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A review by crownedaimee
Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Dragon Rider is Taran Matharu's debut adult fantasy novel, following Jai who lives as royal hostage alongside his elder brothers in the Sabine Court as children who have to serve the empire that is responsible for the death of their father. But as the empire continues to grow, a betrothal between the emperor and Princess Erica of the Dansk Kingdom is set to take place. But with the princess, comes her dragons that only her people can bond with. However the betrothal doesn't go as planned and Jai escapes with the Princess's handmaiden and one dragon egg.
I really wanted to love this book but I was struggling, the more I read the more I wanted to dnf but I pushed through it in hopes that it would get better and it didn't. The world building was lacking, the plot was lacking and I felt no connection to the characters in any way. None of it made me invested enough to hold my attention for long and often found myself skimming through the chapters. Why did it feel like something even happened despite it being nearly 500 pages long?
The pacing was so inconsistent, it took until 30% of the way through for something to finally happening but then it went back being dull once again. And when it finally picked up again towards the end, it felt so rushed. At this point, I'm still on the fence of continuing with the series because I know I would want to know what happens next but I won't be in any rush to read it if that's what I decide to do.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to love this book but I was struggling, the more I read the more I wanted to dnf but I pushed through it in hopes that it would get better and it didn't. The world building was lacking, the plot was lacking and I felt no connection to the characters in any way. None of it made me invested enough to hold my attention for long and often found myself skimming through the chapters. Why did it feel like something even happened despite it being nearly 500 pages long?
The pacing was so inconsistent, it took until 30% of the way through for something to finally happening but then it went back being dull once again. And when it finally picked up again towards the end, it felt so rushed. At this point, I'm still on the fence of continuing with the series because I know I would want to know what happens next but I won't be in any rush to read it if that's what I decide to do.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.