I expect the rest of the series to pick up in tempo, and think it's a good quick young adult book. The world of Firebolt is obviously well thought out by the author, and I think that Woods just needed to get part way through the book to where she could actually being to weave the story.

Instead it's a creeper, it continues to grow on you. In short, this isn't a book I came away gushing about the second I put it down. I can already see the set up for the next novel, but I'm excited to see if my guesses come to pass, and the explanation behind them. Prophecies can be so powerful in writing, and I for one was glad how Elena handled this aspect of the novel. The most interesting part about all of plot of this novel to me is the prophecies. I stayed for a character who I could understand. She got upset mere moments after being happy. Elena did try to push through the pain as I expected, but she cried. I was so incredibly nervous, after all to those of us who've lost someone integral in our lives, reading about loss from a character who obviously doesn't understand what they're supposed to be feeling is the worst. However, what probably kept me reading was the way Elena coped with her loss. This could also be seen in some of the pacing, we spent quite a bit of time learning and the action was packed into the very front and tail end of the novel. Which isn't my favorite way of learning in books, too often it was a 'Donnatella' (probably not the post for West Wing references, oops). There is just so much that Elena doesn't know, which helps the audience learn with her. So I will let that also speak to how the book gets better the further you get. Yet with a book I'd just contemplated putting off for another night, I ended up finishing it within hours. It is definitely a young adult book, focusing around school and relationships. I enjoyed learning more about the world, and characters. Firebolt does it's best to put you in the middle of action as it begins, however compared to the rest of the novel, the first chapter seems a little flat. However, I was in a weird mood and decided to just keep reading, and I'm glad I did. Probably not as a DNF, I loath not finishing books even if I dislike them. I got about six or seven pages into this book and fully contemplated putting it back. And while they don't always give the best insights to the true worth of a book, sometimes they are. Sometimes I let myself break the old adage, 'don't judge a book by its cover' because sometimes there are really neat covers.

Firebolt by adrienne woods