Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

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 love stories about dragons. What's not to like? They're beautiful and majestic and a trump card because if you have one on your side you will most likely always win. I recently read the preview for Firelight on Harperteen's site and was hooked. Go HERE to read the first three chapters.

What a gorgeous cover! It certainly made me look twice before I caught the glimmer of scales around her eye with the slitted pupil. It very much suits Jacinda, our heroine. Jacinda fights to both hide and hold on to her draki, her dragon half, but it keeps peeking out and threatening to give her away. After her rebellious nature gets her into some serious trouble in her family's pride, she and her mother and sister run away to a climate completely opposite of what they're used to the idea being that it would help Jacinda's draki disappear completely. What a horrible concept: being required to force an integral part of your existence to wither away and die, for survival. It might have been possible for Jacinda if she didn't encounter at her new school the boy who saved her that night, the one who makes her draki happy like nothing else. But Jacinda is quickly nearing her breaking point; her mother is starting to sell off her family's gems, the ones that make her draki sing inside, and her sister, who was born sans draki, is pressuring Jacinda to stay human. And maybe most horrible of all is Will, the boy she loves, who is a dragon hunter from a family whose legacy is killing dragons.

Firelight was like a tasty treat - delicious but gone way too quickly - and I devoured it in one gulp. Jacinda and Will's Romeo and Juliet-like romance was almost tragic and the addition of Cassian, future alpha of the pride and Jacinda's intended mate, makes for one deadly love triangle. Can Jacinda trust Cassian and his promises? Probably not but he's most likely safer in the long run than Will and his family's draki-covered furniture. We get a cliffhanger of sorts at the end of Firelight and unfortunately I can't find any info on its sequel. Firelight is a nice new addition to the growing ranks of YA paranormal romance.

Other reviews:
http://darkfaerietales.com/review-firelight-sophie-jordan.html
http://www.wondrousreads.com/2010/08/review-firelight-by-sophie-jordan.html
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2010/08/firelight-by-sophie-jordan.html