Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer

Enter for your chance to win a personalized copy of WILDCAT FIREFLIES or 7 KINDS OF ORDINARY CATASTROPHES by Amber Kizer as part of  The {Teen} Book Scene Blog Tour.  You may enter both giveaways!

Title: Wildcat Fireflies

Author: Amber Kizer

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy.

Release Date: July 12 2011

Summery: Meridian Sozu is a Fenestra—the half-human, half-angel link between the living and the dead. She has the dark responsibility of helping souls transition safely into the afterlife. If people die without the help of a Fenestra, their souls are left vulnerable to be stolen by the Aternocti, a dark band of forces who disrupt the balance of good and evil in the world and cause chaos.

Having recently lost her beloved Auntie—the woman who showed her what it meant to be a Fenestra—Meridian has hit the road with Tens, her love and sworn protector, in hopes of finding another Fenestra. Their search leads them to Indiana, where Juliet, a responsible and loving teenager, works tirelessly in the nursing home where she and several other foster kids are housed. Surrounded by death, Juliet struggles to make a loving home for the younger kids, and to protect them from the violent whims of their foster mother. But she is struggling against forces she can’t understand . . . and even as she feels a pull toward the dying, their sickness seems to infect her, weighing her down. . . .
Will Meri and Tens find Juliet in time to save her from a life of misery and illness? And will Meri and Tens’ own romance weather the storms of new discoveries?

Review: This is the sequel to ‘Meridian’ the first book in the Fenestra series, about a girl by the same name; who learns she is a half angel and half human, she is a window, “the light”, for the living to move on to their life after death… Awesome new idea huh? I love books about Angels and this one was so different and refreshing, I’d recommend reading the first one if you are a fan of any young adult genre, especially urban fantasy and supernatural, the likes of Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers Series.

Now I would say I probably liked this book even better than the first one; Meridian matures and the story matures. It’s not for the faint hearted, with graphic images of death, but I love the way Amber Kizer doesn’t skirt around anything even though this is a YA book. Written beautifully with some very moving scenes; you’ll know which ones I mean when you read it! Kizer does her research well, I learned from the first book with the chilling Old Testament verses, and she really has upped her game in Wildcat Fireflies. The creation of “Dunklebarger Rehabilitation Center” is pure genius and it’s Mistress who reminded me of villians in Roald Dahl books!

Fans of Meri and Tens will love having them back, with the wonderful wolf-dog Costas (my favourtie!!) but also the intro of new characters. Look out for Juliet, who I thought was a fascinating character, and Rumi who I thought was just fabulous, I could read about him all day everyday…

Thank you Amber Kizer for the opportunity to read Wildcat Fireflires, a very enjoyable, magical page-turner. I am already looking forward to the next book in this promising series that keeps getting better and better.