BOOK REVIEW: The Last Rising

TITLE: The Last Rising

SERIES: Curse of the Phoenix, Book #1
AUTHOR: Rachel Firasek
PUBLISHER: Entangled Publishing
DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 2011 
FORMAT: E-book Novella, 102 pages

GENRE: Paranormal Romance
ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-28-2
Mobi ISBN: 978-1-937044-29-9

SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS: 

After paying two millennia’s penance to Osiris, world-weary Phoenix Ice has had enough. Saving souls without any hope for her own redemption isn’t how she imagined spending eternity. Fed up, she decides her next death will be her last. But when she sacrifices her own life for a sexy Texan in a catastrophic plane crash, she has no idea the consequences will be so great…or that she’ll end up back in his life for her next assignment.

Now that Turner Alcott has survived the worst, finding a wife and mother for his son matters more than ever before. When the mysterious Ice comes into his life, Turner knows she’s the one—but love is the last thing Ice wants. If he wants to win her heart, Turner must teach Ice how to forgive herself, and prove that love is the ultimate sacrifice. 

MY REVIEW: 

I received this e-book for review from Bewitching Book Tours as part of the author's virtual book tour. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own. 

Ice, aka the Egyptian goddess Isis, has been exiled to life on Earth and stripped of her powers with three other goddesses. Her punishment, meted out by Egyptian god Osiris, is that she must die to save a human soul only to rise again as a Phoenix and return to Osiris's palace while she waits to be reunited with her other three friends who are paying penances of their own. When all four goddesses are reunited, they pass through a portal in the Sun to return to Earth again where they will stay usually several months before they die yet again. Their memories are wiped clean, as well as the humans who knew them, so that no one can recall their previous existences on Earth.

When Ice meets Turner on an airplane, she is immediately drawn to him and sparks fly! It was Ice's intention to fight "the rising" of the Phoenix at the next occurrence and let nature take its course. Turner turns out to be Ice’s “mark,” and he is the only survivor of the airplane crash.

When Ice returns to Earth as a schoolteacher, she remembers Turner who is the father of one of her students. Turner has a lingering sense of recognition as well, but he cannot place where he knows Ice from. As their attraction to each other deepens, Ice fights her feelings because she knows she will only lose him. Is she willing to risk her heart, and how much longer can she fight her feelings? And what will happen when she dies, yet again?

This novella is a nice twist on the standard paranormal book because it integrates Egyptian mythology. Add the scorching chemistry between Ice and Turner, and you have wrapped everything up in a sweet little package! I could not put this book down!! My only complaint is that it isn’t longer! At 102 pages, I didn’t get my fill of Ice and Turner and wanted more!!

This book is the first in a series, and the 2^nd book is slated for release in November 2011 and the 3^rd in January 2012. I can't wait to read more of the Curse of the Phoenix series! 

MY RATING: 5 stars!! I loved it, and I could not put it down! Highly recommended!

This book qualifies as: 
#58 for my 2011 100+ Reading Challenge
#22 for my What an Animal Reading Challenge IV

#16 for my 1st In a Series Challenge

#9 for my 2011 E-book Reading Challenge

#8 for my Paranormal Romance Challenge 2011