Firelight by Sophie Jordan

From Goodreads:

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.

This book is the first in a trilogy. All books are to be published in the fall. So, I will start out with my main complaint with this book... I have to wait until next year and the year after that to read more! I really enjoyed this book and it was an easy and fun YA PNR shifter read (heh, that was a mouthfull!). I really liked the main character, Jacinda, and the fact that she really does have more fire than what she breathes. Unfortunately, because she is such an unusual draki, it means that others that surround her want to control her for various reasons. The pack wants to create more like her, her betrothed wants to possess her, her mother wants to kill the draki inside of her so she won't be controlled by the pack she hates. Jacinda is torn between all of this trying to find a way to satisfy others while not being controlled by them. Thus, this is the first book in the trilogy. Of course there is much more to the story and some of it will have you worried about her choices as well as where the story head. That part, I will not spoil for you as it really keeps the story going.

My biggest frustration in this story was Jacinda's mother. The reasons of control were obvious to me in regards to the draki pack (not that I agreed with it) but her mother wanting to kill her draki was inexcusable to me. She believed she did it out of protection, but I suspect there were more selfish reasons involved. Plus, it was a rejection of who her daughter truly was inside. To do that to someone you care about is heartbreaking especially when she knew what it was doing to her. Jacinda had made it clear that to kill her draki was akin to killing her. So, to me, even under the guise of protecting her, making her something she wasn't WAS a rejection of Jacinda, herself.

I give this story 4 stars. I really could have been 5, but if you've read my blog you know how I hate cliffhangers. While this cliffhanger was tolerable, it still was one. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good YA PNR. Seriously, I think it was a great read.

Goodreads First Reads program supplied me with this ARC. I received no compensation for my review.