Title: Firelight
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: September 2010
Classification: YA Book

Summary from Barnes and Noble:

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.

My thoughts:
I got hooked in the beginning part of this story because the setting was pretty and I loved this idea of dragons. It’s not everyday that an author does a book about a human who is also a dragon or draki as Jordan calls them in her book. The first 50 or so pages pulled me in with this great dragon backstory and meeting two hot guys. I must say that I had high hopes for the rest of the book since the beginning was so great. Let’s just say that the book hit a downward spiral in the middle of the book when the main character Jacinda could not for the life of her make up her mind! Honestly the girl went back and forth over one issue every 10 pages or so. Back and forth and back and forth (anyone else feel like we are at a tennis match)! I know the girl is only 16 but the drama involved in her decisions was a little bit much for even me. I thought the ending was pretty predictable after we got past the boring middle section of this book.
This book is the first in a series so we had to learn a lot of information about the characters and honestly I was looking for some more action scenes. I will be picking up the next book because I believe Jacinda did shine in the end and that her love interest (a dragon hunter named Will) was worth picking up the second book for. I will be interested in seeing how the second book pans out and if there is more action or if it is more of Jacinda just complaining and causing drama.

Overall I give this book 3.5 stars because I believe that if the second book has more action and a little bit better plot line then this will be a good series for everyone to get into. I guess I will just have to wait for book two to make my final decisions on this series.

Title: Hush, Hush
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publishing
Publication Date: October 2009
Classification: YA Book

Summary from Barnes and Noble:
For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Well I have to say first off I love this cover, have loved it ever since it first came out about a year ago. For some insane reason I never bothered to pick up this book until Barnes and Noble was offering up ARCs of Crescendo for a Sneak Peak. Well let me tell you I was missing out all this time!

This story is full of great characters that will suck you into the story line. All of the action and weird moments that Nora has will keep you guessing right up till the end of the book. I was slightly surprised but some of the events at the ending of this book. I feel a lot of books I can predict and with this one I got a few elements right but there was still an element of surprise there. For me any book where the ending surprises me is at least a good book in my opinion. Plus Patch is just swoon worthy! Dark and mysterious he is the classic bad boy but he has a great twist to his past and his story line.

I think this is a great start to a series and I can’t wait to dive into Crescendo!
Overall: 4.5 stars.

Title: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Series #3)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Publication Date: August 2010
Classification: YA Book

Summary from Barnes and Noble:
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

I thought the book started off pretty slow considering the action that was happening at the end of Catching Fire. This book is different from the first two books in the fact that Katniss doesn’t have to go to a Hunger Game this time around. The first half of the story is trying to tell you what happened when Katniss left the second Hunger Game that she was in. A lot of new characters are introduced without much explaination, especially after reading Catching Fire over a year ago. The beginning is just hype for the great battle with the Capitol that you know will happen later on. They make Katniss the Mockingjay and she is used against the Capitol to rile the Districts.
The second half of the book we finally get to the setting where Katniss is headed out with several people to go to the Capitol to kill Snow. Along the way there are many problems and many people are there with her one second and the next Collins just says well they blew up or they just stay behind to die. This leaves the reader with an aburpt shock that has you wondering at first if you missed some words. I know I personally went back to reread a few passages from time to time just to make sure the person was actually dead. By the time Gale and Katniss get near the main center of the Capitol it is all anticlimatic. There was no great battle afterall because Katniss gets knocked out and we don’t see any battle, we just see her wake up in the hospital after the battle. I thought this was a little boring, the whole time we are waiting for this big great battle and her killing Snow and it doesn’t happen. After this the story is wrapped up with a pretty little bow and you are just suppose to except that bow as the end. I felt that the ending was good and that Katniss did end up with the right guy but it was just a little too neat for me.
A good thing about this book is that I thought that the main message of this series is good. That war brings about great change but sometimes you lose some people along the way. People are forever changed from a war, even more so because these characters were in the war effort instead of on the sidelines.

I give this book 4 stars.