Red Summer. Stone and Scale, #1

Three-time recipient of Readers' Favorite Five-Star Rating"Ana Lee delivers a brilliant urban fantasy in Red Summer. Characters are described with a depth that surpasses the norm. Descriptions are vivid.Red Summer ticks all the boxes for plot, action, and adventure. I now have another favorite author." - Readers' Favorite, starred review "Reminiscent of author Cassandra Clare, Red Summer is engaging and highly readable with a strong emotional core.
The world-building is creative and immersive, the writing fluid and believable. And while it begins with a familiar "boy who feels different" trope, this story quickly proves itself to be far more nuanced. Red Summer is a thoughtful, well-crafted novel that stands confidently on its own within the genre." - Readers' Favorite, starred reviewEnter the Eadar-where an ancient cosmic war is brewing, and good will struggle to survive. Seventeen year old Wilder Ansley is being followed.
By who? He hasn't got a clue. By people and creatures no one else can see. That's a good enough place to start. To make matters worse, he's also able to do things that make no sense at all - like unintentionally setting fire to his foster brother's bed. Without the help of a lighter or matches. Wilder prides himself that recently, aside from a few unfortunate incidents, he's been able to keep whatever happens when he loses his cool mostly under control.
That is until a freak lightning storm alerts the mysterious New Orleans Council to his whereabouts. And his burgeoning abilities. Within hours, Wilder is thrown headfirst into a whole new world, hidden behind a Shroud, and it feels more like home than he cares to admit. Despite his initial hesitations, Wilder finds friendship, and maybe something more, among these new strangers. But it turns out uncovering his place in the Eadar might be harder than he thought.
Wilder must force himself to face the truth about who everyone else believes him to be-all while a decades long war escalates within and beyond the Shroud, threatening not only the Eadar and his new found friends, but the human world he's left behind. Red Summer blends the high-stakes, coming-of-age journey of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments with the romantic tension of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince and Sarah J.
Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses- all with a distinct gritty and grounded Southern Gothic, New Orleans kick. Suitable for older young-adult and adult readers.