Lovin' los libros

Firelight (Firelight #1)
    by: Sophie Jordan

Publication Date: Sept. 7, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Borrowed from Library
Page Count: 326 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 5/5 stars

                         -goodreads.com description

Ok. So technically this was a re-read for me. I read it last year, but I wanted to read it again since it had been so long and I was able to get my hands on the second in the series. I loved it the first time around and I loved it just as much this time! This book was just unputdownable! :) It was also my first book about dragons (draki) and I thought Jordan did an awesome job with it. I didn't feel like it was too cheesy or unbelieveable. She really made it work.

Our main character is Jacinda, who lives with her mom and twin sister in the draki 'pride'. Jacinda is special however. She is the first fire-breathing draki in a long time and is destined to be paired with the pride leader's son, Cassian. All of this does not sit well with Jacinda. She longs to be free to make her own choices.

We meet Jacinda and her best friend Az, as they are wanting to shift into their draki form and fly in the daylight. The problem? They are only allowed to fly at night for fear of exposure by humans or worse, hunters. Well, Jacinda and Az of course get into a pickle and Jacinda is faced with her worst fear: hunters. Hunters who track down her kind for their skin, their blood, and experimentation.

Without giving too much away, Jacinda catches a lucky break, but she is now in trouble with the pride. Her mom insists that it is no longer safe and they flee to a desert town where her mom hopes she will kill off her draki side and become human like her twin sister. The story really kicks off here, as Jacinda struggles to fit in a strange place.

Jacinda is used to be the special one in the pride, where her twin sister, Tamra, was seen as an outcast because of her lack of draki. Now the roles have reversed and Tamra is thriving in their new environment, where Jacinda is struggling. I felt for her because she never wanted to kill off her draki, but obviously didn't have a choice in leaving. Tamra slips in easily with the popular crowd, where Jacinda does not.

But then Jacinda meets Will.  However, this is not the first time that she has met him. As the synopsis above states, he is a hunter. Jacinda knows she should stay away from him, but she can't help that she's drawn to him and he to her. The only problem? Will is the one who can bring out her draki in the dry desert and she knows she can't reveal her secret to him.

Sophie Jordan really knows how to write some good kissing scenes! Let me tell you! Whew! I love the chemistry between Will and Jacinda. Their relationship is smoldering (literally!) They both try so hard to stay away from each other, because they know it's for the best, yet they can't. <3

Overall, this book was fast-paced, had a great romance, and alot of action. It's definitely one of my favorites!


Vanish (Firelight #2)
   by: Sophie Jordan

Publication Date: Sept. 6, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Borrowed from the Library
Page Count: 294 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars



                                         -goodreads.com description

Although I didn't like this book as much as the first, I still found myself flying through the pages. It didn't have the 'second book syndrome' luckily, but I just liked the first one more.

My heart ached for Jacinda. After the ending of the last book, she is now stuck back at the pride, only this time, she's not known as the special one. She is definitely facing the consequences of her actions from the end of the first book. And she is suffering from the loss of Will. You know what they say, "If you love someone, you have to let them go"... She knows she has to move on and forget about him, but he's never far from her mind, even as Cassian makes his move.

Ah, Cassian. We didn't see him a whole lot in Firelight but we do get a lot more of him in this book. Jacinda thinks he is only interested in her because of what she is, not WHO she is. And that is something that really bothers her from the previous novel and into this one. However, Cassian does prove himself and show that he really does have feelings for her and it's because he likes who she is. As attached as I was to Will, I can't help but like Cassian for everything he does for Jacinda to protect her and her family.

Tamra, on the other hand, is finally experiencing everything Jacinda had before and I'm glad for her, to an extent. I understand that she always felt like she was lost in her sister's shadow, but she just came across as a spoiled, whiny teenager.

I don't feel like this book had as much action as the first one, but the pace still moved quickly. As heartbreaking as it was to see Jacinda suffer back under the scrutiny of the pride, it was still neat to see how things 'really' worked there. And what the pride Elders would do to their own if they caused problems.

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the third book to see how it all plays out. Who will Jacinda ultimately choose: the hunter she gave her heart to in the desert or the strong, protective draki who would do whatever it takes to help her? Will her and her friends be able to save Cassian's sister from the hunters and the Enkros?