Review: Firelight

Author: Sophie Jordan
Publish date: 2010
Source: Purchased and signed at RT
"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)

Before going to RT a couple weeks ago, I'd kind of heard of Firelight, but not enough for me to have thought about reading it. After looking through the authors that would be there and hearing some recent blogger love for the lovely Sophie Jordan, I decided to bite the bullet and try Firelight. I bought a copy from Sophie at RT, which she graciously signed. Fast forward to the readathon...I read Firelight first and pretty much loved it. So glad I bought a copy!

I've never read a book quite like Firelight because it deals with...wait for it...dragons! Or at least a descendant of dragons called draki, which can take both human and dragon form. Right off the bat, I was really intrigued simply because, to me at least, Sophie took a not often used idea in YA fantasy and made it WORK. I liked learning some of the background of dragons and feel like there is more coming in the next two books. Based on how this book ended, I think Vanish and Hidden HAVE to be pretty amazing to tie up Jacinda and co.'s story.

At first I thought Firelight had a case of insta!love, which is does, in a way. BUT this is kind of explained by the end and as a pretty harsh critic of insta!love, I was pleased with how that was taken care of/explained. I also had mixed feelings toward how both Jacinda and Tamra acted, but I can understand both characters. They each wanted to fit into life in their own unique ways. Who doesn't, right?

If you haven't read Firelight and you enjoy fantasy, try it! It was a fun and quick read and I already have Vanish on hold at the library :)

Review: When She Woke

Author: Hillary Jordan
Publish date: September 2011
Source: Purchased 

"Hannah Payne’s life has been devoted to church and family. But after she’s convicted of murder, she awakens to a nightmarish new life. She finds herself lying on a table in a bare room, covered only by a paper gown, with cameras broadcasting her every move to millions at home, for whom observing new Chromes—criminals whose skin color has been genetically altered to match the class of their crime—is a sinister form of entertainment. Hannah is a Red for the crime of murder. The victim, says the State of Texas, was her unborn child, and Hannah is determined to protect the identity of the father, a public figure with whom she shared a fierce and forbidden love. 

A powerful reimagining of The Scarlet Letter, When She Woke is a timely fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of the not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated, and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned but chromed and released back into the population to survive as best they can. In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith and love."

I heard about this book a few months ago and thought it sounded really interesting. I read The Scarlet Letter in high school and HATED it. Nathaniel Hawthorne's language and writing style was really difficult for me to understand and I thought a futuristic retelling sounded pretty good. I ended up enjoying it, despite a few parts I found incredulous.

The scariest and creepiest part about the whole book for me was the setting. When She Woke takes place in the not too distant future and I am terrified that our world could someday be much like what Ms. Jordan imagined for her novel. There was an STD epidemic which rendered many women sterile and led to abortion being completely illegal, punishable by years in prison. In the book, the blame for everything is on women, which made me angry, yet I can sadly imagine people thinking that was perfectly reasonable. Drove me crazy, but I couldn't stop reading it!

As the novel progresses, Hannah grows and realizes that what she was always taught about life was not true, in terms of morals and faith. She doesn't grow as much as I wanted her to, but she gets herself out of scary situations and crazy places. I was rooting for her the whole time, although I didn't always agree with her choices. The ending happened a little too quickly for my tastes, but I would still recommend this book just for people to understand how easily the setting could become our terrible reality.

Buy the Kindle ebook here (only $1.99!)