Awakening Fire: The Divine Tree Guardians Book 1, Larissa Emerald

I was excited to start this series and signed up for book 3 through Hidden Gems.  After being approved I started with this book so I'd have a better idea of what I was getting into for Awakening Storm.  I have to say, though, that I was disappointed.  What I thought would be an exciting series full of the paranormal, supernatural, otherworldly things that make this genre so great was overshadowed by MC's that I didn't enjoy.

Venn starts off in the prologue with an attitude, a chip on his shoulder, a stronger than strong will, and a desire to do his best to fulfill his duty once he accepts it.  I had high hopes for him and his progression once he finds his mate.  He grows closer to her and to his heart but then seems to throw away all his loyalty to his duty.  When he can't think around a problem or use his centuries of experience and knowledge to try to find another way or to think beyond his rage for Io he barrels in and makes a mess of things.  Refusing to heed Seth's warnings and admonitions get him into a much more difficult situation than he would have been because both he and Emma go into the dangerous, world-altering situation not working together or knowing what they could to thwart Io's plans.

Emma is another story.  The thing with Todd was such a throwaway and made her a cheater rather than just conflicted.  When she gets after Venn for keeping things from her because he thinks she can't handle something and then at every single turn she runs away from the situation, avoids thinking deeply about it, denies, and falters under pressure I don't blame him.  I do blame her for not rising to the strength within that she's supposed to have.  And with her freaking out and struggling to accept Venn's shifter nature...umm...SHE CAN MELT AND CHANGE METAL WITH HER HANDS!!  Oh, AND SHE HAS VISIONS!!  How is any of Venn's stuff so much that she takes so dang long to accept and move forward with the information?

 Their relationship was iffy too.  The sexy times didn't compensate for the lack of relationship building that was necessary for me to believe that Venn loved Emma, not just Amelia and that his mate was reincarnated or to believe that there was something about each person as an individual that said they belonged to one another and could work out for the long haul.  Destiny, trees, and past live's relationships aside, I didn't see them doing much to get to know one another.  Venn tries to get her to know about their past but doesn't actually try to get to know her now.  Emma takes his support but doesn't really give him anything back.  Neither of them try to figure out her power and what makes her different from Amelia besides the tree connection.  I just don't buy it.

I struggled with this book almost all the way through.  The best part of the book was the prologue because it gave me insight into who the players are throughout the series.  The tree is cool and the powers stuff is good too.  To start off the series with these characters who don't use their resources and their heads, they're willing to sacrifice the world for one person, and to end up with a rushed patch to heal things that her impulsive short-sighted actions caused was just not enough.  I'm now roped into reading Awakening Storm and I'm not really looking forward to it if what I'm going to get is a bunch of hype and sex with no foundation or depth beyond a ton of supernatural stuff thrown in to engender enthusiasm and interest.

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