The Fire Eye Refugee by Samuel Gately

              "It began with the slow appearance of what could be mistaken for a chain of stars. These grew steadily brighter to form a jagged line of bright purple in the dark skies. Then, so like an eye drawing open, the line spread into an oval of blazing light, colors trapped somewhere between a rainbow and a flame. Huge, it took over the sky above the city, perched above it as a flower in bloom might stand over a clump of grass." - The Fire Eye Refugee (description of the Fire Eye appearing in the sky)

             The Fire Eye Refugee by Samuel Gately was just what I needed to give me a break from the monotonous clothing descriptions that I have to read at work all day. It was fast paced and entertaining, with just the right amount of political drama, intrigue and character development to keep me invested in the story, without a lot of blood and gore. The entire book was a very entertaining mix of Indiana Jones, meets Sherlock Holmes, and American History X, with a little bit of fire magic thrown in for fun.

            It's on the very first page of the book that we get to meet Joah and where we are introduced to the every repeating theme of fire. The first few pages are also a great example of what to expect from this book. The story of The Fire Eye Refuge starts with a bang right out of the gate and continues pretty consistently through out.

       "Joah watched as the flames crept closer to his feet. He was calm, unbothered. His arms and legs were tied with rope. His girl dead in the next room. He'd join her soon enough. He couldn't muster the will to care all that that much. He wasn't even coughing, though the thick black smoke was sliding painfully down his throat. Something the man had given him, some sort of drug in the wine. The man had called himself a doctor. Maybe be knew about drugs, the kind that would keep Joah content even as he watched himself burn to death."

       Not long after this harrowing ordeal with Joah, we get to meet our main character, Kay, and she was everything that I had hoped for. She was smart, independent, and able to support herself well enough to own her own business in the city of Celest. Kay is the best Fetch in the city, if there's a missing person, she can probably find them. She's also got a small obsession with fire, but living in Celest and seeing the Fire Eye helps to keep Kay's obsession under control.

       The only downside to living in Celest is that the racial tension between the Gol people and the Farrow refugees right now is off the charts and Kay has mixed blood.

     "He parked a glob of spit right on his lips and gave her a mocking look. A gesture saying he saw the wet in her blood, recognized her Farrow features, and didn't like it. He was a purist. The Gol purists, the ones who hated mixed-bloods, thought of other races as below them...It was not good to see a purist climbing on board the Home Guard."

      These racial tensions end up playing a huge part in the overall story. The Farrow people have fled to Celest in the hopes that the Gol people would take them in and save them from the war that's ravaging their homeland. Kay is stuck in the middle, doing her best to survive in a world that isn't sure if it wants her. While all of this is going on, she has also taken on another missing persons case. But her search for a mixed blood girl named Leah puts Kay right in the middle of a political plot to get rid of the Farrow problem for good.

       There's a lot to like about the Fire Eye Refugee, it's a relatively short read with interesting world building and the characters are easy to like. My only complaint would be that I would've liked a little bit more character building. All the characters are interesting and easy to like, but we never get a chance to really get to know them. One particular example would be with the very short romance. The two characters involved seem to have feelings for each other, but we really don't get know what those feelings are, let alone care if they end up together in the end. That being said, this is the first book in a series so there's plenty of time for the character's to develop and there was plenty of intrigue and action to keep me thoroughly entertained.