Monday 9 April 2012


Ember by Madison Daniel



Goodreads Summary:

Ember is the story of Max Valentine, a teenager with secret abilities and many inner demons. His life revolves around music and his love for it. When his father dies he seeks answers with his last living relative, his fathers brother Frank. Frank lives on the island of Maui and eagerly takes Max in as his own. Max soon learns that healing his past will be more difficult than he could have ever believed. Two major complications will tempt and torment him as he tries to make sense of his abilities.


The first temptation comes in the form of a mysterious island girl. Asia Lyn Michaels is rich, spoiled, angry and beautiful. Her path crosses with Max on the beach one afternoon, forever changing both of their lives. Max saves her life and she discovers his secret. From that moment on they are connected, no matter how much they fight it.



The second temptation will test Max’s very soul. Samantha Ann Summers is sweet, artistic, smart and confident. She will help Max find his smile again and maybe even heal his past mistakes. She is possibly his soul mate and Max will fight that with every fiber of his being.



Max’s temper and indecision with the girls will send in motion events that will cost him dearly. He will test the limits of his powers and the new relationship with his protective uncle. He will gain a powerful love and lose another.







My Review: 3/5




To say the least I found this book hard to put down. The writing was clever in the sense that it was nearly impossible not to ignore the break in chapters and continue on...

However, I always have something not entirely good to say and with this book it was mostly the continuous grammar mistakes :P It is only bad luck that I am releasing my frustration on this book. Using lied instead of lay, then instead of than, than instead of then, purpose instead of propose and the one I hate the most: "I could care less"! It just doesn't make sense :P Sorry.
Otherwise I found it quite enjoyable even though the characters annoyed me on several occasions because of their overreacting and selfishness. Perhaps their only redeemable qualities are similar to those of Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. . .they love each other.
Also, the other thing that grasped my attention was the similarities to "I Am Number Four" by Pittacus Lore. Max is similar to John/Four in the ability to withstand fire and his relationship with his uncle is also similar in some ways. Asia is similar to Six in her ability to control weather. Sam is similar to Sarah with her interest in photography and her- let's call him "over protective"- ex-boyfriend. And Oz seems very like Bernie Kosar. . . etc. These are just some of the similarities I found.
I wish I had more to say apart from that I really can't wait to read Downpour

10 comments :

  1. I actually agree with you regarding the grammatical errors, and the way the story is laid out. (See what I did there? LOL). However, as I haven't finished the book yet, I'm giving it the benefit of doubt. I am enjoying the story so far. Hopefully, when the next book, Downpour is released, it will have a more original storyline.

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    1. Haha very clever :) yeah I hope so too. Hope you enjoy the book -T

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  2. I disagree with you! I just finished reading it and loved it. What ever little nit pickie grammer mistakes there may have been,I didn't see because I was lost in the beauty of the story. Please if you dont have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. Do you know what it takes to write a book? It is hard. Walk a mile in another mas shoes before you tear him down!!!

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. apologise if you misunderstood my review. I thought I made it clear that I did in fact enjoy the book and I also mentioned that it was through no fault of the author's that I became frustrated by the grammar mistakes. It was mostly because I had been reading several books with similar mistakes and I was just disappointed that I found them yet again. And yes I know writing is tough and there are often times when mistakes are made. I'm not saying it should be perfect just pointing out some things that caught my attention and drew my mind away from the story.
      I can't stress enough how much I did enjoy the book and I apologise again if it did not come across that way. I thought by my saying that I couldn't wait for Downpour that I had made that point clear, however, apparently not.
      Sorry again, please don't feel I'm out to get the author, I just wanted to express my opinion and I know it is hard going to write a book.
      -T

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  3. I think your review. You as a reviewer have every right to tell people what you thought. To the Anonymous person. Just ignore them. And why didn't they leave their name? It's clear that you did enjoy the book. But Grammer mistakes can make or break a book. Every book has them. Even the mainstream ones. But there is a difference between the odd ones here and there compared to a book full of them. Never apologized for a review!! You gave an honest review. You said what you liked and what you didn't. :)

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  4. Your review is fine*** totally missed that out.

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    1. Thank you. I was just apologising if my feelings were misunderstood. I stick by my review but it's nice to know it wasn't completely confusing. . .I tend to say I like something and then give out about it :P
      Haha so Thank You again! Really appreciate the comments :)

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  5. Just wanted to say THANK YOU for your review. I love to hear all aspects of peoples opinions on my work. No apologies needed. Read on! Rock on!
    But to avoid any confusion to a comparison that was made in your review (of another book series)...Ember and its characters were created and written in the summer of 2008 (copyrighted and everything), almost a year before that other series was written. The similarities are there, I agree. It is very frustrating to see a mainstream series have so much in common with something I created so long before it was created.

    On a lighter note...Downpour: Book 2 in the Ember series is on the horizon. I hope you continue my fire-starters journey. Live...love...burn!

    Madison. :)

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    1. I wasn't implying that either one was copying. Just meant that I noticed them. . .I can imagine it is very frustrating. It's bound to happen though to someone :(
      Can't wait for Downpour, hope the writing goes well!
      Thanks for the comment :)

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