Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Firelight

(Firelight # 1)

By: Sophie Jordan

Pub. Date: September 7, 2010

Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 323 

Source: Own

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 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 had a copy of Firelight for a while now, but haven't really had the desire to read it. Then I went to a Sophie Jordan signing at Murder by the Book. She was so nice and cool, and I knew I was going to be reading Firelight ASAP. I was not disappointed and as soon as I finished it, I started Vanish, the second book in the series.

What instantly stood out for me was that the book was about dragons, or more specifically, Draki (meaning descendents of dragons). How awesome is that? It was very refreshing. The mythical world Jordan created was so exciting and original.

I really enjoyed the characters. The main character is Jacinda (love that name!) who is a fire-breather and the first of her kind in centuries. Due to this, she is very important to her tribe, and while she loves being a draki and can't think of being anything else, she just wants to be a normal draki girl. When she does something that is against the rules, she and her family are forced to move to the human world to escape punishment. While at school she sees Will, the draki hunter who saved her life a week before.

I loved Will. He hated being a draki hunter. It was interesting to learn more about Will's character. He has such an interesting back story. Jacinda and him both come from families that expect them to be and act a certain way, but all they want is to live their lives the way they want too.

My main issue with Firelight was not being able to imagine what the draki looked liked. I wanted more descriptions!

Overall, Firelight was a very interesting and fascinating read. I am looking forward to see where Jordan takes us next!