By: Sophie Jordan
Copy received from publisher for review
Summary (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.
My Review: I love dragons. I read and reread the part in Harry Potter where Harry has his miniature Hungarian Horntail by his bedside table. Never before had I so much jealousy for a fictional character.
Sophie Jordan puts a new spin on Draki that I can definitely appreciate for what it is. The story idea is imaginative and fresh. Besides a few things that didn't quite click with me, this book was well worth reading.
I was incredibly disappointed with the relationship that Jacinda had with her twin sister Tamra. I was able to understand the sister jealousy that Tamra had because Jacinda not only manifested, but into a coveted fire breather. However, I could not relate to the lengths and depths that Tamra took that jealousy. When Jacinda gets jumped in the bathroom, Tamra's reaction is that of anger. At Jacinda. I just didn't find it realistic.
Conversely, I found Jacinda's relationship with her mother very well done. Although, I think I had a different reaction that some teenage readers will. I'm going to side with Jacinda's mother on a lot of what she did. Basically, it goes like this. I'm a mother. If I were in Jacinda's mother's place, I would probably do the same thing that she did in taking Jacinda far away from the pride. She saw the pride as a threat to her daughter, and as an adult it was very clear to Jacinda's mother what was going on. And it's something that Jacinda probably has a hard time comprehending.
I am lukewarm on the Will/Jacinda relationship. I've mentioned before that I love the best friend love interest. I will invoke my many years of wisdom here (ha!) and tell you that love to me is more than a smoldering look across the room. I can see the need that Will fills for Jacinda, but at the same time, I can't help but feel like she is using him very badly. But, I found myself not caring so much what happened to him. Again, he just filled a need in the story, and I longed for him to do something to make me care about him.
Oh, and Xander. Call the cops on him for heavens sakes. What a total creeper. I hate harassers.
This was an enjoyable book that held my interest until the very end. I read it quickly and felt like the plot moved along very well, and I never felt like it dragged. However, it did have a cliffhanger ending that I didn't appreciate. But, some people love the suspense that comes with a cliffhanger. So, don't let that deter you.
I know there will be a lot of readers that will eat this book up. I will be interested to see where the rest of this series goes.
My Rating:
Profanity: Mild/Moderate
Sexuality: Mild/Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild
Violence: Moderate
Extras:
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