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    Firebug
    Firebug
    Firebug
    Audiobook9 hours

    Firebug

    Written by Lish McBride

    Narrated by Ali Ahn

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    "Lish McBride's world of inventive dark magic and fantastic beings is not to be missed. By anyone. I'm telling you people, there are were-hares, a girl who flicks fire from her fingertips, and a were-fox with bouncy black feet (and an even cuter human body). If you want more than that, you want too much. Lish rocks."- Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood and Antigoddess "FIREBUG has it all-power-hungry villains, cool magic powers, foxy boys, and even vicious were-bunnies, all fueled by Lish McBride's signature non-stop wit. I love every moment spent in this oft-quirky, always spellbinding world, and can't wait to see what trouble Ava, Lock, and Ezra land themselves in next!"- Marissa Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 23, 2014
    ISBN9781490639659
    Firebug
    Author

    Lish McBride

    Lish McBride grew up in the Pacific Northwest. It rains a lot there, but she likes it anyway. She spent three years away while she got her MFA in fiction from the University of New Orleans, where she managed to survive the hurricane. She enjoys reading, having geek-laden conversations about movies, comics, and zombies with her friends, and of course trying to wear pajamas as much as humanly possible. She lives happily in Mountlake, WA, with her family, two cats, and one very put-upon Chihuahua. Her debut novel, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and was a finalist for the YALSA William C. Morris Award.

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    Reviews for Firebug

    4/5

    11 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      3.5/5 stars. Ava can set fires with her mind. This makes her valuable to the local supernatural mafia. So valuable that for years they hunted her firebug mother until they killed her, and now they've got Ava bound in an unbreakable contract, serving a cruel ruler. All Ava wants is a "normal" high school life, with friends and a boyfriend, and now that she's finally got that boyfriend she's doing her best to keep her two lives separate. Until her boss wants her to kill her friend and everything falls apart.

      I like Ava. She has a great relationship with her guardian and with her work-friends (other supernaturals like her). She holds up under abuse and manages to keep going, but she also knows when to lean on the people who care about her.

      Some twists here, most of which I figured out in advance, but that didn't temper my enjoyment of the story. A lot of action, and an ending that turned everything upside down.

      Trigger Warning: Physical Violence, Threat of Rape
    • 3/5
      Ava belongs to the Coterie, a supernatural organized crime syndicate. With her special fire powers, she acts as hit woman for the vampire running the organization. When she is given a contract on a family friend, she and her team go rogue.
    • 4/5
      Tragedy, hard choices, and power. Also friends, family, teamwork and difficult romances. One of those books I love that I hope never become adapted by HBO because it's a book with heart and humor that's more about complex relationships and loyalty than setting people on fire, but you know that if it went visual all you'd see would be screaming fireballs. Really enjoyable read, but I'm still deeply longing for the next Necromancer book.
    • 4/5
      FIREBUG was one of those books that I wasn't really excited about reading but really enjoyed once I finally started. Ava was a character after my own heart. Snarky, down to earth, and extremely loyal to the people she loves. The secondary characters were just as great as Ava, but I was a little disappointed in the missed romance part of FIREBUG.This was the first book I've read from Lish McBride, but I have seen mention that it's part of the same world her Necromancer series is set in? Either way I had no problem getting into FIREBUG and I'm really excited to continue Ava's story with book 2.* This book was provided free of charge from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      "Ava...can start fires with her mind. Which would all be well and good if she wasn't caught in a deadly contract with the Coterie, a magical mafia. She's their top hitman [a "firebug"] and she doesn't like it one bit. NOt least because her boss, Venus [a preening, power hungry vampire], had Ava's mother killed. When Venus asks Ava to eliminate 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 body count to a minimum. " (McBride, Lish. Firebug - inside flap) From start to finish, I was intrigued with Ava and her friends: while trying to appear "normal", a mere human, the Coterie can require her "services" whenever they deem a need for a kill. By day she is homeschooled by her loving family guardian, Cade, and works part time in his bookstore, "Broken Spines" (love the name). But she can be summoned at any time, often accompanied by two other handsome friends: Lock and Ezra. They each have their own "powers" as well, and are indentured to the Coterie for a certain number of years; unfortunately for Ava, firebugs are rare, and Venus will not willingly ever release her valuable asset. The story takes off quickly with Ava on a night time mission to chase down an "ice elemental" and destroy it. Then we shift to the next day, and while Ava is at the bookstore, Ryan - her boyfriend who is oblivious to her dangerous past (she and her mother were chased down by the Coterie, ending in her mom's death and Ava being forced to sign a "blood pact") and her unusual fire power, takes her to lunch and talks her into a date the next week. Instead of the movie night he promised, Ava, another couple -friends of Ryan's- and Ryan head into the notorious and exciting "Inferno" nightclub. Unfortunately, this is the Coterie's base of operations, and Ava, desperate to get them all out of the club, finds herself enmeshed further and further in trouble. The characterizations are well drawn, the tension continues to rise, and Ava when dragged before Venus herself, is asked to eliminate a close family friend. Shocked, Ava refuses and Venus punishes her with a wild battle-including a floor-dropping pit, but with the help of Lock and Ezra, they escape. Of course,Venus, not one to let "bygones be bygones", captures her guardian Cade and sends recovery teams after them. When Ava and her friends locate Duncan (the friend she was supposed to incinerate) she discovers there's another side to the magical world she knows -and Duncan is more than he seems. How they plan to rescue Cade and destroy Venus/her Coterie is exciting, fast paced, and all told with that tongue in cheek, ironic tone of Lish McBride's. 326 pages but it will go fast.
    • 4/5
      FIREBUG was a very entertaining new urban fantasy. Ava is a firebug which is an unusual paranormal power. Her mother, also a firebug, ran from the Coterie to protect her life and her daughters. They were on the run for a number of years but were caught when Ava was twelve. Her mother was killed and Ava came into her powers. She also ran to a family friend named Cade who had loved her mother. Cade became her guardian.Ava's unusual power caught the attention of the head of the Coterie, a vampire named Venus, who forced her to sign a contract to work for Venus as her hitman. Her choice was sign or Venus would kill everyone around Ava. The contract was essentially slavery for Ava since it was to last until either she or Venus died. Since Ava was only twelve or thirteen when she entered the contract, she was given two companions to help her. Lock is half Dryad and Ezra is a werefox. Now nearly eighteen, Ava, Lock and Ezra have become as close as family and have the bickering relationship of near aged siblings to show for it. They are also intensely loyal to one another. Along with Cade, they are her family.When Ava is given a contract to kill another family friend, her adopted Grandfather, Ava refuses and she, Lock, and Ezra go on the run until they can come up with a plan to defeat Venus. I loved the other supernatural creatures in this one. The werehares were a new type of paranormal for me. The story was exciting and action-packed. It was also intensely emotional as Ava has to fight for those people that she loves. The lighter moments between Cade and Ava and between Ava, Lock, and Ezra helped make this a satisfying story. Fans of paranormals with strong female characters will enjoy this story.
    • 5/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Hilarious story full of action, adventure and a splash of romance. McBride once again delivers a purely fun book that I’m sure all young adult paranormal fans will enjoysOpening Sentence: RYAN SLAMMED the book shut and tipped his head back, sprawling on the bench and claiming it as his own.The Review:Seventeen year old Ava has a very special ability, she can start fires with her mind. People with her talents are known as firebugs and they are very rare. Because they are so hard to come by there are certain groups of people that will go to great lengths to gain their services. Unfortunately, at a young age Ava’s mother was murdered and she was forced to sign a blood contract with the Coterie, the group that had her mother killed. If she refused to work for them they would have killed everyone she cares about.Now years later, Ava works as a magical hit man for the Coterie. She doesn’t like her job, but if she refuses to do anything they tell her to there are dire consequences for her and those she cares about. But when she is ordered to kill a family friend Ava says no. She knows that there is no walking away from the Coterie so her and a small group of friends take off. But soon Ava realizes that running away isn’t going to solve anything and if she wants to finally live a somewhat normal life she is going to have to face her problems head on. And right now her problem is the Coterie!I loved Ava, she was a snarky girl with lots of attitude which is my favorite kind of character. She also has a really big heart which made it even easier to like her. Her life obviously hasn’t been the easiest, but overall she has a pretty positive outlook. She has great friends, a loving guardian, and a place she can finally call home. Growing up she was constantly on the run with her mother so to finally have a place to call home is a really big deal to Ava. Just like all teenagers she makes some dumb decisions, but she owns up to her mistakes and I liked that. She doesn’t run from her problems, she faces them which I found very admirable. Overall, I thought she was a fun character and I can’t wait to read more of her story.My favorite character in the entire book was Lock. He is part dryad and has the ability to talk to trees. He volunteered to work for the Corterie in exchange for them to leave his family alone. He has been part of Ava’s team from the moment she joined the Coterie. Even though he’s not the most powerful one of the group he has always been the leader. He takes care of Ava and Erza, which I thought was really cute. I loved that he doesn’t sugarcoat things he tells you how it is even if you don’t want to hear it. He obviously has a thing for Ava, but she is totally oblivious to it. I am totally rooting for him and if Ava doesn’t end up with him eventually, I am going to be very disappointed.The other member of their group is Ezra. He is a werefox which basically means he can transform into a fox whenever he wants to. He is sneaky just like a fox and quite good at stealing anything he wants. He also is crazy good looking but his relationship with Ava is totally platonic. Ezra is hilarious and always helps to lighten the mood which was refreshing. He is also a very loyal friend and just an all around nice guy.Firebug was an action-packed story full of humor, adventure, and a splash of romance. Just like other works by McBride, this was just pure fun. She does such a great job filling the pages with playful banter and intriguing characters. I was instantly drawn into the world that she created and enjoyed the entire story. While there wasn’t a lot of romance in the story there is a good setup for the next book in the series. The best thing about this story was all the amazing characters. Each one of them was engaging and because I loved all of them so much, it really helped me to connect with the story as a whole. The ending was done perfectly, it wrapped up everything nicely but left me still wanting more. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Overall, this was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun young adult book!Notable Scene:Between the back and forth, the staring from the table, and all the affection, I was officially beet red all the way to my roots. I should have pretended to barf when I had the chance. In fact, I actually did feel like barfing. I smacked Lock’s arm as it moved to snake back around me, but that didn’t take the smug look off his face as he stared at Ryan.“By the way, if you’re looking for your black jeans, they’re at my place,” Lock stage-whispered at me. “I put them with your spares and your toothbrush.”I glowered at my best friend. The bastard. On the occasions when I had to work close to the city and I was too tired or too weak after a job, I crashed at Lock’s apartment, rather than take a room in one of the Coterie-owned hotels. Can you imagine their mini bar? Candy bars, vials of blood, raw meat, brains, maybe some bottled water … ew. I had a bag full of spare clothes and supplies at Lock’s place, and he had just used that information to take Ryan’s jealousy to code red. It looked like he was ready to shoot flames out of his ears. Which I did once, by the way, just to see if I could. It took months for my hair to grow back properly.FTC Advisory: Macmillan provided me with a copy of Firebug. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.