Firebug by Lish McBride [Joint Review!]

3.5 out of 5 Robots!

  

Firebug by Lish McBride
Series: Firebug #1
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release: September 23, 2014
Hardcover:  336 Pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
My Copy: Purchased
Reviewer: Shannon and Julia
Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

Ava is a firebug—she can start fires with her mind. Which would all be well and good if she weren’t caught in a deadly contract with the Coterie, a magical mafia. She’s one of their main hitmen . . . and she doesn’t like it one bit. Not least because her boss, Venus, killed Ava’s mother. When Venus asks Ava to kill a family friend, Ava rebels. She knows very well that you can’t say no to the Coterie and expect to get away with it, though, so she and her friends hit the road, trying desperately to think of a way out of the mess they find themselves in. Preferably keeping the murder to a minimum, in Lish McBride's Firebug.

(Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon and Julia's Thoughts:

1. In one or two sentences, what are your thoughts on Firebug by Lish McBride?

Shannon: An extremely interesting premise with some fun characters, but it felt bogged down at times by information overload.  While I appreciated her world building, I thought it came across as a bit clunky.

Julia: Firebug is witty and fun- great characters and lots of promise. There are many details that weigh down the plot instead of propelling it forward though.

2. How does it compare to another novel of McBride's, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer?

Shannon: I enjoyed Hold Me Closer, Necromancer more for several reasons.  The least of all was because it was set in Seattle, my hometown.  Second of all, I found Firebug to suffer more heavily from McBride's wordiness.  In HMCN, we were learning everything along with Sam, so the exposition seemed necessary.  In Firebug, we are thrown into the middle of the story with characters who are already "in the know".  It was disorientating and I was a bit confused about some of the mythology and how it all fit together.  I felt like I was coming into the middle of a conversation and the other people were having to backtrack and explain things so I could understand what they were talking about.  It felt a little...jumbled.

Julia: I think that those who enjoyed Hold Me Closer, Necromancer will also enjoy Firebug. But Shannon is right, HMCN is much more enjoyable because even though there are a lot of details, they didn't weigh the plot down. Both are witty and there were definitely moments where I laughed out loud.

3. What did you like/dislike about Firebug?

Shannon: Well, my main dislike was the clunky way we were introduced to characters and situations.  I didn't like feeling like I was coming into the middle of the story and having to play catch-up the whole time.  I did like that Firebug gave us some new and interesting characters.  And of course, Firebug has McBride's trademark snappy dialogue.

Julia: Again - I'm with Shannon on this one. McBride creates entertaining characters and witty dialogue, those were by far my favorite things. I couldn't stand the meaningless detail overload. 

4. There were a lot of characters- any favorites?

Shannon: I liked Ava's companions Lock and Ezra a lot.  They were pretty fun. 

Julia: I like Duncan. And Locke. and Ezra! They've all got a lot of personality.

5. Give me some of your thoughts on the plot.

Shannon: It seemed at once convoluted...and yet simple.  I think the actual plot is pretty simple.  But I think all the intricacies surrounding it were muddy.  I never really understood why certain things were the way the way they were.  

Julia: It is interesting, maybe a little too many flashbacks to Ava's past. It is pretty straight forward, Ava wants her life back and she wants to save those she cares about.

6. So about that star rating- what's yours? Would you recommend it? To who?

Shannon: I would say between a 3.5 to 4 stars.  I think diehard Lish McBride fans will enjoy this.
Julia: I give it a 3 out of 5. I finished it, it was entertaining, but I won't be reading a sequel. I'd recommend it to Lish McBride fans.