Firelight by Sophie Jordan - Okapi's Review

Title: Firelight
Author: Sophie Jordan
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Target Audience: Teens
Pages: ARC - 323 pages
Release Date: September 7, 2010

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. - Summary from Goodreads


As a fan of dragons, the premise sounded promising - a hiatus from vampires, werewolves and angels while still lingering in the paranormal zone. Curled up in my bed for a couple hours, I read this novel in one sitting, my attention constantly tethered to the rapt and engaging plot. But alas, my eyes uncovered a paltry, watery novel that washed through my mind and caused me to forget about it soon after.

I love the concept of draki, the descendants of dragons, morphing into human, and their customs are interesting. However, I wish the author included more draki lore and history, along with their feud with the dragon hunters. For example, Jacinda mentions an "evasive flight maneuvers class", which sounds interesting, and I would like to learn more about. Jacinda barely spends any time with the dragon pride, and the reader merely experiences them through her memories. Reading this book would be a much more enthralling affair if we actually encountered the pride alongside her, gaining background information about drakis and enriching myself, thus making the rest of the novel more enjoyable.

The majority of the characters are lifeless and perilously flat. Will, who I've now nicknamed as "the Wallflower", fails to be mysterious and sexy as the author intends. He only snags my attention when Jacinda begins pining and whining over him, and though many other reviews claim their love to be intriguing and captivating, all I see is another paranormal romance that bores me. Their love is unbelievably instantaneous and predictable, lacking any depth. When Jacinda's inner draki flares to life around Will, it is the definition of cheesy, especially since the author reveals no explanation of Jacinda's fascination of this bland child. Many other reviews state their relationship to rival the romance in Twilight, but while I'm not a fan of that book, at least the author explains Bella and Edward's love. The romance in Firelight flounders to grapple my regard.

Jacinda's remarkably selfish twin sister Tamra and mother are extremely irksome and undeveloped. Her mother forfeited her draki spirit and eschews draki culture seemingly without any reason, and her sister complains about the most frivolous things. They aggravate me using their barely there personalities and do nothing more than set up meek obstacles of conflict for Jacinda to jump over. The character redeeming the rest is Jacinda, since she is surprisingly developed compared to the others; during the novel, my liking for her escalates as she demonstrated selfless, unpretentious qualities. She actually tolerates her irritating family members. I notice some other reviews chastising Jacinda for being selfish, endlessly complaining about the situation that her mother puts her in. However, I would probably react similarly if somebody hacks away part of my soul, just as Jacinda's mother attempts to rip away her draki. Jordan successfully captures Jacinda's raw anguish and the torture of allowing her draki to die, which is the equivalent of losing part of one's soul. She describes Jacinda's quest to maintain her identity using simple, emotional phrases.

"I once saw a show about an amputee who lost his leg and still feels it. He actually wakes up at night to scratch his leg as if it's still there, attached to him. They call it a phantom limb.

I would be like that. A phantom draki, tormented with the memory of what I once was."- page 37

The author's writing is very bland and repetitive, and after a while, I began to tire of Jacinda's distressed musings and cravings for Will. Jordan tends to echo Jacinda's thoughts in an annoying manner, and all her sentences are short and choppy, structured too simply. Though constructed using prose that lacks description, this book still consistently maintains its hooking attribute.

The ending is so annoying abrupt and unsatisfying that I couldn't help but roll my eyes once I was finished, asking myself if somebody had pruned off the real end of the manuscript. Don't get me wrong, I always bask in the afterglow of anticipation after reading a superb cliffhanger, but Firelight left off without any conclusion or thoughts to hold onto whatsoever. When I read a cliffhanger, I run off a cliff, though there are always questions and unsolved mysteries that keep me dangling on the edge. Firelight, however, has nothing sparking further curiosity, so I gallop over the edge and plummet to the ground.

Overall, this typical paranormal romance ensnared my attention for most of its three hundred pages, causing me to dub it as 'mildly addicting' and file it away at the very back of my mind. I'm sure, like many other paranormal romances, it'll acquire a teen fandom when it releases in September, 2010. I'll probably skim the sequel just to see what's in store for Jacinda and company, but I hold very little hope that this series can possibly redeem itself after this slight disaster.

Cover: 2/5 - I'm usually partial to people on covers, and this one's no exception. I dislike how up-close the girl is, and the artificial shade of her hair. However, the golden scales add a mysterious touch.

Rating:

2.5 hoots

Books like this:
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

To view Rica's review of Firelight, CLICK HERE

Firelight by Sophie Jordan - Rica's Review

Title: Firelight

Author: Sophie Jordan

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Target Audience: Teen Girls

Number of Pages: ARC - 323 pages

Release Date: September 7, 2010

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. -Summary from Goodreads

My expectations for this novel were pretty similar to my thoughts of other paranormal romances: as if by fate, a boy and a girl meet, fair amounts of swooning, they fall in love, paranormal aspects prevent their relationship from flourishing, they conquer it together, everything works out, and then thats the end. Knowing this, I still grasped at the faint hope that this book would bring something new and more satisfying. I was relieved from the surge of vampires and werewolves and I hoped reading about dragons would be a refreshing change and just perhaps obliterate my bias on paranormal romances.

My hopes were shot down to a blunder. Personally, this book was the quintessence of ordinary, sprinkled with a few more aspects to frown upon. The story starts with Jacinda in her draki dragon form, cornered by a brutally handsome hunter boy.The two were alone, and the cave was alive with sparks when their touches met. Jacinda knew she could never forget the boy who betrayed his dragon hunting family to spare her life. When Jacinda left her dragon pack, known as a pride, she and her family relocated to a small town in the desert. Jacinda and her twin sister Tamra enrolled into high school. On their first day, as unrealistic as it may be, Jacinda saw the boy hunter who spared her life, Will. I knew this meeting was inevitable, but the pure odds of this happening were so far off, that frustration still managed to tug at me.

Will and Jacinda's relationship was utterly flat and could only be a fictional romance. Their love affair was almost instantaneous. It was as if their relationship had been in fast-forward while I was still at play, unable to be swept into their rhythm. Admittedly, I am usually a sucker for male lead heroes in books, but Will's character was so unrelatable to real-life heroes, that it was hard for me to feel a connection to him. Jacinda was probably the best character out of the lot. She was pretty well developed with a strong, brave, and slightly rebellious personality. She turned out pretty like-able. It was depressing to watch her struggle with her family and surroundings, but it was nice to see her inner draki come to life when in the presence of Will.

Apart from Jacinda, I couldn't care for the other roles any less. Tamra and Jacinda's mother particularly pushed my buttons. The pair were unbelievably selfish. Tamra was born without the ability to manifest, or in other words, morph into draki form. Like Filch for example, born into a wizarding family with no wizarding powers; a squib in the world of Harry Potter. Anyway, due to this stroke of unluckiness, Tamra had never fit in well in the pride, and was always quietly jealous of Jacinda who was the prized jewel in the pack. Unlike Tamra, Jacinda's mother was able to manifest, but she too didn't feel like she fit in with the other dragons. While Jacinda and her draki are one, Jacinda's mom didn't feel such a bond with her draki. A piece of soul, trapped in a reluctant body. So, Tamra and their mom, put their own wishes ahead of Jacinda's, and moved to a desert in hopes Jacinda's draki would wither and die. Throughout the whole novel, the duo consistently ignore Jacinda's pleads and complaints, and instead feeds her with phrases like, "it's for your own good" and so on. Their obtuse minds made them annoying to read about.

It followed the basic plot line I mapped out in the first paragraph, up until the ending. The ending was abrupt, rushed, and as unsatisfactory as getting only a pair of socks for Christmas. I'll put it this way. This book was like a struggling hike up a steep mountain. The trek up the side was more or less uninteresting and at times I did think about giving up, yet my eyes were set on the climax, the most exciting and rewarding part of the journey. Then without warning, it's as if I was kicked down the mountain in an accelerated tumble. The climax was basically the ending of the book. The ending was a huge cliffhanger, one that posed a lot of unanswered questions, one that was conducted poorly. Actually, after reading the ending, I seriously thought that the ARC I read was unfinished somehow. I couldn't believe it was the ending. It was so sudden that I thought a chunk of the ending must've fallen out or something. Normally, cliffhangers make me extremely eager to read the sequel, but in this case, the ending was so shockingly annoying, that all curiosity was sucked out of me.

I really had hopes for this book. Draki were new to me, alluring even. I wanted to know so much more about them. Jordan lacked information about them, the bits that I craved most. The one aspect that was new to YA bookshelves, the author didn't describe as much. Instead, this book was stuffed with a cheesy relationship that failed to touch my heart. I don't doubt that other teen girls will be thrilled with this Twilight-esque novel, this one just didn't impress me. There have been mixed reviews on this novel, and I believe that it does some-what deserve to be checked out. I would probably read the sequel, just for the sake of it and in hope that it would improve.

Cover: 2/5- I'm not the biggest fan of the cover. The close-up girl doesn't appeal to me. Personally, I think it gives it a bit of a more tacky look. Though I like the fire-y gold colors, this cover isn't special from other ones on the shelves.

Rating:

2 Hoots

To view Okapi's review of Firelight, CLICK HERE

Wake Series by Lisa McMann - Mini Reviews

Series: Wake Trilogy
Author: Lisa McMann
Genre: Paranormal

Target Audience: Teen Girls (For mature readers - books contain adult themes and coarse language)

Number of Pages: Hardcover- each around 240-270 pages

Book 1 - Wake

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

Wake is an exhilarating, quick read . Though the beginning is kind of slow, the suspense soon gains momentum. Told in minimalistic, short sequences, Wake is a short novel that took me less than a seating to finish. At first, I really disliked Wake because the choppy writing style irritated me. However, as the book progressed, the style became one of my favorite aspects. McMann is one of the first authors I have seen that uses jerky prose; full of fragments, it's clean and concise. Though it takes some time getting used to, Her abrupt writing gives Wake a surreal, almost dreamlike tone. 

The main character Janie is overall, very likable. She's flawed and human, though her values could be developed a little more, and the relationship with her mother a little more stressed upon. The dreams in Wake are not very realistic, even for dreams. Dreams are usually nonsensical, musings of one's subconscious, but the dreams in Wake always have a certain logic to them. The random aspect of dreams is completely shrouded by frank scenes that completely reveal the dreamer's character.

This otherwise swell story is mediocrely executed, since at the times, the pacing of the plot is off. After a slow beginning, Wake quickly gains momentum, then drives over the speed limit to form a slightly shabby ending. McMann introduces the main conflict too late, and the climax failed to excite me, since the plot lacked mounting suspense.

Despite the plot pacing problems, McMann wrote an addicting novel that promises outstanding sequels. I was torn between awarding it four hoots and three and a half hoots.

Rating:

3.5 hoots

 

Book 2 - Fade

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck. Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open--but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability. And it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared...

Dark and raw, Fade is a lot more suspenseful, intense, and scary than Wake. Fans of the previous book may be disturbed by sequel. The horrific nightmares in Fade will linger with readers long after they turn the last page, especially since these menaces exist in the real world. The police department assigns Janie and Cabel a mission: to uncover the twisted, sick sexual predators who are hunting at the local high school. Infused with creepiness and perverted teachers, this book sheds the dreamlike, teen angsty qualities of Wake and morphs into a dark thriller.

Fade is more plot driven than character driven, and sometimes I missed the character interaction I saw in Wake. The character of Shay, a girl who claims to still like Cabel, has been completely obliterated, and I was looking forward to seeing her; Carrie, Janie's alleged best friend, is absent throughout the majority of this novel. However, Janie and Cable's relationship continues to unfold, and readers will get a deeper look into Janie's personality.

Like it's predecessor, Fade's fragmented writing cleanly captures action and emotions without the stuffy details. McMann's writing continues to improve, and she's well on her way to developing a potentially beautiful style. Fade contains mounting suspense, and near the climax, I perched upon the edge of my seat, nearly hyperventilating as I rooted and feared for Janie. When Janie's dreamcatcher fate was finally revealed, my jaw dropped in horror, and I found myself yearning for the next book.

Rating:
4 hoots

Book 3 - Gone 

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she'd made her peace with it. But she can't handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He's amazing. And she's a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves--she has to disappear. And it's going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she'd ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out...


After the success of its predecessors, including the unbearable suspense in Fade, I expected a thrilling novel that brilliantly concludes the Wake series, something that could maybe top 4 hoots. Alas, Gone is a giant letdown that fills me with disappointment.

The entire book involves Janie debating her life, and her thoughts get repetitive very quickly. I'm not a fan of her fights with Cabel, since his absences began to increase, and their interesting relationship is part of what makes the series compelling. Without Cabel, the novel's barely sufficient plot failed to seize my attention, and I barely endured a trudge through Janie's endless monologues about the sinking ship of her life. Her sparse interaction with other characters left me bored and wanting more. One good thing about all her thinking is that Janie develops as a person, becoming a lot more likable at the end.

The strong morals, messages, and Janie's decisions hold immense meaning, though they are not effective, since I found myself not caring about the book anymore after I discovered the lack of plot. This book involves Janie sorting out her life and lacks the action and suspense I found in Fade. While this is not a bad thing, Gone is an overload of musings, and it could have been seamlessly incorporated into Wake and Fade, turning the trilogy into only two books and making the series a much more engrossing experience.

Rating:

2 hoots

Covers: 3/5 - My favorite is the cover for Wake; it's simple, haunting, and relevant to the story. The covers for Fade and Gone are average and not my favorites. Overall, I enjoy the theme of a dark background and a lighted up object, since it captures the overall, mysterious essence of the story. The placement of the title is very bold, and I love how it looks as though it's evaporating in Fade and Gone.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Hush, Hush
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Genre: Paranormal romance
Target Audience: Teen girls
Length: Hardcover - 291 pages


For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. 

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life. - Summary from Goodreads

After the endless hype, I expected Hush, Hush to be phenomenal. Lured by the beautiful, haunting cover art, I snagged this book with promise in my heart. Unfortunately, this paranormal romance only wasted my time, and left me feeling disappointed and annoyed. Throughout the novel, I noticed strong similarities to Twilight: the two main characters meet in biology (what's so romantic about biology, anyway? The bonding activity of dissecting an onion?), the klutzy girl falls in love with a dangerous angel/vampire, and paranormal forces won't let them be together. However, Hush, Hush is nothing more than a watered down, annoying version of Twilight, and I'm not even a fan of Twilight in the first place.

The romance between Patch and Nora is flat and unconvincing. Though Patch claims to be in love with Nora, it's hard to believe it when he sexually harasses her, frequently makes her feel uncomfortable, and even downright asks if she sleeps naked. His behavior displays lust, not love. Nora makes their relationship even more unbelievable by foolishly running into Patch's arms; she doesn't trust him, knows he's dangerous, and is very suspicious of him, yet she continues to “love” him. It is impossible to follow and root for their relationship when it's based off lust instead of love. The author tries to portray Patch as a bad boy, though I only see him as annoying and arrogant. Under different circumstances, Patch could be a strong, excellently sly character, but the author proudly brandishes him using the wrong plot.

The storyline centers around Patch and Nora's flimsy romance, with a few lazy side plots thrown in at seemingly last minute. Instead of building suspense and mystery, the obscure bandit plot line is weak and concluded poorly, featuring a handful of the least menacing villains I have ever read about. Also, what worsens the plot even further is that two-thirds of the book feature Nora pondering over Patch, musing her suspicions that something about him is awry, and leading investigations, while readers know all along that he is an angel. This slows down the book considerably. Saturated with unfulfilled potential, this book wastes too much time showing Nora brooding over Patch, while it could have featured more paranormal elements – the whole fallen angel concept is fascinating. When the author finally chooses to reveal Patch's true identity, she does so brashly and does not bother to explain the heaps of angel lore she includes, leaving me confused and unsuccessfully attempting to puzzle the pieces together myself.

Though I really wanted to like this book, it was very hard for me to, and in the end, I was nothing more than mildly entertained. I'll probably read Crescendo when it releases, only because Hush, Hush contains unused potential that could possibly be fulfilled in its sequel. Though many people will adore this book, it left a bad impression upon me.

Cover: 4.5/5 – This cover is haunting, eye catching, and (falsely) promises a mysterious paranormal romance.

Rating:

2 hoots

Source: Local library