Illusions of Fire - Nisha Sharma

Unlike most of her classmates, Laila Bansal doesn't roll out of bed and head to school. Instead, she wakes up early and trains in hand-to-hand combat with her adopted aunts who, when not tending to their thriving vineyard, are immortal Rakshasi demons sworn to protect Laila. Laila was born into a mythological bloodline--one infused with magic and entrusted with Lord Krishna's secrets of the universe. By all appearances, though, Laila leads a peaceful, protected life. Then Ahvi, the new boy in town, arrives and immediately seeks out Laila. He happens to be a descendant of a demi-god. Both his and Laila's origin stories (found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Hindu epic poem about the great war between demi-gods, witches, and demons) come crashing to the forefront. Magical powers are activated, dark forces converge, and it looks like Laila's quiet town in upstate New York might be the setting of the next epic battle. Author Nisha Sharma deftly weaves together romance, magic, and mythology in this contemporary young adult urban fantasy novel. \n Every morning Laila Bansal wakes up before dawn--hours before her job at the family winery--and trains in hand-to-hand combat with her adopted aunts who, when not tending to their thriving vineyard, are immortal demons sworn to protect Laila's mythological bloodline. Despite the whole descendant of Draupadi thing, Laila leads a peaceful, protected life. That is until Karan, the mysterious and gorgeous new archer in town, tries to cut off her head. Like Laila, Karan and his family are connected to the world of gods and demons. He's on a mission to save his parents, but with him he brings an influx of immortal beings, and mortal ones--all of whom are ready to, you guessed it, destroy the world. Nisha Sharma, a life-long paranormal and fantasy fan, finally brings her hilarity and whit to the genre. She grew up being inspired by pop culture touchstones like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and Supernatural. Illusions of Fire is her homage to those works--showcasing a powerful female protagonist, with tremendous responsibility and expectations, simply trying to survive while delivering elite one-liners and falling in love with the wrong person. \n \nEvery morning Laila Bansal wakes up before dawn--hours before her job at the family winery--and trains in hand-to-hand combat with her adopted aunts who, when not tending to their thriving vineyard, are immortal demons sworn to protect Laila's mythological bloodline. Des