Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Synopsis: To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone. Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

Review: I think I may have enjoyed this one more than the first. I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go and there were a few twists that I didn’t see coming. I thought, because of the cover, there would be more of a focus on Tamra in this one, but there wasn't. I’m not sure what to think of our main character Jacinda. While I really like her, I’m also frustrated with her. She sure makes some hasty decisions that end up causing a lot of problems, but deep down I think she’s just trying to do the right thing. Anyway, this story of course contains a love-triangle. I have to say, I am really torn on this one, I keep going back and forth, normally I can chose a “team” and stick with it. I really really like Cassian, I find myself leaning towards him, but then I really like Will and suspect that in the end Jacinda will end up with Will, so Cassian is there just to provide some nice tension. Which is probably why I don’t like love-triangles. I also like Tamra. I wish we could get to know her more, I don’t think her character is used enough. I want to see her happy. I think the last book I wanted Tamra and Cassian to somehow end up together, but, I don’t think Cassian deserves Tamra. She deserves to be someone’s first choice.

One thing that I’ve had a hard time doing is picturing these characters in their dragon forms. I keep picturing BIG dragons, but then the descriptions don’t make them out to be all that bigger than their human forms. I would love a sketch or something of what they look like so I could imagine it a little better.

The book ends on a pretty big cliff hanger and I’m excited for the next book, Hidden.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: September 2010
One Word Review: Good
Author Website: www.sophiejordan.net

First Line: “Gazing out at the quiet lake, I know the risk is worth it.”

GoodReads Synopsis: 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.

Kathy’s Review: Hmm, I’m wavering between a 3 and a 4 on this one. I got sucked in right from the start; the first part was kind of exciting and new. About halfway through I got a little…bored. Not sure if that’s the right word, I still liked the story and characters, but got a little restless with Jacinda wavering between Will being dangerous and needing to stay away and Will being her only hope and can’t keep herself away. I know on some level they are both drawn to each other and have very intense feelings. BUT, not only does it seem too fast, but also unsubstantiated. They hardly speak and yet are totally in love. I don’t know, I have a hard time believing in couples when there hasn’t been much interaction between them. I guess I don’t believe in the “love at first sight” myth. Having said that, I do like Will. I think he is a good leading man and I can see why she likes him right away. I also like Cassian, he has the whole Alpha Male thing going for him. The ending, if you can call it that, was a bit abrupt. I would have liked a little more things tied up. It left me hanging and wanting to get my hands on the next book…so I guess that’s a good thing. Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. The writing is well done and the characters are interesting, the story is original and I’m excited to see what happens next.

Bookworm Rating: 4

Reading Order:
Book One: Firelight
Book Two: Vanish
Book Three:

Teaser Tuesday: Firelight

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. It is open to anyone and is a fun way to get a taste of different books. The rules are simple and everyone is welcome to participate.

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page.
3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
4. Be careful NOT to include spoilers (you don’t want to ruin the book for others.)
5. Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to the TBR lists if they like your teaser.
6. After completing your post, return to Should Be Reading and add a link in their “comment” section.

Firelight
By Sophie Jordan
Page 161

“I can forget him. Turn off everything I’m feeling. I can. I will. He’s too dangerous for me to be around.”