Birth of the Phoenix, book one
by Ashelyn Drake
Seventeen-year-old Cara Tillman’s life is a perfectly normal one until Logan Schmidt moves to Ashlan Falls. Cara is inexplicably drawn to him, but she’s not exactly complaining. Logan’s like no boy she’s ever met, and he brings out a side of Cara that she isn’t used to. As the two get closer, everything is nearly perfect, and Cara looks forward to the future.
But Cara isn’t a normal girl. She’s a member of a small group of people descended from the mythical phoenix bird, and her time is running out. Rebirth is nearing, which means she’ll forget her life up to this point—she’ll forget Logan and everything they mean to one another.. But that may be the least of Cara’s problems.
A phoenix hunter is on the loose, and he’s determined to put an end to the lives of people like Cara and her family, once and for all. (Description from Goodreads.com)
This book sucked me in from page one. It has a great opening scene that really sets you right into the heart of the story. I was fascinated by the concept of Cara and her family being Phoenixes and the way the lore hits their family... my heart ached for Cara and Jeremy!
While I'm not usually a fan of insta-love at all, in this case, with the way that Cara's genetics affected things I got it. The way that both she and Logan felt it but also wanted to resist it really made sense. Drake did a great job with that. The deeper they got it, and the higher the stakes got, the more I found myself rooting for Cara's happiness, no matter where it came from.
And when we find out who the hunter is...well, I knew something was up with this character, but I have to admit to still being shocked at the big reveal! Well done. I love not being able to guess the bad guy.
AND with where this book leaves us... HELLO CLIFFHANGER!!!... I cannot wait to read the next one.
Full Disclosure: Review copy received from publisher
