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atlantic_reader_wannabe's review
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this book! It was full of excellent characters with an amazing plot, with a large helping of dragons. While reading this, I had difficulty putting it down! I always wanted to know what happened next. This book was great!
snazel's review against another edition
2.0
I'm going to put my jugemental hat on now and do some reviewing.
I found this story really hard to get into, simply because of the author's voice. Small words and simple descriptions just don't do it for me, sorry. I actually assumed at first that the story was MG, (though later plot points (romance, death) supported the idea that it was YA,) because of the simplistic story telling.
However, once I adjusted to the fact that this was not going to a thrill-a-minute tale, and the prose was not going to make me shiver with glee (yes, I do that occasionally) it turned out to be a mild and fun story. Madoca is a slave in an abusive household until she is chosen by the dragons to be the next dragon seer! (OMG FOR REALZ???) Once accepted into this prestigious position by many kind people, she learns that the job is more difficult than she thought, (Magic is hard? Lol Whut?) but also more rewarding. Life unfolds happily, she makes friends with a cute boy (though she doesn't know that's what she's doing, *blush* *cough* *scuff toe*) and then the Vikings arrive, and it all goes to heck in a hand-basket.
I really don't feel the need to spoiler the ending, but it was sufficiently unexpected and worked well.
Overall, the romance was talked off in simple terms for simple readers, but it was believable. It even had several "awwwwww" moments which made me happy. The two respective important death scenes were well done, and the bad guys were Very Bad. We know this because they kill helpless animals and make small boys cringe, also they have a magician who can turn into a raven. The dragons were small, clever, arrogant, pretty and awkward. They also talked mind-to-mind, which is is IMPERATIVE for YA dragons. Unfortunaly, I found myself not caring about Madoca's five years of being beaten and starved, or her dragons dying out, or even the terrible Vikings come to destroy our affinity with the land. I felt like I should care, but I was just annoyed at the sanctimonious tone of the tale whenever awful/ stressful things happened.
This book did not catch much of my attention, but I think that is because I am not the target audience. I wouldn't be distressed to find my little sister reading it.
I found this story really hard to get into, simply because of the author's voice. Small words and simple descriptions just don't do it for me, sorry. I actually assumed at first that the story was MG, (though later plot points (romance, death) supported the idea that it was YA,) because of the simplistic story telling.
However, once I adjusted to the fact that this was not going to a thrill-a-minute tale, and the prose was not going to make me shiver with glee (yes, I do that occasionally) it turned out to be a mild and fun story. Madoca is a slave in an abusive household until she is chosen by the dragons to be the next dragon seer! (OMG FOR REALZ???) Once accepted into this prestigious position by many kind people, she learns that the job is more difficult than she thought, (Magic is hard? Lol Whut?) but also more rewarding. Life unfolds happily, she makes friends with a cute boy (though she doesn't know that's what she's doing, *blush* *cough* *scuff toe*) and then the Vikings arrive, and it all goes to heck in a hand-basket.
I really don't feel the need to spoiler the ending, but it was sufficiently unexpected and worked well.
Overall, the romance was talked off in simple terms for simple readers, but it was believable. It even had several "awwwwww" moments which made me happy. The two respective important death scenes were well done, and the bad guys were Very Bad. We know this because they kill helpless animals and make small boys cringe, also they have a magician who can turn into a raven. The dragons were small, clever, arrogant, pretty and awkward. They also talked mind-to-mind, which is is IMPERATIVE for YA dragons. Unfortunaly, I found myself not caring about Madoca's five years of being beaten and starved, or her dragons dying out, or even the terrible Vikings come to destroy our affinity with the land. I felt like I should care, but I was just annoyed at the sanctimonious tone of the tale whenever awful/ stressful things happened.
This book did not catch much of my attention, but I think that is because I am not the target audience. I wouldn't be distressed to find my little sister reading it.
breannamorgan's review against another edition
3.0
It was a decent book and very well written, I thought the characters were very realistic. But there was never that *wow* moment for me, even the climax was anticlimactic. Overall, it was a nice, but slow read.
tina_moreau's review against another edition
4.0
The history was of course all made up, however it felt real. It was a lovely, simple story but I wish it had ended differently... even though I know for it to remain "Historical" it needed to end the way it did.
unluckyprimes's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable, but definitely written for a younger YA audience--it felt more middle grade to me most of the time.
The pacing was a bit weird and some of that made it difficult to develop many of the secondary characters. Still, there was definitely magic and awe with the way McNaughton wrote the dragons. But it almost felt that there was more to explore here than we ever got the chance. Like the book could've been twice as long and given me some more of the depth I craved.
The pacing was a bit weird and some of that made it difficult to develop many of the secondary characters. Still, there was definitely magic and awe with the way McNaughton wrote the dragons. But it almost felt that there was more to explore here than we ever got the chance. Like the book could've been twice as long and given me some more of the depth I craved.
breanna_morgan's review against another edition
3.0
It was a decent book and very well written, I thought the characters were very realistic. But there was never that *wow* moment for me, even the climax was anticlimactic. Overall, it was a nice, but slow read.
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