Sunday, June 5, 2011

Firelight

by Sophie Jordan

Dedication: "For my very own Catherine"

First paragraph: "Gazing out at the quiet lake, I know the risk is worth it."

Review: Jacinda is unique even among her own kind - the Draki, a descendant of the dragons. Her life is planned out for her as though she's a possession for the pride she grew up in. Her ability to breathe fire makes her a rare commodity and there are certain Draki that aren't willing to risk losing her talent.

When her mother realizes the extent of the pride's plans for Jacinda, she packs up what little she can fit into a car and flees into the mortal world, hoping Jacinda will leave her Draki to die and accept the fate of becoming entirely human. Something her mother doesn't count on is Will, a hunter of the Draki. A boy Jacinda is instantly drawn to. A boy, that despite all logics, keeps her Draki alive despite the arid conditions of her new home.

I'll come out and say it, there were a few similarities in dialogue between this and Twilight. "Bad Boy" tells the protagonist to stay away from him but can't stay away from her, etc. etc. However, I think that's where the similarities end.

The struggle Jacinda has with remembering herself while trying to hide who she is from those that would destroy her is constantly present. The decisions she makes are not always logical or rational but they're completely emotion based and anyone who's been a teenager knows that logic and rationale rarely play into thought processes.

On a separate note, I love the idea of this story. Draki hiding in human skin. Longing for a chance to set their inner-self free and fly above the rest of us.

I enjoy these magical stories and it was really well done. It wasn't too cheesy to the point of me rolling my eyes and thinking, "that could never happen". And yes, I do know that could never happen but Jordan did a great job of writing this story in a way that kept you from really questioning the logicalness of it all. The only time I felt removed from the story was when she was shifting. Unfortunately, my mind just isn't creative enough to imagine a human turning dragon and vice versa.

If you enjoy dragons, fantasy, a bit of romance, and/or a tiny bit of high school drama this is probably the next book you'll want to read.

Unfortunately, like many books, this is not a stand alone novel. The next novel in this series, Vanish, is set to be released September 6, 2011.

Click here for more information about Firelight and the next book in the series, Vanish.

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