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Book Review

Review: Dragon Lightning

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Dragon Lightning (Dragon Dreamer 2)

by J.S. Burke

Reviewed by JMD Reid

b01ma1zoj6-01-lzzzzzzzDrakor falls injured onto the ice flow, hurt in an earthquake as he investigated the volcano near his people’s home. The ice dragon realizes that he their home is about to be destroyed. The volcano is nearing its eruption.

Only problem, he’s too wounded to get back to them, drifting on the ice, facing death.

Arak, the dragon dreamer, is excited. Sailing with his fellow gold dragons and his octopodes friends, Scree and Orm, he is on a quest to find the legendary ice dragons, the kin of his people. They live in the cold north and as his skiff sails through ice floes, he realizes he’s on the right track.

But the ice dragons are not what he’s expected and a threat looms that will impact not only the ice dragons but the gold dragons and octopodes. The same volcano that threatens the ice dragons is part of a chain leading south. And the undersea volcano near the gold dragons and the octopodes reef may also be on the verge of erupting.

Arak, his companions, and a new friend will have to uncover the truth of the volcanoes and find a way to protect their people. But those aren’t the only problems facing them. They will have to work together to overcome their goals.

Or they might all perish.

Burke continues her excellent series about dragons and octopodes in her sequel to Dragon Dreamer. The book, written towards elementary students, not only has great characters and life lessons, but is full of real-world scientific knowledge about octopodes, underwater life, herbal medicines, and other facts that enrich her series.

With its focus on community, friendship, and forgiveness, Dragon Lightning is another excellent book for young readers, an adventure story to keep them enthralled and kindle the love of reading in a new generation. If you’ve read Dragon Dreamer (and if you haven’t, why?) then you will love Dragon Lightning.

You can buy Dragon Lightning from Amazon!

Book Review

Review: Spark of Defiance (Game of Fire 1)

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Spark of Defiance (Game of Fire 1)

by Autumn Brit

Reviewed by JMD Reid

B01D3VUJ9O.01.LZZZZZZZSix months after the war that broke the Church of the Four Orders and freed the other temples from Solaire’s control. But the scars remain. Two events, both innocuous and seemingly innocent, spark off a new conflict.

When Zhao, an air elemental, returns home to visit his sister. His people fear elementals. Zhao had been kept confined to a shrine, quarantined from his people. When he arrives now that the war is over and elementals should be free, he discovers his new niece is an elemental and the chief of his tribe looks to inflict the same punishment. With his friend Laisseg, he rescues his sister and niece.

And sparks off a war between neighboring people. As the war spirals out of control, Zhao seeks help from his friends, pulling Ria from her search for the escaped Sinika, the villain responsible for the war and held as a prisoner for the last six month until his supporters freed him.

Meanwhile, Lavinia and her husband Darag have finished their pilgrimage to all the temples to allow Lavinia to touch all the spheres and use all the elements. Wanting to fulfill a promise to the Ashanti Jeif and Leifa, they visit the short-lived and mysterious Ashanti. Their message sparks off a chain of events that could forever change the world.

War has returned, but an even great threat looms and the survivors of the last war will have to reunite to stop the new threats to their world.

Sparks of Defiance (and the Game of Fire series) is a sequel to her Rise of the Five Orders series. It was great to return to her world and see old characters. The war haunts the characters, particularly the death of Beite. She does an excellent job reworking reminders of the previous plot without exposition dumps. The plot moves fast, keeping you reading.

Autumn ratchets up the tension as the book builds to its climax. All your favorite characters that survived the last series are once again in peril.  I was on the edge of my seat through the climax.

Sparks of Defiance is a great start to another amazing Fantasy series from Autumn. If you enjoy great, fast-paced fantasy, then you’ll enjoy Autumn’s Rise of the Five Orders series and the start to Game of Fire. I am eager for Book 2 to be released.

You can buy Spirit of Life from Amazon!

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review, though I had planned on buying it before the author sent it to me and have preordered it.

Book Review

Review: Dragon Dreamer

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Dragon Dreamer

by J. S. Burke

Reviewed by JMD Reid

 

B00K9DHTU2.01.LZZZZZZZ“But there had to be more to life than avoiding danger. Helping a friend was certainly more important…”

Arak is a young dragon on his first ever solo flight, a right of passage for his kind. He’s a dreamer, the odd dragon out always thinking and imagining, forever getting his head lost in the clouds. And this time it may cost him his life. He went out too far, hoping to be the dragon to find new copper mines for his race and an ice storm has caught up with him. Injured, he falls to the sea ice below, his wings hurt, his leg broken.

In the oceans below, Scree the octopus healer leaves the safety of her pod’s home on the reef to look for supplies. She’s an inquisitive and helpful octopus, with a caring heart. While collecting slug eggs near the surface, she is shocked when Arak crashes onto the ice. At first frightened by the massive dragon, her caring nature compels her to help poor Arak. And thus starts a friendship that will change the fortunes of both Arak’s dragons and Scree’s octopi.

Dragon Dreamer is the fascinating tale of two cultures meeting and growing better for their union. There is no great enemy to vanquish or dark prophecy to prevent. All that faces the dragons and the octopi are survival. From underwater volcanoes to sickness, Arak and Scree work together to help both their peoples prosper.

While Dragon Dreamer is clearly aimed at a younger, grade school audience, the story is both sweet and heartwarming and at times suspenseful. J.S. Burke has crafted a unique fantasy world unlike any I have ever read. Out of all the unlikely pairing in storys, a dragon and an octopus is the most out there, and yet J.S. Burke makes this story work. I would recommend this book for any child embarking into the wonderful world of books with great characters, stories, and values.

You can buy Dragon Dreamer from Amazon!