Firelight (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Firelight Kate Quealy-Gainer Jordan, Sophie . Firelight. HarperTeen, 2010. [336p]. ISBN 978-0-06-193508-4 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 9-12. As the only fire-breather to be born in hundreds of years, Jacinda is special even among her fellow draki (descendents of dragons who can shift between human and [End Page 78] dragon forms), and she has attracted the unwanted advances of her pride's future alpha male. When her continued refusal to be controlled by the pride's rule puts her life in danger, Jacinda must, along with her mother and twin sister, Tamra, flee into the mortal world, where she attempts to fit in as a normal high-school student. Soon, though, she finds herself dying a slow death as her draki essence slips away—until she meets Will, a gorgeous boy who may or may not want to kill her but whose presence nourishes Jacinda's draki self. When her pride finally tracks her down and Will reveals the full truth of who he is, Jacinda is forced to choose between the death of her lover and the death of her future. Although the book offers an interesting twist on the currently popular idea of love as a predatory relationship, the relatively formulaic story adheres to plenty of standard romance clichés, including the whispered warning from the doomed hero for our heroine to stay away. The more unusual elements, such as Jacinda's gift as a firebreather and Will's role as a tracker in a family of draki hunters, are underdeveloped, seemingly sacrificed for further back and forth love/ hate exchanges between Jacinda and Will. Fortunately, the pair has enough heat to carry most of the story, and their intensely sexy scenes together will leave romance readers fired up for the planned sequel. Copyright © 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois