Aleksandra's Corner: "Sparks" by Laura Bickle

Jun 9, 2013

"Sparks" by Laura Bickle

Posted by Aleksandra at 12:28 PM

Title: Sparks

Author: Laura Bickle

Series: Anya Kalinczyk, #2

My rating: 4.5 of 5

(Book read from May 29th to June 7th, 2013.)

Summary:

WITHOUT A TRACE

Anya Kalinczyk is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern, who holds down a day job as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department - while working 24/7 to exterminate malicious spirits haunting a city plagued by unemployment and despair. Along with her inseparable salamander familiar, Sparky, Anya has seen, and even survived, all manner of fiery hell - but her newest case sparks suspicions of a bizarre phenomenon that no one but her eccentric team of ghost hunters might believe: spontaneous human combustion.

After fire consumes the home of elderly Jasper Bernard, Anya is stunned to discover his remains - or, more precisely, a lack of them; even the fiercest fires leave some trace of their victims - and she is sure this was no naturally occurring blaze. Soon she’s unearthed a connection to a celebrity psychic who preys on Detroit’s poor, promising miracles for money. But Hope Solomon wants more - she’s collecting spirits, and in a frantic race against time, Anya will face down an evil adversary who threatens her fragile relationship with her lover, her beloved Sparky’s freshly hatched newts, and the wandering souls of the entire city.

My Thoughts on the Book:

Sparks is the second book in the Anya Kalinczyk duology. And this was such a great sequel, I wish there were more books, but still I'm happy with it & the ending :)

Anya is a Lantern, so she sees & can devour ghosts. She's also an arson investigator, and a ghost hunter. And not to forget her faithful sidekick - Sparky. Ok, I'll start with him, I absolutely love & adore Sparky. I wish I had one :) Sure, he's a salamander, so that means everything electrical will be doomed ;) even my pc, but still, I absolutely loved him! I also loved that he was such a big part of the story, much bigger then in the previous book, I loved that we learn a lot more about him & salamanders in general, and I loved the "relationship" between him & Anya.

And I really liked Anya as a character in this book! She's one kick-ass heroine, at least when she wants to be ;) So, don't make her mad, and especially don't mess with Sparky ;) She's really smart, would do anything she can to help those she loves, as well as any innocent, and most of all I love that she sticks to her principles.

As for the secondary characters, I liked them all. Mostly they're the same ones from Embers, although there were some interesting additions, and the one I have to mention is definitely Charon. He was such an intriguing character. And the villain, well she was quite evil, I really loved to hate her!

As for the story, it was so, so great! I love it the way Laura Bickle can weave a story that's a perfect combination of the paranormal, mythology & science, as well as mystery, that will keep you gripped until the very end. So, yeah, I'm a big fan of Laura's books & her writing style, and I can't wait to read her next book (even though that one is part of another series).

I also loved learning more about the supernatural world & the mythology in this book, and the questions raised about it & Anya in Embers were answered here. So, yeah, I was quite happy with the result, and I totally loved this book and everything about it!

If you're a fan of urban fantasy, as well as interesting supernatural worlds mixed with mythology, as well as science, then this is a book for you, and I highly recommend it!