THE FIRE ARTIST

In a (slightly alternate) world where elemental powers are a ticket to fame and fortune, Aria’s scarred hands and powerful fire control set her apart.

Aria’s drive comes from fear; her life is shadowed by her father’s actions three years ago, when he burned her hands to “help the fire come out.” Her mysteriously ill mother and arson-inclined, elementally gifted brother were no help then. Now, as her father threatens her younger sister, Aria is determined to use her fire to break free. But her fire does not rise from within; it’s created by a wind artist’s illegal funneling of lightning into Aria’s heart. When the M.E. Leagues recruit Aria, the edifice of lies threatens to fall apart until her desperate need calls forth Taj, a granter, or genie (this year’s hot love interest), who can give her natural elemental power. The catch? If she wishes she’ll lose Taj, with whom she’s falling in love. The premise and back story are new, and the power balance between Aria and Taj (she holds most of the power for much of the novel) reverses the too-common structure until a late-game reversal. But the weakly imagined world comes across as barely there, as do all the secondary characters. And the gator ex machina ending is just insane.

A lightweight entry in a microtrend that has stronger entries.