Review of Julie Pike's Flame Chasers by Claire Fayers

 

All Ember wants is to fly with the golden flamebirds who stop every year at Bright Beacon before heading west across the seas to their mysterious home. Their fiery arrival is also the signal for the waiting Flame Chasers in theharbour below to get ready to follow the birds, whose glowing tail feathers grant the finder a wish. But when Pa tells Ember he is chasing without her, she is devastated. Can she find a ship and captain to help her find her father, and the flamebirds secret home?

I have been eagerly awaiting the publication of Julie Pike's second book, being a big fan of her debut, THE LAST SPELL BREATHER. In fact, everyone who was on the Folly Farm retreats for the past two years and listened to Julie talking about her book has been dying to read it.

I was fortunate to get an advance copy and publication is on June 6th so it will hit the shops soon. This seemed a perfect time to give a sneak preview.

This book is a stunner. 

It has all the story elements I love - an epic sea voyage, magical creatures, spells gone wrong, family tensions, bickering kids becoming friends. Plus breath-taking plot twists and a villain with the charisma of Long John Silver and the lethal single-mindedness of Captain Ahab. Oh, and the flamebirds themselves are utterly entrancing. The whole thing reignited my love of children's books and reminded me why I wanted to be an author in the first place.

I tore through the book in a single day, only pausing to read the good bits out to my husband. There were so many good bits that he retreated to another room to get away from me. 

The cover by David Dean is gorgeous too, really capturing the sense of magic and adventure.

Flame Chasers, by Julie Pike, published by Firefly Press, is due out on June 6th. 

Claire Fayers

www.clairefayers.com