Kiss of Fire

I'm not done with this book yet but I just had to record this for posterity (or myself, but whatever).
I started laughing so hard when I read the part where Jos started crying about how her father had supposedly gone insane, after reading this letter.

EDIT: 3.5
Since I have finished reading the book and crying over it, I believe I am coherent enough to write a review.
First of all, WHAT WAS THAT?! THAT ENDING! WHAT IS THIS?!
I have many complaints to address. No offense Rebecca Ethington. I'm just super pissed right now. I like happy endings! Okay, so I guess I should point out that the first 50% without action was kind of lame. It was incredibly obvious magic was at work and stuff, what with Jos' father's letter, and the way people around her act. It just took forever for that to be confirmed and for the new magical terms to be introduced.
Second of all, it kind of pissed me off how weak and cowardly Jos is. Now, I understand that insecurity stemmed from her father leaving her over the mark, but seriously. It gets old. She couldn't have developed more guts to at least fight back against all the female dogs (I'm keeping this review clean)? It's also really annoying how she just kept REPEATING EVERYTHING SOMEONE SAID. One memorable part was when she was being introduced to formerly said magical terms. She just KEPT ON REITERATING THE NOUN IN THE LAST SENTENCE. And she didn't even realize it or point it out, like other heroines in similar situations.
And then third of all, which partly relates to my second complaint, is that she was so...what's the correct term? Weak? I know she wasn't weak; she had a major amount of power that she just didn't know how to control. Even so, I guess I'm just irritated with the fact that Ethington didn't make the heroine more...what's the term? Trying to keep this clean...ah freck it; kick-ass. Why didn't the author make Jos more kick-ass? I guess it'd be a nice lead-in into the second book (magical training, learning how to blow stuff up, whee). But seriously, it was annoying. I hate looking down on main characters. Ethington even made a point in showing how pitiful Jos' fighting skills were during the battle at the mansion. I don't like it .-. . So I guess that's just my personal taste.
So really, the first 50% was probably my most favorite part of the book. Life was looking up. Andddd then it suddenly came crashing down. Sue me for wanting a happier ending. I ship Ryland and Jos. Hard. I was it badly. So badly I will rant until I get that happy ending (ranting in progress).
And one more thing; WHERE'S THE WIT? Where's the funny? Where're the LOL moments? I need my funny. It's what keeps everything upbeat, even in a...how would you describe it? Dreary? Dooming? Grave? Grave! Yes, even in a grave book, everyone needs some comic relief-they're what help keep my crazy-person persona whenever I laugh out loud in public over something I read. GIVE ME MY FUNNY!
COME ON! GIVE ME MY HAPPY ENDING! And I swear, if Ilyan and Jos get together...if sparks fly...I might hit something. You have been warned.

Joclyn is a pretty normal teenage girl that goes to a pretty typical high school. She doesn't like attention, so she wears hoodies and baggy clothes in order to blend in the background. She is not popular or even kinda liked by most people at her high school. She is also the target of bullying. However, she does have a wonderful boy that's a friend that's more than a friend named Ryland, so that makes her life a little better. The only difference between Joclyn and your average bullied teenager is that she received a bite on her neck when she was five years old that seemed to ruin her life.

She learns about halfway through the book (after a lot of drama) that she is not exactly mortal. She has magic in her blood. This of course causes lots of problems with Ryland and her mother. I am going to stop with the brief overview because I don't want to give away the book.

I liked Joclyn for the most part. She seemed like a straight shooter who just wanted to keep things to herself. She didn't want to be noticed or people to make a big fuss over her. However, that dialogue started to get tiring after a while. I loved her relationship with Ryland (more on that later) and her loyalty to him. My favorite thing about her was her dedication to the cause. Once she learned who she was and what she would have to do to fight evil she was in 100%. She worked her butt off to be the best magician (?) that she could be to save Ryland and the world.

Ryland was precious in this book!! I loved his cockiness and his sexiness (even though he was only like sixteen or seventeen). He just seemed like the epitome of an awesome male character. His dedication to Joclyn was strong! He is willing to leave his family and everything that he is taught to just be with her. The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't get to know him as much as I would have liked. There was honestly just not enough Ryland in this book to satisfy me!!

Ryland and Joclyn have a really intense relationship. They have known each other since they were young, and as they aged their relationship grew. You could tell (at least on Ryland's end) from the get go that they were in love with each other. However, they both seemed to fight the relationship (more Joclyn than Ryland). I love books that have this type of romance angle; my favorite story line is watching best friends slowly fall in love. It makes for an intense read!! Make sure to pay attention to the connection that Joclyn and Ryland share, it is really important as the book and probably the series progresses.