Tag: dragons

REVIEW: Darkness of Dragons by Tui T. Sutherland

REVIEW: Darkness of Dragons by Tui T. Sutherland

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Darkstalker is everything Qibli feared. Only an animus-spelled earring keeps him safe from Darkstalker’s manipulative magic. Winter accepts Darkstalker’s charm at face value. Moon is Darkstalker’s friend.  Turtle is in Darkstalker’s dungeon, and Kinkajou is protected but can’t stop Darkstalker alone.

How can dragonets with no magic defeat the invulnerable Darkstalker? If only Qibli had magic! He would do the magic the right way. He’d protect Queen Thorn and be so successful his family would HAVE to love him. He could even use his magic to make sure other dragons liked him.

With the Nightwings growing more powerful because of Darkstalker’s magic, the Jade Mountain dragonets may be powerless to stop the coming destruction. Can Qibli get the magic he’s sure would save the day? Or is he destined to play a different role in this prophecy?

Review

This is book 5 in the second set of books in the Wings of Fire series – and it is terrific! I LOVED Qibli’s story. It made me appreciate his character even more than I did from the first four books in the set. Qibli’s story is one of identity – a theme I love. Qibli is longing to make a difference – to prove to his family that he has value. The love of his friends and his queen is not enough to fill the hole inside him. This leads to all of his internal wrestling over magic.

There’s a ton of action in this story with Qibli’s backstory, Turtle’s rescue, and the prophecy finale. All of it is fascinating. The author has announced another five book set, which will pick up where this one left off. I am thrilled! I still remember when I first discovered this series, and it has gotten better with each subsequent book!

There were interesting tidbits in the epilogue regarding the five main dragons from this series as well as some of the other major characters. A satisfying conclusion to this story arc. There’s a new graphic novel of the first book in the whole series – The Dragonet Prophecy. I highly recommend this series for middle grade readers!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Temptation of Dragons by Chrys Cymri

REVIEW: The Temptation of Dragons by Chrys Cymri

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

On the way home one night, a priest passes by the scene of a car accident. No one is hurt, so she continues on. Shortly thereafter, she comes across a body. A dragon, clinging to life. “Father Penny” administers last rites, heads home, and resolves to reconsider her drinking habits. She’s obviously hallucinating.

Except she’s not. Penny is a rare human who has encountered a creature from Lloegyr, the equivalent of England in a parallel world where dragons, vampires, elves and such exist. With her love of Dr. Who and enough familiarity with Buffy the Vampire Slayer to fill her 55,000 word Master’s thesis, Penny is the perfect choice to be Vicar of General Incursions. Serving as Vicar means Penny would work with the church leadership of both worlds on instances where creatures from either side ended up in the other and problems ensued.

One of the first problems Father Penny has to address is her dead dragon, who appears to have died from poison rather than the car accident.

Review

I agreed to review this at the request of the author who provided an electronic review copy in exchange for an honest review. I rarely agree to such requests, but I enjoy fantasy stories and dragons and such, so I said I would give it a try. The book was a pleasant surprise!

This was so fun to read. The pop culture references were enjoyable and the characters were fascinating. I loved Father Penny. While my faith didn’t line up all the time with the book, I found the faith pieces genuine and moving. Penny is honest and earnest about the challenges and blessings in her calling. The other major characters are terrific – the humans, dragons, gryphons, and “snail sharks” (Clyde, the baby snail shark, is adorable in so many ways – and terrifying in others).

The story was delightfully layered. There was the human layer of Penny and her brother and their grief over Penny’s husband. Then there was the layer of world building for the fantasy characters/lands. Romance – or potential romance – creates another layer. And finally, there is the poison/murder plot layer. Each part was nuanced and enjoyable. I’m so glad I had the chance to read this! I’m looking forward to checking out the other two books in the series.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Talons of Power by Tui T. Sutherland

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Wings of Fire, book 9. Darkstalker, released from his 2000 year captivity, seems like a really nice dragon. Humongous and powerful, sure. But also charming, and exceedingly helpful. Maybe he’s just misunderstood….

But Turtle doesn’t think so. He senses something is just not right. If he can keep himself hidden, safe in the background, maybe he can discover the truth. And if necessary, maybe he can save the day…. But Turtle knows he’s no hero. He has failed too many times. But what if he’s the only one with any chance to make a difference?

Review

I can’t stop thinking about this one. So many things were revealed and so many new questions were raised. Major cliffhangers at the end! Wow. This was excellent!

I have loved this series since book 1. Discovered it one year during book fair while I was teaching, I couldn’t stop talking about it. When I go back and re-read, book one is actually the “weakest” book in the series for me. They just get better and better. In fact, I am enjoying this second five-book arc even more than I loved the first five.

I re-read the first three in this arc before starting Talons of Power. I’m so glad I did because it affirmed for me how much I wanted to know Turtle’s story. His character starts the arc in the background, quiet and mysterious and unassuming. Which made me curious. He’s such a great part of Escaping Peril, I was thrilled to be able to go from that story right into this one. If I had to do it all over again, I would have also re-read the “legends” book Darkstalker since he is such a major part of this story.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

If you haven’t read these before, start with The Dragonet Prophecy. These are best read in order.