Me on Pyromantic

Title: Pyromantic
Author: Lish McBride
Release Date: March 21, 2017
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (Macmillan imprint)

Ava is having a rough time. Getting rid of Venus didn't set her free—she's still part of the magical mafia called the Coterie. Her new boss seems like an improvement, but who knows if he'll stay that way—the Coterie life changes people. And since Ava's currently avoiding her friends after (disastrously) turning down a date with Lock, well, everything kind of sucks. And that's not even taking into account the feelings she might have for him. But when a mysterious illness starts to affect magical beings, it's up to Ava and her team to stop its spread… or else one of them might be next.

Pyromantic is all danger and magic and family. It's the story of a girl and those she keeps close, those she tolerates, those she works for, and their attempts to keep everyone alive when something deadly and gross pops up in their area.

Ava is this wild combo of fire and snark and mediator and awkward teen. She's rough and powerful, fire in her veins and sparking out of her fingers when she's not careful or feeling awkward around Lock, and ready to get in a fight if anyone threatens anyone she keeps close. Like Lock and Ezra, her best friends. Like her supportive dad Cade and her excitable and nerdy but always supportive friend Sylvie. The Coterie? Not so much. Well, not when Venus was her boss. Now that it's this guy named Alistair, and that he's not exactly pure evil, Ava's got some second thoughts about the Coterie lifestyle. Maybe it's not all super evil? Maybe? But that doesn't mean her work for them is any lighter or easier. If anything, it's a lot more dangerous this time.

I love this book. It picks up where Firebug ended, right back into Ava's life with Cade and her awkwardness around Lock and her hunting down murderers and weird stuff for the Coterie. The combination of paranormal creatures and action and intrigue and family and friendship and banter and awkward moments worked for me. It all came together, to me, rather seamlessly. It just all fit. This bizarre found family all full of people with different abilities and vices and perspectives. If you're any kind of Lish McBride fan, you'll love this book.

(I borrowed a hardcover copy of this title from the library.)