I have read many wonderful reviews of this book, and while I never go for books based solely on reviews; I am so glad I picked this one up. I have been steering away from the Vampires and Were's for a bit now, and wasn't too sure about reading a book with another mystical creature as the main character. But Firelight was a great trip from the norm.
We all have read the books about fairies, vampires, were's, and even witches.. but how often do you find an engaging book about "dragons". I know that technically Jacinda isn't a dragon, but that is what I imagine a Draki really is, they are after all descended from dragons, so in my eyes they would be dragons that look more human.
We meet Jacinda and her friend Az first in the book, when they are breaking one of the rules of their pride by flying during the day. They are quickly pursued by hunters and Jacinda is almost caught. This is our first meeting of Will.
After narrowly escaping the cave and the hunters Jacinda is found by her pride, then shortly after that her mother packs them up and they flee in the middle of the night. They end up in this little desert town, where the girls; Jacinda and her twin sister Tamara; are enrolled into public "human" school.
Here is where you get the normal high school drama, along with getting more of the elusive Will. A rocky relationship forms between Will and Jacinda. And we meet Will's hunter cousins, Xander and Angus. Jacinda learns that being close to Will will keep her Draki alive, while the whole time her mother is hoping that by being in the desert it will kill off Jacinda's Draki.
The forbidden love of Jacinda and Will is really enough to keep me reading and then with the added intrusion of Cassin ( soon to be Alpha of the pride) I couldn't put the book down.

The ending left me wanting the next book in the series;[bc:Vanish|9436632|Vanish (Firelight, #2)|Sophie Jordan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298940410s/9436632.jpg|14321219]; really Sept. 6th can't get here fast enough..I'm thinking early birthday present!! ( )

So, this book is pretty much Twilight, if Bella was a dragon and Edward a dragon hunter. And no, this is not exaggerating: there is literally a comment about how "a hunter should not fall in love with his prey", and an evil Jacob belonging to a tribe mixed in here.

Anyway, if this sounds like something that would make Twilight about 40% more awesome, then that's correct. I'd say this book is about 40% more awesome than Twilight, which is not to say it's very good. It's not the worst book I've ever read, although it could've done without the "SUCH TRUE LOVE"-thing between the two teenagers. Then again, that's how being in love feels, so maybe this is not the book's fault.

The world is pretty interesting though, and I since I already got the sequels from the library I can only hope that gets explored more in the coming books, and that the romance plays a smaller part. This may be hoping for too much though. ( )

This book made me so, so, so happy. Shiny and happy and young again. Reading about dragons and girls-that-are-dragons, and believable different world/life settings (of which there are three). I completely felt for the main character in her predicament, while understanding for my mother and sister.

I loved how complicated the character standings were. I especially loved that even the person you're supposed to view as evil, the person the main charactere vies as evil, is never portrayed so as himself either. He's just another multi-faceted character trying to figure out everything going on around him, in the systems he's bound into.


I definitely can not wait to read book two once it comes out. ( )

I liked this pretty well. It was a very fast read. It did feel a little deriviative of Twilight for me. All the back and forth at school of will they get together or not and the no I'm too dangerous for you thing. The odd cousins, who along with the hero Will, are always missing school to go on "camping trips."

I did like that it's about dragons although I would have liked to see more in the dragon world. I do think however that the next book will deal more with that.

I thought the romance was sweet. I liked both Will and Cassian. This is a nice light read for the YA set. An entertaining story. ( )

Much like Die For Me and Blood and Chocolate, I really like Firelight and I don’t have a particularly good reason as to why. They’re all part of the same genre of tangled love triangles and young paranormal romance and messy YA fantasy which I usually hate but not always. It’s a tricky balance and general speaking, these are the types of books I slot into my “guilty pleasures” reading list.

Firelight is about Jacinda, a young draki, who is forcibly removed from her pride and into a desert town where her mother and sister encourage her to “be happy” and “stopping selfish” as the heat and isolation slowly kill the draki side of her. I think one of the reasons I stick with Firelight is because I genuinely like Jacinda and feel for her. The way she responds to things and her mix of anger and determination remind me of the person I was at her age. The people around her are overbearing and constantly trying to define her identity and it leads to her feeling trapped and unhappy for herself, but guilty about what she is doing to others, akin to gaslighting. It’s an uncomfortable place to be in, but I don’t feel Jordan has ever suggested it is “okay”.

I want Jacinda to win. I really do. I want her to find that third path that will let her pick her own destiny rather than be broken into a shape that others find pleasing. That’s why I like Firelight. I’m invested in this character. She deserves a win.

The romance itself is tacky and unbelievable. The relationships form way too quickly, the teenagers get away with a bunch of stuff, and the parents are fairly uninvolved. The “love story” borders on obsession. As Jordan is a successful historical romance writer, this swing makes sense coming from her, even if it’s a bit ridiculous. To me, the romance isn’t the plot. Jacinda’s future and identity is the plot. Other readers may disagree.

I enjoyed the draki as mythological creatures and I really want to know more about them. The closest I can describe them are dragon-shapeshifters, but Jacinda herself shuts down the word “dragon”. The mythological aspects of the world building are interesting to me even though the contemporary aspects are stereotypical and dull. The story behind the draki and the hunters rolls out slowly throughout the book, so it’s easy to see that Jordan is still presenting her world rather than info-dumping too much at the beginning, which I can appreciate.

Can I recommend Firelight as a good book everyone should read? No, absolutely not. I can recommend Firelight as an easy ready that’s a bit cheesy but has enough character and development to be enjoyable to the right reader. I like it, but I am fully aware it is no masterpiece. If you want something indulgent and quick, it’s not a bad read at all. ( )