The Firelight of Maalda by Melissa Douthit

The Firelight of Maalda by Melissa Douthit

Release Date: January 8, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: The Legend of the Raie'Chaelia, Book 2
Rating: MG/YA 12+
Format: eBook
Source: From Virtual Author Blog Tours for blog tour
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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.

I enjoyed the first book, The Raie'Chaelia, but since I'd read that a while ago, it's quite hard to place what happened before The Firelight of Maalda. I recognized most of the characters and sure enough, the story assumed its natural pace. I really liked this one. I liked the first book better, but this was a really great follow up!


What I really like about these books is the amount of fantasy. It reminds me of (and I know I said this in the review of the first book) childhood fantasy stories, like C.S. Lewis. Completely magical, and the Douthit has really created a fantastic world. You don't see that too much in YA these days.
The romance in this book has improved since the last one! Chalice and Jeremiah develop even more from the first book, and I found it really sweet and not-rushed-into at all. The action and thrill of what's to happen next is really amazing too. I had to keep reading to find out what happens next.


The character's still mainly have the same personalities as before (although they have, obviously, gained new knowledge etc.) and of course, I love the adorable BUNEJAB!! Love that little guy. He never ceases to make me 'awww'.
The only problem I had with this book was the consistency of the time period. From the sound of it, people don't have technology, so it's pretty 'medieval' almost, or at least quite old. Some of the things mentioned in the book were pretty modern, like the use of the word "dating". I'm pretty sure they wouldn't (a) go around dating people like they do now days and (b) call it dating. I don't know, obviously it's the author's world, so if it's a mix of modern and old, so be it.


Overall, I found that the story was great, except I would have liked it better if I could remember what had happened previously :P. Lovers of fantasy, with plenty of action, suspense and of course, the blooming romance, will definitely need to pick this one up. A great follow-up from the first book, this one will leave readers hanging on for more. Looking forward to reading book 3!

**Thank you so much to Melissa Douthit and Teddy Rose of Virtual Author Blog Tours for contacting me to be apart of this blog tour!**