Carole's Sunday Review: A fistful of fire - Rebecca Chastain

Author: Rebecca Chastain

Title: A Fistful of Fire (Madison Fox, Illuminant Enforcer #2)

Genre: UF & Fantasy

Pages: ebook

First Published: October 2015

Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

Madison Fox survived her first week as California’s newest illuminant enforcer, defending her region against imps, vervet, hounds, and one lascivious demon. If her grumpy boss, Mr. Pitt, was impressed, he hasn’t told Madison. In fact, there’s a lot her boss has been closemouthed about, including the dark secret haunting his past.

But Madison’s problems are just igniting. Neighboring regions report an uncharacteristic flare-up of evil, fire-breathing salamanders blaze unchecked across the city, and Black Friday looms. Trapped doing cleanup amid mobs of holiday shoppers, Madison watches from the sidelines as dubious allies insinuate themselves in her region.

As suspicions kindle and the mysterious evil gains strength, Madison must determine who she can trust—and whose rules to follow—before her region and career go up in flames.

This is the second in the series. It could be read as a standalone, but I do encourage reading the first book first. 

Poor Madison! I get that she is a newbie, but I feel bad about how rudely everyone is treating her. Even in the paranormal world politics runs rampant. I also felt bad for Mr. Pitt the whole time. Poor guy...I'm happy to see that he really does like Madison and cares for her safety. She certainly has her dumb moments, but you can't really blame her. I would probably pull some of the same dumb things. She is new to this world and this role which people are trying to pull from under her feet. Again...poor girl.

Hilarious that this takes place on Black Friday. It proves my point about how horrible that event is. Its a day of greed, stupidity, and selfishness. It was awesome how the author incorporated this in this world. Clever, clever. 

The beginning was a little slow, but it was certainly the calm before the storm. So much drama. So many baddies. And so many twists that I wasn't sure what was going to happen and who was to blame! I love it when a story keeps me on my toes. I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm certainly glad the possible love triangle is still being avoided. I adore Nicko, but Madison needs a guy like Dr. Love to keep her sane. Nicko can find someone else. Maybe Madison's friend ;D. 

Honestly, I am so glad this series found me, because I was losing faith in the UF genre. The characters are interesting, the world new/different, and the story fresh and creative! Love it! I am curious to see what happens next.

In the end, I highly recommend this series. I advise reading the first one first though, because there are a lot of backstory I feel is essential. Granted, I can see this being read alone. The beginning was a little slow, but after a couple of chapters I could NOT put this down. A fun world and characters that entertain me. Too be honest, this was better then the first book which is rare! Out of five stars, I stamp this with 5.