Review: The Firelight of Maalda by Melissa Douthit

Title: The Firelight of Maalda
Author: Melissa Douthit
Series: The Legend of the Raie'Chaelia
Publisher: Couronne Press
Publication Date: January 8, 2012
How Received: For Review
Rate: 5

Summary (as quoted from Amazon)
The Firelight of Maalda: A story that unites the real with the fantastical and turns science into magic …
Chalice and her group leave Barenthren to travel to Portalis. There she and her friends discover the beautiful city, its people, its history, and its secret that has been kept hidden for thousands of years. During their stay, they learn that Dar’Maalda has the Firestone and that he plans to use it.
What is the Firestone and what does Dar’Maalda plan to do with it? What are the Naezzi? What does the title, The Firelight of Maalda, really mean? And … what is the secret of Portalis, the secret that has been guarded so jealously for so long – so jealously, that many have given their lives to protect it?
In The Firelight of Maalda, the second novel of the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia, you find out. It is a tale of intrigue and wonder where two opposite worlds collide in an explosive journey that leads Chalice and her friends to the dark islands lurking just beyond the horizon of Ielieria, where the Firelight of Maalda sits … and waits.

My thoughts:
The Firelight of Maalda is one of the most entertaining, action packed, romantic novels I have read in ages. The story begins with our main characters, Chalice, Jeremiah, Ben, and Bunejab, and the rest of the survivors from Chainbridge, getting ready to leave the city of Barenthren and head to Portalis, where Chalice will be rightfully bestowed with the title of “Princess“. When they arrive in Portalis, the survivors go to be healed and Chalice and Jeremiah are separated from one another into separate sides of the city - Chalice on the royal Terravail side, and Jeremiah on the Naeon side. As she is learning to cope with the trials and nuances of being an Ielierian Princess and being pushed into “princess lessons”, Chalice is faced with new, distressing news : She must travel to Maalda and destroy a Firestone that holds the key to freeing the ancient people called Naezzi - for she is the only one who posses the dagger that is needed to destroy the Firestone. This mission leads her on an action filled adventure that holds danger, destruction, sacrifice, and hope. Chalice cracks me up - in most cases, I’m sure a girl would love to be a princess, but not our leading heroine. She hates the fact that everyone expects her to be docile, obedient, and to have ‘proper etiquette’ (meaning she isn’t supposed to say words like ‘dude’ or ‘cool’ - Can you imagine? ;)). I loved how she fought the princess image everyone had for her, and how she fought to end the prejudice between the Terravail and the Naeon. Her courage, loyalty, sassiness, sarcastic comments, and totally awesome fighting skills are amazing - she is definitely one of the best heroines I have ever read about - ever. Jeremiah is equally awesome, with his much needed level-headedness, super cool archery skills, and the love and loyalty he possesses for everyone he cares about. One of the very sweet and unique things about their romance is that Chalice and Jeremiah are literally one person : they cannot live without each other. When they are not together, it is very obvious that they are not complete - they need each other to live, to survive. (Talk about a hardcore romance, lol.) I was very happy to be reunited with Bunejab and Ben in this book : The little Chinuk and the old man had me smiling, laughing, and crying all together. Without Ben and Bunejab, there would definitely be a lack of humor and sense in the book! The way that The Firelight of Maalda is told is very unique; I have definitely never read books like the ones Melissa Douthit creates. Douthit blends action, adventure, romance, and heartbreak, all with a well written story, seamlessly -If you are looking for a high end book filled with all of the above plus an ending that will leave you breathless for the next installment, then I highly recommend picking up The Firelight of Maalda today!
5/5
~Moujnir