REVIEW Sophie Jordan - Firelight

Goodreads synopsis: 

A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.

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.

Goodreads

When reading a book you know there are two possible endings: a happy and a bad one. A romantic ending where the guy and the girl get together and live happily ever after, or an ending where they don't. I'm a sucker for romance and, I confess, happily-ever-afters are a must for me (in most books anyway). To me, Firelight had the worst ending possible, because we don't entirely know how the romance ends, while I would like as much details about their future as would fit! I hate those kind of things, but it does make me wish/hope for a sequel...

While I believe Firelight had the worst possible ending, it had one of THE best opening chapter of all books I've ever read! Firelight opens right in the middle of the action and we immediately read about Jacinda manifesting into a Draki, a descendant of dragons. The chapter is so thrilling, I was hooked from page one. The best part of that tension is that you're instantly part of Jacinda's story and it made me root for her right away. She was a lovely character, although sometimes a bit selfish, but it didn't prevent me from liking her. 

The draki thing was very original and well described. Jacinda and her family left the Drakis pretty soon in the book so we don't learn much about the Draki lifestyle, but what is told is believable. I'm just so curious how Drakis would look like, I couldn't picture them in my head while reading.

One character I didn't particularly like was Jacinda's sister, Tamra. She whined so much that she seemed so young to me, but she and Jacinda are twins. I thought it was so stupid that she complained that everything was about Jacinda, while it seemed to me that she was only thinking about herself and what's best for her!

I'm a bit torn about Will. The whole of the book I really liked him, but some things at the end left me feeling a bit undecided. However, Will is so very sweet and charming! Maybe for some people he would be a little too over the top in real life, but I like charmers. Will was cute, mysterious and so utterly nice I wanted him to be real. 

[There was one sentence in the book that made me think about Bella/Edward: 'A hunter in love with his prey' = 'And so the lion fell in love with the lamb'/'What a stupid lamb'/'What a sick, masochistic lion'. Not that this book is like Twilight, it just made me smile.]

This book is a five star for one me, because the way it sucked me in right away, the lovely Will and the Draki life! I couldn't put it down and I hope there's a sequel.