Pyromantic

January 15, 2017
Giant snails, terrified kelpies, and supernatural knitting: this is life for the teenagers running supernatural law enforcement in small-town Maine.Even though Ava, Lock, and Ezra destroyed their evil old boss who ran the Coterie like "something out of a supernatural Goodfellas" in Firebug (2014), the Coterie hasn't gone away. Somebody still needs to make sure that magical people are neither exploited nor exploiters; that's Ava's job. Working for her new, strangely benevolent boss--Alistair even pays her for her work!--Ava and her two best buds take on investigative work for the Boston-based Coterie. Though they're still recovering from the events at the climax of the previous book, they are formidable. Ava, white, is a firebug who burns through most of her clothing as a side effect of doing her job. Ezra is stunningly gorgeous, amber-eyed, tan-skinned, and russet-haired, half Japanese and half fox. Lock, a pale-skinned half dryad, is the object of Ava's confused, angst-ridden affections. Though they've escaped the criminality of their old life, their work for Alistair is still chock-full of gory, nasty violence, complete with zombies, rabid werewolves, and magical creatures gone feral. With the help of humans, were-hares, and an adorable Doctor Who fangirl, they fight a plague that threatens them all. Brief cameos feature the characters of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (2010). Gruesome, snarky high jinks, with just the right amount of feels. (Fantasy. 14-17)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-Following the defeat of Venus in Firebug, pyromancer Ava, who can start fires in her mind, begins working for a new boss of the Coterie. Yet her long, supernatural to-do lists are just a small part of her problems. A disease that afflicts the paranormally inclined seems to be sweeping through her community. Assisted by a range of other magical beings, Ava struggles to discover what's gone wrong while simultaneously dealing with her difficult personal life and her hard-to-read new boss. The Northeastern U.S. settings are vivid, from small-town Maine to bustling Boston. While the protagonist occasionally suffers from overwhelmingly brooding sarcasm, teens will find her reactions entertaining. Infused with light romance that never gets in the way of the fast-paced narrative action, this is an entertaining sequel, and there is much for fans of paranormal narratives with a human touch to savor in this continuation of the series.

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