Ember

Death Collectors #1

by Jessica Sorensen

(Young Adult/original version)

What if you knew when someone was going to die? For seventeen-year-old Ember, life is death. With a simple touch, she knows when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person who knows her secret is her best friend Raven. Then she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous, mysterious, and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. So when he pushes into her life, she doesn’t mind. But when unexplained deaths start to haunt her town, Ember starts questioning why she can’t sense Asher's death and what he may be hiding.

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Angels, Paranormal Romance, New Adult

337 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2012

About the author

Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.


http://www.jessicasorensen.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica...

Reviews

[Tess · Rating 1 out of 5]

wow. This book is Terrible.
Hate the main character. Are all teens ADD now? Her life is too messed up to believe, she sees people's deaths, and yet she is mainly concerned with whether or not she should go on a date with either of the two new boys in her class. Oh, not to mention her car gets run off the road into a lake and she doesn't even seem to mind. Plus her best friend seems to be losing her mind recently, but yeah sure let's go to another party. or wait, let me write terrible poetry on my wall instead. How about I just read terrible poetry on my boyfriend's tattooed body?
The angel & grim reaper great war and constant battle was confusing and scattered. Her best friend just happened to read something in a book that sounds remarkably like Ember's life, and then conveniently finds passages at all the right times...Because you don't see where that is headed at all. But wait, there's another party and dead teen to angst about, who has time to worry about angels and reapers?
Actually "scattered" pretty well sums up this paranormal nightmare. teens are missing or dead all over town, and nobody cares. The main girls flit from horror situation to school to parties and back to horror like it's supposed to make sense. all the while we are supposed to believe that in 12 years of seeing death Ember still hasn't figured out a way to either get used to it, or found a way to better avoid touching anyone. Gag.
and finally, the major inaccuracies with ravens seriously irritated me. if you are going to have black feather shedding omens of death on every page, at least get their characteristics right.
Just... Don't read it. I found nothing redeeming in this story, which hasn't happened to me in a long time.

[Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is also at my blog, with added pictures too Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books

WOW, this book was amazing; Jessica has done it again, created a great story, which puts you on the edge of your seat! I stayed up half the night to finish this, I could not stop. I had to know what happened next. This book has a broken family, betrayal, impossible love triangle, (but not really in the way you think) and trying to guess who or what anyone is, is hard, you will be wrong!

In this book, Ember is faced with death daily. Anyone she touches, she sees their death omen, and she sees how they are going to die. And some die young and brutally. She has had to face a broken family; her mother called her crazy, and sent her to live with her dad when she was 4 or so. Then had to get back with her mom when something happened with her dad. Basically, she lives with a mother who is out of it most days. Ember is a Goth girl, who is described with long silky black hair, and grey/light blue eyes, pale skin. I pictured her looking like Ksena Solo from Lost Girl on Sci Fi channel, (she plays Kenzi the human, goth girl)Ksena Solo Photos Here

She is a very strong character, and she deals with things daily that I would cringe at if it was me. Not all is what it seems. We have 2 new boys come into the picture, and I love how we do not really know for sure, which is the bad evil one, and which is not. I do not want to say much to spoil anything, this will remain spoiler free. I will add a few good teasers for you.

“Open your eyes,” a deep voice asserts. “Come on, not yet. Open your eyes, God damn it.” The whisper alters to a desperate plea. “Please Ember… please wake up… you have to be one of them—I know you are.”

I didn’t feel like I liked Raven, her best friend a lot, I did some, but I do not trust her, and feel bad for Ember that she basically has no one to talk to. I really liked Asher, he has black hair and grey eyes, pale skin, very goodlooking, he is a sweet guy, and right away was drawn to him (I pictured him looking like a young Garrett Hedlum, like he looked in the Eragon movie, with the longer black hair, he was in Tron too, but with blond hair). Cameron, I also liked some, but didn’t trust him, he has blond hair, described as dark eyes, not sure color, may have been blue, but something about him seemed too perfect. (I pictured him as a young Cam Gigandet, like he was in the movie Never Back Down, or Roommate movie, not like when James in Twilight) I feel all the characters were developed very nicely.

I was happy with the ending, it was left open, as I know it’s a series, but not on a huge cliffhanger to where you want to scream, we don’t have that, but it still does leave us wanting more, like it should.

Overall, Amazing story, I am honored I was able to read an ARC for Jessica. I highly recommend this book to any fan of Jessica, OR anyone who likes a great paranormal story. You won’t be disappointed!

I only have one negative thing to say, I don't like the book cover. The girl on cover looks nothing like the description, she has dark eyes and not even pretty, where Ember is describes as very pretty with the light grey/light blue eyes, and that combo with black hair is very attractive, like the the example I said above, she would look more like Ksolo than the cover. I am sure a computer generated girl with the proper look would be better, if the right model isn't found. Just my opinion. The cover actually turns me away, if I would not have known Jessica's work, and it was a book I just seen, I would have passed it up. I am guilty of the whole judging books by the covers. Sorry, but so many people are.

I was provided and ARC of this book for my honest review from the author.

Summary:
What if you knew when someone was going to die?

For seventeen-year-old Ember, life is death. With a simple touch, she knows when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person who knows her secret is her best friend Raven.

Then she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous, mysterious, and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. So when he pushes into her life, she doesn’t mind.

But when unexplained deaths start to haunt her town, Ember starts questioning why she can’t sense Asher's death and what he may be hiding.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I see a lot of 3-5 star reviews for this book...and I'm confused. Did we all read the same book, here?
This was awful. Shockingly bad. I hate to abandon any book so I forced myself to finish it. I'm surprised my eyes didn't bleed out of my skull.
Everything felt ridiculously contrived and a lot of the supposed angst was just laughable. I love a depressing or 'angsty' read, but the image of a teenage girl wandering around a graveyard and spouting really bad poetry made me chuckle. And not in a good way.
The author's habit of making her say incredibly annoying things to get across how alone she feels just made me even more irritated.
The whole book is very bad, but here are some quotes from the first chapter:

My gaze travels upward to a statuesque carving of a hooded figure. Its head is tucked down and in its hand is a scythe.
“The Grim Reaper, huh?” I rise to my feet, stretching out my long legs, and tilt my head up. “I bet you know what it’s like, don’t you? To be surrounded by death all the time? I bet you understand me.”


A black raven swoops down from one of the trees and circles in front of me.
"Why are you always following me?” I whisper to the raven. “Is it because you know what I am—a symbol of death like you?”

I really would not recommend this to anyone. Sorry. It's just not my cup of tea.

[Kandice Dover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this on amazon for free and said "Hey! Another book by Jessica!" So I got it.

I really don't know what to say because I am just soooo mind blown.

I really liked Ember. Although there were a few times where I thought she could give Raven a piece of her mind. She's quiet, and sometimes her quietness got a little annoying. At certain parts of the book I was screaming at her to say something. She's way too nice for her own good, something I can relate to.

Raven was a little on the wild side. She reminded me a lot of Vee from Hush, Hush. I liked her. She was bubbly and damn was she persistent. I did want to punch her a few times though.

Asher. Mmm. Another name to add to the list. I was worried the whole time that he would turn out to be the bad guy. That's my luck. If he doesn't die, then he's the bad guy. This time, though he was the good guy and he lived. I'm jumping for joy, actually.

Cameron. I hated this guy. I want him to die I hate him so much. He's too cocky and really annoying. He's too...territorial. Especially over things...or people, that don't belong to him. I wanted to punch him.

This book was hard to put down because there were so many things that caught my attention. Like Raven's bitchy attitude towards Ember. And I just really really wanted to know what was up with the X on Raven's shoulder. And why Ember was seeing people hanging from trees one minute and then they'd just disappear. And mostly because I wanted to know why Ember could tell how someone would die.

The only reason this book got 4 stars is because of the goddamn cliffhanger. But despite the cliffhanger, this was an amazing book and I'm recommending this to everyone.

Enjoy! :)

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I think I'm in the minority when I say I didn't really like this book. It was okay, but it certainly didn't blow me out of the water. One big red flag is that I had to push myself to finish each chapter. I really wanted to stop reading after the first 10% but I hate DNF books, and I wanted to give it an honest shot.

And it honestly underwhelmed me.

I thought the concept was so fresh and interesting but I didn't love the execution. It felt garbled and very YA-y in a bad way. It picked up a bit towards the end but I still never became engulfed in the story. I didn't hate it, and I'm sure some people will like it, but it didn't resonate with me. Maybe I don't really like angel stories? Hmm....

[Zuleeza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.5 stars.

Blegh. Meh.

This was really, really average. Like, precisely average.

I remember liking Sorensen's earlier work, The Fallen Star. I thought it was entertaining albeit the writing sounded like a paranormal chick lit.

So, of course, a year later, I expected more from Sorensen. Much more. She wrote a bunch of other books in between The Fallen Star and Ember.

*sigh*

Very well, it came to this anyway. I don't think I'll ever finish The Fallen Star series.

Ember. At first glance, it has a complete package. Gorgeous cover, interesting blurb, original mythology, reapers, Edgar Allan Poe,

death,

more EDGAR ALLAN POE,

more DEATH.

In short, this book has the potential to be the perfect gothic book for me but sadly, the execution was so average, it left me disappointed. So, so disappointed.

First, there's the duality of Ember and Raven. Contrary to the names, it's Ember who always wear black and it's Raven who has bubblegum pink hair. Anyway, I don't understand to why there's a need to create this unpopular, awkward or probably nerdy main female protagonist who is best friends with this popular, stylish girl. I believe there are more facades of high school teenagers than these stereotypes.

The male characters were really uninspiring. Sure, they do have interesting backgrounds but blegh, I don't get the romance at all. I find it really hormone-driven.

The plot is choppy. It was really hard to keep track of everything. Things just move from one scene to another in the next line.

To wrap it up, this was definitely a fast read but sadly, it failed to trigger even the tiniest bit of emotions out of me.

Oh well.

[Slavena · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked this book up on a recommendation I was not sure I will like it, because it involves elements I am not drawn to in a book: it is YA, which means it is light on the romance and it is about a girl who is in high-school. Those 2 things usually are a no for me, because since I left high-school I do not think I want to revisit all the messed up adolescent drama.

Another drawback was the cover - it looks very amateurish and it looks like a porcelain doll some high school students drew with black on. I am glad to see that book #2 in the series is coming out with more appropriate cover

Despite all those things however I am so happy I picked it up. I started reading this book and it was read in one sitting, I was so engulfed in the story I could not stop until it ended, then I was craving for more.

Ember is a high school student with a very unusual curse of seeing how people will die when she touches them, so it makes for a very lonely and painful existence, until the night she meets a guy that does not have a death omen when she touches him.
The whole story is about angels/grim reapers battle good vs evil and she is in the middle, I don't want to give more spoilers. The romance was very sweet and the characters draw you in and you have to keep reading to discover what happens next.

I highly recommend this book for people who like the supernatural and young adult genre.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC ecopy of this book for participating in the blog tour this month. I will give an honest review which is in now way influenced by receiving a free copy of this book. I want to than Jessica and SupaGurl Tours for providing me with a copy.

I will be honest and say that I actually read the blurb for this one when I first added it to my TBR (which was way before I was asked to participate in the blog tour). I rarely read the blurb, but the cover just looked to good to pass up and I needed to know if it would be worth the read. It sounded really interesting, right up my ally actually with having loved Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi and this having a similar theme, so I could not wait to read it once I found out I had a spot on the tour!

Blurb from Goodreads:
What if you knew when someone was going to die?
For seventeen-year-old Ember, life is death. With a simple touch, she knows when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person who knows her secret is her best friend Raven.
Then she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous, mysterious, and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. So when he pushes into her life, she doesn’t mind.
But when unexplained deaths start to haunt her town, Ember starts questioning why she can’t sense Asher's death and what he may be hiding

Let me start by saying that the cover of this book is just totally awesome. It is the perfect picture of how I felt Ember would look! And the color scheme is just beautiful. So who would not be immediately drawn to this book just by looking at the cover?

Next I need to discuss the characters.
First there's Ember. She is not at all what I would have thought she would be. As a Goth girl, I thought she would be a bit more morbid, a bit more depressed, but what do I know of Goth. She actually struck me as a very typical teenage girl who just liked to dress a bit funky. She's a longer for sure, although she does have one good friend who has seemed to stand by her side. Since she's "cursed" with "experiencing" anyone's death who touches her, it makes sense that she is a bit withdrawn from others and likes to kind of keep to herself. At the same time, she's this beautiful creature, who doesn't have a clue that she's pretty or that she might attract the attention of others for more reasons than her just being a little out of the ordinary. I love that Ember is strong and able to take care of herself, and her family when needed.
Next there's Raven, I don't get much from her. To me she certainly seems a bit self-centered, but you can see that she does care for Ember in her own way. Besides trying to figure out how she looks in my mind, I felt she was actually a bit flat. But I also realize that she's not a huge part of the story, so the focus certainly was not meant to be on her. I did feel like I couldn't trust Raven, like there was something she was holding back throughout the entire story. She even kind of mentions it at one point, but she never lets Ember know exactly what it is.
Then we meet Asher. Not your typical "hunky" teenage YA guy for sure. He's also this Goth kind of guy, with piercings and tattoos, dark hair and clothing to match. not normally my type of attraction, and yet I felt my self completely and totally pulled to him. He's very mysterious, keeping secrets from Ember and telling her that in time she will get to know him, when she's ready for that information. And the fact that he and Ember can touch makes their relationship that much more tantalizing as she finally gets to fell what it's like to not have someone's death omen thrown in her face every time she touches them.
And all of a sudden there is a love triangle thrown in in the form of Cameron. He's totally not Ember's type: blond, tanned, handsome, cocky, dresses like he's walked out of GQ magazine. And she certainly doesn't think he would be attracted to her, yet he is. But, like Asher, he exudes this mysteriousness that has her confused. And, lo and behold, like Asher, Cameron can also touch Ember, although we don't find this out until later as he seems to specifically avoid touching her directly for a long while.
The supporting characters give us a look into Ember's life, which is by no means perfect. Actually, it's so far from perfect you certainly feel total empathy for her and her "curse."

The storyline is like nothing I have ever read. Sure, you feel that there will be some kind of paranormal element, seeing as Ember sees death omens from people. But I certainly did not expect it to take the turn it took. I thought for sure anyone she would meet would just have the same power as her, more like Xmen than creatures you only read about in books. But it didn't take that turn, it took a turn to angels and grim reapers and things that I have not read about before. It has such a great creaptastic appeal, I was captivated.

Jessica's writing is outstanding. It flows so easily, without breaking anywhere at all. Each chapters seamlessly fits with the next, keeping you wanting more. I had a hard time finding a place to stop as I really did want to know what was going to happen next! Probably the reason it took me only one day to read it! Sorensen adequately lays out the dark life that is Ember's with her use of poetry and art. Her writing is gripping and fast paced, keeping you on the edge of your seat for sure.

I am excited this is series. The ending left things open, but wasn't enough of a cliffhanger to annoy me. I am really looking forward to reading what comes next for Ember.

5 out of 5 stars!

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH DEAR, MY MINDS SCREWED AGAIN.
MY BRAINS INCOHERENT. THOUGHTS SWIRLING ROUND MY HEAD. SO MANY I CAN BARELY THINK.

IM TOO MIND BOGGLED TO WRITE A DECENT REVIEW RIGHT NOW... BUT THIS WAS NUTS! ABSOLOUTLEY CRAZY. EVERYONE WAS CRAZY. SOMEONE SAID 'HANGING OUT WITH REAPERS MAKE ANY HUMANS CLOSE TO THEM GO CRAZY, WHAT THEY FAILED TO MENTION WAS ANY READERS READING THIS BOOK ALSO GO CRAZY,

WHAT A BOOK THOUGH. DAMN JESSICA YOU OUTDID YOURSELF WITH THIS ONE GIRL

I'VE LOVED EVERY BOOK YOU'VE WRITTEN. THE FALLEN STAR SERIES IS AWESOME BUT THIS SERIES.. WELL IT'S DIFFERENT. AND MUCH BETTER, I LOVE THEM BOTH BUT THIS ONE IS CREEPY, DARK, MYSTERIOUS, CRAZY, AWESOME, KICK-ASS, ROMANTIC, WELL EVERYTHING.

I LOVED ASHER FROM THE START AND I LOVE ASHER AT THE END. TO PUT IT LIGHTLEY I LOVE ASHER. LOL.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR BOOK 2.
SORRY FOR RAMBLING PEOPLE I WILL POST A DECENT AND SLIGHTLY LESS ERATIC REVIEW WHEN MY HEADS NOT POUNDING AND I AM ABLE TO THINK STRAIGHT.

P.S I DIDN'T MEAN TO WRITE IN CAPS LOCK, FORGOT TO TURN IT OFF, LOL.

[Derinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Biscuits and gravy!!!!!!

This book was fantastic! I certainly would give it the maximin stars!!! I will not go into the story, because truly I feel as though, I would not be able to explain the full depth of it. Plus, you need to read it. I am certain you would love this book! I personally Loved IT!!!!!!


Have you ever had your toes press to the ground making your knee jump up and down. But not realizing it, until you happen to look down and see it! Well that is what was happening to me, through out most of this book. Talk about building tension and making me apprehensive. Hello thats me, a bundle of nerves. This was such a well written book. One thing that kept escaping my lips was, What kind of mind does this Author have??!! Seriously, I find it mystifying, how someone can create such a magnificent story!

Here is a fast description of this book by Jessica Sorensen:

What if you knew when someone was going to die?

For seventeen-year-old Ember, life is death. With a simple touch, she knows when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person who knows her secret is her best friend Raven.

Then she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous, mysterious, and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. So when he pushes into her life, she doesn’t mind.

But when unexplained deaths start to haunt her town, Ember starts questioning why she can’t sense Asher's death and what he may be hiding: Jessica Sorensen

I was literally talking to my kindle throughout this book. No dont go there, wait dont do that....eeep run.....not him.....omg....wooozer...dont trust her.....dont trust him....wait maybe trust her....Oooo you can trust him.....holy smokes dunk....hide.....phew that was close. Not too mention wanting to run my fingers across a certain someone’s tattoo (drool)
There is a love triangle going on in this book. But not your omg another love triangle (yawn). But a holy smokes, kind of way. It’s complicate....so I say again....READ this book!

I am so excited about this book here is what I am going to do. Come to http://www.facebook.com/YaTeenReaders, when this book is release and I will have a contest and the winners will recieved a ecopy of it!

Jessica Sorensen you are now officially on the “You Rock” list!!!!

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

WARNING: an annoying amount of use of the word "ridiculous".

Great concept, awful execution. The result: ridiculous characters, ridiculous plot (with plot holes and all), ridiculous execution of a great concept, ridiculous romance, ridiculous EVERYTHING.

This book didn't make me angry and hate it with a fiery passion but it annoyed me. I do have to say that it entertained me with its ridiculousness for a while but there's only so much of it you can laugh about until it annoys you.

Ridiculous. The only thing I can say about Ember. I already had things planned I wanted to mention and discuss in my review but I just don't feel like putting effort into writing a coherent review for a book that annoyed me as much as this one did.

I'm like the only person in a sea of 4 and 5 star ratings to rate this book 1 star, so there's that. Maybe everything about this book wasn't as ridiculous for other people as it was for me.

(After using the word "ridiculous" so many times in this review uncoherent little rambling of mine I feel like I don't know how to write it anymore, ha.)

[Babs | babs_reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was captivated by the dark undercurrent of the book. It literally had me hanging off the edge of my seat (and possibly a little talking...erm...I mean screaming at my Kindle) I'm a HUGE fan of Jessica's other series (Fallen Star, Fallen Souls, Darkness Falls; Let's face it I'm a JESSICA JUNKIE) however, this series takes the cake. (and the ice cream- yeah, it's THAT GOOD) 'Ember' had me so twisted, I couldn't decide who to trust or who the 'bad or good guy' was because well, Asher and Cameron both were amazing characters, not to mention swoon worthy! This isn't an easy thing to do as I usually can guess what will happen and tend to be right...not this time though. I highly recommend this book!(seriously worth the .99 I paid!) In fact, I plan on reading it again very soon!

[LiarLiar · Rating 5 out of 5]

i didn't expect this to be short >.<
but yeah I LOVE iT
i am So looking forward to the next one .


i love this poem in the book :)
" The ember dies slowly in a mound of ash .
darkness and mourning, it longs to burn fire . but the
smoke and sorrow let it die .
the need for a spark asserts fiercely. but
a spark won't surrender. So the ember continues
to smother. Into ash,into dust, into nothing.
And that's how it will stay forever. "



for me it sounds like a prophecy
directing to ember herself :)

[Booknut 101 · Rating 4 out of 5]

With enough raven's-wing feathers to keep even Edgar Allen Poe content, Ember will have you seeing death like never before.

[Jodie]

Finished reading Ember by Jessica Sorensen. Being confused is an understatement

I do not dare to rate this one.
I will just say 'I read it'

Synopsis from goodreads *not sure if I have the ‘right’ synopsis version?*
(New adult paranormal version of my young adult book, Ember (Death Collectors, #1). It contains more violence and more sexual content.)

**Mature Content Advisory**
Recommended for readers 17+ due to sexual situations and language.

For nineteen-year-old Ember, life has always been about death. With a simple touch, she can see when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person that knows her secret is her best friend Raven.

But that changes when she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous and mysterious and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. The silence he instills in her mind and body allows her to feel things she’s never been able to before, so despite her initial reservations, Ember lets Asher into her life and lets herself to get close to him. But the closer they get, the more Ember realizes that Asher is keeping secrets from her.

When unexplained deaths begin to surface in her town, Ember questions why she can’t see Asher's death and what it is he’s hiding from her


--
Just realized there are two versions of the book…The YA version wherein Ember is 17 years old and a NA version wherein Ember is 19 years old. I think I messed up with the synopsis but I couldn’t find the ‘17 years old version’. I am not sure which version I read but if I remember correctly Ember was 17 in the one I read…which means that I bought the wrong version because I was thinking about reading the NA version, lol.

Anyways, I am confused. My head. My brain.
OK to be honest I was not really tempted to read Ember… because yes ol’ lame me was scared of the cover. Dude have you seen the cover? It is frigging scary! I hate dolls…with scary make-up.



But then I saw the other cover

and was getting slightly interested again.

But well, at the end I am not sure what happened in Ember actually. I don’t remember a thing. Even though it was just a few minutes ago that I finished reading it. I thought I’d love it but I didn’t ‘enjoy’ it at all because half of the time I was asking myself what I was reading. It is a shame… that it eventually did not work out because she really blew my mind away in the coincidence of Callie and Kayden. I shouldn’t compare the two books with each other because they are really different in genre –I know-. The idea of the story and synopsis sounded good, really… though the cover scared me off once or twice… But it did not work for me... because I could hardly find half of the synopsis back in the story (?) but that might be because I just couldn’t focus. Besides that, the characters were just confusing. Glad it was only around 270 pages because it was short enough to finish it in 4 hours.

[Joan{missing the vampire bunny slippers!} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This books gets extra points just for making me doubt myself more than once! I thought I had everyone figured out pretty soon, but I was always reserved, afraid that someone might surprise me. Especially when it came to Cameron I hadn't made up my mind completely until the very end.

Honestly this wasn't the best book I read this year, or the most original one, but it flowed easily and with a little more work it could go somewhere.

As far as main characters go Ember wasn't half bad. She was sad and scared, but she handled herself well and she wasn't the whining little girl that most YA books feature. She's adaptable, has a good head on her shoulders and she is not all pessimistic and pining over the guys.

Asher was a shoo-in from the very beginning. He's sweet and he can kick some serious butt if he wants to. Between him and Cameron I pick him every day! I didn't have that many doubts about him, I had a pretty clear idea about where he stood, with one little exception at the end, which was more of a passing thought than anything else.

Cameron was your friendly neighbor stalker. He moved in town about the same time as Asher did and he was the only character that had me rethinking his position from beginning to end. I made scenario after scenario in my head. "He is a Grimm Reaper.", "No, he is an Angel of Death.", I even though "He might be human" at some point but it was more of a passing thought. Seriously though the guy did seem to be a jerk and I was so proud of Ember when she didn't go all "gaga" over how hot he was. I was practically cheer leading for her when she damped him and went home after he started being a douche! So there are probably some that will swoon over the insistent, bad boy, poet, but I'm team Asher on this one!

Raven I felt really sorry for in the end! She might have been a bit of a ho but she was a good friend to Ember most of the time. Not really her fault when she wasn't either.

So to sum this up, I want to see what happens next so I'll look for the second book, but I want to see more of the boys this time and I'd prefer them talking and not making out all the time if possible. Maybe even see Michael a little. We've seen the Reapers already why not the angels too? Oh I also want the family and friends to stop being so depressing and start cheering up a bit. Especially the mom! Ok we saw the crazy now I want to see her better.
Oh and I 'd love to see what Ember's powers are gonna be! Everyone was going on and on about her being all powerful and stuff, but lets see something happening! :)

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Sorensen even though I own a lot of her work, which, I bought based on all the glowing reviews, I can promise you that this most definitely won't be the last one.

And while I haven't read her other books so therefore I can't validate the reviews, I can say this, from reading this one, I can totally see why all the others have had pretty amazing reviews.

This book rocked!

Seriously, it did. I loved everything about it. The dark slight, goth feel to it, the creepiness, the romance, the mystery, the absolutely fabulous characters. Everything.

Ember was a great character. I loved how independent and strong and just true to herself she was. She didn't have everything figured out, heck she had very little figured out but she pushed forward everyday and she sought answers. She didn't back down, to anyone..ever.

Asher and Cameron were both..well okay, they were both pretty fabulous, each in their own way and darn if this book didn't keep me on my toes about which one was good and which was bad or even if there was a “good” and “bad”.

I never quite had this one figured out, which I love. I hate it when I have all the answers and the story isn't even half way through yet.

I am not even going to say anymore because, quite simply, I don't want to give a single thing away. This is one book you just need to experience for yourself.

Angels, reapers, death, murder, mayhem, family secrets, love, sickness, betrayal. It has a little bit of it all and it doesn't lack for anything.

This is a must read!

[Tacho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just have to put it frankly, JS has done the impossible again, I was so excited to read this and man did it pay off. I loved this story more than all her books so far. I loved the storyline it was magnificent. Jessica has taken her books to a whole other level!!!!!
To start off I loved Ember she was the kind of character I look forward to reading about. She was strong and she kept her sanity, I loved that she was strong no matter what had happened in her life. Raven was just amazing! She was built to be the exact opposite of Ember, but I loved it, I love how well she fit in the story. Cameron was what I thought he'd be, to add to that he was a character that was built well, he was evil and in my opinion psychotic. I had a bad feeling when he was first introduce in the story. Asher was a great character, he was very confusing to me and secretive, but all in all he made it work. I loved the violence, it was awesome. I also loved how the story had a really good climax. I can't wait for book two!!!!!
All in all I have to say PRAISE for Jessica Sorenson!!! She has amazed me once again with her book!

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, let me start off by saying that Jessica Sorensen has grown as an author, this being the prime novel that shows how far she has come.

Some Friendly Pros:
The thing that really kept me interested was that I didn't know how things would turn out, as is not the case in most books containing angels. Insta-love, the bane of my glorious existence was pleasingly absent. The boys weren't all like "I love you but i'm going to leave you" and then they come back later being all "I'm sorry I left I change my mind your my soul mate again. Leaving me to be all like, "Really? Your worse then my mom and the grocery store."
I must say I really like Ember, level-headed mofo that she is. Cameron is creepy, a bit remnant of Nicholas from the Fallen Star series, but not enough to guarantee mace. The plot was very well thought out I mean, the super secret race of super-secret people's goal is to make her go insane. Awesome Right?

Alas, nothing is perfect...

Cons:
Sometimes Raven was annoying as a friend, but thats really it.

I can't wait to get my grabby little hands on the next book!

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.....The concept of this storyline was amazing. Having the main character being able to see when death will happen, I have to say Jessica, awesome idea. Jessica's series are always a breath of fresh air from the familiarity of other authors. She has a great presence in her writing and it makes you feel like you are really there with the characters. I loved her Fallen Stars Series and this series just goes to show what a versatile and imaginative writer that Jessica is. Another amazing book, Jessica.....I cannot wait to see what happens next!! You Rock!! :)

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/13/2019)! 🎁

[CheyAnn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a YA edition of an adult romance book, if I knew that I wouldn't have read it but anyways.

The main character knows when people will die and how they will die if she touches them. So she tries to not touch people until two new guys come to town. The typical story new mysterious guy shows up and the main character wants to make out with him the first day she meets him. 🙄

I didn't like any of the characters. Embers best friend is the typical best friend (forces their friend to go to parties, gets super drunk, ditches her friend for a guy), she was really bratty to Ember. In one part of the story Ember confronts her about something that happened the night before and Raven doesn't want to listen to her and says, "I really need a break from you. You're too much baggage". Who calls their supposed friend baggage?

Ember and Raven both have such hard lifes but Ember doesn't seem to care she's too busy trying to figure out which of the new guys she should date. Both of their parents are drug addicts, their dad's both took of years ago. Ember's dad is supposedly dead, it was mentioned many times that it was Ember's fault he was dead. Her mother claims that Ember killed him, and her grandmother. If that was the truth why isn't Ember in jail? The book was just confusing. It was like the author wanted the reader to feel bad for Ember but then just skip a lot of necessary reasons why a lot of the stuff happened.

I have so much more to say about this book but I don't want to make this into a rant when it's supposed to be a review.😂 Just trust me this book is pointless.

[Janae Mitchell]

WARNING: This may be my longest review I've ever written because I'm just so lost on what to say that I'll probably say too much, so be prepared.

I don't think I've ever done this with a book I've finished, but I'm not going to rate 'Ember'...not yet, anyway. And the reason being is that I'm just stumped. I don't know how I feel about this one. At times I was so annoyed that I just wanted stop and read something else, but on the other hand, I wanted to know what happened next, so I kept reading.
First off, I love Jessica Sorensen's work. I actually read the YA version of 'Ember' and just downloaded the free NA version, which I'll probably read when I get finished with book two, 'Cinder', just to see how it differs—and maybe understand this story line a little more.
Okay...what I DIDN'T like:
I felt like the characters were okay, with the exception of Raven, Ember's best friend since birth, who annoyed the crap out of me. She said some things to Ember that were mean and awful things for anyone to say to someone else, especially a supposed best friend, yet Ember didn't really seem to care. She was hurt, but then it was all good and she'd go to a party with her, even though she didn't want to. I never understood why she did whatever Raven said and let her walk all over her. I know Raven had problems that were beyond her control, especially later in the story, but I never actually knew when she was doing things because she was 'forced' to or because she's just a b!*@h. She seemed to remember when she'd been mean because she would apologize, so I assume she's just a b!*@h, which is why I didn't like her OR the fact that Ember just accepted it.
There seemed to be other character loop holes, or maybe it's something Jessica will go into depth more in 'Cinder'. For instance, who is Cameron's family? His dad just happened to be present for some interesting scenes, as well as his uncle, so you knew they were there, but nothing ever came of them; and then they just left. And there were some other characters, such as the female detective, who rubbed me the wrong way and seemed unbelievable. And I also had a hard time knowing if someone was dead and she was seeing their ghost or if they were putting the images in her head, or not actually dead at all.
And then you have Ember. Without mentioning spoilers, it's never explained how she can see people's death omens or how it all came about. How is she what she is? I'm assuming it was passed down from her grandmother and her father, but that part was confusing, too. It is described as a curse, but where did it originate? I guess I just wanted there to be more of a back-story, and maybe there will be in book two...I hope so, anyway. And Ember always seems so blase to everything major that happens, to the point that it actually takes away from the flow of the story. For instance, someone cuts her break lines and then runs her off the road and into the lake, where her and her car sink to the bottom, yet she's miraculously saved—a scene full of anticipation that made me feel anxious for her...yet, to her, it seems like no big deal. And this happens more than once—she blows major things off like it's nothing.
Then there was Ember's mother, who is another character that was just...ugh. She supports her family by working in a diner, yet she was constantly either drunk, high on drugs, or psycho, since she wouldn't take her prescribed meds, so how was she able to hold a job at all? She, like the detective, was just not believable to me.
I thought that the Angel of Death/Grim Reaper/Grim Angel war should've been elaborated on. The way it was explained just didn't make sense to me. And even though Raven just happened to read all about it and have a book to show Ember, pages marked, it still got mixed up for me. (Neither was good or evil, they just started fighting over souls? And did Angels of Death mate with Grim Reapers to produce Grim Angels? I think that's how it read, but I'm just not sure. And how are humans involved again?) And the main point is that Grim Angels hold the key to their freedom, but that didn't make sense, either. I'm sure all of my questions will be answered in book two, or when I re-read this book when I finish book two, but I wish it had made sense in this one the first time around.
Okay...what I DID like:
I love Jessica's writing style. Her words flow so well that, even though I wasn't loving the story, I still wanted to know what would happen next. I do like the unique approach to angels and reapers, especially the introduction of Grim Angels, which I've never heard of before. I also love poetry and thought it was a great addition.
(Haha...looking back over what I liked & didn't proves that I might not have liked it as much as I thought, or keep trying to tell myself, that I did.)
So, to sum it all up:
I (think I) liked this story. I read it in one day, staying up until 2 am, and immediately downloaded book two, 'Cinder', which I hope fills in some of the gaps that this book left for me. It has darker undertones, full of death and angst, which left me feeling more melancholy than some of her other reads, which isn't always a bad thing. I am looking forward to reading 'Cinder' and may update this review when I'm finished.

[Annelise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Still WTF - was this her first book ever??

[Cori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ember

It’s finally happened; prepare yourself for the end of the world…

I’m Team Asher!




Can you believe it? Because I can’t. Typically I am totally the bad boy type, but for some reason despite Cameron’s allure I’m madly infatuated with Asher. As per usual I have to open my review whilst declaring my love for my favorite male in the book. It’s just how I do things.

Ember, by Jessica Sorensen is amazing. The story revolves around 17-year-old Ember who with a simple touch knows when someone will die, which is why she’s a loner aside from her best friend Raven. This gift or rather curse has been her burden to bear since she was a child and it’s been slowly eating away at her life ever since.

Raven, Ember’s best friend is the only person who knows her secret at least that we know of. Ember lives with her depressed older brother and an alcoholic Mother. Her Father isn’t in the picture anymore and while I’d love to tell you why that storyline directly ties in with Ember’s whole crazy death gift, which if I haven’t mentioned before is awesome.

Technically Ember meet’s cocky, self-assured Cameron first in the cemetery of all places. Most people would think that’s a little creepy, but she feels this instant connection to him and at first I’m totally on board with this. I’m not sure at what point I decided I wasn’t crazy about him, but I think it was fairly soon after Asher came into the story.

Speaking of Asher, cue Raven dragging Ember to a high school party and her bumping into the most amazing guy ever aka Asher. From the minute they meet Ember knows something is different about him, because unlike everyone else when he touches her, she doesn’t sense his death.

Sorensen does a great job of showing the reader what’s going on inside Ember’s head and how’s she’s dealing with all the crazy stuff going on in her life. This plot is incredibly original and I love how she takes ideas like grim reapers, angels and kind of comes up with her own breed of bad guys. Actually bad guys isn’t accurate it’s more like this struggle between good and evil, right and wrong.

I love how detailed things are and the way Sorensen describes what Ember see’s when she touches people. The short, rapid descriptions paint a picture that sends chills up your spine. There are so many twists and turns and while there were hints about who was the bad guy, there were also twists that made me question things. I one point I think I thought everyone was out to get her and they were all working together, I was like oh my god poor Ember!

But that wasn’t the case, haha. From the second I opened this book I couldn’t put it down. It took me a day and a half to read and I would have been finished sooner if it wasn’t for the fact that I had to sleep. If you like a good paranormal, mystery type romance with a bunch of action and death thrown in, then Ember is the book for you. I would highly recommend it to lovers of young adult paranormal novels.

[Devon Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunted by death with just the slightest touch, it's no wonder poor Ember's become quite the recluse.

Haunted with the ability to see one's death by simply touching their skin, Ember's learned to minimize contact through the years, but Lord help her when she finds herself in a crowd and unable to do so. Seeing flashes of her friend's and family's demise still makes her cringe, let alone anyone else that accidentally bumps into her. And it doesn't help that the Grim Reaper that used to be her "imaginary friend" in childhood has made a sudden reappearance in her life the same time two strange boys join the neighborhood. One shows no death at all, the other, flashes a plethora of deaths nonstop.

And because her condition is so weird, Ember's only ever told her best friend Raven about her ability, and figured there was no way to cheat death, so why bother telling people about their fatal day? Until the day she experienced her own death just as forseen, but lived to question herself. Raven also surprisingly survived the night and it's clear she's keeping secrets about what really happened. With two new boys in town suddenly interested in wooing Ember, her best friend's new erradic behavior, her home life falling deeper into despair and a Grim Reaper stalking her and whispering in her ear to end the lives of others, Ember's about ready to lose her mind. And if she doesn't figure the way out of the web of lies entrapping her, it's possible she could lose a lot more than that.

Ember was a pretty cool read, and this was the first novel I've read by Jessica Sorrensen. I don't wanna give away too much about what's really going on, but I loved the way the different collectors of death were weaved into the story. Sorta like the new angel - fallen angel - nephilum debacle. I figured out the end pretty early on, and I was really hoping to be thrown for a loop by the roles of the good guy vs. the bad guy being reversed...I'll let you read to find out if they were.

I do wish Ember would've figured it all out a little quicker than she did. She aggressively researched the Angels of Death and Grim Reapers, learning how they were the collectors of good and evil souls. All her life she could touch someone and see their death, but she hardly flinched when one new guy had a thousand deaths and the other had none at all. She brushed it off thinking her sight was all wonky. It just felt 'off' that she didn't even consider the possibility that the newcomer wore the deaths of thousands cause he collected them. Instead of Ember playing the fool in that aspect, I would've liked to have seen her figure it out ahead of time and call them out on it, instead of falling prey to their antics. Regardless, I still really liked Ember and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment of the Death Collectors.



Novel provided by author for honest review.

[AH · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/11/13 Free download from www.smashwords.com .

Initial Thoughts I'm not too sure about this New Adult Genre. It seems to me that there is a checklist authors seem to follow (which may or may not be a good thing, depending on what you are looking for). For example: The hero is dangerous, tattooed, and pierced. The heroine is either has limited sexual experience, or is a virgin. The heroine always seems to have a slutty friend or two. Both the hero and heroine suffer from some kind of angst. This age group is either at college or lives at home. If they live at home, parents are practically non-existent or inattentive at best.

The Review
Despite my update comments, I did find some entertainment value in this book and it was an enjoyable read. I liked the premise of a girl able to see the death of others. Kind of cool, in a cursed way. Haven't really seen that power yet in YA or New Adult.

"With a simple touch, I know when someone will die. Whether they'll go painfully. If their life will end up stolen."

Ember is quite a dark character - she always finds comfort in cemeteries, writes dark poetry, and even has a dark, hooded, imaginary friend. Ember stays away from human contact because seeing others' deaths is disturbing, to say the least. The she meets Asher and Cameron and is surprised to experience silence.

Love triangle alert - There is a mild love triangle which was a little annoying.

There's also a scene where after a bar fight, our hero and heroine get quite lusty right outside the bar. Ummmm...wouldn't you want to scram before the police arrive?

Ember's family is quite dysfunctional. Her father has disappeared and is presumed dead. Ember seems to have been implicated in his death/disappearance but no charges were ever laid. Ember's mother is a drunk and is taking some sort of mental health medications when she remembers. Her mother blames Ember for the death of her grandmother. Ember's brother Ian is mourning the death of his first love Alyssa and hides in the attic with his art and his muse.

This is a creepy book. There's lots of mysterious deaths, strange characters with tattooed X's on their skin, and lots of black raven feathers. Ember sees things that are pretty scary.

I did like the concept of a Grim Angel, Angel of Death, and the hush, hush secret Anamotti society. Ember also seems to have some rather interesting powers - she can take the life force of others, even plant life to heal herself.

This book is the first book of The Death Collector's series. The second book Cinder is expected to be published in July.

In any case, grab Ember while it's free!

[sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

En algún lugar entre el 2 y el 3.

Esta historia me ha recordado en un montón de cosas a Demonios Personales y, a la vez, a Existence. Es una historia rara, que a mí no me ha enganchado, pero aún así es entretenida. Hablan demasiado de muerte para mi gusto (capítulo tras capítulo)

Bueno... He de mencionar la gran ironía de este libro. 1) Al final no hay triángulo amoroso y 2) creía que Cameron era el ángel bueno (por su pelo rubio, sus ojos claros... etcetc) y Asher era el malo (pelo negro, piercings, ropa negra... etcetc) PERO NO. Resulta que al final Cameron es la Parca, el que recoge las almas malas (técnicamente) y Asher es el bueno. Vaya la sorpresa que me llevé. La verdad es que cuando se va acercando el final se ve que Cameron está haciendo algo con Ember. Por ejemplo, cuando ambos tienen una 'cita' (si se puede llamar así) y ella no para de pensar en Asher y que es con él con quien verdaderamente quiere estar, cuando de repente Cameron le pone las manos encima y empieza a chuparle el cuello y entonces sus pensamientos cambian radicalmente. Yo estaba un poco what pero luego todo tenía sentido jajaja menos mal.

La cosa es algo así: están las Parcas y los Ángeles de la Muerte, hubo una guerra entre ambos porque alguno de los dos estaban robando almas y entonces se creó el Ángel Sombrío (una especie de híbrido) para mantener el equilibrio. Entonces este Ángel Sombrío tiene sangre de Parca y de Ángel de la muerte, y los Parcas tienen la habilidad de manipularlos para que hagan lo que ellos quieran, como hacer que se sometan a su sangre Parca y así estar a su favor. Cameron es el Parca, Asher el Ángel de la Muerte y Ember en Ángel sombrío.

Luego está el tema de Raven. Es la típica amiga insoportable que por fuerza, aunque tú te niegues, tienes que hacer lo que ella quiere, porque es tan pesada que hasta tú no la soportas. Ella fue quien obligó a Ember a quedar con Cameron a pesar de que ella quería estar con Asher. Pero bueno. Al final todo tiene su explicación, pero igualmente me cae mal, obligada o no xD

De los protas, bueno, no tengo mucha queja. Ember me ha caído bien y Asher también, aunque no me ha gustado el final de su historia :(

En cuanto al epílogo, no me esperaba que la musa de Ian fuera Raven y tampoco que él fuera quien mató a su novia, aunque fuera obligado por Cameron. Y es que este hombre va a dar para largo.

[Jessica's Book Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

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I have not read a good paranormal ADULT romance novel in awhile and was excited to read another book from Jessica Sorensen; she always has amazing characters that are unique and different. Ember, book one in the Death Collectors series is a paranormal Adult novel that does NOT involve Vampires! Yay! It seems EVERY paranormal book is about Vampires so I was excited it is different.

Ember is about 19 year-old social outcast Ember, who grew up in a broken home with a father who went missing & presumed dead. Ember has a very unique but haunting ability of being able to see a way a person will die by just touching them. Ember has kept to herself making sure not to touch anyone around he, the only person she is close to is her best friend Raven. Suddenly the small town starts to have excitement as more people go missing and two new boys move to town. Suddenly Ember’s begins to question everyone around her, especially Asher one of the new boys who begins a romantic relationship with Ember.

As I said I was super excited to jump in and start reading Ember. I loved a lot of aspects about the book. I liked Ember, I loved her ability and thought it was different from anything I read before, I liked Asher and what his character brought to the book but there were a few things I did not like. I really hated the character of Raven, she was so annoying. I also thought it was weird how everyone Ember touched she saw a gruesome death, like no one in that town will die of old age? Also the beginning was a bit slow for me. I kept waiting for something to happen, the end did pick up but it was not as “exciting” as I would have liked.

As I said, there were things I loved and things that just didn’t work for me. I am a big Jessica Sorensen fan and think she can do no wrong; this just wasn’t my favorite book of hers. I am giving the book extra stars for being unique and different then most books in the paranormal category.

I give Ember (Death Collector #1) 3 Stars.

Book provided by the author in return for an honest review.

[Delphina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the beginning of Jessica's best series yet and that is saying something. AMAZING!!! I just absolutely was entranced by this book. I could not put it down and I will probably read it again in the very near future. Yes, I liked it that much. The story was so fresh and had a darkness I love while at the same time having a steamy romance. I know, this is YA and it was definitely YA appropriate, but it kicks it up a notch from The Fallen Star world and Darkness Falls series. I can not pinpoint what it is exactly about this novel that drew me to it the most.

Here are some of the things I loved about this book:

Ember lives above the cards dealt to her. She has a beyond dysfunctional and sometimes criminal family, a horrible "gift", and is basically all alone with the exception of one friend. Yet, she overcomes so much in life and does so much in this book.

The characters of Asher and Cameron are mysterious, magical, scary, romantic, overbearing, and intelligent. No, not all at the same time, but the depth of the characters was wonderful to read and trying to figure out who was good or bad or right for Ember was so fun. I will not spoiler it and tell you what I think, but I definitely have a side.

The lore was soooooooo unique and kept me on the edge of my seats at time. I have read books were people have premonitions and where there are angels or death, but the combination in this book was unlike anything I have encountered before. I can not wait to read more about this world.

I loved the use of poetry by both Ember and Cameron. I know it sounds cheesey and lame when I say it, but it really added a lot to her character and how she became the person she was, while at the same time helping us uncover the mysteries around her.

I can not wait until the next book of this series comes out. The story definitely felt complete in this. There are no cliffhangers that made me agitated. There is, however, so much more story to tell.