Review on Fire & Shadow

Every town, every country, every culture has different legends. They could be perceived as myths from an ancient times or there are people who believe in these myths. Every story may seem different, but they are all close. There are legends about vampires in many different cultures, all very different, but still the same. Does that mean creatures like vampires actually exist? The world may never know!
After that spiel, I have a new book for review that involves Indian myths and legends. The book I read was... Fire & Shadow by T.G. Ayers



Format: Paperback/ e-book
Pub. Date: July 23rd, 2013
Summary:
Normal people sneak out to a party and have fun. Maya Rao ends the evening by incinerating the guy who attacks her.

Nik Lucas, sexy, new in town and totally forbidden, happens to walk in on her. Normal guys would run for the hills. Nik knows a whole lot more than he's telling.

Maya doesn't believe the gods are real, doesn't waste her time with mere mythology. But when gods, demons and hellhounds become the new normal and wielding fire becomes her new skill, she must decide what it is she really believes.

Can Maya accept that normal is something she will never be because it isn't normal to be ...

The Hand of Kali.

A new Paranormal coming of age series delving in the fantasy and magic of Hindu mythology and its plethora of gods, demons, legends & mythology.
My rating: 3 out of 5 flames!
My recommendation: Anyone who is interested in Indian myths!
My review:
My copy was provided to me by Netgalley.
Maya is an Indian-American teenager living a regular life in high school. She doesn't believe in gods and goddesses and doesn't buy anything supernatural. The world, to her, is strictly black and white where there's no such thing as magic. Well, her view of the world changes drastically when she shoots fire out of her palm and turns a guy into ash. The good news is that the guy is a demon. The bad news is that demons are after Maya.
It turns out all the myths and legends are actually true! Maya is a reincarnation of a follower of a goddess. Yep, this is where the book veers off course of regular reincarnation books. Instead of being a goddess, Maya is a follower of a goddess, the Hand of Kali. She has to stop the demons from killing her and possessing her friends and family before it's too late.
I really liked the mythology in this book. I'm always interested in learning about myths and magic and this book definitely had a lot of it. Maybe a little too much. There were so many different characters that are briefly mentioned but are all important in the book that I lost track of them all. This book was a bit slow at times when it had to explain all about the myths and while it was interesting, it got boring after a while.
I also didn't like how stubborn Maya is. I know she's a teenager and all teens are stubborn, but she absolutely refused to believe in magic, especially when she shot fire out of her hands! She went face-to-face with several deities and still doubted their existence. As well as making some stupid decisions, I didn't really like Maya. I did like how she would do anything for her friends, even if it meant her death. Maya was a strong, independent character that wanted to help everyone.
The romance didn't really click for me. I mean, Nik is the new guy at school who's all mysterious and staring at Maya all the time, but what does he like about her? It felt too much like insta-love where there's no real feelings or connection to back up the romance they felt. It's like they were forced together and I felt no heat, no passion between them.
I would definitely read the next book because I have so many questions left unanswered. This book was ripe with mythology that will leave you craving for more.