I got a copy of this through Edelweiss to review. Previously I had read Grays Evernight series, which I thought was okay but not great. The interesting premise and beautiful cover were what caught my attention with Grays latest book. I am so glad I read this book, it was absolutely astonishingly good. It looks like there are three books planned in this series, books 2 and 3 are untitled with undetermined release dates.

Marguerite Caines parents are amazing physicists who have developed something truly astounding, a device called the Firebird. The Firebird will let a wearer jump between parallel realities, not physically but consciously. When Marguerites father is murdered the number one suspect is one of his research assistants named Paul. With the assistance of another research assistant, named Theo, Marguerite and Theo use some prototype Firebird devices to chase after Paul. Their hunt for Paul will take them through many parallel realities both similar to the world they know and completely alien.

Okay so I just finished this book and I am honestly still a little speechless/breathless. This was an absolutely remarkable book. To be honest I wasn't a huge fan of Gray's Evernight series, it was okay, but nothing special. This first book in the Firebird series however is completely different from anything Gray has written before and it is completely awesome.

Grey presents the reader with a very complex idea and world, but she does a wonderful job of making something complex easy to grasp. The whole story focuses on parallel realities and characters that use a device called the Firebird to travel between them. Of course there is a lot more to the story than that. The characters dont travel physically but their conscious travels into the person they would have been in that parallel realm.

The characters and plot are engaging and all the worlds they travel through are incredibly well done. You never know what reality the characters will end up in next. Some of the parallel realities are very similar to our own and some are vastly different.

Marguerite adds an interesting dynamic to the story. She is an incredibly talented artist raised in a primarily scientific minded family, yet this doesnt bother her all that much. She is able to use her particular set of skills to help in her own way. Watching as she discovers how her artistic talents have surfaced in each reality she travels through is fascinating.

Marguerite, Theo, and Paul have a bit of a love triangle thing going on, but this isnt really what drives the story. It is more that they have worked so closely and are such good friends. Theo and Marguerite feel a drive to hunt down Paul both to bring him to justice and to understand what drove him to do what he did.

There are so many interesting side theories on destiny and fate and the mathematical probability of the same people being interconnected in different realities. I loved that some of these deeper questions are brought into this science fiction driven story.

There are a number of crazy plot twists that I definitely didnt see coming. Seriously this book blew my mind, while being incredibly entertaining and evoking a lot of emotion. I laughed, I cried, I held onto my Kindle (I got this as an eGalley) white knuckled.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It ends at a great spot too (no awful cliffhanger). I am so excited to see what the next book holds for us.

Overall an absolutely stunning read, completely different from anything I have ever read from Gray before. I highly recommend this book to everyone; this is a book that will thrill and enthrall a much broader audience than her previous books. The world, the characters, the plot...all of it was just so engaging and so well done. This book is not just a thrilling read but also has a lot of meat to it, there is discussion of fate and destiny and the probability of people meeting across parallel dimensions. This was just such an interesting book and was impossible to put down. I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book in this series!

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I'm torn between liking and loving this book, but for good measure, it's getting a 4/5.

Margueritte is the daughter of brilliant inventors who have invented a way to jump between parallel universes, along with their lab assistants, Theo and Paul. But as soon as they make their big breakthrough, their one perfect Firebird disappears, along with Paul, and Margueritte's father drives off a bridge in a rigged car accident. Headstrong and heartbroken, Margueritte and Theo chase after Paul in search for answers in a multi-dimensional sci-fi romance.

Well, that's what it is, a sci-fi AND a romance. It's almost like there are two books co-existing in one. At first, the romance seemed to heavy. 17-year-old Margueritte lives in a house with grad students Paul and Theo and just can't choose *eyeroll* between her two hot housemates. Both have fairly interesting personalities for romantic lead men, but it's Margueritte who falls flat romance-wise. She jumps between being a confident and unique girl (see sci-fi plot) and wetting her loins every time a boy appears.

The love triangle, needless to say, is quite boring. But the real love triangle arises within the sci-fi story line.

The way that Firebird works is that only consciousness is transferred between dimensions. In every world, slightly different events have taken place, which result in slightly different versions of every human being. By jumping between the dimensions, Margueritte, Paul, and Theo are actually hijacking other versions of themselves and temporarily living in their lives.

The sci-fi, granted, is some pretty thinly veiled science, and a lot of details get swept under the rug to keep the plot going. But aside from some faults like oddly placed hot-and-steamy sexy times and some obvious plot twists, there is a great concept to this book and a lot of twists I totally wasn't expecting.

The beginning is hard to get through, but if you give it a chance, I promise you won't be sorry!

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