I’ve been a huge fan of author T.M Goeglein’sCold Fury series since I read the very first book a couple years back. Needless to say I was hooked. The protagonist, the setting, the badassery of it all—you can’t even begin to understand how sad I am that the series is coming to its end. Sarah Jane is a main character who I cheered on to the very end and while I’m crossing my fingers for a spin-off series (or to get a chance to read something else of Goeglein’s work) who knows that could happen after Cold Fury. Any readers dedicated to the series will be very happy to hear that Embers & Ash lives up to the hype created around it and won’t leave any of us disappointed.

In Embers & Ash, Sarah Jane is pursuing Ultimate Power and avoiding the Russian Mob. When her search for Ultimate Power leads her to an unexpected discovery it suddenly seems like everything is at stake. Her crazy ex-babysitter is on her trail and balancing being a part of the Outfit and maintaining mundane appearances is all beginning to reveal that nothing may ever be what it seems. As Sarah Jane uses her cold fury to the best of her abilities she finally finds the real face behind the Russian Mob and is a step closer to being reunited with her family. However the reunion might be anything from happy. The price of gaining back everything SJ’s lost might be Ultimate Power and possibly even her own life.

Right from the opening chapter we know that Embers & Ash isn’t messing around. It sets a fast pace and refuses to ever once let up. There’s twists at every corner, unexpected revelations and more fight scenes the novels before it. Everything about Embers & Ash is badass and action-packed. Friends become enemies, real baddies’ true natures are revealed and it’s made crystal clear that nothing will ever be the same.

We see a lot of changes in Sarah Jane’s character. Compared to the girl she was at the beginning of the series it’s obvious that she isn’t that girl anymore and can never revert back to her past-self. That version of her is gone and replaced by a member of the Chicago Outfit who isn’t afraid to take a life if it’s in the name of saving her own and that of her family’s. Bottom-line: Sarah Jane’s character kicks some major butt in Embers & Ash. Look forward to that (seriously, she’s just fighting left and right in this book).

Plot-wise I was very surprised by what occurs in the novel. There were so many unexpected plot twists and so many dark scenes that gave the novel a very noir feel. This isn’t the somewhat optimistic novel that we got in Cold Fury and it isn’t the same mystery we got in Flicker & Burn. Instead in Embers & Ash we get a novel that is pessimistic bad always has you cheering for a happy ending. I couldn’t put it down and savored every last minute spent with Sarah Jane Rispoli.

Any readers who haven’t checked out the Cold Fury trilogy yet need to get on it. This is a series that is definitely one that will keep readers hooked from the first novel and never let go. The plot, the world-building, the lore and the entire cast of characters all just make Cold Fury an unforgettable experience.

I would recommend Embers & Ash to any readers who have been keeping up with the series (duh). Any new readers who want a strong female main character and some mafia badassery thrown into the main story need to read the Cold Furyseries. Readers who want a series with major character development should also give it a read. All in all I’m so glad I got to read all of Sarah Jane’s story and don’t know how I’ll let her go. Embers & Ash is the ending that she—and the series—deserved.

Finally the last and finally book and WOOHOO, did I ever enjoy it. I really love the buildup of this series and the way it ends…absolutely perfect.

 

Plot: This story picks up where the last book left off and Sara is gearing up for the final battle. She is piecing together her family history seamlessly and vastly learning everything she can. Sara is just steps away from saving herself but at times I wonder who will save her? This plot builds up nicely with so much action to fight scenes to much drama that ensnares the reader till the end.

 

Mafia: I really loved the history on this part. Over the course of both books Sara has leaned much about her family and their secrets. She sees the fight that lays ahead of her but she is also very determined to win. I like that in her. The fight to control, to keep going. This girl is tough yet resilient. The connections that her family has leads to ever more drama. The struggle for power between families, wealth, and most of all the “ultimate power”. I anxiously read this book waiting for the answers.

 

Ending: If you ask me, the last chapters in the book are DA BOMB! Sara has done everything she can to save her family, she served her dues and now its time to move on. *LIGHTBULB* Sara comes up with a  brilliant plan and WOO it made me giggle and get butterflies in my tummy. Sara, you are amazing!! The way the story ended, is like Sara kicked all those mafia guys to the curb. And they didn’t even have time to BLINK! LOL.

 

If your into action-packed yet history filled story read this series. The characters grow wonderfully throughout the series and every question that the reader might have is answered. The motives, the mafia and the “ultimate power” all capture the reader till the very last page. Embers & Ash is awesome.

I read Cold Fury a while ago so I couldn't wait to read this one when I heard it was available for review. The main problem not being solved in the first book we are still trying to solve that problem within this book. Several twists and turns appear in this book. Some were quite surprising. And although I did enjoy this book, there were a few problems I had with this installment.

One of the problems was that I became very frustrated with Sara Jane. Her decisions made me want to scream when it came to her friends. Granted I could see why she either didn't want to trust them or couldn't, but the way she handled these people just frustrated me. Especially when it came to her cousin. These decisions really brought the book down for me. It didn't ruin it though.

Despite my problems with the book, I really enjoyed the rest. It had the same sense of adventure as the first one and I did enjoy the strangeness added to the plot. It just added a layer of intenseness to her plight. It may not be for everyone, however. :) Still, I am strange so it spoke to me. ;)

In the end I give this book 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the adventure despite my frustration with Sara. I need the next one because the main problem is still unsolved (no cliffie ending though).

If a book spends 50 pages on backstory and infodumps and there's no sign that the plot is going to start any time soon, then I don't feel bad about DNF-ing it.Book, you failed to tell me a story. You couldn't even stick to one flashback at a time. There were flashbacks in flashbacks and backstories within backstories. It was like the fucking Inception of info dumping.

Check out Scott Reads It for giveaways, reviews, & more! I'm almost positive that fans of Cold Fury will devour and absolutely love Flicker & Burn. I was a bit on the fence with Cold Fury, but for the most part it was entertaining. Flicker & Burn retains much of the thriller components that I enjoyed in Cold Fury, but it never seems to improve upon it's predecessors' faults. Flicker & Burn had the potential to be an excellent thrilling Mafia adventure, but the whole integration of paranormal elements ruined it for me. All of the paranormal elements in the Cold Fury series seem extremely out of place and just unnecessary. I'm still questioning why a mafia novel needs there to be a character with paranormal abilities? It's one thing if the paranormal and thriller aspects mesh well, but these two worlds never really intertwined . I felt as if there were two worlds colliding--competing--each trying to outshine each other. There was never a perfect blend of the paranormal/thriller elements and it seemed like Goeglein was a bit over his head with this attempt. Trying to create a paranormal, mafia thriller is an extremely ambitious idea, but it never really fell through. Sarah Jane Rispoli is back in Flicker & Burn, but this time she's being attacked by Ice-Cream Creatures. How scary can something referred to as an Ice Cream Creature be? What's it going to do? Make you gain a few pounds and infect you with sugary goodness? The worst thing they could probably do is give you brain freeze, but that can last only a few minutes. imageI know these creatures aren't "Ice-Cream" perse, but the calling them Ice-Cream creatures seemed to mitigate the intense, thriller feel of the novel. Honestly, I could never picture these creatures at all and I couldn't take them seriously at all. The rest of Flicker & Burn is a bit on the mediocre side and plot lines from book #1 are still, never resolved. I thought that in the 2nd book in a trilogy, the reader would at least get some more relevant info. All the information we learn about the Rispoli family is more neglible and nothing special. I kept waiting for some deep, dark secret that would totally change how I felt about this book. Needless to say all I was fed were some lousy information and truthfully I am tried of waiting for major answers after two books. Sarah Jane Rispoli annoyed the bejeezus out of me in Flicker & Burn. She is extremely self-centered and I don't understand her love life at all. A guy treats her like garbage and yet she is still clinging to him and claiming that she loves him. He hurt you badly and you're running back to him one second after the fact. I actually really liked Sarah in book #1, I thought she kicked ass and that she was my type of heroine. In book #2, she really needed to get her act together and pull herself together for her family's sake. Doug is the crown victor of "favorite character" in Flicker & Burn, but he also constantly irritated me. Yes, Doug has a speckled past and his homelife isn't the best, but does he constantly need to pity himself? Doug seriously needed to pull himself together and be strong because he can't feel sorry for himself forever. It's kind of sad, but the other characters in Flicker & Burn aren't much better at all and one of the new characters gave petulant a new meaning. I'm not going to name this character because that would be a spoiler, but this character had to think before they spoke. Literally almost, every sentence included: "That is so LA" or some variation of it. I have been to L.A. before and Los Angeles is NOT relevant in every conversation, contrary to what the character T.M. Goeglein really knows how to create a heart pounding thriller, but the thriller components were bogged down by the rest of the book. I will probably be continuing this series because I feel as if I have invested too much time in the series, not to continue. I really hoped Flicker & Burn would be a glorious comeback for Goeglein; I wanted this sequel to be absolutely incredible. Flicker & Burn never really lived up to both my expectations and to Cold Fury.