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    Firelight
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    Firelight
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    Firelight
    Ebook291 pages4 hours

    Firelight

    By Sophie Jordan

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    This first book in the addictive, romantic Firelight trilogy is perfect for fans of Rebecca Yarros, Jennifer Armentrout, and Tahereh Mafi.

    With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms.

    But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness forces her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is the gorgeous, elusive Will—who comes from a long line of dragon hunters. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret.

    The steam rises with this fire-breathing romance about a girl whose love crosses an ancient divide, from New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 7, 2010
    ISBN9780062011077
    Unavailable
    Firelight
    Author

    Sophie Jordan

    Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country, where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she’s the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of more than fifty novels. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and streaming anything that has a happily ever after.

    Read more from Sophie Jordan

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    Reviews for Firelight

    4/5

    578 ratings94 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I wanted to like this as much as others did, but I found myself just wanting to get through it. Maybe I'm just burnt out on teen fiction for awhile, but it seemed there was 80% teen angst wanting a boy she shouldn't have, 10% were dragon pack catching up to her and 10% absolute horror at the game she was trying to play with the family of the boy she shouldn't have! It's not a bad story and the writing was fine, but it was more teen love anguish than I really wanted and I was more annoyed at the characters than loving them. And her mother and sister, wow. Talk about family guilting you into not being yourself. Ouch!
    • 3/5
      Meh. I'm sick of books that end with a cliffhanger as a set-up to insure that readers will buy the next book in the series. A continuing series is fine by me, but a first book should really stand on its own. And this book really wasn't satisfying enough on its own.Still, it's better than a few others that I've read recently. It gets point for using dragons (or, "draki," as they are called here) instead of your usual vampire/werewolf/fairy lore. I liked the narrator, Jacinda, well enough. But she seemed to think she was strong, when I found herself pitiful and weak. The love story was flat, and I never felt that Jacinda and Will had a real connection - despite it being forced down my throat every other page. I also found Jacinda's short, sentence-fragment structure of thinking and speaking to get annoying pretty fast. I guess that's a stylistic thing, but I grew bored of really. Short Sentences. Page after Page. Okay. I'm dissing the book a little too much, and I don't really want to. I really did enjoy it, as it was a quick and entertaining read. I've read better YA fiction -- but I've also read far, far worse.
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed this though it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Jacinda and Will only know each other for a month and most of their relationship consists of a lot of making out along with a back and forth I can't stay away from him, I can never see him again. Sometimes more than once in the same chapter. I'll read the rest of the series though.
    • 4/5
      Jacinda is a draki (otherwise known as a dragon decedent). But not only is she a dragon, Jacinda's a firebreather which makes her an extra special and rare dragon. Her Pride not only wants to own her, they want to control her. She's forced to leave her Pride with her mother and sister and live among the mortals in a barren desert that is slowly killing Jacinda's draki. Jacinda must deny her true nature and pretend to be human. When she meets Will, he becomes her oasis in a desert. Beautiful, kind and sexy, Will feeds her draki and keeps her alive. But Will and his family are hunters. Their family hunts Jacinda's kind and kills them. They are the ultimate starcrossed lovers - a hunter and his prey.

      I liked this story a lot. It was different and fun and Jordan writes heartbreaking and hot romance. I did get a bit frustrated. I listened to the audiobook and Jacinda tends to have lots of thoughts about how she should answer questions or about her real feelings and, listening to the audiobook, it was difficult to tell at times whether Jacinda was really saying something or if she was thinking it. So, I'd get really excited thinking she was confessing her feelings and she was just thinking them. That is no fault of the narrator who did an excellent job. I think the way the story is written it doesn't come across well on audiobook. I recommend reading this book instead of listening to it.
    • 3/5
      Firelight is another recently-released YA that got a lot of hype. This time, I don’t quite agree. The concept is great, I will grant that. But I felt as if most of the book was a never-ending cycle of Jacinda saying “I want Will but I can’t have him so I don’t want him but I ACTUALLY DO want him—-” over and over. Just a titch annoying.The opening chapter was fantastic— I was immediately sucked in. But then Jacinda and her family went off to have a “normal life”, and things got boring. Let’s go back to Dragon Land! There is more excitement to be had in Dragon Land! C’mon!Though the whole romance with Will, Dragon Hunter, was smoldering, it really had no reason to happen. Okay, there was probably some “soulmate” stuff going on, but in my opinion, that’s a cheap gimmick to get characters to love each other instantly.Alright, those were my negatives. Like I said, I enjoyed the opening chapter, and I also enjoyed the surprise ending involving Will. The land of the dragons looked like it would shape up to be pretty cool, but again, we didn’t see much of it. Jacinda’s mom and sister were interesting plot devices, and I enjoyed becoming quite frustrated with them. The concept of “killing” one’s inner draki was interesting as well.Overall, I’d say Firelight was alright. If it didn’t have Jacinda’s constant attachment-avoidance cycle, I would have been more satisfied, I think. Here’s to hoping the next book will return us to doing more dragonly things (‘cause you know it will…!).(Originally posted to 365 Days of Reading)
    • 2/5
      the actions and the way the characters acted did not feel real. it all just pissed me off. this is not the reason why I read. I don't like feeling like this. I read to escape the world and the problems in them, and then I get this in this book? seriously??
    • 2/5
      meh...good concept. there is just to much flighty teenage anger for me. the main character is really wishy washy, can't decide if she wants to be selfish and have the boy or be loyal to family. there is a lack of info...who is after them, why they are hunted, how people know about them. this book is basically a diary full of 'oh poor me, I don't fit in'.
    • 4/5
      This book is like a breathe of fresh air in the shape-changer type YA novel universe. I like the unique concept of people who can shift into dragons, or well dragons who can shift into humans. I also liked the decidedly sizzling scenes in this book, they were a lot steamier than most YA romance books I have read, yes, pun intended.

      I like the development of the characters throughout the book but I believe that Jacinda, her mother, and her sister all need to figure something out, because all them are asking each other to give up something fundamental to their happiness in one situation or another. So somehow at least one of the family at one time will be depressed. So intro Will...he is doing something that he doesn't believe in for his father's happiness and I have NO CLUE how Jacinda can be with him after going to his house...no freaking way...but if he is the only connection keeping her afloat, well then there is another story all together. *sigh* this story is just so freaking jacked up and depressing all around, yet you CAN NOT stop reading, hence Romeo and Juliet.

      The writing throughout the story is very good; it keeps you focused on the story, unable to break away. The writing also has some poetic aspects here and there, which I love to find in a book. The plot is also very good, it has some wonderful surprises and keeps you interested until the very last page. That being said...this book is cliffhanger central, I HATE HATE HATE cliffhangers like this one, especially when we have to wait soooo long for the next installment. Even with the cliffhanger though, definitely worth the read.r
    • 5/5
      This is a great read. I enjoyed it immensely. I recommend it to all who enjoy fantasy and romance. The characters are lovely in every way.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book greatly! At first, it does drag on a bit in the beginning and middle parts but it's just to build character and the atmosphere of the story, it picks up later, I assure you. I believe it is an interesting book and I would recommend it to others. I will read the next book in the series too. I give this book a 9/10. Not perfect but a good read :)
    • 4/5
      I have wanted to read this for ages now, because I have watched the beautiful covers for years and wanted to read about the girl who shifted into a draki, a dragon. So, I finally found the ebook at my library and had a bit to read it, so jumped at the chance. I connected with Jacinda and liked being immersed into her world. She is energized by the mists and water from the earth, and she is a part of a tribe. But her mom doesn't shift anymore and her twin sister never transformed, so she feels like a bit of a loner even in her own family. She loves them a lot but their priorities and the way they perceive draki, the tribe, and their hidden existence has a huge gap. When Jacinda breaks a huge rule, her mom pulls them into the regular world and Tam, her sister couldn't be happier joining a new school and being away from the draki culture. But Jacinda hates the desert, it makes her uncomfortable, and hard to maintain her shifts there. But at school she meets the boy, the hunter that didn't kill her for some unexplicable reason and she feels amazing around him. She is trying to hide as a human in the regular world but her skin changes and she feels fire in her chest. The draki in this story all fall into different talents and she is the only fire breather, which made her special in her tribe, but also a commodity. I enjoyed the chemistry and the build up between Will and Jacinda. Its a case of forbidden love, because he is a hunter and she is the prey. But there is something different about Will. She learns things about him that shocks her and maybe makes sense with some of his differences from his family and the draw between Jacinda and him. So, Tamra and Jacinda's mom. In some aspects I enjoyed the family dynamics and that even though Jacinda didn't understand that her mom is acting in her best interest. No matter how painful or against it Jacinda is. There were also times that I didn't like Tamra much. She seemed so selfish at times and mean to Jacinda, with unrealistic expectations. But the story is also through Jacinda's eyes, so we're biased. But I can also take a step back and imagine how Tam would feel. For most of her life she has been the outsider, the one who didn't fit in because she didn't manifest, and had to watch Jacinda be fawned over and such a big deal while I am sure she felt like a failure. The twists towards the end as well as things revealed about the pride and their intentions were pretty shocking. I also couldn't quite figure out Cassian and whether he was truly a faker or if there was a bit more beneath the surface. I will be continuing with this series and can't wait to find out what is next with the draki, Jacinda and Will, and how they will make everything wrap up with an HEA.Bottom Line: Great premise, intense forbidden romance and great start to the series.
    • 3/5
      Meh - interesting premise but doesn't really flesh it out. Too much "Oooo he's so hot and he makes me burn" everytime they look/touch/kiss each other, too little world/dragon culture building. Little creeped out that she is constantly morphing into a dragon whenever she's turned on - what, suddenly he's making out with a reptile? Gross, can we say bestiality, anyone?
    • 2/5
      This book started off strong and really drew me in at first. Unfortunately, it lost that momentum and floundered for a long while, then finally picked up at the end. Jacinda's absolute dependence on Will made me wince. He was the center of the universe and she existed only to be with him. I also grew weary of the constant use of sentence fragments. Like on every page. Completely overdone. Effect lost.

      I could be wrong, but it felt as though the story was being dragged out in order to make it into more than one book. Jacinda and Will kiss three or four times (I lost count) and each time, she pulls away because of the fire inside. That same effect could have been achieved with just one kiss and then we could have continued on with the story.

      I happen to prefer dialogue-heavy books, since they generally make the reading fly by. Firelight was extremely light on dialogue, relying mostly on introspection, angst, and gazing into one another's eyes.

      All that being said, I thought Jordan's word choices were vivid and painted Jacinda's internal landscape well. The story just didn't move fast enough to keep me wanting to find out what happens next.
    • 5/5
      I loved this great little dragon shifter story and can't wait to read the next one in the series. I really enjoy that the author left off this story at a place where it doesn't feel like a giant cliffhanger, but definitely left me wanting to find out what happens next. I would highly recommend this story to the Young Adult and Dragon Shifter Lovers groups.
    • 3/5
      The Draki species is original, an idea I truly loved. The first chapter of this book was a fantastic set up. The main character was a fantastic display of a strong, independent woman, her world breath taking, her people nothing short of extraordinary.

      It had me hooked right up until her trying to cover up some incriminating evidence against who she really was.

      Personally, I thought her relationship with Will was a little to back and forth for my tastes and I didn't care too much for the scene where she opens up completely about her people to him. If it were drawn out a little more, I'd be more accepting to it, but I don't think the scene did their relationship justice. That's most likely why it took me so long getting through this book, despite me listening to the audio book.

      I'm giving this book three stars because, much like Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, it was a good start with loads of potential and I'd like to see where Sophie can take her characters.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 2/5
      Maybe 2.5 but not sure enough to give it 3.
      I just didn't care for the writing style. Felt very juvenile, more like 12 yrs old instead of 16.
      Didn't really care for the characters. They just didn't feel developed. WAY too much back & forth b/w want him, don't want him, want him... you get the idea.
      Not interested enough to read on. Love dragons though.
    • 3/5
      I liked this book well enough I bought it back in October and I got to page 267 and I really didn't want to know what happened next so I put my bookmark in and put it back On my bookshelf and so 5 months later my friend coaxes me into finishing it. I wasn't all too happy with the way it ended.
    • 2/5
      Sophie Jordan wrote romance novels before foraying into teen paranormal romance for Firelight. There are some definite hints of this in the writing, not too overt and not worse than what happens in a lot of the teen books that are more about romance than anything else. It would not have bothered me at all, had I not had high hopes for the plot of this one. The premise is really great; how cool is the idea of people being able to turn into dragons!

      There was one issue I had with the whole turning into a dragon thing though. Jacinda likes Will (Mr. Studly) partially for his ability to awaken her draki. (spoiler of obvious bit of plot point coming) Once Will has found out what she is, she no longer worries about shifting partway while they are making out, even though her face changes when that happens. Umm, what? Besides, do dragons even have lips? Or hands? The hands thing made me wonder too. At the end of the book, she brushes Will's face with her hand while dragon-ed out. That just does not fit my understanding of what a dragon would look like.

      The relationship between Will and Jacinda is every bit the typical teen romance of melodrama-filled waffling between "I will love him forevers!" and "I can't be with him, because it's too dangerous!" Needless to say, that gets old, nor does it signal love to my brain. Unfortunately, the focus of the book (romance author) was on Will and Jacinda's relationship, not the cool fantasy story framing it. They make out a lot. And though her breasts don't heave, she does have intense physical reactions every time (dragon awakening).

      I give this a resounding meh! It could have been good without the cookie cutter characters and the CW style romance, but as it is it's barely merits attention. Nevertheless, Twilight fans will likely adore it and the inevitable sequels.
    • 3/5
      Got an advanced readers copy of this, as at work I probably read the most teen fiction.

      It was very easy to read through and I actually found the mythology a lot more compelling than the book, characters or romance. In fact, the main character Jacinda is rather annoying at times and the way they frame her as important to the draki and a free spirit seems at odd with a lot of her actions. Still, it made me intrigued enough that I would probably read the next one and while fitting the very formulaic teen-supernatural-romance genre, I like that the shapeshifter character is a bit different from the usual ones you see. 2.75/5
    • 3/5
      Pretty entertaining. I liked how Jordan created quite the dilemma for Jacinda - oftentimes in paranormal romances the "right choice" or thing to do is so obvious to the reader, but there are problems with every choice Jacinda can make here. The draki society is fascinating and I love all the different talents the draki can have and that they appear to be tied to the draki's coloring. I did feel like Jacinda waffled all over the place on her decisions which, while realistic, was a little tiresome and led to some parts feeling a little overlong. So the plotting could have been tighter, but my biggest problem was the complete lack of an ending. I enjoy series books because I tend to want to follow characters for longer than a single book allows, but I also want some sort of conclusion to things and this had none. It left me feeling that the really interesting things have yet to happen. I'll try the next one, but I'm gonna need some of the plot threads to come together better there.
    • 3/5
      2.5 stars

      sixteen year old dragon shapeshifter jacinda spends this book between the proverbial rock & hard place: mom flees the homeland in the middle of the night with her twin daughters because the pride were so desperate to keep jacinda's special talents that they would have entrapped her physically and emotionally...but the place they hide out is, by necessity, brutally inhospitable to dragonkind. she can't go back, she can't stay, high school is a bitch, and her star-crossed hottie is the scion of a family of dragon hunters.

      chock-a-block full of teen angst ("oh, I must swear him off forever!") and most romance novel tropes ("we can't possibly actually discuss this!"), but saved by the fun premise, it's worth checking out, but only for teen romance novel lovers with a tolerance for this type of foolishness.
    • 3/5
      When Jacinda first meets Will he's literally hunting her. She's a Dragon who can shape-shift into human shape and he's part of a family who hunt her kind. However he saves her. However this has consequences and Jacinda and her twin Tamra have to run away with their mother. Tamra can't change to dragon-form but Jacinda is a fire-breathing dragon, rare in the community and wanted to breed.They move to a desert town, where it will be harder for Jacinda to change, where after a while she might lose the ability and where, coincidentally, the family of hunters lives.Full of teen angst and a lack of communication, shows potential but somehow it needed more.
    • 3/5
      I kind of hate books that don't have any sort of ending at all, so that was the thing I liked the least about this. I thought the story was good and I liked the characters. It was just a little weird, though. The writing wasn't that great, and it amused me that it is only a 3.8 AR reading level. But I liked it enough to read the second one.
    • 5/5
      Every once in awhile I read a YA paranormal novel that may follow the standard format but still stands out above the rest. This is the case with "Firelight" by Sophie Jordan.Our main character, Jacinda, is a draki, or a dragon type creature. She lives in a hidden pride with her mother and twin sister Tamara. Her mother hasn't shifted to her draki in a very long time and is now mostly human. Tamara has never manifested and is largely ignored and looked down upon by the pride. Jacinda is the prize of the pride because she has the rare (nearly extinct) talent of being a fire breather. But Jacinda breaks a rule and meets a human boy -a hunter- named Will. When her pride determines Jacinda must be severely punished, her mother leaves town with Jacinda and Tamara to begin a human life.There is a very real sense of danger and desperation throughout the book. It creates an urgency that kept me racing to the end of the book. I almost couldn't put it down. The pride, including the leader's son Cassian, is trying to find Jacinda. Jacinda runs into the human boy at her new school. His evil family are hunters. Will's cousins especially have it in for Jacinda immediately.The romance is one of my favorites. It's a tale of forbidden love between a hunter and his prey. Will has obvious distaste for what his family does. He is biding his time until he can get away from them. Jacinda and Will are drawn to each other in a very compelling way. I liked Will from the start. He is a good guy with a horrible family. He wants to keep Jacinda safe when his own family poses her the greatest danger. Unlike in many YA romances, I actually found the relationship between Will and Jacinda to be very believable.The other characters are equally fleshed out. Jacinda's mom wants to do what is best for them, but she resents being a draki and being stuck with the pride. She loves Jacinda but still wants Jacinda to `kill off' her draki. To Jacinda's way of thinking she might as well kill herself as kill the draki part of her. Tamara thrives in their new human life. After always being ignored by the pride, she loves being able to hang around normal people who take a real interest in her. The relationship between sisters is very complex. They don't seem to like each other all that much, but still they are very connected.The book just brings together many common elements and ideas in a way that is bright, unique and fun. If you have missed out on reading "Firelight" and enjoy YA paranormal fiction, I encourage you to remedy that right away!
    • 5/5
      I want to yell and cry! I can't believe the ending, even if it was good and had me on the edge of my seat, I still can't get over how it turned out.Am I disappointed? Not in the least, just surprised.Now I have to get a copy of the next book.... I have to know what happens next.... what do they do to Jacinda??? Oh, the burning questions in my mind....Yes, if you haven't read this book, get a copy. I mean, who isn't fascinated by dragons?! And this is like no other dragon story out there, it's waaaay cooler than that!I don't know which I liked better, the adventure/fantasy aspect or the romance. It was a great blend of both and very exciting!
    • 3/5
      Jacinda Jones is a draki - a descendant of dragons - and is the only draki in her pride to have the ability to breathe fire. This makes her something of a "hot" commodity (pardon the pun), but when she breaks one of the pride's rules, her mother, twin sister, Tamra, and Jacinda flee the pride to avoid the consequences of her actions. While trying to adjust to a completely human existence, she meets Will, a smoldering boy at her school, who makes her want to manifest into draki form. There's only one problem: Will is a hunter, the draki's main predator. Jacinda knows she should stay away from him, but soon realizes that this is impossible, as Will is the only thing keeping her draki from withering away and dying.So, this book. I read the synopsis and my initial reaction was, "Yay, something new that isn't angels/vampires/werewolves!" And then I saw the mixed reviews and thought, "Hmm, maybe I'll be one of those who loves this!" Oh, silly self. While this book isn't terrible, it reminded me pretty significantly of "Twilight" and "Hush, Hush", which I've read more recently. And I don't say that as a compliment. Overall I found myself irritated with Jacinda, and only reading the latter half of this book just to finish it. Not what I wanted at all; to say this was a disappointment would succinctly sum up my thoughts.I'm not going to go on and on about what I didn't like, but here are a couple of brief summations: Jacinda was unbelievably indecisive. "I need to stay away from Will. I can keep my draki alive myself." Then on the next page, "I couldn't do this myself. I needed Will." Lather, rinse, repeat. Also, we have another case of insta-love, in that Will sees Jacinda in the hallway and is instantly interested. And Jacinda's been smitten with him since she first met him in her draki form. It was all a bit too much. Will is a bit of a stalker, too - he watches her from afar, visits her house late at night (and never mind that he convinced the school secretary to give him her address), picks her up unannounced for school one morning, etc. The one thing I will say about their relationship is that Sophie Jordan definitely knows how to write make-out scenes; Jacinda wasn't the only one bursting into flames at Will's touch. :-PThis entire book was one big, "I want to be with him but I CAAAAAAAAAAAN'T because we're ENEMIES, but I NEEEEEEEEED him and can't live withOUT him,"-fest and it got really irritating after a while. The only interesting bits were when when Cassian (who is the next alpha-in-line of the pride) showed up; he helped move the "plot" along, at least. But overall I was left with the impression that this book was a bit too long and far too heavy on the "forbidden love" theme. I would have liked to see more about the drakis and their world, instead of being thrust into a high school setting where the new girl gets the hot (and previously uninterested-in-dating) guy. I wanted more struggle for Jacinda to hold on to her draki ancestry, not an easy and sudden fix once she starts spending time with Will. I don't know. This book just really didn't do it for me.Also, there were a few lines that made me think immediately of "Twilight", and I will share one of those: "He's an addictive drug to me that I can't quit." Hmm, sound familiar? As if we needed MORE to draw the comparisons between the stories.Anyway, to wrap this up, this wasn't a great book by any means. I found the main character irritating, the plot pretty formulaic and the surprises completely not. Portions of it were enjoyable, but the things I didn't like definitely outnumbered the things I did. Definitely not going to rush out to read the sequel.
    • 5/5
      Sophie Jordan has done a very nice job in weaving a tale of a draki pride, as they are now called, in modern times. Descended from the dragons of old, draki have evolved into human form – humans who can manifest into dragons. There are different kinds such as “onyx” dragons – black, sleek and the most powerful of their kind. And then there are rare ones, like the heroine of this trilogy, Jacinda. She is a fire-breather. The draki thought fire-breathers had been bred out of existence until her talent became apparent once she manifested (they usually begin their first manifestations in their early teens – I’m sure the author intended the correlation between these fiction ones and real ones). But this sets her up for all sorts of problems. Now she is promised to Cassian, an onyx and the “prince” of the pride, in the hopes that more fire-breathers will be born. It just doesn’t set well with any female to be told, “you have to mate with so & so”. Nor does her Mom like it. So next thing you know, Mom whisks her and her sister, Tamra – who seems to be a defunct draki since she has never manifested -- far away from the pride. It is hoped that Jacinda’s fire-breathing tendencies will slowly die, as well as her ability to fly. Only Jacinda falls in love with a human, named Will. There is something that draws them together – something that will not be revealed until the end of Book One. Fast-paced, just the right amount of teen angst without being ‘over-the-top’ and a sweet, little romance in the midst of danger and adventure.
    • 2/5
      Firelight was a book I was excited to read because there are not many books out there about dragons. I was more than a little disappointed with how it turned out. I wanted to read about drakis and hunters, not a teenage love story. Firelight would have been almost the same if you took out the paranormal element in it.*********spoilers**********What I liked about Firelight:-the mythology of the draki, but most of the book is focused on Will and Jacinda’s relationship rather than the really interesting history of drakis, why were less and less draki able to manifest?, why were they only descendants of dragons and not actual dragons?-the different types of draki and their abilities-the hunters and the enkros, I wish there was more on the hunters and who the enkros areWhat I didn’t like about Firelight:-the instant love between Will and Jacinda-Jacinda’s indecisiveness, does she want to date Will or not?-the selfishness of many of the characters (Jacinda especially, Tamra sometimes, etc.)-Jacinda can only ever think about flying in the mountains or being with Will-how Jacinda became an outcast while her twin sister became popular-more of a high school love story than a YA book about draki and forbidden love-the blond bratty cheerleader and her followers that hate Jacinda, too cliched-Will is not a very memorably hero, dangerous, brooding, and super special because he is the best hunter in his family, hates everyone but the heroine can make his heart beat faster-how Will never goes out with anyone to keep them away from his family, but instantly falls in love with Jacinda and asks her out-Jacinda dating Will fully knowing he hunts her kind-Jacinda putting her family in danger by not telling them they live in a city with hunters and that three of them goes to school with her-Will stalking Jacinda and driving by her house in the middle of the night just to “check it out”-Jacinda doesn’t seem to be happy anywhere, not with her pride and not when she goes to live with humans-Jacinda wanted to look for a new pride which I looked forward to, but never actually tried-the love triangle between Will, Jacinda, and Cassian, seems clear that she will pick Will-Jacinda and Will made out too much, their love was unbelievable-the high school full of bullies and cliques was unrealistic to me because my high school is nothing like that, there are popular people and certain people that like to hang out together, but they don’t beat up one another-the really big coincidence of Will, whom Jacinda met in the Cascade Mountains, happens to attend the same school she now goes to-Jacinda loves Will way too much, she exposed the biggest secret of her kind to hunters to try to save him-the ending was a cliffhanger sort of and it makes me not want to read Vanish-many, many more things...As you can see, the list of what I didn’t like is much longer than what I did like about Firelight. I plan to read Vanish someday, but for now I’m going to take a break from this series. Hopefully Vanish will be better. I hope Tamra and Cassian will be featured more. I have a feeling they will end up together. Firelight just wasn’t for me. ⅖ stars.
    • 5/5
      Jacinda is not just your average teenager. She holds a secret that under no circumstances can be known by anyone other than those in her Pride. She is a Draki and a rare one at that. Jacinda’s talent is that she can breathe fire which just happens to be a Draki attribute that was thought to have died out. Once it was clear that she could breathe fire, Jacinda was catapulted to the top of her pride and right into the eager clutches of the Pride Elders. With hopes of creating more fire breathers, they aim to bond Jacinda to the soon to be Alpha Cassian. Only Jacinda has no intentions of being with anyone without it being her choice.Fleeing the strict confines of the Pride, Jacinda and a friend sneak out to enjoy some flight time in the sun. Their joyous flight soon comes to a halt when they are spotted by humans. But these humans only have one thing on their minds – hunting dragons. To save her friend, Jacinda leads them away only to find herself in dragon form and looking into the eyes of Will.Will is a dragon hunter with his own secrets. He doesn’t enjoy the hunt as the rest of his family does and is just buying his time until he is able to escape. That all changes one day when Jacinda enrolls in his school after escaping from the Pride. Will finds himself drawn to Jacinda and wanting to save her but will he still feel the same once he discovers the truth about her identity?I have been eager to read Firelight by Sophie Jordan since I first saw the cover. It is so intriguing and beautiful! I find myself so pressed for time these days, that I decided to buy the audio book version of Firelight. Perhaps the element that I most connected with is Jacinda’s need to be where her Draki survives. She needs the fertile soil and damp mountain air to feed her spirit. When she escapes and moves to a desert, the change is almost unbearable. Feeling her inner Draki dying in the dry heat, Jacinda longs for home.However, I did find at times that I wanted to yell at Jacinda during some of her temper tantrums. She had a bad habit of making everything be about herself even though she claimed it was for others such as her twin sister whom never manifested. Overall, I enjoyed listening to Firelight and the narrator, Therese Plummer, did a wonderful job at making the emotions realistic.