The Ember Stone by Shari Marshall

Launching herself into a journey of self-discovery, with full pockets and a swelling growth of magic within her, Kori Ember is the dynamic heart at the center of The Ember Stone by Shari Marshall, the first book in The Ember Files series.

When her sister goes missing, this heir to a dominant family of magic users must tap into her powers to end a generations-long feud, but it will require more sacrifice than Kori could have ever expected. Past lovers, betrayal, long-kept secrets, unique magic rules, and malicious secret societies converge in a rapid-fire adventure that defies genre labels, touching on romance, fantasy, sci-fi world-splitting, and classic family drama.

The story moves at a blistering and exciting pace, but sometimes to a fault, as the exposition feels rushed at times and readers may be overwhelmed by the amount of family history, colloquial language, vulnerable character development, and world-building all at once. The author tends to tell more than show, particularly in high-stakes scenes where more visceral emotion would bring the scene to life. Additionally, while speech patterns can obviously be different in fictional realms, there is too much backstory in dialogue to feel completely natural.

Marshall shows no limit to imagination overall, but that breakneck sense of inventiveness could slow down to let the reader savor each moment. All told, while certain narrative issues could be solved with a further editorial hand, the premise and plot are endlessly creative, resulting in an engrossing and boundary-crossing series debut.