that's mysteriously in
every one of her classes is too beautiful to be human, and an ancient,
powerful being is stalking her.
To top it off, the "good guys",
the Giborim, aren't convinced that Emma can be trusted. But their
unofficial leader, Blaze, becomes her unwilling protector--and perhaps
something more--setting fire to millennia of hard-set prejudices.
Especially when her newfound power awakens a deep and dark hunger that can only be sated with death.
Brittany Matsen's The Mark of the Fallen Flame is the first installment in the authors The Weapon of Fire and Ash series. 17-year-old Emma Duvall starts her senior year with one thing in mind: make Seattle, home and find a way to go to college where she can finally have a life. All her life her mother Laura has lived with one foot out the door, but no more. That is until one night, Emma and her best friend Adrianna are attack by terrifying spider-like creatures, and Emma kills them with a single touch.
Thanks to Laura's secrets, Emma has no idea how important she will one day be to either the light, or the darkness. Emma discovers a hidden world of supernatural beings, both good and bad. When war started raging in their city causing catastrophic devastation, crazy things started happening, including unholy creatures that should not exist. The story also features Levaroth, a General under a Demon Prince who also goes by the name of Rowek.
Rowek takes an interesting in Emma, but it seems as though he has a much greater plan in store for her after her school dance is attacked by demons, and someone messes with the survivors memories. To top it off, the "good guys", the Giborim, an immortal race of protectors, aren't convinced that Emma can be trusted. But their unofficial leader, Blaze Thomas, becomes her unwilling protector--and perhaps something more--setting fire to millennia of hard-set prejudices.
Emma's newfound power awakens a deep and dark hunger that can only be sated with death and she soon learns that the violence and kidnappings in the news and her state stem from an ancient supernatural battle for power. I think one of the biggest problems I have with this story is the secrecy behind Laura not letting Emma know about her past, and why they are always moving to keep out of reach from some dangerous people.
I haven't spoken of Adrianna yet, and that's pretty much because she gets a book all of her own called The Spellcaster's Weapon which will explain why Adrianna will one day be just as important as Emma. The final part of this story is action packed while also leaving a stunning cliffhanger ending which will pick up in the third book in this series. Even though Laura acted strange throughout the book, I honestly can't hold it against her for not telling Emma the truth about her heritage and who she really is. After all, Emma will soon know the truth, and there's nothing good that comes from being angry at a character.
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