Book Title: Erin The Fire Goddess: The Beginning
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Pages: 312
Audio Run Time: 4 Hrs 38 Mins
Audio Run Time: 4 Hrs 38 Mins
Author: Lavinia Urban
Date Published: 22 May 2012 (E-Book)
14 November 2014 (Audio Book)
Synopsis:
Erin Tait is a 15 year old girl, born with a birthmark covering the left side of her face.
She moves to her parent’s home town of Galladale, where all is not what it seems.
From day one, Erin is bullied by Jessica Watson, for looking at Sean Jackson.
Why is she trying to keep Erin away? It’s hard when Sean goes out of his way to talk to Erin, causing the bullying to get worse.
Erin is lonely and scared; she doesn’t know what to do. Can she control the fire inside?
Erin Tait is a 15 year old girl, born with a birthmark covering the left side of her face.
She moves to her parent’s home town of Galladale, where all is not what it seems.
From day one, Erin is bullied by Jessica Watson, for looking at Sean Jackson.
Why is she trying to keep Erin away? It’s hard when Sean goes out of his way to talk to Erin, causing the bullying to get worse.
Erin is lonely and scared; she doesn’t know what to do. Can she control the fire inside?
Review:
Erin the Fire Goddess: The Beginning by Lavinia UrbanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an interesting YA fantasy romance. I really enjoyed it.
I bought a Kindle copy of this book in 2013. Unfortunately, due to my large reading list, I haven't had a chance to get to it. I hadn't realised that it was available on audible until recently. I downloaded the book and listened to it as soon as I could.
The audio book is narrated by Anna Parker-Naples. I thought she did a wonderful job in bringing the characters to life. Her young voice brought a liveliness to the story. Unfortunately, she seemed to pause or take a breath in the middle of the sentence, or rush through others. I don't know if this is an error on her part, or a post production/editing one. However, this did make me feel a little disappointed that the flow was slightly disrupted.
Erin Tait is a teen with an unusual birthmark on her face. I found her to be a typical teen, full of angst and beset with loneliness from being "different". When she crosses paths with Sean Jackson and is bullied by Jessica Watson, she struggles with her emotions.
This is an interesting tale of a teen who has struggled with being different from birth. I think a lot of teens could relate to this tale. Nevertheless, I found Erin's attitude a little tiresome and I wanted to tell her to take her pity party somewhere else. Yes, being lonely and bullied can bring a person down and make them feel self-pity or self-loathing (been there, done that), Erin's attitude to others also made it easy for her to be victimised. I loved that Sean spoke to her and brought her out of her shell. Sean also has a secret, though this doesn't get revealed until later in the story. I liked meeting Kasey-Rae, Erin's younger sister. She has set herself up as her older sister's champion. Popular and outgoing, she is completely opposite to Erin. However, I think she could have made more effort to bring her into her friends' circle, even though they are a year different in age. Again, I think she didn't because of Erin's attitude.
The mystery surrounding Sean and Erin's attraction and what her birthmark represents is slow in being revealed. However, once they become a couple, things start to make sense and Erin's powers begin to develop. The story takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster and is fast paced. However, I found that my attention wandered on occasion. I don't know if this was because of the narrator, or something else that affected the flow; the story felt jerky at times. I reached the end and am looking forward to continuing the series. Unfortunately, I am not sure that I will do so with the audio format. I think this is a series that I will have to read, as the voice I have in my head for Erin is completely different to the narrator's.
Lavinia Urban has written a fast paced start to an intriguing series. I love her writing style, which is fast paced enough to keep me the turning pages (if I read the book). The flow, due to the spotty audiobook, was a little disjointed. Although, I feel that if I was to read the book, I would love the flow more.
I recommend this YA fantasy romance to teens aged 14 up, and to adults who love this genre. Some adults, however, may find it a little too young for them. - Lynn Worton
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Lavinia originally grew up in Cheshire and now lives in a small village just outside of Edinburgh with her husband and two daughters.
Writing has always been something that Lavinia have loved since an early age but it wasn't until 2010 when the idea came to her to write Erin the Fire Goddess.
Lavinia chose to name the main character and her sister after her two daughters, who inspire Lavinia to write every day.
Where to find Lavinia:
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