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katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
A pleasure to read. Starting as a dragon tale, of a young dragon determined not to be seen as the baby of the family, Aventurine soon sets her destiny on a new path when she is tricked into tasting a potion that turns her into a human.
The magic encounter also left her with a deep craving and love for chocolate, and she heads for the nearest town where three chocolate houses vie for customers. Can Aventurine satisfy her need for chocolate, and can she ever find her way back to her dragon family and roots?
Aventurine makes an appealing heroine - she is a dragon in human form, Burgis carefully shows the reader how she sees the silly humans around her and stands out from them.
Her story is a wonderful fairy tale with a twist, as she does come across the usual staples of such a story - unexpected friends, some luck and coincidence, adversity, and she of course learns about the species around her and comes to feel differently about them.
And yes, chocolate does feature heavily in the story. It's wonderfully described, as Adventurine does make it inside a chocolate house and we see how the sweets/cakes/drinks are made in a town that feels Elizabethan in context.
Prejudice and stereotype play a role - two ways - the way humans view dragons, and likewise, the reciprocal bad feelings dragons have for humans. Characters from all walks of life are here - those scraping a living in near-poverty, all the way up to royalty.
It's a hugely enjoyable story. My six year old isn't quite old enough for it, possibly, but I'd be happy to read it to him in a year or two - dragons AND chocolate, bound to be a winner.
This has adventure, friendship, humour, good and bad, family, and lots and lots of chocolate. Excellent short novel for primary school readers, ages 8 to 11 ideally.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.
The magic encounter also left her with a deep craving and love for chocolate, and she heads for the nearest town where three chocolate houses vie for customers. Can Aventurine satisfy her need for chocolate, and can she ever find her way back to her dragon family and roots?
Aventurine makes an appealing heroine - she is a dragon in human form, Burgis carefully shows the reader how she sees the silly humans around her and stands out from them.
Her story is a wonderful fairy tale with a twist, as she does come across the usual staples of such a story - unexpected friends, some luck and coincidence, adversity, and she of course learns about the species around her and comes to feel differently about them.
And yes, chocolate does feature heavily in the story. It's wonderfully described, as Adventurine does make it inside a chocolate house and we see how the sweets/cakes/drinks are made in a town that feels Elizabethan in context.
Prejudice and stereotype play a role - two ways - the way humans view dragons, and likewise, the reciprocal bad feelings dragons have for humans. Characters from all walks of life are here - those scraping a living in near-poverty, all the way up to royalty.
It's a hugely enjoyable story. My six year old isn't quite old enough for it, possibly, but I'd be happy to read it to him in a year or two - dragons AND chocolate, bound to be a winner.
This has adventure, friendship, humour, good and bad, family, and lots and lots of chocolate. Excellent short novel for primary school readers, ages 8 to 11 ideally.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.
katiechu's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Adorable, fun, and unique! This is definitely a delightful cozy fantasy all ages can enjoy!
orsuros's review against another edition
5.0
At the start I wasn't sure whether I was going to like the book, but it had me hooked once I got through the beginning. The book has great characters, especially Adventurine.
hneite's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sparksofember's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly cute - a lot cuter than I was expecting, actually. Aventurine is tenacious and adorable. I loved her pet expression, "I'm the fiercest creature in this city!" I appreciated all the strong female characters, that didn't feel forced or shoe-horned in. And the book gave me serious hot chocolate cravings. But not the premade kind you get in a packet. I wanted the homemade version with cocoa powder, milk, and ground-up candy canes. ;-)
macthekat's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
KEYWORDS: DRAGON, CHOCOLATE, FOUND FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP
Review: This started out kinda slow, with the protaconist being a bad mix of unworldly and arrogant, but very quickly turned int a super cute and delightful, that had me reading the story very quickly.
I loved all the characters and how prickly they were, while becoming very good friends. This was very cozy fantasy teritory. There are found family and strong found neurodiversity themes and they were lovely.
Chocolate!
Review: This started out kinda slow, with the protaconist being a bad mix of unworldly and arrogant, but very quickly turned int a super cute and delightful, that had me reading the story very quickly.
I loved all the characters and how prickly they were, while becoming very good friends. This was very cozy fantasy teritory. There are found family and strong found neurodiversity themes and they were lovely.
Chocolate!
kiare's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
Legends and latte for a younger audience. So sweet and inspiring.
About finding your passion and how to be accepted by both your biological and chosen family. ❤️
About finding your passion and how to be accepted by both your biological and chosen family. ❤️
missbookiverse's review
3.0
The characters were feisty and diverse (and funnily enough all had really traditional German names such as Silke and Horst), the food (chocolate) descriptions were mouth-wateringly delicious and the story wasn't too predictable, but nevertheless, I got a little bored halfway through. The writing works fine for what it is but it's not clever enough to be engaging beyond that.
Two more random points that stood out to me:
1. I wish more work would've been put into Aventurine's adaptation to her new body. At first she has trouble navigating her new human form but then it's never mentioned again. She refers to human hair as "head fur" and calls human hands "claws" but she has no trouble understanding other human gestures, facial expressions, and vocabulary. It just seemed a bit unbalanced.
2. Also, the constant mention of (any) skin color was weird. I think the book wanted to establish how diverse the community of Drachenburg is but it was a little overdone. I can remember a character's skin tone etc. after it was mentioned once or twice.
Two more random points that stood out to me:
1. I wish more work would've been put into Aventurine's adaptation to her new body. At first she has trouble navigating her new human form but then it's never mentioned again. She refers to human hair as "head fur" and calls human hands "claws" but she has no trouble understanding other human gestures, facial expressions, and vocabulary. It just seemed a bit unbalanced.
2. Also, the constant mention of (any) skin color was weird. I think the book wanted to establish how diverse the community of Drachenburg is but it was a little overdone. I can remember a character's skin tone etc. after it was mentioned once or twice.
beyondevak's review against another edition
5.0
* Favorites Shelf
(Previously read)
Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: YA
Keeper: Yes
Re-read: Yes
Series: Yes
(Previously read)
Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: YA
Keeper: Yes
Re-read: Yes
Series: Yes