I seldom read a book and start laughing out loud, but with Playing with Fire, book 1 of the Uncommon Bonds series by William E. Noland, this happened more than once. The story follows the unlikely friendship between Eric Schneider and Lotte Schwarz. Eric is failing his German and needs extra tutoring. His teacher suggests that he gets help from a new student from Germany, Liselotte Schwarz, to help him. Lotte, as she prefers to be called, is as weird as her appearance. Everything about her screams that you should stay away from her, from her dark clothing to her squiggly eyebrows. But it isn’t long before Eric realizes there is more to this girl than the dark circles around her eyes. She is plagued by monsters in her sleep. With the help of Eric, they set off on an adventure to free the monster and help Lotte get a good night’s sleep again. In the process, Eric also starts to develop feelings for this gothic girl who has entered his life.

If you like adventure and humor, you will love Playing with Fire by William E. Noland. The vivid descriptions of the characters in the plot make it easy to imagine everything; I really could see the monster before me. Eric’s inner monologue is extremely amusing and made it possible for me to feel a deep connection with this character. Eric also grew as a character immensely throughout the book and it was exciting to see who he became as a person later on. Waiting for the next book is going to feel like an eternity. I can’t wait to read more about these characters who later on felt like friends.

In Playing with Fire: A Supernatural Urban Fantasy by William E. Noland, after Lotte’s mother committed suicide, she started having nightmares and had trouble sleeping. Since then, all she could think of was the monster and how to catch up on sleep. The monster in her nightmares was an ancient entity that was trapped and suffering, but Lotte had no idea why she was having these nightmares. To keep people at a distance, she wore black and was unapproachable; all she wanted was to be left alone. She and her father moved from Germany to get away from the gossip and people staring at them. Eric was in Southby High School, and his grades in his German Class were not good. Mr. Meier said he must ask Lotte to tutor him. Nervous to approach her because she did not appear to be a friendly person, Eric was shocked when she agreed to help him. As their friendship deepened, she told Eric about her nightmares and the entity. He wanted to help her find the connection between her nightmares and the entity and a way to stop her nightmares.

Playing with Fire by William E. Noland started with the entity talking and, I must be honest, I was confused and also immediately intrigued. I wanted to know more about this entity. I just kept turning the pages and could not put it down. The chapters alternated between Lotte and Eric, and the entity, and flowed naturally into each other. The story was fast-paced and very interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were well developed and skillfully handled; I could relate to them. My favorite characters were Lotte and Eric; they knew they needed answers and worked together to get them. I enjoyed reading Playing with Fire and recommend it to readers who love supernatural thrillers. You are not going to stop after this one; you are also going to want to read the other stories in the series.