Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 978-0-06-193508-4
Pages: 323

A HIDDEN TRUTH.
MORTAL ENEMIES.
DOOMED LOVE.
Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki - a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.
Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away - if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.
Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

I enjoyed it! The book had a great storyline with realistic characters and a lot of potential for more in the series. From what I've heard of the next book - not that I know a whole lot - it should be good.

Now, if like me, you've put off reading this book because of all the comments you've heard revolving it that relate to a certain other YA novel... -cough-Twilight-cough- stop!* While the two books do definitely share some components, the storylines are nowhere near identical. The characters are dissimilar and I think the fact that the main character/narrator Jacinda in this book is the supernatural being makes for a very different reading experience. Now. Enough about Twilight and more about the characters!

Will. Oh, Will. I like you. I do, really! I just like Cassian more.

For those that don't know, Cassian is a super powerful draki that is "meant to be" with Jacinda. I shouldn't even like him. He's not set up to be the ideal, oh-my-gosh-I-love-you-so-much-that-I-wish-you-were-real guy; Will is! I don't love Cassian... there are definitely things about him I could do without but I was inexplicably drawn to him over Will. While I think that he'll definitely play a much larger role in the next books, he was barely even in this one. When he was (with the exception of a few scenes) he was stoic, self-righteous and kind of possessive. That doesn't really shine a very nice light on his character but I have faith that he's not so bad underneath that scaly** exterior.

While I didn't find the action in this story overly exciting, there was a lot going on in Jacinda's world. Throughout the book, her thoughts are conflicted in regards to Will and her inner draki. She changed her mind and made new resolutions constantly but was never able to stick to them. It worked though. I mean, it would have been ridiculous to assume that a sixteen-year-old girl in her place would be more in control of their feelings. Ultimately, Jacinda knew what she wanted and so did I as a reader. Will is a huge part of the story and I commend Jordan for fitting him in so nicely.

If you're searching for a fun book with a relatively new fantasy element, be sure to check out Firelight!

* I do not dislike Twilight nor am I a huge fan of the series. This is not a review for Twilight though so don't worry about it at all ;)
** That was funny. Admit it.
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Sophie Jordan also writes Historical Romance under the same name and Paranormal Romance under the name Sharie Kohler.