Review: Firelight

 Firelight (Firelight, #1) by Sophie Jordan
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Format: Audiobook
Narrator(s): Therese Plummer
Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
Source: Audible
Amazon | Goodreads
★★★★★

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.

In the beginning, I did not like this book. The idea of Draki was not attractive whatsoever to me and I found the narrator to be extremely annoying. After getting past the narrator and learning more about the Draki, this has become one of my favorite books!

Firelight was a refreshing and highly original read! The characters, especially Will, Jacinda, and Tamara, were beautifully written and realistic. The way that Jordan writes emotion is fantastic. If you are looking for some really great kissing scenes, look no further! Firelight has it all: mystery, intrigue, family, forbidden romance, and adventure. I’m hooked to this series! The end of Firelight was well written and VERY heart-wrenching. Talk about a cliffhanger! Jordan sure knows how to guarantee I’ll come back to read Vanish.

Unfortunately, this is one of those rare cases where I would recommend reading the book vs. listening to the audiobook. It was really hard for me to adjust to Therese Plummer’s voice. I’m not sure exactly why I was so put off by it. She was really wonderful at embracing the emotion of the characters, but she was inconsistent. All the male voices she did sounded the same to me. This made it very hard to keep track of who was talking at a particular time.

Overall, I loved this book! I would definitely recommend this to fans of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Check this out if you are looking for a refreshing twist on shapeshifter lore.