Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Pages: 288
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Published by HarperTeen
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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.

First of all, it’s been a while since I’ve read an entire book in one day. A couple weeks ago, I was ill and alone in the house while my man was at work and I read Firelight in about two sittings. It isn’t the longest book in the world; in fact, it’s a pretty quick read. But a decent read. It was something I took a little risk on, as the premise of dragon humans seemed a little silly to me.


The draki are human descendents of dragons that can take on a weird sort of dragon form. The dragon forms come with different abilities like water dragons, earth dragons, and so on and so forth. Jacinda has been coveted in her clan of draki for her rare dragon ability as a fire breather. She’s the only one and she is expected to marry the future alpha of their pride to have babies in the hope of bringing up more fire breathers. Jacinda always pushes the limits because she knows that people will still adore her even if she nearly gives away the pride. So, one morning, she goes for a bit of flying and encounters a group of draki hunters, nearly getting caught and revealing the draki’s best kept secret: that they can also take human form. Her pride gets very angry at her and that night, Jacinda’s mother and twin sister drag her away from the misty mountains where the draki live and throw her into life living in the desert.


Jacinda is, for the lack of better words, pissed. She thinks that her mother and sister are being unfair by drying her out and hoping that her draki form dies out. It is a tad unfair, as her mother lost the use of her dragon form and her twin sister has never been able to turn. All of a sudden, Jacinda is a pouty and broody teenager forced to go to a normal high school. The high school soon becomes dangerous as she meets one of the hunters from the beginning of the book and all of his fellow hunter cousins that attend the same school. This is where it turns a bit hokey for me.


While I surprised myself in liking the culture and ways of the draki, I did not like the majority of the book that takes place in a high school. I don’t think I was expecting it to be set in a school. As far as the writing and style itself, I was very surprised. (Apparently, I was surprised a lot with this book!) Sophie Jordan has a pretty good knack at creating a believable romance and a believable enemy in the hunters. I just wish that there was more draki in this book, though I think that it was the point to get away from it. The second book in the series will have more draki as Jacinda returns to the pride to run away from the hunters. Hopefully, Jacinda grows up a little because I’m a bit tired of how self-centered she is. Unfortunately, I will probably have to wait a long time to read the second book, Vanish, as I’m finding it a bit difficult to get a paperback version in the UK and the library doesn't have it. I don’t really want to resort to an E-book version just yet.


Overall, I do recommend this book for loyal Young Adult readers. It’s a nice change from the paranormal high school books, but those who are fans will get into this book!