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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I have never done an ownvoice reflection before for a book tour so this a little different for me and somewhat difficult for me to come with what I wanted to type about. When I saw that Hear Our Voices has a blog tour for a young adult fantasy book written by a Puerto Rican author which included a story with Puerto Rico, I was excited and wanted to support the author and the book.
I am a 48 years old Puerto Rican women who loves to read YA books and I had always wished that when I was growing up there were books that were written by authors who were the same nationality and who had characters in their books that look like me. Unfortunately, I didn’t find those books growing up but it so refreshing to see more and more Latino and Latina getting the opportunities to be able to tell stories that are reflected of who they are and show the younger generation that they can find a book which will have character or story that they can relate too.
I was not born in Puerto Rico and I do know how it feels when you thought of not being Puerto Rican enough because you spent most of your life in the mainland so I was able to understand how Lana felt in the book for being push aside from it and dealing with racism because of my skin toned.
Not only do I wish that this book was written when I was growing up but I wish it was around when my son who is 21 years old was growing. I think he would have benefited with seeing a characters that were like him because he is biracial and had dealt with discrimination most of his young life.
If you are Latina/Latino and want to see yourself in a book, I would encourage you to pick up Blazewrath Games and the plus it has dragons (which are awesome)!
Favorite Quotes
“Dragon are better company than people. Not that I hate people. Some are okay. People can’t fly, though.”
“Puerto Rico made me who I am but Blazewrath is the reason I was born.”
“I need to get out of this place drenched in nightmares. Deep down, I know it’s useless. Tomorrow I won’t just belong to the monsters. I will become one of them.”
“I once told you to believe in the world that’s coming. That was a mistake. The world I wanted to live was filled with anger, but your heart and your courage gave me hope.”
I am a 48 years old Puerto Rican women who loves to read YA books and I had always wished that when I was growing up there were books that were written by authors who were the same nationality and who had characters in their books that look like me. Unfortunately, I didn’t find those books growing up but it so refreshing to see more and more Latino and Latina getting the opportunities to be able to tell stories that are reflected of who they are and show the younger generation that they can find a book which will have character or story that they can relate too.
I was not born in Puerto Rico and I do know how it feels when you thought of not being Puerto Rican enough because you spent most of your life in the mainland so I was able to understand how Lana felt in the book for being push aside from it and dealing with racism because of my skin toned.
Not only do I wish that this book was written when I was growing up but I wish it was around when my son who is 21 years old was growing. I think he would have benefited with seeing a characters that were like him because he is biracial and had dealt with discrimination most of his young life.
If you are Latina/Latino and want to see yourself in a book, I would encourage you to pick up Blazewrath Games and the plus it has dragons (which are awesome)!
Favorite Quotes
“Dragon are better company than people. Not that I hate people. Some are okay. People can’t fly, though.”
“Puerto Rico made me who I am but Blazewrath is the reason I was born.”
“I need to get out of this place drenched in nightmares. Deep down, I know it’s useless. Tomorrow I won’t just belong to the monsters. I will become one of them.”
“I once told you to believe in the world that’s coming. That was a mistake. The world I wanted to live was filled with anger, but your heart and your courage gave me hope.”
CWs: violence, murder, past mention of homophobia
Rep: Puerto Rican-American biracial MC, Black character, Afro-Latinx character, Puerto Rican bisexual character, Puerto Rican gay character, Japanese character, Scottish character, mlm side characters, character in a wheelchair
I came here for the dragons and the magical sports and the book delivered on both fronts so, despite some of my caveats, fairly good reading experience on the whole.
What I Liked:
- Dragons! - I think this book did a great job of building a fairly original lore surrounding the dragons in this world and I loved how the dragon species differed according to the country or continent they came from.
- Magical sports tournament - I liked how we weren't given an info-dump on how the games worked but were shown instead, with pieces of information slowly being revealed when necessary. All the action sequences in the games were so much fun to read! Also, I loved how the story explored the involvement of politics in international sports and the kind of pressure players are under when it comes to their public image and the home country that they're representing.
- Lana's character - I appreciated how the author showcased Lana's internal struggles when it came to her identity not just as a biracial person but also as diaspora. The scenes where Lana felt uncomfortable with her white relatives and then with her place in the tournament representing Puerto Rico when she hadn't visited the island in years - they were all so well done.
- The villains - they were honestly more interesting and complex than I was expecting.
Sadly though, I had a few major issues with this novel:
- The plot - while I don't mind that the plot is fairly simple and straightforward, I also think there were WAY too many plot conveniences throughout the story. No spoilers but basically the villain spends the entire novel going to enormous lengths in order to find out a crucial piece of information - and then our teenage MC is able to figure out that info by doing a basic google search.....
- The side characters and character relationships in general were sorely lacking here - I really wish the author had spent a little more effort in giving all the side characters some depth, especially Lana's team members - it would've made their camaraderie feel less superficial. Actually, now that I think about it, even Lana wasn't that great of a character personality-wise. She feels like a very serviceable MC - doing things because the plot needs her to do them and not because that's naturally who she is (this is just how I read it).
- The magic system felt so odd and out of place - the concept of wizards and witches just felt so disconnected from the dragons and their magic to me that I kept wondering why the author felt the need to include it.
- The writing - a little too stilted and simplistic for my tastes but this is the case for most YA debut authors anyways so it wasn't a huge deal for me.
Overall, I think one of the biggest things I struggled with is the fact that this book just didn't feel all that memorable - apart from some scenes with the dragons and the games, there's nothing about the story that sticks out to me. But I will say this novel took risks that I don't see a lot of other YA fantasies taking and I appreciated that.
Rep: Puerto Rican-American biracial MC, Black character, Afro-Latinx character, Puerto Rican bisexual character, Puerto Rican gay character, Japanese character, Scottish character, mlm side characters, character in a wheelchair
I came here for the dragons and the magical sports and the book delivered on both fronts so, despite some of my caveats, fairly good reading experience on the whole.
What I Liked:
- Dragons! - I think this book did a great job of building a fairly original lore surrounding the dragons in this world and I loved how the dragon species differed according to the country or continent they came from.
- Magical sports tournament - I liked how we weren't given an info-dump on how the games worked but were shown instead, with pieces of information slowly being revealed when necessary. All the action sequences in the games were so much fun to read! Also, I loved how the story explored the involvement of politics in international sports and the kind of pressure players are under when it comes to their public image and the home country that they're representing.
- Lana's character - I appreciated how the author showcased Lana's internal struggles when it came to her identity not just as a biracial person but also as diaspora. The scenes where Lana felt uncomfortable with her white relatives and then with her place in the tournament representing Puerto Rico when she hadn't visited the island in years - they were all so well done.
- The villains - they were honestly more interesting and complex than I was expecting.
Sadly though, I had a few major issues with this novel:
- The plot - while I don't mind that the plot is fairly simple and straightforward, I also think there were WAY too many plot conveniences throughout the story. No spoilers but basically the villain spends the entire novel going to enormous lengths in order to find out a crucial piece of information - and then our teenage MC is able to figure out that info by doing a basic google search.....
- The side characters and character relationships in general were sorely lacking here - I really wish the author had spent a little more effort in giving all the side characters some depth, especially Lana's team members - it would've made their camaraderie feel less superficial. Actually, now that I think about it, even Lana wasn't that great of a character personality-wise. She feels like a very serviceable MC - doing things because the plot needs her to do them and not because that's naturally who she is (this is just how I read it).
- The magic system felt so odd and out of place - the concept of wizards and witches just felt so disconnected from the dragons and their magic to me that I kept wondering why the author felt the need to include it.
- The writing - a little too stilted and simplistic for my tastes but this is the case for most YA debut authors anyways so it wasn't a huge deal for me.
Overall, I think one of the biggest things I struggled with is the fact that this book just didn't feel all that memorable - apart from some scenes with the dragons and the games, there's nothing about the story that sticks out to me. But I will say this novel took risks that I don't see a lot of other YA fantasies taking and I appreciated that.
longer review on my blog!
Blazewrath Games tells the story of Lana Torres, who has always preferred dragons to people. Her dream and life goal has always been to compete in the Blazewrath World Cup representing Puerto Rico, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. When Puerto Rico’s runner is kicked off the team, now Lana has a chance to be a part of the team.
But a global conspiracy is brewing, the Sire, a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form and a former Blazewrath superstar have teamed up, they are burning down dragon sanctuaries and will not stop until the Cup is cancelled. Now, Lana has to navigate being a part of her beloved sport with this international threat.
Overall, Blazewrath Games is perfect for fans of fantasy, dragons, and a down-to-earth, regular fan full of determination main character who has so much heart. This is now in my favourite reads of 2020, I can’t wait for the next book and anything else Amparo comes up with.
Blazewrath Games tells the story of Lana Torres, who has always preferred dragons to people. Her dream and life goal has always been to compete in the Blazewrath World Cup representing Puerto Rico, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. When Puerto Rico’s runner is kicked off the team, now Lana has a chance to be a part of the team.
But a global conspiracy is brewing, the Sire, a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form and a former Blazewrath superstar have teamed up, they are burning down dragon sanctuaries and will not stop until the Cup is cancelled. Now, Lana has to navigate being a part of her beloved sport with this international threat.
Overall, Blazewrath Games is perfect for fans of fantasy, dragons, and a down-to-earth, regular fan full of determination main character who has so much heart. This is now in my favourite reads of 2020, I can’t wait for the next book and anything else Amparo comes up with.
I was just kind of bored? I also didn’t enjoy the game itself, which is kind of the point of the book. I feel bad….
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
Wow. This was a wild ride. I haven’t seen it pitched this way, but I totally could see WARCROSS fans loving this book. (I am and I did!) I can’t wait for the sequel!
there were 36372272626 characters in this book and the only one that was interesting was Samira
which sucks especially since I was really excited to read it
but it simply didn’t hit
the dragons weren’t that interesting
the MC didn’t even bond with a dragon like she was just there
and she googled something that it took special agents 19 years to figure out??????? and they didn’t even figure it out until a picture orb or whatever tf showed the bad guy what was what
it seemed too easy too simple
it’s like three books all shoved in one, where it could’ve benefitted from being written out into a trilogy. the story from this ONE book could’ve been spread to three books. yes.
I know there’s supposed to be a second book but this one wraps up to a complete end so I’m done
and why was Monsta X mentioned in this book? what do they have to do with dragons?
TL;DR I was so disappointed and I’m really sad about that because I was so excited to read this book
which sucks especially since I was really excited to read it
but it simply didn’t hit
the dragons weren’t that interesting
the MC didn’t even bond with a dragon like she was just there
and she googled something that it took special agents 19 years to figure out??????? and they didn’t even figure it out until a picture orb or whatever tf showed the bad guy what was what
it seemed too easy too simple
it’s like three books all shoved in one, where it could’ve benefitted from being written out into a trilogy. the story from this ONE book could’ve been spread to three books. yes.
I know there’s supposed to be a second book but this one wraps up to a complete end so I’m done
and why was Monsta X mentioned in this book? what do they have to do with dragons?
TL;DR I was so disappointed and I’m really sad about that because I was so excited to read this book
Rating: 3.5
I feel truly conflicted about this book since upon hearing "Puerto Rican dragons," I wanted this to be a new favorite book. There were many aspects of the book that I liked: the dragons, the characters, Blazewrath itself, etc. However, I think I set my expectations a bit too high, and I might be being a bit unfair with the novel. As a debut, it's strong. It has great characters and good descriptions. I do think there were some kinks with the world-building that needed to be fleshed out a bit more. There was a lot for the reader to understand and become immersed in, but the rules of the magic system and the world itself were constantly broken before you could fully understand them. I think this affected the pacing and overall effect of the book.
I also think that my enjoyment of the book was affected by my frame of reference. As a Puerto Rican living in mainland Puerto Rico, I've always wanted to read a fantasy set on the island more similar to what I grew up reading in English. Given the description on the back, I thought that was the book would be mostly. However, this is a book more for Puerto Ricans in the diaspora. It has themes that revolve around biculturalism and acceptance that Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. will definitely relate to more than me since their experience is vastly different than mine.
I feel truly conflicted about this book since upon hearing "Puerto Rican dragons," I wanted this to be a new favorite book. There were many aspects of the book that I liked: the dragons, the characters, Blazewrath itself, etc. However, I think I set my expectations a bit too high, and I might be being a bit unfair with the novel. As a debut, it's strong. It has great characters and good descriptions. I do think there were some kinks with the world-building that needed to be fleshed out a bit more. There was a lot for the reader to understand and become immersed in, but the rules of the magic system and the world itself were constantly broken before you could fully understand them. I think this affected the pacing and overall effect of the book.
I also think that my enjoyment of the book was affected by my frame of reference. As a Puerto Rican living in mainland Puerto Rico, I've always wanted to read a fantasy set on the island more similar to what I grew up reading in English. Given the description on the back, I thought that was the book would be mostly. However, this is a book more for Puerto Ricans in the diaspora. It has themes that revolve around biculturalism and acceptance that Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. will definitely relate to more than me since their experience is vastly different than mine.
adventurous
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nothings wrong!! Just not the right book to read right now. Will return to later in the year.
******
7/11/21- I’ve finished this book and I’m sad to say that I didn’t love it like I hope. This book did many things well: the lore of the dragons and the bond with their humans, the game of Blazewrath, discussion points for those of the Puerto Rican diaspora and what it means to be part of that community.
I think I would have enjoyed this read much more if the magic element had not been married to the plot and/or magic didn’t conveniently solve or gel together certain plot points. I also felt distant from the cast of characters and I don’t think it was due to there being “too many”. I was here because of the comparisons to HTTYD but it seems the story reminded me more of the magic and setting of HP.
******
7/11/21- I’ve finished this book and I’m sad to say that I didn’t love it like I hope. This book did many things well: the lore of the dragons and the bond with their humans, the game of Blazewrath, discussion points for those of the Puerto Rican diaspora and what it means to be part of that community.
I think I would have enjoyed this read much more if the magic element had not been married to the plot and/or magic didn’t conveniently solve or gel together certain plot points. I also felt distant from the cast of characters and I don’t think it was due to there being “too many”. I was here because of the comparisons to HTTYD but it seems the story reminded me more of the magic and setting of HP.