Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Firelight tells the story of Jacinda, a female draki. The drakis are descendants from dragons who have the ability to take human form. Over the years the drakis have lost some of their abilities and in fact some of them never manifest into draki form at all (for example Jacinda’s sister Tamra). Jacinda, however, has become the main centre of attention for her pride and they are pinning all their hopes on her because she is the first draki for hundreds of years who can breathe fire. As such Jacinda has been chosen to marry the alpha males son Cassian in order to breed more fire breathers. After breaking one of the pride’s firm rules about flying in daylight Jacinda and her mother and sister are forced to run away from their home to avoid reprisals.
I thought this was a very enjoyable and entertaining read, well written and based on an intriguing idea. I liked the idea of the dragons and in my own mind didn’t picture them as the dragons of old but much more ‘human’ looking. The draki have done a magnificent job of hiding their existence and this is probably the reason why they are losing some of their abilities as the need for protection is no longer as strong.
I liked the way that in running from their pride the family’s ‘position’ in society was completely reversed. Whilst living amongst the pride Jacinda was prized above all others – a position that she didn’t relish – and her mother and sister were treated with disdain yet once they start living amongst the humans Tamra is instantly popular at school while Jacinda takes a more subdued role. I felt sorry for Jacinda to a certain degree. She definitely has an unenviable positon. Living amongst her own kind she is held in awe but all decisions are made for her and living amongst humans the position remains much the same. Jacinda doesn’t enjoy living in her human form and is unhappy about letting her inner Draki die – I guess it would be easy to blame Jacinda herself for the positon that she is in because her own disregard for the rules have landed her there – but really this is much the same as any other teenager flaunting the rules. Apparently, breaking the rules is something that all teenagers have in common – with or without supernatural powers!
I also liked the romance element to the story and the fact that there are still secrets to be revealed. Frankly I think there is more to Will than meets the eye – maybe even something that he’s not totally aware of himself – and I’m not buying into the ‘he was sick’ element. I think there is another reason why he is such a good tracker and why he and Jacinda felt an instant attraction to each other but I suppose time (and the next novel in the series) will tell us more. Will and Jacinda’s relationship was well paced and gripping and I look forward to reading more in the next novel – not to mention finding out more about Cassian and whether or not he will try to help Jacinda (I know he comes across as a bit domineering – not to mention something of a stalker – but I still think he could turn out okay)!!
I suppose my only criticisms would be I don’t really understand the whole ‘hunter’ element to the story – but perhaps that will be explained more fully in the future. I don’t see how we have these creatures that nobody knows about at all – except a whole pack of other humans who hunt them. The element for secrecy becomes a bit stretched when you have full families of hunters – surely there would be slips, cats out of bags, etc, (I understand that to let everyone know about the existence of drakis would not be a good thing for the hunters because many more people would probably hunt them. I just don’t think it would be possible to keep it quite this secret). And the only other thing I would mention is that given the whole need for secrecy I was totally gobsmacked by Jacinda’s actions in the final scenes – what was she thinking!! I know she’s a teenager, and in love, but, hello, try to remember where you are and in whose company! Anyway, don’t really want to give any more of that away.
I would totally recommend reading Firelight – it was a fantastic bit of escapism, mytholody, adventure and romance all rolled up together. I’m looking forward to the next book – although there’s a bit of a wait!!
Rating: A
Firebrand
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
I was looking forward to this book very much but unfortunately it didn’t really live up to my expectations.
MSTT is about a young girl called Kaylee. Kaylee lives with her aunt and uncle and cousin Sophie. She’s a fairly regular girl except she seems to have developed a talent for predicting people’s deaths and it turns out that Kaylee is in actual fact a Banshee or Bean Sidhe. I don’t know a great deal about Banshees and I would be interested in finding out more but that being said I found this novel a bit flat. I did read it fairly quickly because it’s a fairly straightforward read but nothing really stood out for me.
The romance felt too quick. Within a matter of days (or hours) the two main characters were completely comfortable with each other. The concept of what Kaylee was and her abilities just felt somehow pointless. Kaylee is a banshee, she sees people’s auras and can see they’re going to die and then she is consumed with the need to scream at the top of her lungs (but apparently this sounds like a beautiful soul song to any other Banshees in the vicinity) and the point of this is to help the soul pass over – or to make the soul linger. But what happens to those peoples’ souls who die without a Banshee there to help with this? Plus in this book there seem to be hoards of banshees all living within the immediate vicinity of each other.
The characters seemed a bit one dimensional – Nash, all of a sudden heard Kaylee, knew what she was and was overtaken by an all consuming passion for her – just by hearing her voice which calls to him. I don’t understand how Nash has never heard her voice before – okay maybe it’s a very big school and as a popular guy he has no reason to notice Kaylee but as her voice sings to him – and as her friend is totally gorgeous and been the girlfriend of one of his friends you might be forgiven for thinking they might have crossed paths and he would have ‘heard’ her before then. Her cousin Sophie is one of the ‘popular’ crew – but she doesn’t really stand out as being particularly ‘mean’. I must say that Todd was a pretty good character and with a bit more development might have been more of a draw but he didn’t have enough time in the book perhaps he will feature more in future books.
But, I probably would have liked the book more if the ending had been more believable – but I don’t want to give anything away so I won’t go further with that – I just didn’t find the villain plausible.
The redeeming feature for me was the mythology and I will definitely look up some more information about Banshees but personally I thought this novel could have been much better and I think it loses an opportunity for more creepy hair raising moments.
Rating: -C
My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers Book 1)
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I loved this book!
This is a story about Sam, an eighteen year old girl who is amongst the popular crowd at school. She’s the girl with a perfect life, perfect friends and a perfect boyfriend. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that at the start of the book Sam dies in an accident whilst returning home from a party. However, the next day she wakes up again to relive the same day over. And so starts the story of Sam reliving the day of her death over and over until she comes to the realisation of what she has to do to break the cycle.
I finished this book last night – after reading it in two days, and didn’t want to write anything about it at first because I was a bit overwhelmed. I think this book is so well written. LO has done an amazing job getting into the hearts and minds of these teenagers. Their hopes and fears, their meanness to each other, their way of thinking and speaking. There are genuinley funny moments countered by very sad and touching ones. It’s just really moving watching Sam change over the course of the week as she watches how the smallest change in her day can have a major impact on the other people around her. Contrary to many people I actually didn’t strongly dislike Sam, even at the start of the story. She always came over to me as someone who is not completely happy with her own choices but she’s basically been living like that for so long that she’s forgotten how to be any different. Her and her friends are the popular girls of the school which basically means they are incredibly mean, shallow and self centred – and obviously gorgeous with bodies to die for that they know how to dress! B ut, even reading Day 1 there are small points where you can see that Sam is not totally all that she seems in fact she stills seems bewildered that she is part of the ‘popular’ crew at all. In fact Sam’s friends (and boyfriend) are also not how they seem – facts that she will discover during the course of the week.
Basically the book is a bit of a cross between Groundhog Day and Mean Girls but I love the concept of it. I love the idea that Sam has the chance to go back to that day and do something different to change the lives of the other people in the story. I also found it really touching to watch her as she came to realise that she’d never see her family again (except on this one day of course) and never get to watch her sister get older. I liked the way that in spite of her friend’s (and her own) faults she realised that she genuinley loved them. And, I really found myself caring about Sam and how her story would end. I also felt so sad for her family, waking up each day and getting on with their daily lives with no idea that Sam was replaying the day of her death.
To me, this story was about a number of things. Living life fully every day because you don’t get the chance to do it again. Being conscious of your actions and how they affect others and remaining true to yourself.
The ending of the book is bittersweet but I think it’s the most fitting way that it could end really.
I really enjoyed this book and would have no hesitation in recommending it to others – although in tems of the YA audience there are references to drugs, sex and alcohol.
Rating A++
Before I Fall
Trade Winds by Christina Courtenay
This book was bought for me as a present and probably not one that I may otherwise have picked up. It’s part of a new series of books published by Choc Lit. I guess Choc Lit gives you an idea what sort of books these are going to be – obviously a romance with some mind candy. The sort of book that you should probably take on holiday and read whilst lying in the sun with a long cold drink of something. And that’s exactly what this novel is.
The story is based on two characters. Killian, who lives in Scotland and has been disinherited by his grandfather and seeks a living gambling and Jess, who lives in Sweden and believes her stepfather is swindling her out of her inheritance. The story contrives to bring the two characters together and the romance obviously follows. This is certainly a very easy book to read. I think if you are seeking a great deal of depth or historical detail you would probably be disappointed but if you want a nice light hearted read with a couple of good looking characters who undertake a little adventure and escape a few life threatening situations then it’s all wrapped up nicely in this book.
I can’t say I was absolutely riveted by this book but also I had no problem in reading it. It was a bit contrived in parts and probably tried a little bit too hard in the last quarter of the book to bring both elements of adventure plus a lovely neat ending – but really can you complain about that?? I don’t know. What’s wrong with a nice light hearted read after all. Not everything you read has to be deep and meaningful!
I guess given that these books are for the romance lovers out there the only criticism I would have is there wasn’t enough of the romance element. There was some build up and anticipation which was okay but then before you knew it you have two people who to my mind are too well established – in more ways than one! I felt as though they ‘grew up’ too quickly and were almost like a seasoned couple – I guess I’m trying to say that they had lost the excitement element to their relationship which was a bit disappointing. Also, things seemed to come very easily for them and nothing was ever stressful which under the circumstances they were in is a little bit unbelievable. If you compare this to a novel like the Bronze Horseman, by Paullina Simons -now there is a love story to remember!
That being said this is a nice easy book to read and a must for anybody who fancies a bit of a holiday read that is not too heavy on detail. I’ll check out ‘choc lit’ again to see what else they have.
Rating -B
Trade Winds
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
19 December 2010
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Christina Courtenay, Hunger, Last Sacrifice, Michael Grant, Richelle Mead, Trade Winds
Last Sacrifice is the 6th and final installment in the Vampire Academy series of books (although there is to be a ‘spin off’ series based on some of the other characters).
I’ve really enjoyed this series of books – although I don’t particularly recommend that they be read on their own – I think that the whole series needs to be read to give a proper understanding of the lifestyle, history and characters involved. I think RM has down a wonderful job of creating this whole other vampire world that sits secretly alongside our own, a world with a fully developed background, superstitions and myths.
I also enjoyed watching the change in Rose throughout the series. Rose is a great character. She’s tough and can stand up for herself but she’s also devoted to her friends and not afraid to get into any number of situations to help others. She’s not perfect of course and makes a lot of mistakes, some which she deeply regrets, but with the benefit of hindsight I guess it would be a perfect world (or a boring book with very little story involved!).
Anyway, this book starts with Rose in prison, accused of the murder of the Queen (for which the punishment is the death penalty). Dimitri is also being kept under lock and key as not everyone is convinced that he truly is a dhampir again or think he may be a Strigoi spy. Rose’s friends, assisted by Dimitri break Rose out of Jail and she becomes a fugitive assisted by Sydney (the plan being to keep her safely in hiding). Meanwhile, Lissa remains at court and tries to uncover who the real killer is. Of course Rose has no such intentions of playing a sleepy role and embarks on her own search for Lissa’s secret sibling. And so two stories begin to unfold.
I did enjoy this book although not as much as I hoped. Whilst I think that RM has tried to give everyone a happy ending this is never going to be easy – and particularly where a love triangle has been written into the plot. As far as I’m concerned I never had any doubt about who Rose would (or should) end up with but obviously in this case there’s always somebody who is going to be unhappy. That being said there were a few surprises along the route and I never guessed the actual murderer or the final outcome between Rose and Lissa. I guess what I found a little disappointing was the interaction between Dimitri and Rose which wasn’t as gripping as in the previous books and the ending felt a little bit rushed (even though this isn’t a small book). In the last book Dimitri was absolutely adamant that he didn’t want to be near Rose or to speak to her and she was understandably heartbroken and yet here he is at the start of book no.6 helping her to escape from prison and joining her on her road trip/hideout/adventure. Also, it seemed rather obvious that Dimitri’s feelings for Rose had changed and yet I didn’t really have any real understanding or sense of why that was – or more to the point how quickly he’d had a turn around. I think that I might have enjoyed a little less time spent in Lissa’s ‘head’ and a bit more time sorting out some queries between Rose and Dimitri. Although I thought the Lissa element was enjoyable in this book and at last give Lissa a chance to do something for Rose.
This probably sounds more critical than I intended. I think this has been a really excellent series, I think Rose is a great character and I would definitely recommend reading them.
Rating -A
Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice
