HarperTeen, 2011
294 pages
YA; Paranormal
4/5 stars
Source: Bought
I really enjoyed Firelight starring one of my YA boyfriends, Will. His romance with Jacinda kept me reading even as other aspects bothered me. Sadly there wasn't as much of the romance as there was lots of other stuff instead...very compelling stuff as this book took me about two hours to read. I just could not put it down!
However there actually was a lot of stuff I didn't like. The love triangle continues with Jacinda feeling very torn between draki Cassian and human with draki blood Will. One is the "right" decision in that it would make her life very easy but the other is the right answer, she just knows in her heart. At least sometimes she does; girl cannot make up her mind! Of course, both boys end up being super possessive of her and I am now less Team Will (although I'm still not team Cassian and there's also the addition of the super creepy Corbin). I will however cherish my memories of him in Firelight. The rest of the draki clan are extremely mistrusting of Jacinda and are huge jerks to her. I am sympathetic to their concerns about being hunted by humans but I feel like some of them went a bit far.
This annoying stuff took attention away from other exciting things such as her relationships with her best friend Az and her sister Tamra. I wanted so much more of that instead of Jacinda angsting. Both have so many complications and yet they don't get that much attention. Her mother also becomes an alcoholic who is completely checked out from her daughters' life to my sadness, adding to Jacinda's isolation.
Still I am excited about the third book Hidden as we should get an epic confrontation between drakis and draki hunters. There's a lot of possibility for a breakout from the hunters' compound and for Will to win back my affections.
Overall: Enthralling story despite the many aspects I didn't like.
Cover: She looks like Taylor Swift; kind of weird after the lovely red hair of the first book is what I thought at first. However the change in appearance is quickly explained in the book.
Oh my gosh, I'm SO glad you liked this one, B! I loved Firelight too, and we're both definitely Team Will -- although it sucks that you like him less in this book. Still, I think that the whole draki thing is one of the coolest ideas I've read, so I'm really excited to get my hands on a copy of this book! :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, B! I hope I'll like Vanish as much as you did!