Saturday 10 September 2011

Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan


The Story:
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. - From Goodreads.


My Thoughts:
I had to stop myself from reviewing this book straight away because I was seriously in danger of breaking my no ragging on other books rule. From the first few pages, I honestly thought I was going to love Firelight. Then I continued reading and it all sort of went downhill from there. I don't hate the book, plus I finished it so it was readable at least. Instead of writing a full on review I thought I'd list all the things that worked and didn't work for me. 
Stuff that worked:
- My first love is epic fantasy, so the idea of beings decedent from dragons really appealed to me. The different types of draki and their various powers was very unique.
- I liked the writing style. I'm a really lazy reader and don't want to have to look up a dictionary every second word.
- Cassian is a cool name.
Stuff that made me want to scream into a pillow:
- Jacinda suffered from the Bella virus bigtime. She kept going on and on about how she was the only fire breather and how special she was and how much she wanted to keep her draki alive and yet when she was threatened she basically curled up into the fetal position and whimpered. My biggest pet hate is heroines with powers that they don't use.
- Quote in point: Then he mutters, 'A hunter in love with his prey.'  Cliche and copyright infringement much???
- So so so much whinging without anything being done about it. I am not a fan of passive MC's. 
- I couldn't sympathise with any of the characters and downright hated Jacinda's mum and her sister.
- The most exciting scene happened in the first chapter, the ending was too cliff hangery and it was so anti climactic. 

I'm not sure what else I can say, once more with feeling: At least I finished it!!

The Rating:
6/10

18 comments:

  1. LOL! Come on, ragging on books is so fun! For some dumb reason I liked this one ever though I hated Jacinda and her endless whining! I want to read the next one because I hear Cassian plays an interesting role.

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  2. I agree with Jenny above me, haha ragging on books can be pretty fun, as long as one doesn't venture into ragging on the author/publisher.

    I've been seeing this book on a lot of blogs! I was initially interested in this but I *cannot* stand Bella-esque main characters, ugh!

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  3. This fits with another review I read - that this book starts promisingly and like an epic fantasy, but then turns into a typical teen paranormal romance, complete with whiny protagonist. I think I'll still read it, though, for the dragons. If a better YA book about dragons comes out, please let me know!

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  4. Jenny: It's nice to be able to say what you think about books but I am not good at withholding my opinions so if I start I'll probably end up whinging all day! As much as Jacinda bitched about Cassian, by the end he was the only character that interested me and to be honest, since she is so whiny, I don't trust her opinion of him anyway.

    Jinny: Seriously, there is a lot of "I love him, but I can't be with him, but I love him soooo much" and then there's the whining about being so special. Gargh!

    TG: What really gets me is the potential this book has to be something amazing. The concept of dragons is just really cool and I think my disappointment really make me dislike this book more than anything else.

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  5. Lan, your a trip. That is kind of a review, a different kind, but still a review. You gave your points good and bad. Being honest is what matters for your readers. :)

    Beth ^_^

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  6. :) I'm glad to see that you finished it even though you fell asleep a few times during it. I agree with that back and forth thing that drove me nuts.

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  7. Beth: That's a good point. And it was a lot easier than trying to write a proper review...I might start doing all my reviews like this to save myself the hassle.

    Ash: Yeah I finally finished it!!I was so glad too. Don't think I'll pick up the second until someone I trust reviews it.

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  8. The first chapter seemed great too! But as the story went on, the urge to put Firelight back on the shelf grew. Worst. Family. Ever. I mean, what's wrong with them?!

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  9. Yeah, I'm going to read Vanish sometime since I have it on my kindle, and it was free.

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  10. Sabrina: I know right?? They were all so selfish. I don't understand why the mum couldn't just tell her outright why they had to leave instead of doing all this "I know what's best for you crap"

    Ash: Great. You read Vanish and I'll judge based on that!!

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  11. Lol..No pressure there. :) Have you had a good week?

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  12. I'm giggling. "At least I finished it" is precariously close to "I wanted to like it, but" on the Book Reviewer's Words of Doom list.

    I think reviewers can and should state their negative opinions as well as positive; that's why people read reviews! But I like to think that it's possible - as you did in your review here - to share what didn't work for you in a way that's not all "this book totally sucks and the writer is lame "...ya know?

    All of which is to say, good review. :) I'm undecided about reading this book...I like dragons, but passive heroines make me want to take a spork to my eyeballs. Will ponder...

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  13. Sorry to hear that an interesting premise was ruined by a whiny heroine. Can't stand the Bella-syndrome, as it's ruined far too many good stories! Enjoyed your list of what worked and what didn't! Think I'll give this one a pass.

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  14. BJ: Point taken. I am just very reluctant or feel really bad about saying bad thing about books right now because of the many query rejections I am getting!! But as a book blogger, I have an obligation to be honest too.

    Alexia: I get the very distinct feeling that this book tried pretty hard to be Twilight with dragons which is sad because it could have been so much more.

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  15. I started this book, but I was reading it at a time when there were a million other ones I wanted to read more, and this one didn't grab my attention enough for me to keep going. Plus Jacinda was annoying me already. I keep meaning to go back to it. Sad that the most climatic scene was at the beginning--but at least now I know I've already read the most exciting part :)

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  16. Great review, I agree 100% !! Glad you pointed it out to me when I reviewed it just the other week :)

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  17. Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that particular quote was rather on the verge of copy-right infringement! :D

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