Review: Very Engaging
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2013
Goodness! For a short novel, this one sparked my interest and kept it throughout the story. Flames has a few shortcomings, but overall, the plot was interesting, the story was paced well, and I genuinely liked the characters.Jenna is blessed, or cursed in her opinion, with a psychic gift. Living in a small town, being different didn't make for easy friendships. But she had her best friend and her boyfriend. Her life was pleasant. However, she loses her best friend and her boyfriend lets her down, so she leaves for college and a new life. She's been successful these last seven years. She has a thriving business and a best friend with her own psychic gift.I liked that Jenna shows strength and resilience after the adversity she faced growing up and especially right after graduation. She's made a life for herself and is relatively happy. I understood her hurt over the actions of her boyfriend, Nathaniel. It revealed a lot about her buried feelings that she went running home as soon as it was clear Nathaniel was in danger.Nathaniel is one hard-headed guy. He's moved on and built a life for himself and he's happy. But he's never settled down. He's been through a lot and goes through a lot over the course of the story, but is steadfast in his decisions. When Jenna arrives back in town, his actions and reactions said a lot about the feelings he's been carrying around for seven years. I understood his reluctance to believe what was right in front of him, but was glad when he finally embraced the truth.I enjoyed the psychic element of Flames. It added to the suspense since knowing something is going to happen doesn't mean it can be changed. I also liked the supporting characters of Shana and David. We don't see them often but they play important roles and made an impact on the story.There were a few editing issues in Flames. However, I felt that the story was strong enough that I was able to overlook them most of the time. Also, the actions of Jenna and Nathaniel irritated me at one point. It seemed immature - Jenna evens comments on the situation becoming childish - and didn't mesh with the strength I felt both characters projected.Overall, Flames was a quick and suspenseful read. I liked the characters and felt engaged in their story. I will definitely read Ms. Evans again.