Ruby Miller is free at last. This is what I’m talking about - Gemma Amor writing a book that teeters on the line of long novella/short novel. From page one, Ruby Miller is a spiritual sister to the about-to-be released anthology We Are Wolves, co-edited by and contributed to by Amor. This book, and it’s titular character are brimming with fire. Literal fire, yes, but emotional fire too. The story begins following Ruby, who has been wronged, to put it lightly. Ruby perishes in a car accident, but is reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix.

From there, Ruby becomes something of a vigilante. Not the traditional Punisher-esque type, out looking for vengeance and trouble. For the most part, Ruby just wants to be. She wants to be allowed to exist and be who she is. When she is inevitably confronted, it never goes well for the confronters and bystanders.

Amor does an incredible job of building empathy for Ruby. The reader begins in her point of view, an opportunity to climb inside her head and understand what leads to her newfound ability, and why she’s not simply turning into a monster. What Amor also does a fabulous job with in this story, and much of it is accomplished by shifting points of view throughout, employing different styles of narration when the character changes, is stirring questions of morals in the heads of the reader. We begin with an understanding of why Ruby responds to things the way she does, but as the story progresses, we are left with questions like how much of Ruby’s humanity is left? Can we lay the end result of everything that happens at the feet of the people who drove her to this point?

It is certainly possible to read this book as a wham-bam-thank you ma’am tale of action, but reader, don’t deprive yourself. There’s so much more here. Gemma has the ability to pack a story into 150 pages or less that most authors can’t do in twice the length.

A couple other things I enjoyed - the surprise that this will be the first in a series. The mysterious organization out to capture Ruby, their motivations never made quite clear, are all but sure to return. The characterization of Cat, certainly aided by the first person narration section. Finally, the references to some of Gemma’s other stories including White Pines and a story from These Wounds We Make. Fun easter eggs for regular readers that don’t detract from the story if this is your first Amor experience.

This book doesn’t sing, it screams. Ignore whatever the “dates read” portion says. This was a two-day read. It’s captivating and full of white-hot fury. Enjoy.