Tag: dragons

Book Review: Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 503 pages
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Knopf Books
Release Date: June 1st, 2005
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One boy…
One dragon…
A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.

Thank you to GetUnderlined for a gifted copy!

I FINALLY READ IT!

In the window of my reading life this one slipped through the cracks and I have finally swung back around to read it, and I liked it a lot! Enough to definitely continue the series.

It had that nostalgic YA fantasy vibe for me with the chosen one, dragons, a big adventure and even bigger evil. I liked Eragon’s passion and seeing his growth over the course of the book. His connection with Saphira is awesome and I liked seeing their friendship grow. There’s some good side characters that help Eragon along his way and intense battles that will have you wondering who will surivie.

I’m curious as to where this series will go!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: A City of Flames (A City of Flames #1) by Rina Vasquez

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Rina Vasquez
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 31st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nara desires justice for her father’s murder; hunting dragons might bring her peace

Or pain as she learns the ugly truth.

When a fire dragon attacks her village, the perfect opportunity to take revenge on the creatures that killed her father arises. But the dragon she’s intent to capture seems fascinated by Nara, a detail not missed by those around her. The strange event leads to an invitation to join the venators—the order of people who slay dangerous magical creatures—like her father before her.

The offer is a dream come true.

After all, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to destroy the cruel, dangerous creatures that enslaved humans for thousands of years up until three centuries ago? But Nara is about to learn a dangerous secret; history is written by the winner. Those she hunts might not be her enemies, and those she thinks she can trust might just want to kill her.

CAN’T WAIT FOR BOOK TWO.

I randomly found this scrolling reels one evening and immediately downloaded it to start reading. And I was not disappointed. Bring on all of the dragon shifter romances.

Nara is a great FMC. I loved her tenacity and strength and how she was open to her world view changing as she learned new facts. Nara was easy to root for and I look forward to seeing her character arc in the next book.

I adored the snarky banter and light enemies to lovers vibe in the romance. There’s a bit of a love triangle that didn’t phase me much too. It all worked well into the plot and the reveals at the end lined up in a way that has me anxious to read the next book. I looooved that this was slow burn and not a rush to get to the spice just because. Showing that build in the relationship and actually giving time to it has me all the more connected.

Looking forward to following this journey to the next book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: light
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle scenes, murder, weapons and creature violence

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Book Review: Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames #1) by Olivia Rose Darling

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 586 pages
Author: Olivia Rose Darling
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: November 19th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Princess. Prisoner. Runaway. Queen.
Elowen Atarah, Princess of Imirath, came into the world like a firestorm made flesh. A princess with a link to five dragons should have been a blessing to her kingdom, but her blessing became her curse. The little girl in shackles became a knife wielding woman with a thirst for retaliation.
Now, Queen of Aestilian, a secret kingdom she forged through strength and survival, Elowen needs a way to feed her rising population. She never thought she would have the force to take on Imirath, but when the snarky Commander Cayden Veles of Vareveth, her father’s enemy kingdom, offers her a deal she’s been dreaming of for years, how can she not take it? Even if he ignites her temper like no other, nothing unites two begrudging allies more than a common enemy.
The pair of them, along with three accomplices, will navigate their partnership, politics, and attempt to pull off the greatest heist their world has ever known. Five people, all united through revenge, will have to transcend the odds stacked against them and infiltrate “The Impenetrable Castle” if they want to reap their rewards before someone reaps their souls. Putting aside their differences to accomplish a common goal because everyone knows…vengeance is a promise signed in blood.

WHAT A DEBUT.

I have been waiting to get my hands on this book and it did not disappoint. I absolutely loved this.

For a book that does have a good bit of violence the romance was SOOOOFT. And I loved it!! It was this great contrast against the larger story. I loooved Cayden and his protective ways while always making sure Elowen saw her worth. Elowen was an amazing character on her own. I loved that she was infallible and demanded communication. She strove for support and the loyalty she has to revenge the wrongs done to her. Top notch chemistry between the them and an awesome storyline.

And I LOVED the friendships!! They added such depth to all of the characters and I loved how they worked together towards their goals. All the action and politicking, twists and turns. I did not want to put this down.

The dragons are a slow burn aspect on this one (but will be present in the next book much more!!). I look forward to seeing where this series goes.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 3-4 open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, battle and war themes, torture, mentions of sexual assault (recounted), torture, physical and weapons violence

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Book Review: Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Isabel Ibañez
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: May 31st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Eighteen-year-old Zarela Zalvidar is a talented flamenco dancer and daughter of the most famous Dragonador in Hispalia. People come for miles to see her father fight in their arena, which will one day be hers.

But disaster strikes during their five hundredth anniversary show, and in the carnage, Zarela’s father is horribly injured. Facing punishment from the Dragon Guild, Zarela must keep the arena—her ancestral home and inheritance —safe from their greedy hands. She has no choice but to take her father’s place as the next Dragonador. When the infuriatingly handsome dragon hunter, Arturo Díaz de Montserrat, withholds his help, she refuses to take no for an answer.

But even if he agrees, there’s someone out to ruin the Zalvidar family, and Zarela will have to do whatever it takes in order to prevent the Dragon Guild from taking away her birthright.

An ancient city plagued by dragons. A flamenco dancer determined to save her ancestral home. A dragon hunter refusing to teach her his ways. They don’t want each other, but they need each other, and without him her world will burn.

ALMOST FOUR STARS.

I was really on my way to super enjoying this. I LOVED the setting and cultural aspects. Easily one of my favorite parts of this book. I felt the world come alive with the language, food and cityscape descriptions. There was great writing involved in much of that and the audiobook helped create that tenfold.

Zarela was a main character who I liked as a YA heroine lead. She truly was just trying to do her best in a rough situation. I liked her tenacity to hold on to her family’s legacy and the willingness to learn new things and make tough choices to see everything through. The romance between her and Arturo had the best kind of banter. A bit of enemies to lovers that grew into something more. I do think the steam went a bit past YA levels, but it was still relatively low overall.

What threw me was the villain. I can get behind a lot of background antagonist stories. This one was fine, I’ve seen it before, but what got me was his obsession with claiming Zarela? I don’t want to spoil so I can’t really say much more, it just didn’t click for me.

I’d say this is a pretty solid fantasy for a standalone (which are hard for me to be pleased by). A fast paced read that covers a lot. I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention there’s DRAGONS and flamenco dancing. Lots of incredible things, just a few meh.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: brief/vague open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents, kidnapping, animal death and cruelty, murder, misogyny, grief/loss depiction

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