Scan barcode
A review by littlebookishinkblot
Firebolt by Adrienne Woods
3.0
Review posted on my blog: https://littlebookishinkblots.blogspot.com/2017/04/firebolt.html
We start this adventure with an intriguing premise -- a teenager discovers that dragons are real and is suddenly thrust into a world of magic and mystery.
Now, I haven’t read a lot of teen fantasy books centered on Dragons for a looong time. The last one was the Evangelina series by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi and that didn’t end well for me. In fact, I still have some seriously effed up leftover emotional baggage from those books. So as you can imagine, I was seriously excited to give this book a try.
What I liked about this book is that it wasted no time getting right into the story. Right away, it introduces us to our heroine, Elena, who happens to be an average, run of the mill, slightly whiny, clumsy teenager who excels at riddles… and constantly moving around with her dad. They were always running away from something and she was getting sick and tired of it. One night in particular, as they were --you guessed it-- running away, they are ferociously attacked by a dragon.
Suddenly Elena wakes up in another world only to find out that her father has perished and that there is something in her that people believe will make her capable of great things. To add to the confusion she is made to attend the Paegeia equivalent of Hogwarts School to learn about magic, dragons, and dragon riders like her called Dragonia. At the Academy, Elena meets a colorful bunch of characters ranging from humans like herself studying to be Dragonian riders and the other students who can actually shift into dragons depending on power and breeds.
Though the world Elena enters is very similar to our own, the author was able to create an interesting blend of medieval fantasy intermixed with modern urban fantasy. I sensed hints of similarities to Harry Potter, Eragon, Dragonheart, and Lord of the Rings to name a few but it did not detract from the story telling. The world of Paegeia is slowly built up and while admittedly confusing for the reader at first, the development of the history and people unfold in a detailed manner as the story progresses.
At certain points in the story I find myself struggling to get into the groove of the book. Aside from the grammatical errors in the copy provided me and overall predictability of the plot, there was just something that was not making me connect to the story at all. Nevertheless, and for the love of blueberries, I persisted. The characters in the book were relatively realistic and likeable enough, worrying over teenager things like boys, outfits, and excelling at their classes.
The one thing I hope not to see in future stories is Elena’s favorite phrase, “for the love of blueberries…” as frequent repetitions got on my nerves, really fast. In fact, towards the end, it just left me with a healthy dislike for the tiny blue fruit.
All in all, I enjoyed the read despite the errors and the blueberries. It was an intriguing world and the Dragonian society was well thought-out and unique. I enjoyed reading about the several types of dragons, their personality types, powers and capabilities. I would have wanted Elena to be a bit more mature in her decisions and reactions but perhaps it was done on purpose to show her maturity and growth throughout the series. There was a hint of a love triangle blooming which I hope gets fully explored in the succeeding books.
I give this book 3/5 SQUEEEES, which would mean that while I liked it, I would not shell out the money to actually buy a physical copy for my library. But I would recommend it to friends who were looking for a light, fluffy read.
*** I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion ***
We start this adventure with an intriguing premise -- a teenager discovers that dragons are real and is suddenly thrust into a world of magic and mystery.
Now, I haven’t read a lot of teen fantasy books centered on Dragons for a looong time. The last one was the Evangelina series by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi and that didn’t end well for me. In fact, I still have some seriously effed up leftover emotional baggage from those books. So as you can imagine, I was seriously excited to give this book a try.
What I liked about this book is that it wasted no time getting right into the story. Right away, it introduces us to our heroine, Elena, who happens to be an average, run of the mill, slightly whiny, clumsy teenager who excels at riddles… and constantly moving around with her dad. They were always running away from something and she was getting sick and tired of it. One night in particular, as they were --you guessed it-- running away, they are ferociously attacked by a dragon.
Suddenly Elena wakes up in another world only to find out that her father has perished and that there is something in her that people believe will make her capable of great things. To add to the confusion she is made to attend the Paegeia equivalent of Hogwarts School to learn about magic, dragons, and dragon riders like her called Dragonia. At the Academy, Elena meets a colorful bunch of characters ranging from humans like herself studying to be Dragonian riders and the other students who can actually shift into dragons depending on power and breeds.
Though the world Elena enters is very similar to our own, the author was able to create an interesting blend of medieval fantasy intermixed with modern urban fantasy. I sensed hints of similarities to Harry Potter, Eragon, Dragonheart, and Lord of the Rings to name a few but it did not detract from the story telling. The world of Paegeia is slowly built up and while admittedly confusing for the reader at first, the development of the history and people unfold in a detailed manner as the story progresses.
At certain points in the story I find myself struggling to get into the groove of the book. Aside from the grammatical errors in the copy provided me and overall predictability of the plot, there was just something that was not making me connect to the story at all. Nevertheless, and for the love of blueberries, I persisted. The characters in the book were relatively realistic and likeable enough, worrying over teenager things like boys, outfits, and excelling at their classes.
The one thing I hope not to see in future stories is Elena’s favorite phrase, “for the love of blueberries…” as frequent repetitions got on my nerves, really fast. In fact, towards the end, it just left me with a healthy dislike for the tiny blue fruit.
All in all, I enjoyed the read despite the errors and the blueberries. It was an intriguing world and the Dragonian society was well thought-out and unique. I enjoyed reading about the several types of dragons, their personality types, powers and capabilities. I would have wanted Elena to be a bit more mature in her decisions and reactions but perhaps it was done on purpose to show her maturity and growth throughout the series. There was a hint of a love triangle blooming which I hope gets fully explored in the succeeding books.
I give this book 3/5 SQUEEEES, which would mean that while I liked it, I would not shell out the money to actually buy a physical copy for my library. But I would recommend it to friends who were looking for a light, fluffy read.
*** I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion ***