Book Thoughts: Firelight

Title: Firelight
Author: Sophie Jordan
Series: Firelight #1

I shall begin by saying that I adore the cover of this book, because it is just gorgeous. But I shall move very quickly from the lovely cover into the equally lovely story within.

Dragons! There are dragons! Well, sort of. Technically they're draki, which are different from dragons. But still. Dragons make me happy. It's basically Forbidden Love, Draki Edition -- which has the potential to be boring and unoriginal, but it totally wasn't. Jacinda especially was such a relatable character. I just loved her. It was so hard watching her struggle to fit in, feeling like the outcast of her family...it was clearly fantasy, of course, but at the same time it was heartbreakingly real.

And then there's Will. I still can't decide quite what I think of him, but I think I like him. He certainly makes a good love interest for Jacinda. And Cassian and Xander are so easy to despise. I wish we had gotten to see more of Jacinda's best friends, Azure and Catherine, because they seem like great characters. We'll have to see what happens with that arc in book two!

Aaand the romance. My goodness. Mmm. Perhaps not the most realistic, but who cares? It was delightful to read about.

Firelight was not a perfect book. There were places where I just wanted Jacinda to shut up about Will and actually do something, and there were places where I was just confused. However, despite all that, I loved it, and I definitely think it's worth reading. Dragons and intrigue and danger and a literally sizzling romance...go read it now!

Book Thoughts: The Hobbit

Title: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

The first time I read The Hobbit, I was in... fifth grade I think? Maybe sixth? I was young. I loved it then because it was an adventure story and I loved the characters and I ate up anything to do with fantasy and adventures and elves and goblins and dwarves and all of that.

Rereading it as a college sophomore, I was still captivated by the adventure, but it meant so much more. I was processing it with a more adult mind, I was understanding things on a whole different level, I was appreciating the writing and the storytelling and not just the adventure of Mr. Bilbo Baggins -- but I still loved it. (Also, I like the writing style of this one way more than the actual LotR trilogy.)

It's hard to put into words what makes this such a fun story. Adventure, danger, dragons, dwarves, goblins, battles, yes; but also something about Bilbo's indignation about the whole thing and his reluctant but outstanding heroism. Bilbo Baggins is a character who makes me want to read more about him.