Wildfire by Karsten Knight

Wildfire
Wildfire 1
Author: Karsten Knight
Pages: 400 pgs
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: July 26th 2011
Review Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

Karsten has an absolutely brilliant debut novel on his hands (as well as two more books for the series) that completely blew me away.

Ashlinde Wilde transfers to a boarding school in the redwoods of California when her sister becomes even more violent than before. Ash just wants to put the past behind her and start over, maybe even with a sexy park ranger that keeps coming around, but trouble seems to find her no matter where she goes.

And when Ash and four of her classmates discover that their arrival at Blackwood Academy wasn't by chance, their worlds are changed by an even deeper secret. They aren't just teenagers, they're gods and goddesses from all over the world. But before Ash can fully embrace her goddess destiny, she'll have to face a storm from her past. And her sister, Eve, won't give up without a fight.

I was beyond eager to get my hands on this book and am so glad I got the chance to read it. Not only is Karsten's writing phenomenal, but it's also about one of my favorite topics. Say it with me everyone... MYTHOLOGY! Karsten uses different gods and goddess legends from around the world to create a fantastic group of characters. Everyone from Isis to Shango Baldur to Pele, he brings them together in an interesting and fun way as they discover who they really are.

The story between Ash and Eve was typical sister rival, but they had powers. I eventually just wanted Eve to take the hint an leave, but every good story needs a decent antagonist to drive the main character. I loved the struggle that Ash felt in regard to her sister. She loved her and wanted to have a relationship with her, but Eve kept making it impossible.

And if all that isn't enough, we are left with a major cliffhanger at the end of this first installment. Thank you Karsten (insert sarcasm here)! It's going to drive me crazy to wait for Embers & Echoes, book 2 in the Wildefire trilogy, but I know it will definitely be worth the wait.

So, in the meantime, if you want to learn more about the Wildfire series or checkout Karsten's hilarious vlogs that he posts you can go to his website http://www.karstenknight.com/ or you can follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/KarstenKnight.