Rowena’s review of Vanish (Firelight, Book 2) by Sophie Jordan.

An Impossible Romance.
Bitter Rivalries.
Deadly Choices.

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.

This is the second book in the Firelight trilogy by Sophie Jordan and while I’m kind of wishing that I read the first book, I enjoyed reading this book. This book follows what happened in the first book which I’m guessing was quite a bit. The main character, Jacinda is a draki and draki’s are not to reveal themselves to anyone. They need to keep their secrets because there are hunters out there that would see all of the draki’s killed and Jacinda does the unthinkable. She falls in love with a draki.

So in the first book, twin sisters Jacinda and are whisked away from their homes to start somewhere fresh, away from the pride that they’ve known all their lives. Jacinda isn’t a real fan of the runaway deal because she was the pride and joy of the Pride. She’s a fire breather and she was a celebrity in their pride until her family stole away in the night. While she’s away from the pride, Jacinda does the unthinkable- she falls in love with the enemy. And just when you think she can’t do anything worst…she does. She reveals herself in her draki form to the very people who are hunting her, putting her and her pride in danger.

This book picks up when they’re back home with the pride and everyone knows of Jacinda’s shame. She’s fallen from the popular ranks to the lowly ranks and she has the piece of crap jobs and nobody really talks to her anymore. I felt really bad for Jacinda because she was shunned by the people who she used to love. She’s away from the boy she loves and she feels so very alone.

Getting to know Jacinda made for some interesting reading. She’s a teenager with a big heart and while she knows what and where her thoughts should be, she’s still young enough to rely heavily on where her heart is leading her…and her heart is leading her right to where she shouldn’t be going if she’s going to give living a life as part of the pride a go…but the heart wants what the heart wants and her heart wants Will.

Now, it was hard for me to be Team Will because I hadn’t read the first book but once Will was back in the picture, there was no denying the chemistry between him and Jacinda. The love they share is real and Jacinda is confused because while her heart wants Will, she can’t help but feel things for Cassian.

Of the two, right now my heart is with Cassian. The whole unrequited love thing that he’s got going on melts my insides and makes me want him to get his in the end. While I can’t be mad about Will, my gut is telling me that with Cassian, Jacinda can have the best of both worlds. The love of a man that truly loves her for who she is and not what she can bring to the pride. Cassian cares deeply for Jacinda and I’m digging him for her. I can’t help but wonder who’s team I would be on if I had read the first book (which I’m going to fix lickety split) but for right now, it’s Cassian. I want him to be the one she chooses to be with.

Lots of things pop off in this book and Jordan does a wonderful job of weaving it all together. The story is colorful and the characters leap right off the pages and I’m a fan. I can’t wait to read more. I definitely recommend this book to lovers of the YA genre and to lovers of paranormal stories. This is a great one. There were times when I wanted to give Jacinda a swift kick in the ass because of some of the decisions she made but for the most part, she was okay.

Grade: 4 out of 5.

This book is available from Harper Teen. You can buy it here or here in e-format.