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Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 246
Summary: As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face…
When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building.
The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster.
Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet…
Thoughts: Wow!
I picked up Firespell for the Debut YA Author Challenge - and boy am I glad I did! I had heard of Chloe Neill's Adult Series, but nothing about them seemed to pique my interest. So I thought I'd test out her YA debut before I dove into the Chicagoland books.
Unlike a lot of YA out there right now, Firespell is based more around Lily and her new universe - rather than around her relationship with a boy. Although there is definantly a love interest (and I think I am right in foreseeing a future love triangle), her relationships with her BFF Scout and her absent parents take center stage.
Although I loved the universe and whatnot, what stole the show for me was Lily. She is insanely awesome - a sarcastic, sensitive, vegetarian, fashionista. If people call her a weirdo, she'll just role her eyes and make some fabulously insightful comment. And her banter with Scout made me laugh out loud countless times!
Scout was another great character - a punky, funny, wanna-be-politician. She talks tough but is an amazing softie. Lily and Scout make the perfect duo.
But gosh, there are so many mysteries left by the end of the book. And although we get a nicely wrapped up ending - no cliffhangers here - there are still so many things I want to know! I cannot wait for the next book... and the book after that.... and the book after that...
Bottom line? This book is a must for all readers! Especially if you liked Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires Series! (BTW, anyone who compares it to the HoN series is out of their mind - completely different!)
I did enjoy the story being more about Lily than about a romantic relationship. I get tired of the same ol' story over and over and I found Firespell to be different enough to keep me reading.
ReplyDeleteThis is NOTHING like the House of Night series! I haven't seen a comparison to that yet, but I agree with you 100% there!
@Cat - It really was very different from most YA books out there! And yeah, ppl have been comparing it to HoN... but they must have been reading a different book! Chloe Neill called it a mix of Harry Potter and Nancy Drew - which I thought was a lovely and fitting description. ♥
ReplyDeleteWow. Thanks for the review. I'll have to try to find this, it sounds really good. :)
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