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witchylevy's review
5.0
Heartbreaking and beautiful
This feels like a book written for a younger audience. That said it was still very compelling. The reader can imagine the are Juliana or one of the dragons and trying to relate to someone who you've grown up your whole life thinking of as your enemies or even a trophy animal. It's a great read.
This feels like a book written for a younger audience. That said it was still very compelling. The reader can imagine the are Juliana or one of the dragons and trying to relate to someone who you've grown up your whole life thinking of as your enemies or even a trophy animal. It's a great read.
mayas003's review
2.0
If I don't give a 3 star or above I do not like to leave a review, however, this time I will make an exception. I was so looking forward to reading this book, and I think my expectations were lofty. I love fantasy. It is my second most favorite genre to read after thrillers. With this story, the characters threw me in a loop. How in the world someone is going to be a master sword wielder in a 20-minute training session while wearing full armor? I am a Veteran, and I know what it is to move with a weapon and armor and if your body is not in a proper physical condition, it is a sad day for the Soldier. So it was very hard for me to believe that Julianna could be such a mighty warrior.
I am aware it is a fantasy story. However, make up a spell or give Julianna some type of an artifact or something to make her such a prodigy with weapons. I had a hard time just reading the first three chapters. But I kept at it, and to my chagrin, it didn't get better. I think a middle schooler might believe that a person could go from a zero to a hero by doing 20 minutes of training. They may like this story. I was disappointed, the plot idea was promising, but I found too many continuity errors. I wondered if this book was even edited.
Merged review:
If I don't give a 3 star or above I do not like to leave a review, however, this time I will make an exception. I was so looking forward to reading this book, and I think my expectations were lofty. I love fantasy. It is my second most favorite genre to read after thrillers. With this story, the characters threw me in a loop. How in the world someone is going to be a master sword wielder in a 20-minute training session while wearing full armor? I am a Veteran, and I know what it is to move with a weapon and armor and if your body is not in a proper physical condition, it is a sad day for the Soldier. So it was very hard for me to believe that Julianna could be such a mighty warrior.
I am aware it is a fantasy story. However, make up a spell or give Julianna some type of an artifact or something to make her such a prodigy with weapons. I had a hard time just reading the first three chapters. But I kept at it, and to my chagrin, it didn't get better. I think a middle schooler might believe that a person could go from a zero to a hero by doing 20 minutes of training. They may like this story. I was disappointed, the plot idea was promising, but I found too many continuity errors. I wondered if this book was even edited.
I am aware it is a fantasy story. However, make up a spell or give Julianna some type of an artifact or something to make her such a prodigy with weapons. I had a hard time just reading the first three chapters. But I kept at it, and to my chagrin, it didn't get better. I think a middle schooler might believe that a person could go from a zero to a hero by doing 20 minutes of training. They may like this story. I was disappointed, the plot idea was promising, but I found too many continuity errors. I wondered if this book was even edited.
Merged review:
If I don't give a 3 star or above I do not like to leave a review, however, this time I will make an exception. I was so looking forward to reading this book, and I think my expectations were lofty. I love fantasy. It is my second most favorite genre to read after thrillers. With this story, the characters threw me in a loop. How in the world someone is going to be a master sword wielder in a 20-minute training session while wearing full armor? I am a Veteran, and I know what it is to move with a weapon and armor and if your body is not in a proper physical condition, it is a sad day for the Soldier. So it was very hard for me to believe that Julianna could be such a mighty warrior.
I am aware it is a fantasy story. However, make up a spell or give Julianna some type of an artifact or something to make her such a prodigy with weapons. I had a hard time just reading the first three chapters. But I kept at it, and to my chagrin, it didn't get better. I think a middle schooler might believe that a person could go from a zero to a hero by doing 20 minutes of training. They may like this story. I was disappointed, the plot idea was promising, but I found too many continuity errors. I wondered if this book was even edited.
little_red_dragon's review
3.0
Slayer moves like a freight train. While this can be an asset in an adventure novel, it's a bit much here. Everything moves too quickly: Julianna starts training and then the next day is on a dragon hunt. Julianna and Ash's relationship moves so quickly that there's not any time for them to build chemistry. The believability of the plot honestly suffers because of its pace, which is unfortunate.
However, the world building is wonderful and the premise is so great. The characters are engaging and it's an easy, quick read. If you're looking for something fun to read in one setting, this may be the book for you.
With that said, it ends on a cliffhanger, which is a personal pet peeve of mine.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
However, the world building is wonderful and the premise is so great. The characters are engaging and it's an easy, quick read. If you're looking for something fun to read in one setting, this may be the book for you.
With that said, it ends on a cliffhanger, which is a personal pet peeve of mine.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
bookwormbunny's review
5.0
What if everything you had been told growing up was all a lie? What would you do when you learned the truth? Julianna has been raised as a slayer in her family all her life. She's been training for the day when she would go up into the mountains and slay her first dragon and her sword absorbs the dragon's soul imbuing it with more power. After an intense training session with her brother, her father declares her ready for her first kill. Julianna couldn't be more excited, and her brother couldn't be more jealous. But when Julianna and a group of other slayers go up into the mountains things do not go as planned. Julianna sees something that makes her hesitate in her strike, and her hesitation costs her. When she is rescued by the dragon, she doesn't immediately put the pieces of the puzzle together when she sees a man in place of the dragon. But she quickly learns that what she has been taught all her life is a lie and that what the people in her village have been doing is something truly awful. To what lengths will she go to save these new people she has come to care for and still protect her family? The road ahead won't be easy but she must go forward and do her best.
Slayer by J.A. Culican and J.A. Armitage is book one in their Dragon Tamer series. In this book, we are thrown into a world of where dragons are hunted for their souls to imbue hollow swords with power. 18-year-old Julianna is excited that the time has come for her to make her trek up the mountain and slay her first dragon. But things quickly go south. We follow along as Julianna time and again finds herself in sticky predicaments. All that she has been taught is turned on its ear when she learns the truth. The dragons aren't just mindless beasts who are a threat to the village. The dragons are shifters and wish to live in peace. Julianna is shocked and disturbed by this revelation. Julianna is an interesting character to follow and read about. She has a good heart, but often she does not think the whole thing through before she runs off to take action. It complicates a couple situations, but they end up working out. I like some of the interesting twists that the authors write into this book.
I really don't have too many issues with this book. I will point out that there are a few minor editorial issues. In one spot when Julianna is interacting with Firecracker, the dog, for the second time the gender gets confused with the dog. The authors indicate in one place that the dog is female, but then call the dog "he" in this scene. When Julianna comes downstairs after her first night looking for Ash and pets the dog. Other than a few other minor misspelled words I have no real complaints concerning this story.
I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. I truly enjoyed this story and look forward to the next in this series. There is so much going on and so much to come! Julianna and Ash have an uphill battle to fight with both humans and dragons to keep the peace. I can't wait to read the next and see what happens. This is a great fantasy dragon shifter novel with some hints of romance.
Slayer by J.A. Culican and J.A. Armitage is book one in their Dragon Tamer series. In this book, we are thrown into a world of where dragons are hunted for their souls to imbue hollow swords with power. 18-year-old Julianna is excited that the time has come for her to make her trek up the mountain and slay her first dragon. But things quickly go south. We follow along as Julianna time and again finds herself in sticky predicaments. All that she has been taught is turned on its ear when she learns the truth. The dragons aren't just mindless beasts who are a threat to the village. The dragons are shifters and wish to live in peace. Julianna is shocked and disturbed by this revelation. Julianna is an interesting character to follow and read about. She has a good heart, but often she does not think the whole thing through before she runs off to take action. It complicates a couple situations, but they end up working out. I like some of the interesting twists that the authors write into this book.
I really don't have too many issues with this book. I will point out that there are a few minor editorial issues. In one spot when Julianna is interacting with Firecracker, the dog, for the second time the gender gets confused with the dog. The authors indicate in one place that the dog is female, but then call the dog "he" in this scene. When Julianna comes downstairs after her first night looking for Ash and pets the dog. Other than a few other minor misspelled words I have no real complaints concerning this story.
I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. I truly enjoyed this story and look forward to the next in this series. There is so much going on and so much to come! Julianna and Ash have an uphill battle to fight with both humans and dragons to keep the peace. I can't wait to read the next and see what happens. This is a great fantasy dragon shifter novel with some hints of romance.
michellembruhn's review
3.0
This was a fun read. Simple story but fun concepts—dragon-shifters, soul-stealing swords, and a quest for the truth. I liked the hidden dragon-shifter village and the dragons/people we met there. The love interest was sweet and motivated beyond love for the protagonist, though the romance was very much insta-love. I'm intrigued by the second book, but might wait a while before I read it.
brittanisavery's review
3.0
Slayer (Dragon Tamer Book #1) has an interesting premise while the actual tale of the book rushes through character development, conflict, and resolution. At the beginning Juilanna is eager to slay her first dragon, a long-lived tradition in her village. Though, I do feel that her village set her up for failure since she wasn’t taught anything about fighting dragons, like where to target or how to defend against the different types of dragons. It just seemed odd that there was no structured education on dragon slaying in a village of slayers. More details about life in the village would have solved this problem.
As the story progresses, various characters are introduced, but because the plot must continue, characters are not allowed to build any deep connections other than optimistic love interest, distrustful leader, jerk brother, kindly mother, or random citizen. The conversations were short and lacked much content before they were resolved and we moved onto the next point. Even Julianna herself isn’t truly allowed to absorb what is happening. A lot of her anguish is resolved quickly and a decision is made. Perhaps this is because she is an immature 18-year-old? To be honest, I could not see her as a young adult, but rather a teenager around the age of 14 or 15. Is this normal for other young adults in her village? I have no idea since the authors spent very little time in developing what her life was like before jumping into the action or even having her compare her life back in the village and Ash’s upbringing in his village.
Overall, I found it very hard to suspend my disbelief and become engrossed into the story. The conversations and Julianna’s telling of the story (it being in first person) seemed childish and underdeveloped. I could see myself loving this story at the age of 12 or 13 with all the drama and action, but a nearly 30-year-old woman, it is just not for me.
As the story progresses, various characters are introduced, but because the plot must continue, characters are not allowed to build any deep connections other than optimistic love interest, distrustful leader, jerk brother, kindly mother, or random citizen. The conversations were short and lacked much content before they were resolved and we moved onto the next point. Even Julianna herself isn’t truly allowed to absorb what is happening. A lot of her anguish is resolved quickly and a decision is made. Perhaps this is because she is an immature 18-year-old? To be honest, I could not see her as a young adult, but rather a teenager around the age of 14 or 15. Is this normal for other young adults in her village? I have no idea since the authors spent very little time in developing what her life was like before jumping into the action or even having her compare her life back in the village and Ash’s upbringing in his village.
Overall, I found it very hard to suspend my disbelief and become engrossed into the story. The conversations and Julianna’s telling of the story (it being in first person) seemed childish and underdeveloped. I could see myself loving this story at the age of 12 or 13 with all the drama and action, but a nearly 30-year-old woman, it is just not for me.
rosenectur's review
5.0
I loved this story. It kept me hooked and turning pages as fast as I could. The story us fairly simple, but it introduces the reader to an interesting world and characters that are enjoyable. The moral predicament behind the story and the way each character handles it emotionally adds some depth. I can't wait to read the next book in the Dragon Tamer world.
marufahoque's review
1.0
Modern jargon, phrases, and thought processes. I don't think the authors did any form of research since most of what they talked about (swords, armor, etc.) were unrealistic and glossed over.
fernbell's review
4.0
The heroine of the story is to slay a dragon when she turns eighteen and has been training for this as it is a tradition in her village. Her family is has been slayers for many years and generations. What happens when the dragon you are going to slay and can’t quite kill it turns into a young man? The book blurb says boy but in reality if want a small spoiler he is a young man and not a boy. The story follows from there and does move quickly but not so that ruins the story. It does have somewhat of a cliffhanger as you don’t see the main problems resolved but no more that I have seen in other series. I would like to see more of what happens to resolve the issue but it didn’t leave me on the edge of my seat mad that I didn’t have enough to feel somewhat satisfied at least for me. I will look for the next book and will probably buy this one before all said and done, as do love dragons. Interesting concept and liked how the author presented it. I did receive an ARC from Hidden Gems for an honest review.
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