Mini-Reviews

 Vanish (Firelight 2) by Sophie Jordan

This was an interesting follow-up to Firelight, although quite a long time had passed between when I read the first book and when I picked this one up. What I really enjoyed was how it altered my perceptions of characters. In the first book we see Cassian as a jerk who Jacinda needs to escape. In Vanish, however, I began to sympathize. Jacinda, I'm sorry to say, became a bit more annoying to me. I still felt for her character, but  Lots of action and excitement, and I couldn't wait to grab the final book in the trilogy, Hidden.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Hidden (Firelight 3) by Sophie Jordan

I read this directly after finishing Vanish, and I flew through it. I was fairly certain I knew what was going to happen, but Jordan still had quite a few twists thrown in. The love triangle wraps up in a predictable way, but the rest of the story wraps up nicely. I wasn't sure how things could work out (would Jacina stay/leave, what about Cassian, hello...the hunters are stalking them), but everything left me satisfied as a reader.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

I've had Bittersweet on my shelf for quite a long time, and now that the winter weather has started in I thought it would be a fun read. I enjoyed the cupcake titles/descriptions at the start of each chapter (although it made me crave sweets) but the story didn't quite live up to my expectations after Twenty Boy Summer. There was a lot going on story-wise that I don't think necessarily needed to be there and being pulled between them made the main character seem self-centered when I should have empathized with having to make tough decisions about where to spend her time. Still, I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from Ockler.
Published by Simon Pulse
Rating: C

Teaser Tuesday (November 6)

What is teaser tuesday? It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules: Grab your current read... Open to a random page Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page Don't include spoilers.

"My eyes start to burn from staring so hard at my soon-to-be prison and I blink swiftly. This is my choice, I remind myself." 

-Hidden, Page 1, by Sophie Jordan

Waiting on Wednesday (May 18)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

Vanish (Firelight 2) by Sophie Jordan 

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.


Published by HarperTeen
Release Date: September 6, 2011

Book Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

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 leads 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 Will, whose family hunts her kind. 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. (From Goodreads)

I'm a huge paranormal YA fan. I think that's fairly obvious, based on the majority of books that I read/review on this blog. Still, lately I've had to take breaks from the genre because nothing has felt unique (that may be why I gravitated back toward regular fiction for a while). After reading some rave reviews, however, I decided I needed to buy a copy. I was pleasantly surprised with how fresh the book seemed. They are the descendants of dragons...it doesn't get much cooler than that.

I thought that the pacing of this book was perfect. I've had some issues with that in the last couple of books that I've read, and this one kept me captivated. I was so invested in these characters that I almost had an anxiety attack when Jacinda walked into the wrong room in Will's house. Without giving too much away, I'll say that a draki might not want to wander in there. I thought that the draki hunters were interesting, and I can't wait to learn more about them in book 2. I think that the fluidity of the writing was the reason why I couldn't set this one down. Considering all the work I have with school, reading it in two days was a feat in itself.

One of the few issues that I had was actually with Jacinda. I empathized with her sister, Tamra, and that's where my Jacinda issues arose. I really wanted Jacinda to imagine what it had been like for her sister to be stuck in the pride, and to understand her sister's motives for wanting to stay in their new home. After all, Tamra was the outsider when the family was still living with the pride, and Jacinda becomes the outsider after they move. I'm not saying that I agreed with their mom them to a place that would slowly kill Jacinda's draki, but I wanted Jacinda to mature and understand why her mom had made that decision.

Overall, I really enjoyed Firelight. I can't wait to read more about the draki hunters, and I'm hoping that we'll get to see more of the pride in the sequel. I'm particularly interested to know exactly what happened to Will when he was sick. Now, I just have to wait until the sequel is released.

Firelight
By Sophie Jordan
Published by HarperTeen
323 Pages
Rating: B

Teaser Tuesday (October 12)

What is Teaser Tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.

"I look over my shoulder--at the truck with two guys in the back readying another net. Bikes bounce over the ground, their angry motors revving as they come at me."

-Firelight, Page 14, by Sophie Jordan

In My Mailbox (October 10)

Happy 10/10/10!

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi of The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Here are the books I got this week:

Bought:

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

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 leads 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 Will, whose family hunts her kind. 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. (From Goodreads)



Won:
Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

Now a fully trained unicorn hunter, Astrid Llewelyn is learning that she can’t solve all her problems with a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend has left R...more Now a fully trained unicorn hunter, Astrid Llewelyn is learning that she can’t solve all her problems with a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend has left Rome, the Cloisters is in dire financial straits, her best friend’s powers are mysteriously disintegrating, and her hope of becoming a scientist seems to be nothing but an impossible dream.

So when she’s given the opportunity to leave the Cloisters and use her skills as part of a scientific quest to discover the Remedy, Astrid leaps at the chance. Finally, she can have exactly what she wants—or can she? At Gordian headquarters deep in France, Astrid begins to question everything she had believed: her love for Giovanni, her loyalty to the Cloisters, and—most of all—her duty as a hunter. Should Astrid be saving the world from killer unicorns or saving unicorns from the world? (From Goodreads)