Chasing Embers by James Bennett

I really wanted to like this book.  It seemed like it was right up my alley.  But it turns out that alley isn't a place I have any interest in going.

Red Ben is a mystical creature living under a forced peace with humans.  He is content to sit and drink and mourn over the loss of his most recent relationship when an old enemy moves against him. The interruption barely upsets Ben because of the aforementioned peace but the enemy's taunts that Ben no longer enjoys protection because another like him has awakened gets his full attention.  Soon he is desperately trying to track down a former goddess hell-bent on revenge while fending off his old enemy and a coven of dangerously powerful witches who have kidnapped his ex-girlfriend.

I think the major problem I had while reading this is that there are no real female characters existing on their own merits without being used as props for the male protagonist.  Atiya  gets treated as a Mcguffin or an object of sexual interest by Ben for the majority of the book.  The ex-girlfriend, Rose, is a damsel to be rescued, or a treasure to be added to the hoard.  Even when her character rails against Ben for forcing her into that role, he cannot stop himself from thinking of her as a thing to be possessed.  The whole time I was reading, I was waiting for Rose to be revealed as a supernatural creature on par with Ben or at least something that granted a little equality to their relationship.  But no.  She's just another stand-in for Ben's desires.  Very disappointing.