Firelight {ARC review} * * * 3/4

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

09.07.10

- YA, paranormal/fantasy -

reviewed by Tara SG

received for review via Around the World Tours

Book Order (The Draki)

1. Firelight * * * 3/4 (Sep 7, 2010)

Links

Author’s Website : www.sophiejordan.net

Amazon : pre-order hardcover

Add To Your GoodReads TBR List

This book in 6 words:

original mythology mixed with teenage angst

Why did I read this? And am I glad I did?

I had seen this book on a few Waiting on Wednesday posts and jumped at the chance to review it. I really liked the story and I’m itching to get the next in the series. I just didn’t like any of the characters and I found it to be predictable. I wonder if I was younger if this would be a better fit. It was well worth reading and I’m still going to recommend it to friends of the genre. I will warn that this ends with one hell of a cliffhanger…

Brief Summary

With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret.

- via GoodReads.com

Plot/Pacing/Writing Style

I haven’t read the adult books based in this world so the Draki mythology was new to me. I really love the unique idea of having descendants of dragons as the lead characters. After committing a terrible crime, Jacinda is forced from her home by her mother to save her. Once in the real world, her mother and sister expect Jacinda to just accept this new life and “kill” the Draki inside of her. This pissed me off. A lot. Her mother seems VERY cold. While I’m sure she is doing what she think is best for her daughter, she is not going about it the right way.

Jacinda meets a boy who just so happens to be her mortal enemy. I very much so could have liked this… if I liked Will. I loved the idea of them struggling to be together, but I felt like WAY too much time was wasted with Jacida repeating “I’m ignoring Will from here on out”. I felt like every chapter ended with her thinking about how she couldn’t/wouldn’t be with him.

Characters

I really wanted to like these characters more. I think some of the problem might be my age. I felt like Jacinda was too flat. She only seemed to think about her past life, flying, Will, or how much her life sucked. I started to care for her a little more by the end of the book and I’m hoping this continues into the sequel.

Will was a little too mysterious for my taste. I felt like his secret was predictable. I want to know more about him and hope to see more of him in the future, but wasn’t overly attracted to him in this book. Maybe I’m just getting tired of the “I like you for no reason” boys…

Slight spoiler : I really dislike Jacinda’s sister. I get that she had a tough early adolecence. She seemed to care very little about her sister. In one scene Jacinda is jumped in the bathroom and how does her twin respond? By being pissed that it effected her cheerleading tryouts…

Recommendations

Even with all the issues I had with the book, I still enjoyed it. It was a quick read (4-5 hours) and I’ll be anxiously waiting for the next book. I’m recommending this to anyone who likes YA paranormal or fantasy books.

Going Deeper – NO spoilers

Jacinda’s mom packs up her and her sister and moves them to the real world for Jacinda’s best interests. However, she moves them to a place that will kill her daughter’s inner dragon. She thinks this will be best for Jacinda, but I (and Jacinda) disagree. She is 16 years old and I believe should have had a say in killing an essential part of who she is. Maybe it’s because I’m not a mother that I don’t understand making these kind of choices for your children, but I just couldn’t stop myself from strongly disliking both her and Jacinda’s sister for their enthusiasm for moving and celebrating Jacinda’s huge loss.