Please feel free to take this review with some reservations because I'm pretty sure as a 40-something female I'm not the target reader. That said, I was disappointed in the large amount of time spent on the teenage love triangle and the comparatively small amount of time spent on the dragon explanation. I think it is intended as the first in a series, so perhaps some questions are intentionally left unanswered, but I think when you pick up a book with such great dragon cover art you should at least find out where the dragons come from! I found it repetitive, boring when the dragons were in human form, and disappointing overall.
I read the first 100 pages of this book and really did not enjoy it. I debated whether or not I should even write a review based on the first 100 pages, but that really does say something about the book, so I decided to give it shot. I just could not get into this story, the story was very bland and the characters very blah.
This story is told from two different perspectives. The first is that of Ember and Dante who are two dragon siblings who are supposed to infiltrate human society. The second of that is Garrett, a soldier in the Order of St. George who has spent his whole life hunting dragons. Ember and Dante are looking forward to a summer of playing on the beach and learning to blend with the other humans there, but the appearance of a rogue dragon throws all of those plans into disarray.
I was super excited to read this book and just so very very disappointed in the non-existent world-building and the very vanilla characters. You hear a little bit about the dragon colony that Ember and Dante are from, but most of their time is spent in modern day San Diego goofing off on the beach. Really not much world-building at all and very bland/boring settings.
Garretts parts of the story are pretty much military missions in a remote jungle. I am not a huge fan of reading about modern military exercises, so I really didnt enjoy these portions either. Again there wasnt any world-building here.
So, yeah, the story was pretty boring and the world-building non-existent. Kagawa usually has incredibly engaging characters in her stories, but none of the characters here really grabbed my attention. Ember is your typical slightly rebellious teenager who happens to be a dragon and wants to spend her summer as a beach bunny. There is nothing interesting about her (yeah she is a dragon but somehow she made even that seem boring). Dante is a like a slightly more mopey version of Ember. Garrett is your very typical military soldier type; yes he belongs to an ancient dragon slaying order of soldier...but there wasnt anything here to differentiate him from any other soldier type character I have read about a million times before.
I have always admired Kagawas ability to embrace both the darkness and light in a story; her stories usually have more edge because of this. They can be vicious but they can also be beautiful. None of this is present in this story; everything about it is bland and very vanilla. The story was a like a million other mediocre YA paranormal books I have read; I was so very sad.
Overall this is a bland and boring book with mediocre characters, no world building, and none of the usual edge Kagawas stories are known for. I do not recommend picking it up.
This story is told from two different perspectives. The first is that of Ember and Dante who are two dragon siblings who are supposed to infiltrate human society. The second of that is Garrett, a soldier in the Order of St. George who has spent his whole life hunting dragons. Ember and Dante are looking forward to a summer of playing on the beach and learning to blend with the other humans there, but the appearance of a rogue dragon throws all of those plans into disarray.
I was super excited to read this book and just so very very disappointed in the non-existent world-building and the very vanilla characters. You hear a little bit about the dragon colony that Ember and Dante are from, but most of their time is spent in modern day San Diego goofing off on the beach. Really not much world-building at all and very bland/boring settings.
Garretts parts of the story are pretty much military missions in a remote jungle. I am not a huge fan of reading about modern military exercises, so I really didnt enjoy these portions either. Again there wasnt any world-building here.
So, yeah, the story was pretty boring and the world-building non-existent. Kagawa usually has incredibly engaging characters in her stories, but none of the characters here really grabbed my attention. Ember is your typical slightly rebellious teenager who happens to be a dragon and wants to spend her summer as a beach bunny. There is nothing interesting about her (yeah she is a dragon but somehow she made even that seem boring). Dante is a like a slightly more mopey version of Ember. Garrett is your very typical military soldier type; yes he belongs to an ancient dragon slaying order of soldier...but there wasnt anything here to differentiate him from any other soldier type character I have read about a million times before.
I have always admired Kagawas ability to embrace both the darkness and light in a story; her stories usually have more edge because of this. They can be vicious but they can also be beautiful. None of this is present in this story; everything about it is bland and very vanilla. The story was a like a million other mediocre YA paranormal books I have read; I was so very sad.
Overall this is a bland and boring book with mediocre characters, no world building, and none of the usual edge Kagawas stories are known for. I do not recommend picking it up.
It's a dragon story and I like dragons so I enjoyed this tale. The author has created dragons who are shape changers and often appear as humans. There was a time when dragons were hunted until they nearly vanished. The Order of St. George, a group of dragon hunters that still exists, was responsible. Now the dragons of Talon can walk among humans, hiding from their enemies so their numbers have grown. The goal appears to take over the human world. Will they be able to do so?
In this book, the reader meets Ember and Dante Hill, brother and sister, the only known dragon pair so related. They are young dragons who live for a time as humans to learn how to act as them. It's understandable that Ember wants to live as a human teen, a freedom she will lose when she becomes part of Talon. Her brother is more serious and believes in Talon. He's not interested in playing human. Enter Garret St. James, hunter, has sworn to seek and destroy dragons, and wonders who Ember really is. Since her human desires and confidence pair with bravery he continually asks himself is she a dragon or just an ordinary human?
Riley, once a member of Talon, left because he thinks dragons and humans can live together in harmony. There is no need for dragons to dominate the world. Ember finds his view a real possiblilty contrary to what her brother thinks.
The romance and apparent conflicts between the three are all too obvious. Ember finds romance and the conflicts arise as the story unfolds. All characters have roles to play based on their training, backgrounds and experiences. Their interaction opens the eyes of all as they begin to understand more about themselves and the world in which they live. The next book, Rogue, should reveal more about Riley when this character takes more of a key role.
In this book, the reader meets Ember and Dante Hill, brother and sister, the only known dragon pair so related. They are young dragons who live for a time as humans to learn how to act as them. It's understandable that Ember wants to live as a human teen, a freedom she will lose when she becomes part of Talon. Her brother is more serious and believes in Talon. He's not interested in playing human. Enter Garret St. James, hunter, has sworn to seek and destroy dragons, and wonders who Ember really is. Since her human desires and confidence pair with bravery he continually asks himself is she a dragon or just an ordinary human?
Riley, once a member of Talon, left because he thinks dragons and humans can live together in harmony. There is no need for dragons to dominate the world. Ember finds his view a real possiblilty contrary to what her brother thinks.
The romance and apparent conflicts between the three are all too obvious. Ember finds romance and the conflicts arise as the story unfolds. All characters have roles to play based on their training, backgrounds and experiences. Their interaction opens the eyes of all as they begin to understand more about themselves and the world in which they live. The next book, Rogue, should reveal more about Riley when this character takes more of a key role.
MY THOUGHTS
Sigh. I'm very disappointed in this book.
I've given every Julie Kagawa book 5 stars. Her Blood of Eden series is the best vampire series I've ever read and I adore her Iron Fey series, so needless to say, I expected great things from this.
I should have known right off from the synopsis that this book would not be up to par as her other books. Yes, there's dragons, but what I get from the synopsis is that the book is about a dragon that can change into human form and a dragon hunter falling in love.
That's the book. It's the exact same plot as another book, Firelight, which I liked, but I'm not wild about. I admit, the fact that it's so similar to Firelight was a big reason why I had difficulty enjoying this book. I liked the world-building and I did find Talon and the Order interesting, and yeah, pretty much the plot was the main similarity between the two. I found everything else interesting.
The romance was what really caused me to distance myself. It was too insta-love for me and it took up too much of the book. I enjoy romance in book, but I prefer to hear about the dragons than the whole love-life. I also worry that the next book will introduce a love triangle.
IN CONCLUSION
I know I'm bashing on this, but I did like it. I loved the original ideas in this book, not so much on the plot. The romance of meh. I'm most disappointed because I had such high expectations.
If you enjoyed Firelight, you should read this book.
As for me, I will continue the series. Mostly because I am curious.
Sigh. I'm very disappointed in this book.
I've given every Julie Kagawa book 5 stars. Her Blood of Eden series is the best vampire series I've ever read and I adore her Iron Fey series, so needless to say, I expected great things from this.
I should have known right off from the synopsis that this book would not be up to par as her other books. Yes, there's dragons, but what I get from the synopsis is that the book is about a dragon that can change into human form and a dragon hunter falling in love.
That's the book. It's the exact same plot as another book, Firelight, which I liked, but I'm not wild about. I admit, the fact that it's so similar to Firelight was a big reason why I had difficulty enjoying this book. I liked the world-building and I did find Talon and the Order interesting, and yeah, pretty much the plot was the main similarity between the two. I found everything else interesting.
The romance was what really caused me to distance myself. It was too insta-love for me and it took up too much of the book. I enjoy romance in book, but I prefer to hear about the dragons than the whole love-life. I also worry that the next book will introduce a love triangle.
IN CONCLUSION
I know I'm bashing on this, but I did like it. I loved the original ideas in this book, not so much on the plot. The romance of meh. I'm most disappointed because I had such high expectations.
If you enjoyed Firelight, you should read this book.
As for me, I will continue the series. Mostly because I am curious.
