★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
A book about dragons — how could I possibly pass this up? When I saw that the ARC was available on Netgalley, I knew I had to get it right away. Delve into it I go, and boy was it an adventurous ride.
In this world that Ava Richardson has built, dragons live among common people like you and I, but during a period a long time ago in the past where caravans and horses were the only modes of transport. The story starts off with Dayie on a mission to steal a dragon egg. Yes, you read that right: she's part of the Dragon Traders. But it wasn't because she wanted to; it was because she had no other choice. From there, her journey with her dragon starts.
What is different about this book as compared to other fantastical books is that, rather than having the character fight against a single entity in the form of a man or woman, they work to kill off one of a more stubborn nature (depending on how you see it). The Deadweed. Plants that seem to have a mind of their own. And this, in my opinion, makes this book a whole lot more special.
Furthermore, I absolutely adored Dayie's dragon. There were definitely a lot of delightful moments that made me smile to myself, and reading how the two of them bonded was really heartwarming. Character development for Dayie is top-notch, along with others, especially Nas. That said, out of all the male characters, Akeem is my favourite. *laughs*
But despite my 5-star rating, I do have several things I have to touch on that did get a little bit on my nerves during the time I was reading this book. First, the writing. You can be sure that this book involves characters who are in their late-teens and early-twenties, but there are multiple instances in which I felt otherwise. Exclamation marks are plenty. To me, this makes the writing style err towards a younger audience. And the second thing: it was a bit slow to start. I had a hard time getting into it despite the existence of Dayie's dragon, and went on reading this a lot slower than I expected. I hadn't felt compelled to continue reading. I'm just glad that I managed to pull through that portion. If not, I wouldn't have had the chance to read about what came after.
And what came after was definitely worth everything. (I specially recommend this book to all fans of How to Train Your Dragon!)
Looking forward to the second book for sure!