Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Published: Sept 2010
Publisher: Harper Teen
# pages: 326
Copy provided by: Bought
Summary: Goodreads


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.

Romeo and Juliet meet dragons. Well, that's one way to describe 'Firelight'. Hunter meets hunted, love forever doomed, that's another. But describe it how you will, it was great fun to read! I loved it. Jacinda (Jace) is draki - not human, not dragon, but a hyrid of both, really. After being forced to leave her family home as a result of foolishly - and selfishly - breaking the rules, Jace, her twin sister Tamra, and her mother end up in the desert town of Chapparal - the antithesis of her beautiful mountain home. Her struggles to maintain her draki are what make up the story.

' 'Nothing like a barren environment to kill off a draki quickly. I should know." ' (41)

Ms Jordan's descriptions of Jace's discomfort in the blistering heat of the desert had me reaching for my moisturizer. I could almost feel the dry itching of her skin and her longing for the cool moist air of the mountains. Following the Romeo and Juliet analogy, I felt a certain amount of sympathy for Will - he seemed truly uncomfortable in his role as hunter, and was as much trapped by family expectations as Jace was, and I found myself rooting for the two of them almost from the very beginning.

' He smiles, nods, listens as she chatters, but I sense that he doesn't really care, that he's somewhere else ... or wants to be. Just like me.' (49)

Will's cousin Zander was very well written. There is an almost palpable air of danger about him that is obvious from the start.

'One with raven-dark hair shaved close to his head walks ahead of the other. His face is elegant, narrow and beautiful with dark, liquid eyes. Apprehension curls through me. His eyes are dead cold, calculating.' (60)

In fact, if I'm honest, there wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. The draki were a completely new idea that we haven't seen before inYA fiction and Ms Jordans writing made them seem very plausible. It was exciting in spots, creepy in some, hot in others (define 'hot' as you will) and all round good reading. Of course, now we have to wait until the sequel arrives to find out what happens to Jace and Will, and I couldn't find any indication of when that might be on her website. Regular readers will know that I hate to actually give away any of the story in my reviews, so I'll finish by saying -try'Firelight'. It's new, it's exciting and I'm sure you'll love it too.

PS Congratulations to the winners of our Firelight swag giveaway. Hope you enjoyed your loot.