Wishlist: FIRELIGHT

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Genre: urban fantasy, YA

Publication Date: 7 September 2010

About Firelight:

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.

Review: SECRET SPEAKERS by KSR Kingworth

SECRET SPEAKERS And The Search For Selador's Gate by KSR Kingworth

About Secret Speakers:

Thirteen year-old Fair O'Nelli has spent the last nine years of her life living in a cellar. She knows her father and brother are missing, or possibly dead. Set free on her day of maidenhood when it's safe to be seen, Fair sets off in the company of three guardians to find Selador's Gate. Along the way she discovers a dark secret the parents of Cloven Grave know nothing about, where the key to survival is learning to see things as they are.

Source: Info in the About Secret Speakers was taken from the back of the book.

Review:
I suggest that you do not read the prologue at the start because it is strongly suggestive of "Tolkien immitation" and as such, like most immitations, does not really come to par to the original. This is not true. Yes, the book is Tolkien-nish, and it is not a masterpiece... but it holds it's own charm :) Let the story tell you about the world of Fair. I think, reading the prologue diminished my reading enjoyment of this book as I automatically jumped to conclusions with... the prologue screamed "Tolkien immitation"!

If you are looking for a masterpiece, academically correct book, this is not for you. If you are looking for an enjoyable read, pick this one up. Fans of Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series and Joseph Delaney's Spook series will probably like this book!

Book Link(s):
www.secretspeakers.com

Buy Link:

Review: WINTERCRAFT by Jenna Burtenshaw

Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

Genre: fantasy, YA

About Wintercraft:

Ten years ago Kate Winters' parents were taken by the High Council's wardens to help with the country's war effort.

Now the wardens are back...and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane – the High Council's most feared man – recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council's experiments into the veil, and he's convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace.

The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft – a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft...

Source: Info in the About Wintercraft was taken from the book's official website at http://www.wintercraft.co.uk/ on 17/04/2010.

Review:
My advise is, do not read the caption at the back of the book! It's misleading!!

This book was a slow starter for me but it picked up around about chapter three or so. I would say this book has a moderate pace. The best thing about the book that I liked best is the character development. Ms. Burtenshaw paints us characters so vivid that they feel like people I could touch and talk with. Characters I relate with. The thing I didn't like about this book is that the main female protagonist is kind of stupid and gullible. It's so flippin' obvious but she just doesn't get it! It's irritating to read at times. This looks to me like an obvious attempt by the author to create a dilemma for the story so that the heroes could save the world. *sigh* Story telling quality? A 3 out of 5. The ending closed the book nicely while pointing to the next book in the series without being a cliffhanger. A 4 out of 5.

I enjoyed this book, stupid protagonist and all. And would give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Book Link(s):
www.wintercraft.co.uk