Fire Baptized

by Kenya Wright

• ISBN10: 0985023007
• ISBN13: 9780985023003
• Publish Date: 24 January 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Dragonfairy Press LLC
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 284
• Language: English

Reviews

[littleread1]

I love reading a book I know nothing about and finish it pleasantly surprised. Like the description says, all the supernatural creatures live in "habitats" (actually giant cages spanning an entire city). The story never goes into why or how that happened. It is an interesting shift from most other books, where either the supes are the most powerful and/or live under the radar. How the humans rounded up them all I have no idea. What matters is that they did.

The Politics: And within the habitat, there are Purebreds and there are Mixies. The Mixies, or mixed species, are considered second class citizens. To the point where it resembles the 1940's & 1950's where there was the huge race divide in the US, with separate areas for whites and "colors". The Mixies are fighting for their rights, and Lenore is part of the MFE, a group run by Zulu to help establish equal rights.

The police inside the habitat are called Habbies, and they are sent into the habitat to "police" as punishment for their own crimes. So as a police force they are pretty useless. And corrupt.

The Relationships: Of course Zulu has a thing for Lanore. She isn't sure how she feels toward him. And that is complicated by the fact that she lives with her childhood friend and ex-boyfriend MeShack. Who she still has feelings for, after she broke up with him for cheating on her. How she can still be friends with him, let alone live with him, is beyond me.

The Murders: Disgustingly graphic. I must say I was surprised at who the murderer was. I had guesses, but after they ended up being victims I knew I was obviously wrong and stopped trying to guess. They are pretty sick and twisted, and done for what the killer thinks is a bigger purpose.

After Lanore sees a murder being committed, and is unable to stop it, the killer focuses on her. She then takes it upon herself to investigate these crimes, and of course the two men in her life are unable to stop her, so they eventually join her. One more so than the other.

Things that I didn't get/like: She goes to the victims house and discovers she has a son ... so she decides to take him home ... I was baffled by this. It didn't seem to make sense to me, and of course he becomes a weakness that will be exploited by the killer later on. The kid isn't mentioned often, but enough that she feels like he is hers I suppose.

Also, the final scene with the killer seemed somewhat anti-climactic. I won't say much, because I don't want to ruin it, but there was someone else there that just so happened to have the right power to make escape easily possible. Why this other person was there at all was never explained and made no sense to me. There was always only one victim, why this time there was to be two was never explained. It seemed just too random.

At one point Lanore's arm is injured. She mentions it hurting so bad she screams and can't move it, then a few pages later it no longer bothers her. Maybe it could have been mentioned in passing that what happened to her arm generally heals quickly or something, because I would imagine if it still hurt her that bad, it would have made a difference in what happened next. Possibly. Or adrenaline could have been used as an explanation too.

At the end, the eating scene I thought was unnecessary. When you read it, you'll get it.

I wish there was more history explanation, but since it looks like there will be a book two, I am hopefully more will be revealed there.

And just about everyone had dreadlocks, which I find a little odd, but that is just a personal preference. :-)

Things I loved: The characters. They are so well done, and you (eventually) understand their motivations and reasons for reacting to things the way they do. In the beginning it is a little confusing, but you get there. They are so very passionate. They believe and feel strongly, and you start to feel the same things.

​​"Touch her like that again," Zulu growled. "And I'll rip your fucking fangs out."

Also, the freshness of the story. I have read nothing like this before. It is so very unique. The last 1/4 of the book I couldn't put it down.

The world is so full of turmoil and is so different from anything I have ever read. I think I have said that several times. :-) Sorry.

The things I mentioned as dislikes are what I would consider minor things. Please don't skip this book because there were things I didn't like. I just thought they should be mentioned.

This book gets a solid 4.5 stars from me. Read it, you won't be disappointed. I will be eagerly awaiting book two. At the time of this post, it is only $1.99!

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. And then I bought a copy ;-). If that isn't a good sign, I don't know what is.

[celinenyx]

You know the feeling when every single person you know loved a book, but you don't? And you wonder why people don't see it? That is how I feel about Fire Baptized.

Supernaturals are being forced to live in cages the size of small cities. Here they live in poverty and suppression. But things are even worse if you are a Mixbreed. They are second-class citizens, even in the Habitat. When she witnesses a gruesome murder on the way home, Lanore is determined to find the killer. But then he starts targeting people around her, and the killings get more personal.

The best way to describe Fire Baptized is an Anita Blake novel merged with a dystopian with social suppression themes. Think pre-orgy Anita Blake here. It's graphic urban-fantasy. There is a high level of gore and sex scenes that leave very little to imagination. I wouldn't recommend this for the sensitive reader. But for those of you who like it gritty - you might like this.

I admire the idea behind the story. It's different from what we're used to. There are Shifters, Vampires, Fairies, Pixies, Half-Demons and Witches; about every supernatural creature you can think of. They live in a caged city, cut off from the world. It's a highly original concept, and I just wish the execution was better.

The thing is, when you make this fantastic world with countless creatures that inhabit it and even make a whole religion for them, I want details. I want to know who built the cage. How does it look. What kinds of supernaturals are there, and what are their powers. When did supernaturals come out of the closet, so to speak? My main problem with Fire Baptized is that these details aren't there. There are pixies flying around, but I don't even know what they look like. Trolls make an appearance, but I have no idea whether they're black, green or orange. I get that you have to avoid info-dumps in books, especially in genres like urban-fantasy, but I sense a new phenomenon here. I'm calling it info-voids.

One of the biggest info-voids is why the supernaturals are even in a cage. Who put them there? Didn't they put up a fight or something? It mustn't be easy to put witches inside of a cage. The elements that make this story unique are just hinted on. Too much information is bad for a story, and it bogs it down. But too little makes it senseless.

Another thing that bothers me is inconsistencies. At one point in the novel, a law is mentioned that says vampires can't grow older than the age of a hundred. A few chapters later, we meet some vampires that are about two hundred years old. Maybe there is an explanation for this, but it isn't mentioned in the book.

If you like stubborn (not necessarily smart) heroines, love triangles, alpha males with rock hard abs, gruesome murders and grown-up bullying, I think you might like Fire Baptized. It really isn't a bad book, and a lot of people have enjoyed and will keep to enjoy it. As of now I am the only person here on Goodreads not to like it that much. Try it, and see for yourself.

[inlibrisveritas]

I want to thank Kenya Wright for providing me with this book in an exchange for an honest review.

When Kenya emailed me her request and I looked at her chapter sample, I just knew I had to read it. The opening chapter was definitely one that pulled me in and put me straight into the action. It immediately painted a picture of an unforgiving world in which the supernatural beings are forced to live inside what is known as the Habitat, which is basically a walled off area isolated from humans.

Before I go any farther let me say this: This is not a young adult novel. It can be a bit graphic at times, both sexually and in violence. It’s not over the top but it’s unforgiving in it’s nature and I don’t want to mislead those who don’t like either aspect into thinking it’s a light read in that sense.

Now back to the review. I think the really only had one issue and that was the background story. The only real background you get on the Habitat is in the summary on the back of the book. I just wish that some of it had been explained in the actual story. Other than that I really enjoyed reading this. The idea is a fairly original one and I loved the uniqueness of the Habitat and the brands that the species are forced to wear to classify them. I also enjoyed the grittiness of the world Wright created, it’s far from perfect and she puts a lot of detail into showing the forced segregation will do to a society. The fact that it’s not only the humans who are separating themselves but also the Pureblood supernaturals is also a good take, and adds a good amount of tension to the story. Having a bunch of supernatural creatures in one inclosed area is something that spells trouble, and that’s exactly what you get. The violence and grit I mentioned comes as a simple fact of their existences with in the walls as they have completely different natures than humans. The gore isn’t focused on in a way that is going to put you into a horror frame of mind and it isn’t harped on. The cultures that Wright worked into this are also richly detailed and really interesting, I loved the different dialects and the fantastic inclusion of the Santeria religion. As I’ve said before I’m not a religious person, but I do enjoy reading about the different belief systems in the world and Santeria is not one that I’ve come across that often in fiction. The murder mystery aspect is also fantastic and truly the driving force in the plot, unlike the many other paranormal books that give you a murder and then work away from it. I can also proudly say that I never guessed who the actual killer was and I ended up suspecting just about everyone, there were times where I would yell at the main character for telling people the situation because it could be anyone.

Speaking of the main character, Lanore is a fantastic one. She’s sassy and tough, and a pyromancer. There were times when her need for independence kind of made me cringe but for the most part I enjoyed that about her. Then there is MeShack, who is a Were-cheetah with a bit of a protective streak. I think other than Lanore he is probably my favorite character, and not just because he shifts into my favorite animal. Normally a guy with that much of a possession problem would irritate me, but when their background is explained it all makes perfect sense and I sympathized with him. Lastly there is Zulu, who is as mysterious as they come until around half way through the book. He has a very unique power and is nearly as possessive as MeShack. Putting these three together you end up with a fairly interesting love triangle, and despite my usual misgivings of the dreaded triangle I actually enjoyed this one.

One of my favorite things about this book is the detail and thought that went into each species and power. There is a variety of supernatural creatures running around and each species with it’s own little quirks, that you end up with a world that’s easy to picture and easy to fall into.

Overall this turned out to be a wonderful and quick read, and I look forward to the next in the series. I’m simply itching to know what is going to happen with Lanore and how Angel is going to fit into all of it.