Through The Fire - Book Review

By Michelle Irwin

Synopsis

Life could have been different for Evie Meyers. If only she wasn’t a freak. She wouldn’t be hiding from the Rain, a secret organization intent on destroying all supernatural creatures. Neither would she have run from Clay, the object of her desire.

Her hope for love and a normal life shattered when Clay stumbled onto her biggest secret and revealed one of his own in the process—he’s a soldier for the Rain. Learning that Clay was a threat to her survival, Evie had no choice but to flee.

Now Clay’s back—battle-scarred and mysterious—and the attraction between them is undeniable. Stuck on opposite sides in the war between humans and the supernatural, there seems little hope for a happily ever after. Caught between what her heart wants and what her head knows, something has to give. What will she choose? And what price will she have to pay?

Review

I liked it. A lot. I spent my whole Sunday reading it. I want book 2. NOW!!!

THROUGH THE FIRE is the story of Evie & Clay and spans several years. It starts with Evie arriving home to discover flowers at her front door. She knows who sent them and what they symbolise: he’s found her. This starts a series of flashbacks which explain the relationship between her and Clay and how she got to this point.

Back in high school, Clay is crushing on the new girl Evie and vice versa. He wants to go out on a date with her, but Evie’s father is very paranoid and protective (for a damn good reason) and doesn’t let her out of his sight unless it’s for school. Evie finally figures out a way to see Clay and the pair share their first passionate kiss. This is where everything starts to fall apart for Evie.

Evie is special. Evie is not human. Evie is Other. Evie is clueless. Until she kisses Clay and he discovers what she is. He’s been raised since birth to hunt and kill anyone and anything not human. To him, Evie is a monster. Running home with her heart broken, she confronts her father and demands answers, answers she finally gets but struggles to process. She confesses the encounter to her father and the pair spend the next several years moving from town to town to avoid detection and capture.

Back to the present and Clay insists Evie meet him so he can explain his presence in her town. He convinces her to give him another chance and that he’s willing to sacrifice all he has known his whole life to stay with her and protect her. His family has other ideas and after Evie is attacked, Clay is convinced she’d survive better off without him. So he leaves her when she needs him the most.

Sadly, Evie doesn’t do very well on her own. Soon she’s living a very hard life and is waiting for death to take her. Enter Aiden who saves her and injects her life with hope and happiness. He is Other too and through him she learns more about their world. After spending several months with Aiden, she comes to a decision that she’s healed and ready enough to try and find Clay. With Aiden’s help she does and the pair reunite and and flee Clay’s family and lifestyle.

The couple only spend a short time together before being ripped apart again. This is where the book ends and the ending makes me feel so sorry for Evie. I wanted to scream at her that Clay’s words obviously weren’t TO her but ABOUT her, but she wouldn’t hear me through my iPad so there was no use even trying.

What did I like about this book?

1 Clay. He. Sounded. Hot. I liked the conflict he was dealing with and that he didn’t just “forget” his past when he chose Evie. He struggled with his choice because it went against everything he had ever known.

2 Evie. I really felt for her, especially when she was at her lowest and had given up. I hope that if she and Clay get back together, she tells him exactly how bad it got for her after he left. She comes off as a little weak, but when she makes her mind up about something, she seems to follow through.

What didn’t I like about this book?

1 I was so hoping that Clay would be the one to get Evie’s virginity, but I understand her reasons for giving it away to another. I always hate it when the woman has waited years to give her virginity to the guy you know wasn’t saving himself for her. So to say I’m upset that she didn’t wait for Clay is totally hypocritical I know.

2 I have to wait until June 2015 to read the sequel.

Bring on book 2.