Sunday, August 28, 2011

Review: Firelight (Firelight #1) by Sophie Jordan

Synopsis (Goodreads):
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.
My Thoughts: What do you do when you like a book but you really, really REALLY hate something that one of the characters does?  This isn't even a main character, although her actions have direct impact on the direction of the plot.  Gah!  So, I really liked this book.  Except for that one thing.  It's making it hard for me to be objective about the book as a whole because this one thing really bothered me.

What is this thing that I'm dancing around? you ask.  Jacinda's mother's decision to allow Jacinda's draki to wither and die.  I don't care if she was trying to protect Jacinda.  The reasoning behind it might be sound but the fact that she'd arbitrarily make a decision of that magnitude, something that will cripple her daughter for life, without giving Jacinda any say in the matter leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  It's like me saying to my boy "Well, son, I know that antibiotics might clear that spider bite right up but we're just going to chop your arm off instead."  Dudes.  Trust me when I say that I get that she was ultimately trying to protect Jacinda and she was doing what she was doing to keep the Pride from permanently maiming her but... no.  Just, no.

Yet, I still liked the book.  I wanted to punch her mom in the face but I liked everything else.  I still want to punch her mom in the face and I gave myself time between finishing the book and writing the review because I was trying to gain some objectivity.  The distance didn't help.

On the other hand, I can't stop thinking about the book.  It's definitely good.  It's definitely captivating.  The idea behind the draki and their place in the world caught my attention whole-heartedly.  I loved the forbidden romance between Jacinda and Will.  I love the secret that Will's keeping.  I just hated the mom.  That said, it's more than likely I'll be reading book 2 in the near future.  If nothing else just so I can see if the mom gets her head on straight and realizes what she was going to do to her daughter.

More books by Sophie Jordan

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3 comments:

  1. lol.. oh man! Now I really have to read this.

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  2. I sooo want to read this one, if only for the fact that the second one is supposed to be really good too. And if you can't stop thinking about the book - that's when you know it's good!

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  3. Christy: You really do. *nods*

    Book Sake: I've been told that book 2 is GAME-CHANGING! So, yeah, I'll be reading it soon.

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