Review - The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Bantam
Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-0345531704
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Sweetest Dark series
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through Netgalley(dot)com. Thanks to Bantam and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book. Previously I had read the first two books in Abe’s Drakon series (which is an adult series) and enjoyed them. This was a beautifully written and sweet story about a girl with a mysterious past, it is entwined with the events of World War I as well. The second book in this series, The Darkest Night, is due for a June 2013 release.

Lora has had a rough childhood, first orphaned and raised at a horrible orphange and then sent to a madhouse for the voices she hears, her summons to a remote boarding school is a blessing. When Lora arrives at Iverson, she is happy to have a warm place to sleep and food to eat. Of course the other girls hate her, but she can cope with that. What complicates things is the boy Jesse, who makes the voices sing louder and the darkly brooding Armand who for some reason has his sights set on Lora.

This is a very beautifully written book about a teenage girl who finds out she is one of the Drakon; as such she can turn into smoke or a Dragon. The whole book takes place during World War I. So Lora's time at the boarding school is woven with stories of war. This was a quick and easy read, with some beautiful imagery.

Lora is one of those characters who has gone through a lot but still seems to have a sort of tough grace about her. She seems delicate and almost lyrical in her actions, but has a core of steel when she has to. She is caring, and a survivor and makes the other more well-to-do girls around her look like young children.

Jesse and Armand are both fascinating characters as well. They both have a lot of depth and are mysterious. This isn’t really a love triangle since Lora is steadfast in her love of one boy.

There is a lot of romance in this book and not a lot of depth. It is a sweet and beautiful read, but nothing earthshattering. I did enjoy how the history of World War I in Britain was woven throughout the story. Lora’s world is apart from the War but still largely influenced by it at points. That was probably the most creative aspect of this book; including well-researched wartime scenes in with this paranormal love story.

If there are any adults reading this book who have read the Drakon series they will enjoy the letters from Rue. Rue was the heroine of the first Drakon book, The Smoke Thief.

Overall a sweet and beautiful read full of wonderful imagery. This isn’t a complex book, it’s more just a light fun read. It’s very beautiful and I enjoyed the World War I scenes and influence that were woven together with Lora’s story. The story was well paced and the characters easy to engage with. I am looking forward to reading the next book, The Darkest Night. I recommend this to those who love historical fantasies with a lot of romance and a bit of history in them. It really is a beautifully written book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge
- Paranormal Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stile Gannett and Ruth Chrisman Gannett (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 68 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date: August 23, 2010
ISBN: 978-1453782057
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in My Father’s Dragon series
Source: Swapped through PBS
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to read with my five year old son. It is a very fun and clever children’s read with some great lessons and some wonderful illustrations.

When Elmer Elevator hears about the plight of a poor overworked baby dragon from an old neighborhood cat he is determined to save the dragon. He travels to Wild Island and, through a series of crazy events, saves the dragon from the animals keeping it prisoner.

This book was first published in 1948 and I am amazed at how well it has aged. The writing is fairly simple and is definitely at a younger level but it still made for an excellent story. There are a couple spots where the language is a bit archaic but not many.

Elmer Elevator encounters a number of less than friendly animals and for each encounter he finds a clever (and sometimes hilarious) way to distract the animals. For example he gives the rhino a toothbrush and toothpaste for his very dirty horn and he gives the tigers chewing gum. It was great fun to see how Elmer would combat the next group of animals.

Additionally all the lands have wonderfully fun names. Elmer lives in the land of Popsicornia and travels through Tangerina (known for its tangerines) to get to Wild Island.

Elmer uses cleverness instead of violence or force to get through his adventures. He also frees the poor baby dragon from slavery. All while eating tangerines. The only part of the story parents might object to is the fact that Elmer runs away from his parents at the age of nine to do all of this.

My son loved this book and immediately wanted to start on the second book of the trilogy, Elmer and the Dragon. The pictures throughout are fun and wonderfully done. They match the tone of the story excellently.

Overall a wonderful fantasy read for children. This is a chapter book but is written at a lower reading level that is easy for younger children (5+) to understand even if they can’t quite read it yet. Elmer uses cleverness and humor to survive his noble adventure. The wonderful pictures only add to the excellent story. Highly recommended to read with kids, especially those interested in adventure and fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s/Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy/Humor
Size: 240 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-0316085274
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in How to Train Your Dragons series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the How to Train Your Dragon series. At this time there are nine books in this series with the most recent one being the ninth book in the series, How to Steal a Dragon's Sword. This was a fun and heartfelt read; full of adventure and, of course, dragons.

I read this book with my 5 year old son and he enjoyed it immensely.

In this book we follow Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III as he tries to capture and train a dragon in order pass his test to become part of the Harry Hooligan Tribe.

Hiccup is not your typical viking; he is not good at yelling or being scary...but he can speak Dragonese and he is good at strategy. When he ends up with a scrawny and uncooperative garden variety dragon Hiccup despairs of things ever going right.

This book is much much different from the movie. Hiccup has the same sarcastic sense of humor, but Toothless is pretty much an obnoxious brat. There is no riding of dragons; the baby dragons are too small for that. Hiccup isn’t an inventor of strange devices; but more of a strategist with spurts of bravery.

It is a very cute story though, even if it isn’t quite as dramatic as the movie. Watching Hiccup move from outcast, to a leader of sorts who is respected for his ideas and action is great and very well done.

This is a story about friendship and respecting people for their differences. Of course there is also a lot of action and a lot of humor throughout as well. Much of the humor is slapstick type but there is some witty banter in there as well.

There are some sketches throughout the book too; they aren’t all that great...basically scribbles. But these illustrations are funny and do add humor to the story.

Overall an excellent story. One of those ones that both kids and adults will find humor in. This would be a great series for kids five and up; either to read on their own or with their parents depending on age. Very different from the movie; so don’t go into this series expecting a replay of the movie. Recommended to children/YA who are into dragons and adventure and love some humor in there too.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 480 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0375866562
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Seraphina series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I love a good fantasy read and was really looking forward to one that had dragons too! This ended up being a very slow book that was very beautiful written. The world is incredibly detailed but I thought Seraphina as the heroine was a bit bland.

Seraphina has just joined court as the lead musician’s assistant, right as tensions between the Dragons and the humans reach a climax. When a Prince of the realm is killed in a very Draconian way Seraphina can’t help but be drawn to the investigation. She finds herself investigating along side the charming and intelligent Prince Lucian. Seraphina can’t let herself get too close to Lucian though because she has terrible secrets of her own that she must hide.

This book is beautifully written but moves at a very deliberate place. Much of the story involves Seraphina’s day to day life as a musician’s assistant. It takes quite a while for Seraphina to get deeply involved in the investigation (200 pages or so) and it seemed like this story could have been beautifully told in about half the page space.

I had a lot of trouble liking Seraphina and thought she was kind of a lackluster character. She comes across as too passive and too quiet. I understand she was hiding a terrible secret and was trying to pass unnoticed; but I had trouble really noticing her as a reader as well. I love music and her passion for music should have helped me relate to her. Unfortunately there are very few scenes where Seraphina is really involved in music and, when she is, it always feels like she’s apologizing for her interest.

There were some good characters in here. Lucian was a wonderfully complex character that I really enjoyed. The Princess was also very engaging; she seemed to be all laughter and fluff in the beginning but ended up being made of very strong stuff as the story continued.

Dragons are portrayed with the ability to pass as humans although it is uncomfortable for them. I’ve heard talk about how creative this is and am puzzled. Sagara has been portraying dragons like this for some time in her Chronicles of Elantra series; Sagara’s dragons are more mysterious and have a much more engaging history behind them. I did think that Hartman did an excellent job showing how much difficultly the dragons had with human emotion.

The world is very solidly built; Hartman has created a full history for this world and it is full of detail. It is well done but I didn’t think it was all that more creative than other fantasies out there.

The story is also fairly predictable, it ends how you think it is going to end. There weren’t all that many twists and turns that left me surprised. In general I guess I just had trouble with the story really grabbing me, it didn’t have any intensity to it.

Overall this is a very beautifully written fantasy, the writing is lyrical. The world is intricate with a lush history behind it. For me the story just was way too wordy and moved way too slow. I found Seraphina to be a lackluster character, thought the plot was incredibly predictable, and just didn’t think the world was all that creative. This is one of those books that when I started it I thought it was excellent, then about 300 pages into it I just wanted it to be over. I would recommend this to fantasy lovers who love their stories beautifully written but deliberate. If you are interested in the “dragons as people” story definitely check out Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra, they are appropriate for YA and older and are much more interesting.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- Debut Author Reading Challenge

Review - Discount Armageddon (InCryptid, Book 1) by Seanan McGuire (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: March 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-0756407131
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the InCryptid series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

I love all the books I have read from Seanan McGuire so when I saw she was coming out with this lighthearted yet kick-butt InCryptid series I was excited. I have loved her October Daye series and also really enjoyed the Newsflesh series that she writes under the name Mira Grant. This was an excellent book; creative and so much fun, it exceeded my expectations. The second book in this series will be titled, Midnight Blue-Light Special and is due to release in March of 2013.

Verity Price is a Price; she is also a cryptozoologist. The Price's went traitor against the Covenant some time ago and decided to turn from eliminating InCryptids to trying to help InCryptids live peacefully among humans. As such they've been hunted by the Covenant for a long, long time. Verity is a bit different than her family; she loves protecting InCryptids but she also loves ballroom dancing. She has moved to Manhattan to further her career as a ballroom dancer while keeping tabs on Manhattan's resident InCryptids. That is until Dominic, of Covenant origin, shows up to rain on Verity's parade...oh and then there's the whole thing about a dragon being asleep under the island.

This book was an absolute riot from cover to cover; I loved it. It was hilarious, action packed, smart, creative, and just so much fun. This is urban fantasy with a lot of fantasy in it and a lot of sass. Verity is just the most awesome heroine. Sure she has to work in a sleazy bar to support herself, but in between that she helps out those who can't help themselves, protects humanity from things that go bump in the night, and still manages to pull off a killer tango. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, sometimes she is even a little bit vulnerable. This makes her into a wonderfully engaging heroine that you are constantly cheering for.

I also loved that despite her strange upbringing she still has a loving and caring relationship with her family. Granted most family doesn't lend help in the form of grenades and pit-traps...but you know each to their own. I love the religious talking mice that plague her apartment and turn the smallest random event into a strange religious holiday. I love the crazy creatures we meet throughout, you seriously never know what new type of creature is going to be lurking around the corner.

As for the male lead, Dominic is incredibly well done. Him and Verity don't hit it off at all in the beginning, but it was interesting to watch them both learn and grow by listening to each other's perspective. I loved how their relationship grew into one of mutual respect and how they had to compromise to make things work. I also loved that even though there is a little romance, it's not what drives the world and storyline. It is subtle and wonderfully woven into a complex world and plot.

The plot is part investigation (as Verity tries to figure out why single female InCryptids are going missing), part dungeon delver (Verity exploring sewers in hopes of figuring out the dragon mystery) and part ninja (think wall-hoping, roof-jumping, and other crazy forms of locomotion). It is unpredictable, but never confusing. This book was so darn hard to put down. I just had to know if they found the dragon and what was going to happen if they did find the dragon.

The book ends at a good spot, but I am dying to see more adventures with Verity and crew. I also loved the one-liner quotes that opened up each chapter, they were hilarious.

Overall I just love, love, loved this book. It reminds a little of the Nightside series by Simon Green; it's got that same type of dark, campy humor and similarly you never know what you will run into in the course of the story. Verity is one of those characters that constantly takes a licking and keeps on ticking; she is tough, smart, funny and is still easy to engage with. Pretty much all the characteres are awesome, the world is super creative, and the plot is full of fun surprises. I loved this book and cannot wait to read Midnight Blue-Light Special when it comes out. Very highly recommended for all those urban fantasy fans out there; in fact if you are a swords and sorcery type of fantasy fan you may want to give this a try...it has more fantasy than a lot of other urban fantasies out there.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - The Last Slayer by Nadia Lee (2/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Size: 612 KB
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: December 26, 2011
ASIN: B005Z1CG3S
Stand Alone or Series: First in a series?
Source: eGalley through Net Galley(dot)com
Rating: 2/5 stars

I got an egalley of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. This was an okay book about a woman who hunts demons and then finds out she is a Slayer. While there wasn't anything technical wrong with the story, I just wasn't drawn to the characters and thought that the plot was a bit silly at points.

Ashera is an excellent demon slayer. She is hired by a company to protect them against some dragonlords and ends up killing one of their dragons. Now the dragonlords are after her. She isn't sure if she can handle all of this on her own, then Ramiel appears. He is a sexy dragonlord who seems to have sworn some kind of vow to protect her. Then Ashera finds out she is a Slayer of legend and the other dragonlords will stop at nothing to slay her.

First of all let's discuss the characters. Ashera is your pretty typical urban fantasy heroine; she acts tough as nails, gets in over her head a lot, and acts like she can take on the world when she knows she can't. So she was okay as a female lead, but nothing special. It did bother me a bit that she kept pretending to stand up to Ramiel and then went ahead and did whatever he told her. On top of this a big deal is made about how ugly Ashera is and how horrible this is. Things don't start getting better for her until her true nature is revealed and she turns into a sexy looking slayer lady. Really? Do all our heroines need to be sexy and beautiful to be effective?

Ramiel was a horrible male lead. He is supposed to be sexy, and maybe his body is described that way, but he was almost as deceitful as the bad guys. He basically rapes Ashera (mentally and kind of physically) but she likes it, so it is all okay. Then he uses her towards his own ends. But Ashera thinks that is okay too because you know in a way it kind of helped her. I thought the two of them , Ashera and Ramiel, had absolutely no chemistry what so ever. This gets even creepier once Ashera turns pretty and Ramiel gets all hot because Ashera looks so much like her mother, who he used to love. Does that have a bit of a yuck factor for anyone else?

There are quite a few decent fight scenes in the beginning, but this tapers off from the middle to end of the book. Ashera spends a lot of time bathing, changing cloths, and talking politics in the middle to end of the book. While I found the beginning somewhat interesting, the middle was boring. There is a gigantic fight scene in the end of the book, but by that time I disliked Ashera and Ramiel so much I just didn't care what happened to them.

I also didn't quite understand the use of Sex to fuel psychic power as the "magic system" in this world. Supposedly demons eat Sex which weakens their victims, and you can take a medicine-like form of Sex to enhance your power. You can also generate Sex by having sex with someone and storing it up. It was just a weird system and was never explained well, it also didn't make much sense overall. As you might be able to tell this is an adult only book; there are a lot of very explicit sex scenes in here.

The book wraps up decently but you can tell there is a lot more to the story. Ashera still needs to collect more Heartstones to grow her power and she need to get her new lands all taken care of.

Overall this was not my favorite read. Ashera is an inconsistent characters that initially seems kick-butt but turns wishy washy as the story continues. Her and Ramiel don't have any chemistry together to speak of; Ramiel uses and abuses her at every turn and this is constantly explained away as "okay" because Ashera benefits from and enjoys the abuse/use. The magic system fueled by Sex with a capital S, was confusing and never well-explained. I didn't enjoy the world or the characters. Technically the novel was well-written and easy to read, but I disliked the world and characters so much that in the end I just didn't care. I won't be reading more of this series.

Early Review - Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: January 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0803735040
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd in the Wilde Island series but stands alone well
Source: ARC from Librarything Early Reviewers Program
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got an advanced reading copy of this book to review through the Librarything Early Reviewer's program. This was an absolutely stunning book. I loved it from page one and couldn't put it down, I was sad when I finished it because I wanted to read more. This is the second book written by Carey that takes place in this world, but the story is a separate story from the first book (Dragon's Keep) and stands very well on it's own. I never read the first book but now I really want to.

Tess is a blacksmith's daughter in a small town. Tess is drawn to the Dragonswood forest (which she is forbidden to enter) and occasionally has visions of the future when she looks into fire. Her father is abusive and Tess flees to the woods at night to escape him. When a noblewoman arrives in town Tess is intrigued but not concerned; that is until Tess and her friends are accused of witchcraft and forced to flee. The adventure will lead Tess deep into Dragonswood and into intrigue and adventure beyond her wildest imagination.

I loved this book. The book kind of goes through two phases the first part has a very medieval feel to it with witch hunts and humanity living somewhat in misery and fear of the unknown; there is the occasional appearance by a wondrous dragon but they aren't a huge part of the story. As Tess spends time with Garth and her friends in Dragonswood the tone of the story changes. The story becomes more about magic, intrigue between magical races, and prophecies. I loved both parts of the story and enjoyed the classical fantasy feel to this story; it really reminded me of Robin McKinely's The Hero and the Crown.

Tess is a plucky young girl; she is strong and not afraid to stand up for herself. I admired her, although she comes off as a bit standoffish at points, you can really tell that she has used that armor to protect her from her abusive father. I love how Tess has decided on what type of man she would want to marry. Then as the story progresses and she spends time with Garth she occasionally makes a mental note of how he matches up with some aspect on her list. Garth is a wonderful character; caring,mysterious, and tough in his own right he is a perfect match for Tess and loved watching learn about each other and slowly fall in love with each other.

Tess's two friends are also wonderful characters. You can't help but feel for Tess's friend who is a young mother and loves her husband but is forced to flee him; I was drawn in to that story as well. Tess's other friend is cursed with a beauty that blinds and captivates men and she also has an excellent and engaging side story.

The writing was wonderfully done, the descriptions are beautiful and writing flows nicely. I enjoyed the writing style a lot and found the story to be incredible engaging. The book wraps everything up nicely with an epilogue that shows how things end up for all of the characters involved. There are perfect measures of happiness, heartbreak, humor, and adventure in this story.

Overall I absolutely adored this book. It was a wonderful medieval fantasy with dragons, fairies, witch hunts, love, adventure, humor, and magic. It reminded me a lot of McKinely's The Hero and the Crown so fans of that book should definitely check this out. This isn't your typical fantasy about a plucky young girl who wants to buck tradition to make it on her own, this story is about so much more. It completely captured my heart and was incredibly well written and engaging. So what are you waiting for?! Go read it now!

Early Review - Slayers by C.J. Hill (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy
Size: 384 pages

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: September 27, 2011
ISBN: 978-0312614140
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Slayers series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got an advanced reading copy of this book for review through NetGalley(dot)com.  It was a fun read and an excellent book.  This is a book about young adult dragon slayers in the modern day world.  Think Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but the kids are fighting dragons instead and are part of an ages old genetically modified race.  I haven't been able to find any information on a sequel to this book; but based on some things that were left unresolved I imaging this will be a series.

Tori has always been fascinated by dragons.  But since her father is a Senator and her family is rich and elite, Dragon Camp has never been deemed worthy enough by her father.  Finally this year her father relents and Tori finds herself enrolled in Dragon Camp.  No pedicures and bell-hops here, just cabins and a bunch of dragon-obsessed kids.  Or is it?  Tori is older so she is put in the advanced part of the camp; the area for older teens.  Thing is the teens in this part of the camp are very different, they have super-hero-like powers.  Could Tori be part of a genetically modified subgroup of humans destined to save all of humanity from vicious dragons?


The premise of this book is wonderful.  The Dragon Camp reminded me a lot of Camp Half Blood from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan....it also reminds some of the unicorn fighting school in Diana Peterfreund's Rampant series.  You have a group of teens together learning how to use their super powers and how to fight dragons.  How cool is that?

The characters are all fairly engaging.  There are two girls who are pretty stereotypical mean girls, and we never really get a reason for their behavior.  Outside of them the rest of the characters are very interesting.  Tori comes off as a bit of a spoiled rich girl (she assume the boys that help her take her luggage to her cabin are bell-hops), but she isn't pretentious...she's just used to a different way of life.  As the book goes on Tori sheds this rich-girl persona and really grows as a character.

There is a love triangle in this book.  Slayers always have a power match; one person whose power is similar to or compliments theirs and they are more in tune with this person.  This pairing doesn't have to be romantic, but teens being teens it does get involved.  Tori is drawn to and gets along with one guy in the camp really well but of course her power compliments a different boy's.  So this is just a comment for those of you who either love or hate love triangles.  That being said the love triangle doesn't take up a ton of story space.

The story is mainly told from Tori's perspective but there are short chapters between that are told from other characters' perspectives.  It was well done and I felt that seeing small parts of the story from other characters' viewpoints actually added a lot to the story rather than subtracting from it.

The story is well wrapped up in the end, there are a few unresolved plot points but it wasn't really a cliffhanger.  I enjoyed the writing style, it was easy and fun to read.  The story was full of fun action scenes and interesting superpowers, with a touch of romance.  Deeper questions are breached about the importance of saving humanity as a whole versus the happiness of an individual.

Overall this was a fun read.  It takes the old idea of dragon slayers and applies it to a modern day story with deeper implications on humanity as a whole.  I thought the dragons' powers were interesting and had a lot of fun reading about the Slayers and their different powers as well.  The characters are generally interesting and engaging.  People who enjoy reading about monster slayers and teens learning how to use their monster slaying powers should enjoy this book.  It is best suited for middle grade and older.  If you love fantasy and reading about dragons, with a bit of a coming of age added to them you should check this book out.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- The Debut Author Challenge
- E-book Reading Challenge

Review - Fireborn: Embers of Atlantic by Tracy Hickman (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Fantasy
Size: 304 pages
Publisher:  Fantasy Flight Games
Release Date: August 30, 2011
ISBN:  978-1616611002
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone?
Source: Review copy from publisher
Rating: 3/5 stars

I got a copy of this book from Fantasy Flight Games in exchange for an honest review.  I have previously read a number of books by Tracy Hickman  (Deathgate Cycle, Darksword, Rose of the Prophet, and some Dragonlance) and enjoyed them.  So I was eager to read his latest work.  The book was okay; it presents a very interesting world...but the characters are lackluster and some of the storyline a bit contrived.

Ethan Gallows is a cameraman in a world gone mad.  Things are falling apart and magic is real.  When he goes along with a reporter to London to film an art show he runs into a powerful woman named Sojourner who wants Ethan to come with her.  Ethan wants nothing to do with magic, but when he finds he may actually be one of three scions left in the world who is hosting a dragon he may not have a choice.  If the world is to be saved, Karma increased, and the Taint reduced, then Ethan will have to live up to his potential.

There were some things I really like about this story.  I enjoyed the scenes in the past of how Atlantis fell; these were interesting and engaging.  I enjoyed the crazy, nearly post-apocalyptic type world that Ethan live in.  You never knew what to expect in this world; there was crazy magic, zombies, monsters...it was just completely unpredictable.  

The action scenes were also well done.  I loved the idea of Taint and Karma fighting to make the world evil or good and enjoyed how the balance could be shifted.

There was a lot that could have used some improvement too.  The characters were okay, but not very engaging.  The best of the bunch was the CNN reporter; she was spunky, an absolute mystery, and fun to read about.  Ethan was too dour to be all that interesting and engaging of a character.

Although I enjoyed the unpredictability of the world, because of the lack of description I had trouble picturing it at times.  I would have enjoyed more description and a little more explanation as to why the world was the way it was.

The constant switching between the historical scenes at Atlantis and the current day scenes in London, was somewhat awkward and interrupted the flow of the story making it hard to stay engaged in the story.  There were also a couple of plot points that were just weird.  For example there is a fight scene on the subway that for some reason is told from the recording camera's perspective....I didn't understand why.  It would have been better to tell it from one of the character's perspectives, hearing it as a camera recording was just awkward and strange.

Also towards the end there is a prolonged section where out characters encounter Nazi zombies...I was left at a total loss as to why.  It didn't add anything to the story, was contrived, and again awkward to read.

Overall this is an okay book.  I loved the world created here and enjoyed the idea of balancing Karma and Taint.  I also enjoyed the history about Atlantis and how dragons were involved.  The action scenes are very well done too.  Unfortunately I did not like the characters, had a hard time picturing parts of the world created, and thought that the storyline didn't flow very well.  Additionally there are a couple scenes in the book that feel contrived and don't really add much to the story, they are just awkward.  This does appear to be the first in a series starring Ethan and crew.  I probably won't be reading future installments in this series because I just didn't find the characters and story engaging enough.

This goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge

Early Graphic Novel Review - The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen, Rebecca Guay (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult/Middle Grade

Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Size: 144 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse
Release Date: October 4, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1595827982
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars



I saw the beautiful artwork for this graphic novel at Book Expo of America at Dark Horse's booth there.  Then it was available on netgalley(dot)com for review so I had to download it to read.  The story has a very classic fairy tale feel to it; the artwork is beautiful and flowing.

When Tansy and her father are in the forest Tansy discovers Dragonsbane...which only exists where dragons are.  But there aren't any Dragons left in the world anymore, are there?  When livestock (and people) start disappearing Tansy begins to think otherwise.  Now the town of Meddlesome will need a hero to fight a dragon.  Except maybe a hero alone isn't enough...maybe the hero needs a smart girl like Tansy to help him out.

The artwork throughout is very flowing and beautiful; almost like impressionist painting at points.  While I grew to enjoy the artwork and loved how Tansy, the dragon, and the surroundings were depicted I did have a couple problems with it.  The first is that you can't really tell the facial expressions on any of the characters; the are all very stoic looking.  The second is that the beauty of the artwork lends a very serious and solemn quality to a cute and fun story and, at points in the story, makes the story more serious than I think it is supposed to be.  So, while the artwork is perfect and stunning at times....it is also a bit too serious and formal for the story at times.

The story is very classic fairy tale and I enjoyed it.  The plot is predictable and the writing simple; but that is what this is...a simple folk story.  Yolen does throw some tongue and cheek humor in at places and this adds a bit of fun to the story.

Overall a solid graphic novel.  The artwork is beautiful but doesn't always follow the tone of the story.  The story is a straight-forward fairy tale with a folk tale feel to it and a little humor laced throughout.  Fans of fairy tales and dragons will probably enjoy this book.  It is appropriate for all ages.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge
- Graphic Novels Challenge List
- E-book Reading Challenge