Thursday, March 21, 2013

Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Title: Firelight (Firelight #1)
Author: Sophie Jordan
Published: September 7th 2010
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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 with 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’ve seen these book around blogosvere, goodreads, bookstores and I have never felt the urge to pick them up. Until I felt the need for something new. I haven’t read a book about dragons since Eragon and I came to love those creatures back then. I found the covers in the Firelight series beautiful and felt like I needed to give these books a fair chance. I’m really happy I decided to do that, because I quite enjoyed the first book.

"A hunter in love with his pray."

Jacinda is a drakin aka dragon. Their species have been hunted by hunters, humans with the knowledge of draki’s existence and who are set out to kill them, for ages, but what the hunters don’t know is that draki can manifest into humans. This is the most guarded secret of drakis. Jacinda is the first fire breather in her tribe over a period of long time and her destiny is somewhat decided: she is to marry Prince Cassian and protect the tribe with her special abilities. She’s not so ecstatic about that herself, though. One day, Jacinda and her best friend Az find themselves being hunted and after that things turn into chaos. Jacina, her sister Tamra and their Mother run away from the tribe and, much to Jacinda’s dismay, start a new life among humans. This is where Will comes into play.

Will is a human who is destined to kill Jacinda, because he comes from a long family line of hunters. He doesn’t know Jacinda is a draki, but Jacinda knows he is a hunter. Even as she tries to resist him, she soon realizes that she cannot stay away. It’s a story about magical creatures, true love, temptations, lies, adventures, games and testing one’s limits. Jacinda struggles between wanting to stay for Will, but yearning to be among her species, her own kind, friends, her home. It’s a tough choice, but ultimately, she has to make one. What will she choose? 

I enjoyed the romance, which was probably the main focus here. I think Will is a great guy and Jacinda is a strong protagonist. The characters were easy to relate to – adjusting to new environments, being a teenager, falling in love and testing oneself. The relationships felt organic and real. I was fascinated by draki in general and I can’t wait to learn some more. After how it ended, I’m sure we will get the answers we are graving for. I’m excited to see how Jacinda and Tamra’s relationship enrolls from here and if they can finally be the sisters they need each other to be. Overall, it was decent start to the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

6 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this one too. I was a bit confused though about what the draki looked like. It wasn't clear to me.
    Gwynn
    http://gwynnethwhite.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was a little confused, too, but I still enjoyed the start of this series:)

      Delete
  2. Yay Siiri! I really enjoyed this one too:) Like Gwynn, I wasn't entirely clear on what the draki looked like - I pictured them as huge dragons, but they could fit in cars and things so obviously they were more human sized even in their draki form. Still, not knowing that didn't bother me too much, and I loved the relationship between Will and Jacinda. A forbidden romance gets me every time, I never tire of them:) Can't wait to see what you think of the rest of the series!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, it definitely wasn't a traditional take on dragons, but they were intriguing and I enjoyed exlploring them, their abilities and society. Heh, I was team Will in the first one, but now, after reading the second book, I'm not entirely sure. You'll see why;)

      Delete
  3. The Darki sound very interesting. It reminds me of the book 'Seraphina' where dragons also transform into human bodies. Jacinda and Will sound like great characters and I haven't read a dragon book in ages, so this might be the first one in a while :D Great review!

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mel! I hadn't read one in ages too so it was a great theme for a change:) I don't think I've heard of "Seraphina" so I must really look into it. Thanks for telling me;)

      Delete