Book Trailers: Hidden, Ten, & an inside look at Breathe!

Two awesome trailers hit the web today! And down below, get an insider look at Breathe from author Sarah Crossan!

Hidden by Sophie Jordan


Ten by Gretchen McNeil


Sarah Crossan talks about her debut, Breathe!


All of these are out soon...are you planning to read them??

Amy's View: Vanish & early review of Hidden by Sophie Jordan

Vanish by Sophie Jordan
release date: September 6th, 2011
hardcover, 294 pages
intended audience: Young adult

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?

Hidden by Sophie Jordan

release date: September 11, 2012
hardcover, 272 pages
intended audience: Young adult

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....

 
Series: Firelight Trilogy

Publisher: HarperTeen
Reviewer: Amy

Becky's view on Firelight, book 1

Spoiler warning! Descriptions and review may have slight spoilers for Firelight, book 1.

Review:  I have decided to review both Vanish and Hidden together since I believe they were meant to be together. I feel like a magic book-splitting wand was waved and one potentially long book was made into two.  Hidden starts right where Vanish ends.  There is no recap in the beginning for anyone like me who reads so many books; I get a little confused and I sometimes need a bit of a refresher.  So I would suggest if you haven't read Vanish yet, wait until Hidden comes out (9/2012) and read them together.  On a bright note, these both don't disappoint from the first book Firelight. The author does a great job capturing you right away into the book and keeps your continual attention throughout. There isn't a lull in the book to be found. To tell you the truth I read both books in a matter of 3 days. Hidden in just one! I loved the fact that they were truly written for the young adult reader in mind. This book you can give to any junior high girl with no worries. And if you have read my reviews before I do truly appreciate a young adult book written for its target audience. And as a parent and an aunt that is always looking for an age appropriate book to give as a gift, these books hit the mark.

Vanish starts off right where Firelight ended. Jacinda is in even more hot water after exposing herself to her human love, Will, and she faces a shocking punishment for putting the tribe in danger. Vanish takes its time, building up and weaving in so many directions, your heart can't help but feel for Jacinda. Her love is torn in so many directions you don't know how she can possibly make a decision. And it's not just a decision of love, but which life she loves more. Does she choose to follow her duty to the tribe and her family and everything she holds dear and keep alive who she really is, a draki? What about her sister? What will they do to Tamra if she leaves? What about the draki Cassian can he fill her heart with enough love to stay? And then there is Will, the human boy who she casts everything aside for, threatening the life and safety of her whole tribe for a boy born to a family of Draki-hunters. How can she choose when her heart is split between duty and love?

Hidden continues on basically the next line where Vanish left off. It makes for a great continuation so I'm glad I read these books together. And don't fear, Hidden has almost more adventure thrown in it than Vanish did, as Jacinda's consequences for her decisions come to haunt her. This book not only throws you right into an action-packed mission but also has the undertone of Jacinda's heart-breaking decision. It is the ultimate battle of duty vs love. Jacinda has to make a choice of sacrificing her true love, Will, once again for the duty of freeing the draki she got captured. But her ultimate challenge is learning how to free herself. Throughout the whole book you find yourself routing for Jacinda---and at some points just routing for her to make a decision. A heart torn in two ways can only lead to despair. I can't go too much into Hidden without giving the plot away however it is filled with amazing adventure, heart wrenching love and of course a little bit of betrayal. This trilogy definitely doesn't disappoint. It will fill the adventure side, the love side and if you love dragons it will satisfy that part of you, too.

So I give both books 4 cupcakes, all red velvet with cream cheese frosting. No filling because these book were an easy, fast read. Add a few shimmering sprinkles on top and you have a Firelight cupcake.

Visit Sophie Jordan: Website  •  Facebook  •  Twitter

Purchase The Firelight series:  Amazon   •   BN.com   •   BookDepository   •   Indiebound

Vanish Trailer:

Review: Firelight

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: September 7th, 2010

hardcover, 336 pages

intended audience: Young adult

source: provided by publisher for review

rating:


Synopsis:

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.

Review: As someone who's read fantasy stories all my life, I wondered where all the dragons had gone. Wondered when we would start seeing them pop up again in the YA fantasy genre. I love dragons, have always loved them! Usually we see them in fantasy as the supporting characters, or the beast who carries the hero off to his various victories. Sophie Jordan has given them the starring spotlight they deserve with the start of her Draki series.

This was an amazing read, and despite the fact that I would have loved to see the story delve more into the actual lore of the dragon and how the Draki came to be, it was beautifully written. I would love to see this one go to the big screen---the first scene alone would be more than worth it: the gorgeous sunrise, the main character, Jacinda's manifestation into her dragon form, two dragons forbidden flight through the skies, and finally the appearance of danger on the horizon. It would a breathtaking opening to a movie! But as a book, by the third page, my imagination was just soaring.

The family thread of this story had my emotions in a whirlwind. Each member of Jacinda's family had their own side of the story and I literally could not take a side. Jacinda was treated differently among the Draki tribe because she was the only fire-breather in 400 years. She was being matched with the leader of the tribe to make the tribe stronger and while she didn't hate him, they had been friends their whole lives, she resented being forced into it. So when she gets into trouble for breaking a "sacred tenet" and is about to be horribly punished (details aren't given on what that punishment entails until later in the story), her mother sneaks Jucinda and her sister away in the middle of the night. Jucinda's sister, Tamra, is ecstatic at this move. She never manifested and so she was treated like an outcast among the Draki tribe. I completely understood Jucinda's mother's actions and Tamra's eagerness to start fresh somewhere else. While Jucinda is a little relieved to not be under so much pressure and expectation as she was in the tribe, she cannot see how she can be herself anywhere else. She is even more devastated by the fact that her mother intentionally moves them to a dry hot desert, a place that she knows will kill off the Draki in Jucinda. Despite the danger it puts them in, she is not ready to let her Draki side die, it is part of who she is. While I can see each of their sides, the way each acts on her feelings is pretty extreme and not just a little selfish! It doesn't make the story bad, it adds conflict and they definitely have some room for emotional growth throughout the series! I flip-flopped between being sympathetic to and angry with all three of these characters in turn--it made for a good emotional read!

The love story was a very original take on the classic Romeo and Juliet theme: their families are enemies, or in this case, the hunter and the hunted. Will is at odds with his family's "business" of hunting dragons. Still, Jacinda takes a great risk in being around him despite the fact that she knows what he is. She is drawn to him because of their first mysterious meeting and I thought the whole dragon-thing made an excellent metaphor for falling in love for the first time. The whole idea that being near him made her Draki side come alive to the point that she would almost manifest into a dragon every time they kissed gave their relationship a lot of intensity. While I don't want to give too much away, I will say that I found the "big moment" where she opens up to him so incredibly...sweet. :)

Definitely get your hands on a copy of this one and enjoy!

Visit Sophie Jordan's website HERE.

Order Firelight:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Book Depository