Seeing Night Reviews is the next stop in the Ruby's Fire blog tour! Check out my review and the must enter giveaway!
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: Young Adult Science Fiction
THEME: Romance, Adventure
RECEIVED: Tour
AUTHORS BLOG: Catherine Stines' Site
BLURB:
If everything about you changes, what remains?
Seventeen year-old Ruby, long-pledged to the much older Stiles from the Fireseed desert cult, escapes with only a change of clothes, a pouch of Oblivion Powder and her mute little brother, Thorn. Arriving at The Greening, a boarding school for orphaned teens, she can finally stop running. Or can she? The Greening is not what it seems. Students are rampaging out of control and as she cares for the secret Fireseed crop, she experiences frightening physical changes. She’s ashamed of her attraction to burly, hard-talking Blane, the resident bodyguard, and wonders why she can’t be happy with the gentler Armonk. She’s long considered her great beauty a liability, a thing she’s misused in order to survive. And how is she to stop her dependence on Oblivion to find a real beauty within, using her talent as a maker of salves, when she has nightmares of Stiles without it?
When George Axiom, wealthy mogul of Vegas-by-the-Sea offers a huge cash prize for the winner of a student contest, Ruby is hopeful she might collect the prize to rescue her family and friends from what she now knows is a dangerous cult. But when Stiles comes to reclaim her, and Thorn sickens after creating the most astonishing contest project of all, the world Ruby knows is changed forever. This romantic fantasy set in 2099 on earth has a crafty heroine in Ruby, and a swoonworthy cast, which will surely appeal to the YA and new adult audience.
Seventeen year-old Ruby, long-pledged to the much older Stiles from the Fireseed desert cult, escapes with only a change of clothes, a pouch of Oblivion Powder and her mute little brother, Thorn. Arriving at The Greening, a boarding school for orphaned teens, she can finally stop running. Or can she? The Greening is not what it seems. Students are rampaging out of control and as she cares for the secret Fireseed crop, she experiences frightening physical changes. She’s ashamed of her attraction to burly, hard-talking Blane, the resident bodyguard, and wonders why she can’t be happy with the gentler Armonk. She’s long considered her great beauty a liability, a thing she’s misused in order to survive. And how is she to stop her dependence on Oblivion to find a real beauty within, using her talent as a maker of salves, when she has nightmares of Stiles without it?
When George Axiom, wealthy mogul of Vegas-by-the-Sea offers a huge cash prize for the winner of a student contest, Ruby is hopeful she might collect the prize to rescue her family and friends from what she now knows is a dangerous cult. But when Stiles comes to reclaim her, and Thorn sickens after creating the most astonishing contest project of all, the world Ruby knows is changed forever. This romantic fantasy set in 2099 on earth has a crafty heroine in Ruby, and a swoonworthy cast, which will surely appeal to the YA and new adult audience.
REVIEW:
This being the second book in the series I wasn’t sure if I’d be lost, which happily I wasn’t. I was able to dive into this unique world and memorable characters easily without feeling lost. But after finishing and enjoying this story I really want to read the first book called Fireseed One to see how it all began.Ruby’s Fire follows Ruby a young girl who has grown up knowing her life was pledged to the horrible and much older Stiles. But on the night of her ceremony she decides to change her life and runs away with her brother Thorn. They end up in a place called The Greening where a woman named Nevada and the teens she teaches take them in to their home. Ruby and Thorn soon discover their Fireseed God and plant is grown and near Nevada’s home. When their school is entered in on a contest to discover new ways to use Fireseed, Ruby’s life is forever changed; she and her new friends are about to discover the great possibilities that Fireseed can do.
Ruby is a strong female lead that is determined to have a better life; she escapes knowing that she and her brother could eventually be found. But nonetheless try to live a new life with Nevada and the other teens at her school. Ruby has a lot to learn now that she’s outside of her community, learning that the place she lived was known as a cult. As well as discovering what life is like for the people in the world she’s now living in. She has a special bond with her brother Thorn since loosing his ability in wanting to speak. She is his main communication. Ruby is put in some challenging situations among the new teens she’s living with, not everyone gets along and she is put in danger constantly. But even with all the danger she has friends she can rely in Armonk, Bea and even the tough Blane.
It’s hard to just mention one of the main guys since they both have something special. Armonk is a calm and pretty much down to earth good guy. He is the first to meet Ruby and to befriend her, as well as becoming friends with her brother Thorn. Blane is a hard character to connect to at first with his hard demeanor and foul treatment of Armonk. But the readers soon learn a bit about his past that opens up a softer side to this tough guy. Both each become someone important to Ruby and help here discover the truth behind what the Fireseed can do and the dangers that follow.
I can’t forget about Thorn, Ruby’s brother but I also don’t want to spoil too much on him because he’s such an important character. He knows things before really anyone else can even grasp at what’s going on. He’s super smart and discovers something amazing with the Fireseed.
Overall this was a fast paced story, with a tone of adventure and great world building. I was easily drawn into this fantasy world, with unique medicines, creatures, futuristic technology and a whole history that changed the planet. There is lots of romance, betrayal, secrets and challenges for each character that all surround Ruby. The villains were a bit predictable, but some twist that came along were a great addition to keep the pace going strong. I enjoyed the science tidbits, which really made me think what more is out there to discover. In the end I can’t wait to read more from Stine, she created a very original world with so much detail that easily hooked me into the story.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult science fiction story with a lot of adventure and discovery. Fans of Partials by Dan Wells and Unraveling by Elizabeth Norri’s will enjoy Ruby’s Fire by Catherine Stine.
Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle
AUTHOR BIO
Catherine Stine writes YA, New Adult and middle grade fiction. Her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One, illustrated by the author won finalist spots in both YA and Science Fiction in the 2013 USA Book News International Book Awards. It was also granted a 2013 Bronze Wishing Shelf Book Award and a 2013 Indie Reader Approved notable stamp. Her YA Refugees, earned a New York Public Library Best Book. Middle grade novels include A Girl’s Best Friend.Fireseed One sequel, Ruby’s Fire is earning advance praise from reviewers and authors:
“Ruby's Fire, returns to the sun-scorched earth of Fireseed One. In this long-awaited sequel, Stine delivers a thrilling adventure led by a new and exciting cast of characters. Ruby, Armonk, Thorn and Blane are memorable, and the romance is really well handled. Favorite quote: " It feels wrong to lean on Armonk right now with Blane staring at me, a hungry, lonely look in his eye. It’s as if he’s never been hugged, never been fed, never been loved..." ” -YAs the Word
More and more, Catherine enjoys writing speculative tales where her imagination has wild and free reign. She has taught creative writing workshops at the Philadelphia Writing Conference, Missouri University Summer Abroad, The New School and in her own ongoing NYC writing workshop. She loves her readers, and enjoys blogging.
Author Links:
The world building sounds amazing and creative! So happy you enjoyed it I have a few fantasy loving friends who would def love this one!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it. Team Blane or Team Armonk?
ReplyDeleteExciting to read & imaginative.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Ruby's Fire and the giveaway. Sounds like a good book. evamillien at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteGREAT blog!! I can't wait to read this book. :)
ReplyDeleteLis Ann @ The Indigo Quill