Forever Burn (Adrian Smith) Book Review

Sorry it’s been a little while folks, but all my exams are over now! So I should have a lot more time to read and write, which will be lovely. So, this book ‘Forever Burn’ was sent to me for review by one Adrian Smith, and I’m very glad to have had the privilege of reading it. It is the first in a series, which will be gaining a prequel soon. Right, I best get on with a review!

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Forever Burn is the story of James Matthews, a firefighter trying to make a difference in the world. Trained to stay calm in dangerous situations, James is a professional. However, she is having recurrent dreams; dreams about a girl she pulled from a fire years ago. They aren’t just normal flashbacks, and James has a feeling something is wrong. That’s not all though. Her secret love at the fire station is pressuring her for a more open relationship; but it doesn’t take long for that relationship to open James up to a world she’s never imagined, and a world she is inexplicably part of.

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I must admit, I approached this book with some trepidation. In the past, I’ve read Urban Fantasy novels, and they’ve never quite stood up to the grandeur that a true, classic fantasy novel awakes in me. And especially after reading an epic fantasy in The Language of Stones, I didn’t want to hold bias against the novel. Having read it though, I can see that Forever Burn was never under threat, and has granted me more solidarity in the Urban Fantasy genre.

So, on to a little look at the plot. I very much enjoyed the storyline of Forever Burn. I don’t think I would call it a very difficult it challenging read. It’s a book that many people will be able to enjoy and read. In fact, it was a nice relief after the (also welcome) intensity of the last novel I read. The plot follows protagonist James Matthews almost selectively, occasionally deviating to others to show what’s happening elsewhere in the story. I think this works very well, as it allows for time to pass outside of the small focus that is James. One thing I would complain about the story is simply the length. I felt I’d only just been introduced to a wonderful new world – and then it was taken away from me! But what with a prequel and a sequel in the site, it’s a rather empty worry! I look forward to following this story further.

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There are not a huge number of characters in Forever Burn’, but that befits the story. Bringing in vast numbers of people into the story would make it far more complicated than the plot dictates. There are enough people to make the world feel as if it is real and has scope (nobody likes a book where there doesn’t seem to be anything going on but what you’re reading about!). Adrian Smith has obviously put considerable effort into planning her characters, as they are of a believable depth, and the sort that really makes you want to read on and find out what happens to them. Another thing that has obviously been planned with some intimacy is the relationship between characters. Smith obviously has a firm idea of what has happened in the characters’ past so as to know how the characters should feel towards and treat each other. I really hope we should find out more about this in the prequel – especially the intriguing Addison Lee.

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I did really enjoy Forever Burn, but I wished that there was more of it that I could read now. I’m an impatient soul when it comes to books, I want to be able to carry on that series NOW! But time will tell, and I’m sure I’ll get a hold of the sequels soon enough. And hey, that’s a compliment in itself surely – that I want to read the next books shows that I enjoyed the first significantly. If you enjoy Urban Fantasy (or even just fantasy in itself), I would urge you to give this book a try, for it’s well worth your while.

I’m going to give this book a 7/10. I enjoyed it lots, but I wished there was more. It seemed a very short book to me (206 pages), and I think a little more detail and a few more plot twists could have worked a dream.