Into Fire

by Brittany Westerberg

The fifteen year old Leora had always planned her entire life around working with her brother and father in their gemsmithing shop. She enjoyed it, she was good at it, and she wanted nothing more than to do it. But fate had other plans for Leora. On a day like any other, Leora's life was turned upside-down when two strangers visited her and informed her family that she had the power of a Mage-abilities she had always been raised to fear. As they seek to whisk her away and train her in her abilities, Leora must decide whether to remain in the family business, or explore these amazing abilities, and, a potential link to her mother. Deciding to embrace the adventure, Leora learns that there is a lot more in the world outside her home than she thought. With new allies, challenges, experiences, and problems she never knew even existed, Leora must accept the person she was meant to become or lose everything that ever meant anything to her.

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2011

About the author

Find me on Instagram to see more of what I'm up to and the books I'm currently reading: @thewriterlife.

I write part time while working full time, and I first published in 2011 (thanks in large part to my brother, who did a lot of the leg work to get me there).

Facts about me:
1 - I work in digital marketing and love everything about it.
2 - I tend to rewrite more than I write.
3 - I enjoy reading pretty much anything I can get my hands on.
4 - I'm a mom of two.

Reviews

[Vicki Trask · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew okay. First of all, I'm not a fan of journey stories but I do love strong female characters and I love magic so this book instantly appealed to me. I also love hunky guys and there are plenty of those in here - though it's by no means a romance so much as an element of growing up and becoming interested in boys and learnign to trust others. The story follows the life of Leora, a fifteen year old girl destined to be a gemsmith who suddenly finds herself being dragged around the world, training to be a mage, a magical being with power over different elements and some even have the power over life and death. She meets many characters along the way, all of which are unique and engaging and could easily have their own story arc, who play a crucial role in Leora's journey. There are seveal male characters who appeal to her as both friends and lovers but obsticals continually break them apart and that's possibly one of the only elements I didn't really enjoy; the continuious back and forth with Leora's heart can be a bit annoying and the resolution of her love life was a bit rushed but that's beside the point of the story really. Focusing on the magical elements of the story, I loved the subtle unique creativity of the powers. Nothing was too out there but nothing was stereotypical persay. Right in that limbo of comfortable 'new'ness. Wonderful. So, overall I loved the characters and really, I would have loved to see more of them. The ending was a bit rushed - I didn't get the closure I really wanted - but the journey there was thoroughly engaging.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book. If you liked Harry Potter, you are going to love Leora Alder and the adventure she undertakes. Like Harry, she finds out about herself and what her life is about.

THis is a book I had trouble putting down and was great from page one to the very end. I would recommend this for anyone, not matter what they like to read.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

From reading the synopsis of Into Fire I couldn’t wait to get started with it, I love fantasy and magical reads and this had both of those and adventure too.

I instantly liked Leora she was a character you will like straight away, she is brave, maybe a little naive to start with but as the book goes on she is turning into a woman and she surprises me as to just how brave and courageous she really is.

From being a gemsmith to be taken away from her home and going into a world she knew nothing about she did remarkably well.

I really liked Ronn, Rafael and Lia too they were all loveable character. Ronn for his courage and friendship towards Leora. Rafael for being such a great Master even though he really didn’t want a student and Lia, she was a great woman and role model, she looked out for Leora in an almost motherly way which I felt was needed since Leora’s mother passed some time ago.

There was obviously bad characters and they were very bad, I didn’t like them at all which is exactly what the author wanted us to feel.

Leora had a lot of deal with in this book, a friendship that breaks up after a misunderstanding, some deaths, a mugging, loss of family, rescuing a friend during dangerous circumstances and turning into a woman and learning to control her magic, there really is a lot going on.
This was a fast pacing well written book and I look forward to reading more from Brittany Westerberg. I am looking forward to reading Over Water very soon.

[Brittany Westerberg]

I wrote this book, so I won't give a review, since it would be biased!! I would appreciate any reviews.