Grimm’s Phoenix Fire is first in the Phoenix Cycle. Ava Elderson lives with a foster family. She hopes to be adopted, but too many disappointments in life means she doesn’t trust easy, and tends to push people away. One night, after an argument with her foster parents, she storms out of the house and heads down the street, only to witness her foster brother have a wreck. A classmate, Wyatt Wilcox, shields Ava from the flying debris. Later at home, Ava notices that the injuries she thinks Wyatt sustained are gone. Then her own injuries miraculously heal. Add to this the bizarre visions of different times and places that Ava keeps having, and she has a growing mystery on her hands. Who is she? What is she? And who is Wyatt, who shows up in these visions of the past? Is he truly friend, or foe in hiding?

I loved this book! It skips back and forth between several characters, as their threads grow tighter and tighter. They are all being drawn to one another, as they have countless times before. Alternating chapters are devoted to single characters, as each continues to grow and learn. Ava is a Phoenix, one of several, whose job is to protect humanity from the darker things out there. If they die, they resurrect and must grow to remember who and what they are. As the Elderson family is drawn back together, they face a singularly dangerous foe. And for one, the next death may be the final one.

I really enjoyed all of the major characters here. They each seem complex, with so much left for us to learn about them, as they learn about themselves. I really want to know more of Wyatt and Yuki. There are many different beasties that the Phoenixes hunt, and in this case I didn’t mind that there were werewolves and vampires, because there were also shadow puppet creatures, and hybrid monsters that Gwen created herself, like some preternatural Dr Moreau. And beyond that are the most dangerous foes of all, the Dark Phoenixes, who forsook the oath to protect humanity, and instead do what they want, no matter who it harms.

The notion of living many lifetimes, and having to remember those past lives as you grow up was an interesting concept. How Ava handles it feels authentic. The proper reaction should indeed be ‘What the hells?!’ I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.