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The Color of Dragons
Magic needs a spark.
And Maggie’s powers are especially fickle. With no one to help her learn to control her magic, the life debt that she owes stretches eternally over her head, with no way to repay it.
Until she meets Griffin, the king’s champion infamous for hunting down the draignochs that plague their kingdom.
Neither has any idea of the destiny that they both carry, or that their meeting will set off a chain of events that will alter every aspect of the life they know—and all of history thereafter.
And Maggie’s powers are especially fickle. With no one to help her learn to control her magic, the life debt that she owes stretches eternally over her head, with no way to repay it.
Until she meets Griffin, the king’s champion infamous for hunting down the draignochs that plague their kingdom.
Neither has any idea of the destiny that they both carry, or that their meeting will set off a chain of events that will alter every aspect of the life they know—and all of history thereafter.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 2021
About the author
R.A. Salvatore
729 books10.6k followersAs one of the fantasy genre’s most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following. His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 10,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, and French.
Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rasalv...
Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rasalv...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 471 reviews
October 23, 2021
wow. another book that feels incomplete and with no sign of this being a series… i really hope the authors decide to follow this up with another book because this left me with more questions than answers.
and honestly, thats not even my main complaint. its the total lack of dragons! i would say a good 50% of this is focused on a champions tournament, another 25% is court and kingdom politics, and the other 25% is one dragon and a curse and some magic. so sad that the fantasy elements in this story take a back seat and lack in what could have been some really interesting world-building.
but if you enjoy medieval vibes with knights and castles and contests and easy-going character driven novels, then this book is for you!
thanks harpercollins/harperteen for the ARC.
↠ 2.5 stars
and honestly, thats not even my main complaint. its the total lack of dragons! i would say a good 50% of this is focused on a champions tournament, another 25% is court and kingdom politics, and the other 25% is one dragon and a curse and some magic. so sad that the fantasy elements in this story take a back seat and lack in what could have been some really interesting world-building.
but if you enjoy medieval vibes with knights and castles and contests and easy-going character driven novels, then this book is for you!
thanks harpercollins/harperteen for the ARC.
↠ 2.5 stars
October 14, 2021
The Color of Dragons is a new young adult fantasy by R.A. Salvatore and Erika Lewis. The story is told from both Maggie and Griffin’s perspectives, which I liked, especially considering how different they are and that their stories aren’t always together. However, Maggie’s chapters are told in the first-person point-of-view, while Griffin’s chapters are from the third-person. I have mixed feelings about this. I liked the first person and felt that I got more perspective on Maggie’s thoughts and feelings. It delved deeper into her character this way. Griffin’s story, though interesting, felt a little more detached. I think this might be an interesting way of showing the differences in their personalities, but I would have loved to know more of Griffin’s thoughts and feelings in the first person as well.
Since she has newfound powers, Maggie must learn how to control and use them. She also tries to find out more about her past and the situation with the dragons. Maggie has a special connection with dragons, unlike Griffin. Griffin is the king’s champion, and he has a lot of pressure put upon him. The king has high expectations, as do the citizens. Additionally, he hunts dragons. Griffin has suffered much loss at the hands of dragons and hates them for it. I like how his feelings and opinions evolve over the course of the story and how Maggie’s influence opens his eyes to what is happening around him.
The way Maggie and Griffin approach things, their beliefs, and even their loyalties conflict. However, they have other things in common. They are both strong and smart survivors who do what they must to protect themselves. They both grow a lot throughout the story, and they both have feelings for each other. Their relationship is sweet and filled with longing, which was one of my favorite parts of the story. I like how Maggie and Griffin slowly connect and change each other.
Political intrigue, corruption, power-hungry antagonists, forced betrothals and other dangerous situations are the cause of conflict throughout the story, and the more Maggie and Griffin find out about the king and his son and their tyrannical reign, the more they realize that things aren’t always what they seem. The antagonists didn’t have much depth, but their villainous ways permeated the land and people. The magic and the dragons are really intriguing, though I wish each was further developed. I want to know more about each and have a feeling they will be explored more deeply in future books in the series. The ending has a twist that I totally didn’t see coming, and it completely surprised me. It did feel a bit rushed, but I liked it nonetheless.
I think readers who like young adult fiction with strong protagonists, political intrigue, a clean romance, and interesting fantasy elements might enjoy this read.
Since she has newfound powers, Maggie must learn how to control and use them. She also tries to find out more about her past and the situation with the dragons. Maggie has a special connection with dragons, unlike Griffin. Griffin is the king’s champion, and he has a lot of pressure put upon him. The king has high expectations, as do the citizens. Additionally, he hunts dragons. Griffin has suffered much loss at the hands of dragons and hates them for it. I like how his feelings and opinions evolve over the course of the story and how Maggie’s influence opens his eyes to what is happening around him.
The way Maggie and Griffin approach things, their beliefs, and even their loyalties conflict. However, they have other things in common. They are both strong and smart survivors who do what they must to protect themselves. They both grow a lot throughout the story, and they both have feelings for each other. Their relationship is sweet and filled with longing, which was one of my favorite parts of the story. I like how Maggie and Griffin slowly connect and change each other.
Political intrigue, corruption, power-hungry antagonists, forced betrothals and other dangerous situations are the cause of conflict throughout the story, and the more Maggie and Griffin find out about the king and his son and their tyrannical reign, the more they realize that things aren’t always what they seem. The antagonists didn’t have much depth, but their villainous ways permeated the land and people. The magic and the dragons are really intriguing, though I wish each was further developed. I want to know more about each and have a feeling they will be explored more deeply in future books in the series. The ending has a twist that I totally didn’t see coming, and it completely surprised me. It did feel a bit rushed, but I liked it nonetheless.
I think readers who like young adult fiction with strong protagonists, political intrigue, a clean romance, and interesting fantasy elements might enjoy this read.
April 7, 2022
Pretty good...
I actually enjoyed this story because it wasn't a series. Yes, I probably would have been as happy with it if it was a series, but for once, I LOVED having an ending to the drama...in one book.
The characters were interesting, the storyline kept me entertained, and the love story was sweet. I would have loved more interactions with the dragons. The author missed an opportunity to develop a relationship between the dragons and the characters. The small amount of time the heroine 'talks' with the dragon doesn't really help, and we're told of their connection.
While listening, I was all in, sucked into the world, feeling the connection and sadness when it was over. It was only when I sat down to write this review, I realised it could have been so much more. Still, it was a great listen and I am definitely interested in reading/listening to more of this author's work.
I actually enjoyed this story because it wasn't a series. Yes, I probably would have been as happy with it if it was a series, but for once, I LOVED having an ending to the drama...in one book.
The characters were interesting, the storyline kept me entertained, and the love story was sweet. I would have loved more interactions with the dragons. The author missed an opportunity to develop a relationship between the dragons and the characters. The small amount of time the heroine 'talks' with the dragon doesn't really help, and we're told of their connection.
While listening, I was all in, sucked into the world, feeling the connection and sadness when it was over. It was only when I sat down to write this review, I realised it could have been so much more. Still, it was a great listen and I am definitely interested in reading/listening to more of this author's work.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
July 16, 2022DNF at about 100 pages. I tried - I gave this book more time than I originally planned, because the cat was on my lap, but yikes.
I was skeptical from the second page, where 'A Brief History' digresses into some fairly blatant Libertarian talking points about how hard-working people have "their just rewards stolen" in the name of taxes for the king, but honestly I could have pushed past that if the writing was, uh... good. Or even tolerable. I'd settle for tolerable!
Some of the writing may be chalked up to the fact that I was reading an old ARC copy, which has been sitting on my shelf for a while, and presumably some of the obvious typos have been corrected. I have less hope for the garbled syntax, or the jarringly frequent sentence fragments and one-sentence paragraphs. I got to the protagonist describing - in her own first-person narration, mind you - her 'raven curls' and at that point, I was pretty sure this would be one of my rare DNFs.
My cutoff point was going to be around 75 pages, which was the end of a chapter, but since the cat was sitting on me I got a little further... just far enough to reach characters saying "it's all good" and "you're obsessed, man", and that sealed the deal. On top of the already-flimsy worldbuilding (references to tartan and former gladiator games are not enough to bring Arthurian Britain to life), I just... I just can't.
If you liked Cursed, you might like this, because if you liked Cursed there's no hope for you anyway.
I was skeptical from the second page, where 'A Brief History' digresses into some fairly blatant Libertarian talking points about how hard-working people have "their just rewards stolen" in the name of taxes for the king, but honestly I could have pushed past that if the writing was, uh... good. Or even tolerable. I'd settle for tolerable!
Some of the writing may be chalked up to the fact that I was reading an old ARC copy, which has been sitting on my shelf for a while, and presumably some of the obvious typos have been corrected. I have less hope for the garbled syntax, or the jarringly frequent sentence fragments and one-sentence paragraphs. I got to the protagonist describing - in her own first-person narration, mind you - her 'raven curls' and at that point, I was pretty sure this would be one of my rare DNFs.
My cutoff point was going to be around 75 pages, which was the end of a chapter, but since the cat was sitting on me I got a little further... just far enough to reach characters saying "it's all good" and "you're obsessed, man", and that sealed the deal. On top of the already-flimsy worldbuilding (references to tartan and former gladiator games are not enough to bring Arthurian Britain to life), I just... I just can't.
If you liked Cursed, you might like this, because if you liked Cursed there's no hope for you anyway.
October 17, 2023
“Griffin and I slept under the stars, under the light of the full moon. I danced in her glory, taking with me long glistening strands”
**Holy cow. That was better than I thought it would be..
Filled with magic, love, and of course dragons, The Color of Dragons was a very captivating book. Containing two different perspectives, one of the FMC: Maggie, and one of the MMC: Griffin, this story is about friendship and love and how people's views change as life goes on. Maggie is a girl living in the Hitherlands with a father figure magician. Griffin is a well-earned knight at the prince's side living inside the walled city. When Maggie and Griffin meet because of Prince Jori, both their lives are changed forever. While Prince Jori is trying to win Maggie’s favor, she is trying to juggle her feelings for Griffin, freeing a dragon from her past and keeping her father from wavoring out of the king's favor. Maggie holds an unseen power that nobody can ever know about. But when certain people start to find out, she is torn between love and doing what is right.
“He couldn’t feel anything anymore, except an intangible, inexplicable, impossible warmth and peace. If he had to put a name on it, it felt like love.” ( This was probably my favorite quote from this book)
This book started off slow and honestly kind of boring. But I definitely made up for it in the end. At first, Griffin’s chapters were boring until he met Maggie. I made the mistake of actually liking Jori at the beginning and it bit me in the butt later. I think this was 100% worth the read although you might be doubting it for a while in the beginning. There was romance, magic, dragons, plotting, secrets, magical forgotten pasts, and betrayal. My favorite thing about this book was Maggie’s and Griffin’s relationship. It was so adorable so I'm going to share some quotes:
- “And yet, I felt compelled to. “Would you come with me?”
“I would.” He didn’t hesitate. Not in the slightest.”
**Adorable. I love them sm
- Griffin leaned on the chair. “The chair is over here Maggie.”
“Why don’t you sit in it and I’ll try that again?” I smirked at him.
He settled in, wearing his own ridiculous smirk. “You’ll never hit me.”
“Want to bet?”
“Aha…what’s your wager?”
What did I want from Griffin? Not monies. He’d lost too much for me already. “Another Kiss.”
“That’s unfortunate.” He sighed, my heart breaking ever so slightly. He winced. “That would’ve been my wager too.”
** Their bantering is even more adorable. Basically, this book was great. I actually think it would make a great movie. Yes, the plot was kind of predictable…But I didn’t even notice that until I finished the book. I was too wrapped up in the dragon stuff and the powers and the actual plot at the moment. This book gets some emotions out of you and I definitely recommend it.
“ They camped along the roads I had been so afraid to travel. Lit bonfires in celebration. They sang songs about the dragon, the moon child, and the champion.” 4.3 stars
(the last line of this book was actually really cool and super interesting but I can’t put it on here because it's a huge spoiler)
**Holy cow. That was better than I thought it would be..
Filled with magic, love, and of course dragons, The Color of Dragons was a very captivating book. Containing two different perspectives, one of the FMC: Maggie, and one of the MMC: Griffin, this story is about friendship and love and how people's views change as life goes on. Maggie is a girl living in the Hitherlands with a father figure magician. Griffin is a well-earned knight at the prince's side living inside the walled city. When Maggie and Griffin meet because of Prince Jori, both their lives are changed forever. While Prince Jori is trying to win Maggie’s favor, she is trying to juggle her feelings for Griffin, freeing a dragon from her past and keeping her father from wavoring out of the king's favor. Maggie holds an unseen power that nobody can ever know about. But when certain people start to find out, she is torn between love and doing what is right.
“He couldn’t feel anything anymore, except an intangible, inexplicable, impossible warmth and peace. If he had to put a name on it, it felt like love.” ( This was probably my favorite quote from this book)
This book started off slow and honestly kind of boring. But I definitely made up for it in the end. At first, Griffin’s chapters were boring until he met Maggie. I made the mistake of actually liking Jori at the beginning and it bit me in the butt later. I think this was 100% worth the read although you might be doubting it for a while in the beginning. There was romance, magic, dragons, plotting, secrets, magical forgotten pasts, and betrayal. My favorite thing about this book was Maggie’s and Griffin’s relationship. It was so adorable so I'm going to share some quotes:
- “And yet, I felt compelled to. “Would you come with me?”
“I would.” He didn’t hesitate. Not in the slightest.”
**Adorable. I love them sm
- Griffin leaned on the chair. “The chair is over here Maggie.”
“Why don’t you sit in it and I’ll try that again?” I smirked at him.
He settled in, wearing his own ridiculous smirk. “You’ll never hit me.”
“Want to bet?”
“Aha…what’s your wager?”
What did I want from Griffin? Not monies. He’d lost too much for me already. “Another Kiss.”
“That’s unfortunate.” He sighed, my heart breaking ever so slightly. He winced. “That would’ve been my wager too.”
** Their bantering is even more adorable. Basically, this book was great. I actually think it would make a great movie. Yes, the plot was kind of predictable…But I didn’t even notice that until I finished the book. I was too wrapped up in the dragon stuff and the powers and the actual plot at the moment. This book gets some emotions out of you and I definitely recommend it.
“ They camped along the roads I had been so afraid to travel. Lit bonfires in celebration. They sang songs about the dragon, the moon child, and the champion.” 4.3 stars
(the last line of this book was actually really cool and super interesting but I can’t put it on here because it's a huge spoiler)
Want to read
August 25, 2021This comes out two days before my birthday and I can't think of a better gift to give myself. Origins of magic? Say. Less.
Want to read
May 28, 2022You had me at dragons 😍
October 30, 2021
The book started good, has all the potential and all but then it ended and I AM STILL CONFUSED what just happened?
May 14, 2024
I saw this book randomly recommended and I am so glad I picked this up! It was such a fun time. If you’re looking for a standalone (YA) fantasy with dragons, then I highly recommend! It was easy to read, the world was easy to understand, and it wasn’t heavy like many other fantasy books I’ve read lately. I had a great time reading this.
March 8, 2022
The Color of Dragons follows Maggie and Griffin, Maggie has newfound powers and tries to learn more about them and how to control them while Griffin is the king's champion, he hates Dragons and the king hunts them. Maggie will help him evolve with that.
This book wasn't what I expected, didn't start like I thought it would and honestly, never managed to grab my attention. It lost me pretty early into the audiobook. Definitely thought there would be more dragons then there were. If there's a second book I'm not interested.
(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Edelweiss)
This book wasn't what I expected, didn't start like I thought it would and honestly, never managed to grab my attention. It lost me pretty early into the audiobook. Definitely thought there would be more dragons then there were. If there's a second book I'm not interested.
(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Edelweiss)
April 15, 2022
**Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for an advanced e-copy of this book.**
Initial review on finishing the book: Y'all. WHAT. This book ended up being so good!? Some serious YA cliches which made me wonder at first... but the ending was sooooo good. And I became quite connected to these characters!
Now, I will attempt to actually put my thoughts into a coherent review and proper sentences - haha!
Wow! I ended up being so pleasantly surprised by this book. I was so excited to see a YA fantasy standalone, something that is not super common, and even more excited when I realized that it would have dragons! While I wish the dragons had come into the story a bit more, just having any kind of dragon in a story makes it epically better, don't you think!? But I digress...
Salvatore and Lewis did a fantastic job of setting up an intriguing fantasy world - one which mirrors so many aspects of our real world that it was complex and different enough to make you escape into the world of fantasy while noticing the many similarities to the hierarchy we have in our society. The history and the set up of the world helped to shape so many aspects of the plot. Things were happening because of past events and relationships - and we had plenty of information to link them and make some theories about what might happen.
I think that was one of the great things about this book. I kept trying to guess how things would turn out, and a twist would throw me off here and there. I thought I had it all figured out at one point when the greatest twist happened and I was FLOORED. I didn't see it coming. Some people might, but I thought that the authors did a really good job of making you like so many of the characters while also being suspicious of almost all of them... You can't guess everyone's motives or moves at every plot point, and I loved that for a fantasy book. There was so much court and political intrigue in motion alongside the magic, the romance, and the friendships. It was so wonderful woven together.
I loved the characters. They all had flaws in some way or another, and they were all realistic people. I was rooting for some of them, intrigued by others, and honestly wanted to be friends with a few of them. I will say the one thing that I found difficult was that there are so many side characters for a standalone fantasy. It was difficult to keep track of a whole host of characters at the beginning, and I easily mixed them up a couple times. BUT they all come to play a role in the story, no matter how small. I think some could easily have spinoff stories if the authors choose, and depending on the characters, I could be easily enticed to pick up their stories.
I will admit that I hope the book went through another round of editing, but I would never hold that against an arc and did not factor it into my rating. I did, however, factor in the few blatant YA cliches that were used... a couple are honestly mocked at this point so I am not sure if the authors used them in jest or not, but I feel like we could move on from some of them in the mess of 2021 and leave them behind... but alas, they definitely didn't break the book for me.
I think that the book does take a little bit to set things up since it begins en media res, but I generally like that.
If you are looking for a YA fantasy that is easy to follow, has great characters and court intrigues, friendship, romance, and DRAGONS, then I think this is a fantastic book to pick up - especially since it's a standalone! Perfect for when you want a touch of fantasy but don't want to commit to multiple books.
TW: animal cruelty/death, blood, confinement, death, death of a parent, emotional abuse, grief, injury/injury detail, scarring, misogyny, murder, toxic friendship, violence
Initial review on finishing the book: Y'all. WHAT. This book ended up being so good!? Some serious YA cliches which made me wonder at first... but the ending was sooooo good. And I became quite connected to these characters!
Now, I will attempt to actually put my thoughts into a coherent review and proper sentences - haha!
Wow! I ended up being so pleasantly surprised by this book. I was so excited to see a YA fantasy standalone, something that is not super common, and even more excited when I realized that it would have dragons! While I wish the dragons had come into the story a bit more, just having any kind of dragon in a story makes it epically better, don't you think!? But I digress...
Salvatore and Lewis did a fantastic job of setting up an intriguing fantasy world - one which mirrors so many aspects of our real world that it was complex and different enough to make you escape into the world of fantasy while noticing the many similarities to the hierarchy we have in our society. The history and the set up of the world helped to shape so many aspects of the plot. Things were happening because of past events and relationships - and we had plenty of information to link them and make some theories about what might happen.
I think that was one of the great things about this book. I kept trying to guess how things would turn out, and a twist would throw me off here and there. I thought I had it all figured out at one point when the greatest twist happened and I was FLOORED. I didn't see it coming. Some people might, but I thought that the authors did a really good job of making you like so many of the characters while also being suspicious of almost all of them... You can't guess everyone's motives or moves at every plot point, and I loved that for a fantasy book. There was so much court and political intrigue in motion alongside the magic, the romance, and the friendships. It was so wonderful woven together.
I loved the characters. They all had flaws in some way or another, and they were all realistic people. I was rooting for some of them, intrigued by others, and honestly wanted to be friends with a few of them. I will say the one thing that I found difficult was that there are so many side characters for a standalone fantasy. It was difficult to keep track of a whole host of characters at the beginning, and I easily mixed them up a couple times. BUT they all come to play a role in the story, no matter how small. I think some could easily have spinoff stories if the authors choose, and depending on the characters, I could be easily enticed to pick up their stories.
I will admit that I hope the book went through another round of editing, but I would never hold that against an arc and did not factor it into my rating. I did, however, factor in the few blatant YA cliches that were used... a couple are honestly mocked at this point so I am not sure if the authors used them in jest or not, but I feel like we could move on from some of them in the mess of 2021 and leave them behind... but alas, they definitely didn't break the book for me.
I think that the book does take a little bit to set things up since it begins en media res, but I generally like that.
If you are looking for a YA fantasy that is easy to follow, has great characters and court intrigues, friendship, romance, and DRAGONS, then I think this is a fantastic book to pick up - especially since it's a standalone! Perfect for when you want a touch of fantasy but don't want to commit to multiple books.
TW: animal cruelty/death, blood, confinement, death, death of a parent, emotional abuse, grief, injury/injury detail, scarring, misogyny, murder, toxic friendship, violence
December 29, 2021
So overall as a story, mostly good. I enjoyed it until i was about 90%of the way through it. The writing in some scenes needs to be smoother, like when characters are interacting there is a talking heads problem and then sudden action that doesn’t make sense in the context if where their bodies were previously positioned. A simple ‘…he said while stepping close’ would have sufficed as a transition into stabbing my guy instead of leaning against the wall and suddenly there is a dagger in the other dude’s stomach. With no mention of him moving.
Also so many bits of information seem totally useless? Like the crazy witch who Maggie thought was her mom and her deformed son. They actually serve no purpose. And i am conflicted about the cop-out of the dragon just GIVING maggie all her memories and then oh suddenly it makes sense. She was FIVE and she was half raised by a dragon i think a kid would remember that. And the stone? Why the fuck would they write down her origin story on a rock? And only hers? Who were her people? Also i thought the witch who gave the king his prophecy WAS the evil witch who cursed maggie but apparently they are two different people? Very unclear. And what was up with her scar? Like, birthmark or?? And are her and the dragon’s eyes the same because they were both born from/evolved through the moon’s influence?
Are we also going to just ignore all of the inconsistencies? Like how tf does the prince know they were training? That is never explained. Nobody was spying on them in there and Griffin didnt say anything so there is no way for him to know that. They mention at the start of the book that the moon is a crescent but it is waxing then all of a sudden when Maggie is trying to figure out her powers its 3/4 full when it has been 6 days. If anything it would be half full. They literally count the days ffs. And another time when the prince is trying to play her like Griffin was his pawn the whole time and she was like: how do you know my dragons name i only told Griffin that he must be a traitor’ like bitch you screamed it on the balcony when she was gutting Cornwall an hour ago goddamn.
Also the ending is so dumb. And way too quick. Its like the author got halfway through writing a good story and then at the end was like: what if this was a merlin world building origin story? While giving absolutely no context for Arthurian lore anywhere else (from a novice’s standpoint, dont come for me i know basics but enough to recognize it).
And you also cant just demolish a seat of power like that and expect nothing to happen. That is unrealistic. You expect the northerners to just help the people out and then go home? Who doles out the food and the land? Is there an army? They have borders somewhere, its not an island as far as we know. You cant just go from having a king to not having a king, not like this. Its unrealistic and felt rushed and anticlimactic honestly. A real shame because i genuinely thought this was going to be a series where we explore more of the world and figure out what exactly the fuck maggie is. But no just made out of moonbeams for no reason.
Also so many bits of information seem totally useless? Like the crazy witch who Maggie thought was her mom and her deformed son. They actually serve no purpose. And i am conflicted about the cop-out of the dragon just GIVING maggie all her memories and then oh suddenly it makes sense. She was FIVE and she was half raised by a dragon i think a kid would remember that. And the stone? Why the fuck would they write down her origin story on a rock? And only hers? Who were her people? Also i thought the witch who gave the king his prophecy WAS the evil witch who cursed maggie but apparently they are two different people? Very unclear. And what was up with her scar? Like, birthmark or?? And are her and the dragon’s eyes the same because they were both born from/evolved through the moon’s influence?
Are we also going to just ignore all of the inconsistencies? Like how tf does the prince know they were training? That is never explained. Nobody was spying on them in there and Griffin didnt say anything so there is no way for him to know that. They mention at the start of the book that the moon is a crescent but it is waxing then all of a sudden when Maggie is trying to figure out her powers its 3/4 full when it has been 6 days. If anything it would be half full. They literally count the days ffs. And another time when the prince is trying to play her like Griffin was his pawn the whole time and she was like: how do you know my dragons name i only told Griffin that he must be a traitor’ like bitch you screamed it on the balcony when she was gutting Cornwall an hour ago goddamn.
Also the ending is so dumb. And way too quick. Its like the author got halfway through writing a good story and then at the end was like: what if this was a merlin world building origin story? While giving absolutely no context for Arthurian lore anywhere else (from a novice’s standpoint, dont come for me i know basics but enough to recognize it).
And you also cant just demolish a seat of power like that and expect nothing to happen. That is unrealistic. You expect the northerners to just help the people out and then go home? Who doles out the food and the land? Is there an army? They have borders somewhere, its not an island as far as we know. You cant just go from having a king to not having a king, not like this. Its unrealistic and felt rushed and anticlimactic honestly. A real shame because i genuinely thought this was going to be a series where we explore more of the world and figure out what exactly the fuck maggie is. But no just made out of moonbeams for no reason.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2022
⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️
It was okay.
The ending was quite abrupt and a little too easy (not easy, but simple) for the protagonist, because somehow everything deftly- and coincidently- fell into place under the most dire circumstances (ik that’s basically all fantasy novels in a nutshell but this was just so…).
The characters didn’t have backup plan- or even a plan to begin with- to escape, let alone win. Yet it was a quick luck of the draw that led to simultaneous sequences, which eventually brought them to their very underwhelming victory. *sigh*
The plot twist was not a twist, it was a predictable and honestly boring giant obstacle. Its been done one too many times, when someone close-ish (someone who doesn’t seem like a villain or could do no wrong) turns out to be an evil mastermind in disguise pulling all the strings.
Sometimes when this scenario is written it’s enjoyable and riveting to read, because sometimes it actually is unexpected.
I can’t say that I hated Maggie (the MC) but I definitely didn’t like her. At first, I was really interested in her character and liked her personality. She had a no nonsense temperament and had zero tolerance when it came to oglers and idiots. I envied her for that, but some of her decisions were rash and stupid.
For instance, near the end there was this one scene when it was her life and plenty of others on the line, and even though she wanted to keep everyone safe, guess what…………. she provoked the guy who was juggling all of their lives in his hands by head butting his nose. *face palm* DO YOU WANT TO DIE. I know you hate his guts, but like, ENDURE GIRL, ENDURE SO SOME PEOPLE CAN LIVE. I didn’t understand the ridiculous impulse she had to aggravate him.
(to answer the question that you’re probably not even thinking, yes, the villain is a guy, that’s all I’m giving away)
Overall though, it wasn’t the worst. hehe.
3.5 stars
It was okay.
The ending was quite abrupt and a little too easy (not easy, but simple) for the protagonist, because somehow everything deftly- and coincidently- fell into place under the most dire circumstances (ik that’s basically all fantasy novels in a nutshell but this was just so…).
The characters didn’t have backup plan- or even a plan to begin with- to escape, let alone win. Yet it was a quick luck of the draw that led to simultaneous sequences, which eventually brought them to their very underwhelming victory. *sigh*
The plot twist was not a twist, it was a predictable and honestly boring giant obstacle. Its been done one too many times, when someone close-ish (someone who doesn’t seem like a villain or could do no wrong) turns out to be an evil mastermind in disguise pulling all the strings.
Sometimes when this scenario is written it’s enjoyable and riveting to read, because sometimes it actually is unexpected.
I can’t say that I hated Maggie (the MC) but I definitely didn’t like her. At first, I was really interested in her character and liked her personality. She had a no nonsense temperament and had zero tolerance when it came to oglers and idiots. I envied her for that, but some of her decisions were rash and stupid.
For instance, near the end there was this one scene when it was her life and plenty of others on the line, and even though she wanted to keep everyone safe, guess what…………. she provoked the guy who was juggling all of their lives in his hands by head butting his nose. *face palm* DO YOU WANT TO DIE. I know you hate his guts, but like, ENDURE GIRL, ENDURE SO SOME PEOPLE CAN LIVE. I didn’t understand the ridiculous impulse she had to aggravate him.
(to answer the question that you’re probably not even thinking, yes, the villain is a guy, that’s all I’m giving away)
Overall though, it wasn’t the worst. hehe.
3.5 stars
September 10, 2021
Thank you so much to Harper Collins Canada for sending me an ARC in exchange for review!
In many ways “The Color of Dragons” was a very nostalgic read for me. A Merlin origin story, it reminded me greatly of books I enjoyed in my youth. It is a familiar tale—in a good way—of a young orphan with hidden magical abilities caught up in the court politics of a corrupt kingdom. Complete with warring noble families, marriage alliances, murder plots, and dragons, this medieval-inspired fantasy kept me captivated from start to finish. The characters were likeable and the romantic arc was well developed with perfect chemistry.
However, while this tale reminded me of childhood favourites in many good ways, it also brought with it a bunch of things I think really ought to have been left in the past. As far as I can tell, the cast is all cishet and white. A queer woman myself, I prefer diverse books, but I am also of the belief that authors don’t owe us diversity. So that in and of itself isn’t a deal breaker for me. However, when coupled with an uncomfortable dose of fat shaming, slut shaming, and paragraphs that might have been taken out of a “not all men” spokesperson’s diary, it does paint the book in an unfortunate light. It also includes another trope that is usually a miss for me—that of the absurdly gorgeous protagonist who doesn’t really know she’s pretty despite the fact that every man comments on it, as though it makes a woman vain to enjoy her own appearance.
Overall, I enjoyed this book from a non-critical standpoint, meaning the plot was enticing and the characters were captivating. However, there was enough in it that I felt could be harmful that I couldn’t give it more than three stars. It was nostalgic, yes. But maybe also a little bit stale.
In many ways “The Color of Dragons” was a very nostalgic read for me. A Merlin origin story, it reminded me greatly of books I enjoyed in my youth. It is a familiar tale—in a good way—of a young orphan with hidden magical abilities caught up in the court politics of a corrupt kingdom. Complete with warring noble families, marriage alliances, murder plots, and dragons, this medieval-inspired fantasy kept me captivated from start to finish. The characters were likeable and the romantic arc was well developed with perfect chemistry.
However, while this tale reminded me of childhood favourites in many good ways, it also brought with it a bunch of things I think really ought to have been left in the past. As far as I can tell, the cast is all cishet and white. A queer woman myself, I prefer diverse books, but I am also of the belief that authors don’t owe us diversity. So that in and of itself isn’t a deal breaker for me. However, when coupled with an uncomfortable dose of fat shaming, slut shaming, and paragraphs that might have been taken out of a “not all men” spokesperson’s diary, it does paint the book in an unfortunate light. It also includes another trope that is usually a miss for me—that of the absurdly gorgeous protagonist who doesn’t really know she’s pretty despite the fact that every man comments on it, as though it makes a woman vain to enjoy her own appearance.
Overall, I enjoyed this book from a non-critical standpoint, meaning the plot was enticing and the characters were captivating. However, there was enough in it that I felt could be harmful that I couldn’t give it more than three stars. It was nostalgic, yes. But maybe also a little bit stale.
July 23, 2023
2.5⭐️
This book is about Merlin’s grandparents and the trouble they go through to free the dragon one of them is bonded to.
This was okay - not good, not bad. I’m so sad I didn’t enjoy this book more because! Dragons!
I just feel like nothing much happened in this book and the way everything sped up in the end almost gave me whiplash. None of the characters felt compelling enough and I was a bit disinterested after a while, I’ll admit.
This book is about Merlin’s grandparents and the trouble they go through to free the dragon one of them is bonded to.
This was okay - not good, not bad. I’m so sad I didn’t enjoy this book more because! Dragons!
I just feel like nothing much happened in this book and the way everything sped up in the end almost gave me whiplash. None of the characters felt compelling enough and I was a bit disinterested after a while, I’ll admit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 8, 2023DNF. The writing style and story is oddly bland for having dragons. The 6th book in 3 weeks that I've dropped - can you hear my screams from across the world? 😁
August 26, 2021
Dragons, a Pre-Merlin tale, and an underdog with special powers tick all the boxes for me to make for a fantastic story. The book is told in alternating perspectives between maggie, our underdog, and griffin, who wants to be noticed and fight for honor against the evil dragionochs. This story takes place in a time before Merlin, and the whole thing keeps you guessing right up to the last paragraph exactly how that all plays out. Dragonoichs are forced to fight in the arena against humans and die in an attempt to live. Griffin plucked from the bottoms where poor people live and are now the chosen fighter for the prince. The king wants magic is desperate to have due to a prophecy the king was shown. When he discovers Maggie and her dad may have true magic, he makes them prisoners in his castle. What unfolds for Maggie about her past and future sets up this world for an eye-opening adventure. Expertly done between these two authors, and I thoroughly enjoyed this stand-alone.
April 30, 2022
This has been one of my favorite reads this year and if I could buy all the versions I would. I already preordered this right away after reading. The rotating POV kept the pacing fast. Also, they were long enough so you got into the story without being transported into the next POV too quickly. Dragons are fierce and this story showed their fierceness but also there fall from something more. Unexpectedly, this story tied into the myth of Merlin which I was so here for. Definitely recommending this book!
October 4, 2023
3,5 ⭐️'s
November 16, 2023
I'm only sad it's a single book. Needed to be a series. Great read.
April 11, 2023
3,5*
Americké duo R. A. Salvatore a Erika Lewis si ako dejisko svojho príbehu zvolili starý dobrý temný stredovek. Kulisy teda tvorí nielen bieda a beznádej, ale aj vykorisťovanie a sociálne priepasti. Všetko je to umocnené faktom, že kráľove vojsko okráda zbedačených poddaných aj o posledné zásoby. Daňou sa tak môže stať čokoľvek, pokojne aj splesnivený chlieb.
V snahe ospravedlniť svoje konanie kráľ tvrdí, že nepriateľom ostávajú draky. Proti nim bojujú v rytierskych súbojoch slávychtiví mladíci. Rozprávačmi týchto udalostí je dvojica mladučkých hlavných hrdinov. Griffin a Maggie pritom mnohé spája, ale aj rozdeľuje. Na základe odlišných typov rozprávania, „on“ v Griffinových kapitolách, „ja“ v Maggiiných, sa dá usúdiť, že každého z aktérov viedol iný autor.
Rozdiely v pisateľských štýloch sú menšie a jasne viditeľné, ale zároveň sa dopĺňajú. Možno aj z toho dôvodu, že postavy sú si také podobné. Obaja mladí ľudia vyrástli v chudobe. Obom ponúkli lepší život. Zároveň sa z oboch stali muchy chytené v pavučinách palácových intríg. Ani jeden nemá úplnú voľnosť v tom, čo robí. Toto a aj mnoho iného z nich robí spojencov, hoci najskôr nedobrovoľných.
Kniha má teda aj výraznejšiu romantickú linku. Slúži však len na doplnenie ostatných udalostí. Salvatore a Lewis sa oveľa viac sústredili na snovanie mocenských hier. Čitateľovi tiež postupne predostierali, čo všetko je v ich vymyslenom svete v neporiadku. Vďaka tomu má príbeh dosť potenciálu stať sa rozsiahlou epickou ságou. V istom zmysle ňou aj je. Zo stránok však presakuje najmä snaha prispôsobiť sa cieľovej skupine.
Nie je to len o mladých ľuďoch, ale hlavne pre mladšiu generáciu. Dejová linka je vďaka tomu jednoduchšia. Rozuzlenie prichádza akosi priskoro. Motivácia hlavných postáv je minimálne naznačená, no o tých vedľajších sa dozvedáme až príliš málo. Celkovo je akcia zastúpená hojnejšie ako opisovanie. Všetko v duchu prehĺbenia svižnosti a dobrodružnosti.
Plusom je, že autori čitateľa vyslovene nevodia za ručičku, hoci niekoľko faktov ponúkajú ako na striebornom podnose. Takisto záverečné vysvetlenie záporáka je obsiahle, detailné a ako vystrihnuté z príručky o dejových prešľapoch. Toto všetko knihu napokon predurčuje k tomu, aby sa stala oddychovým jednorazovým dobrodružstvom. Skvelé na nalákanie ďalšej generácie na fantastiku.
Kniha Farba drakov je výbornou voľnočasovou jednohubkou o mladých pre mladých. Tento účel podporuje celková jednoduchosť a strohosť. Najväčším nedostatkom ostáva samotný záver. Prichádza prirýchlo a je odbavený doslova niekoľkými vetami. Čitateľ sa síce dozvie, že dej mal predchádzať artušovskej legende, napriek tomu pretrvá pocit, že príbeh je akýsi odtrhnutý – alebo ide o začiatok rozsiahlejšej série.
viac v recenzii: https://www.fandom.sk/clanok/recenzia...
Americké duo R. A. Salvatore a Erika Lewis si ako dejisko svojho príbehu zvolili starý dobrý temný stredovek. Kulisy teda tvorí nielen bieda a beznádej, ale aj vykorisťovanie a sociálne priepasti. Všetko je to umocnené faktom, že kráľove vojsko okráda zbedačených poddaných aj o posledné zásoby. Daňou sa tak môže stať čokoľvek, pokojne aj splesnivený chlieb.
V snahe ospravedlniť svoje konanie kráľ tvrdí, že nepriateľom ostávajú draky. Proti nim bojujú v rytierskych súbojoch slávychtiví mladíci. Rozprávačmi týchto udalostí je dvojica mladučkých hlavných hrdinov. Griffin a Maggie pritom mnohé spája, ale aj rozdeľuje. Na základe odlišných typov rozprávania, „on“ v Griffinových kapitolách, „ja“ v Maggiiných, sa dá usúdiť, že každého z aktérov viedol iný autor.
Rozdiely v pisateľských štýloch sú menšie a jasne viditeľné, ale zároveň sa dopĺňajú. Možno aj z toho dôvodu, že postavy sú si také podobné. Obaja mladí ľudia vyrástli v chudobe. Obom ponúkli lepší život. Zároveň sa z oboch stali muchy chytené v pavučinách palácových intríg. Ani jeden nemá úplnú voľnosť v tom, čo robí. Toto a aj mnoho iného z nich robí spojencov, hoci najskôr nedobrovoľných.
Kniha má teda aj výraznejšiu romantickú linku. Slúži však len na doplnenie ostatných udalostí. Salvatore a Lewis sa oveľa viac sústredili na snovanie mocenských hier. Čitateľovi tiež postupne predostierali, čo všetko je v ich vymyslenom svete v neporiadku. Vďaka tomu má príbeh dosť potenciálu stať sa rozsiahlou epickou ságou. V istom zmysle ňou aj je. Zo stránok však presakuje najmä snaha prispôsobiť sa cieľovej skupine.
Nie je to len o mladých ľuďoch, ale hlavne pre mladšiu generáciu. Dejová linka je vďaka tomu jednoduchšia. Rozuzlenie prichádza akosi priskoro. Motivácia hlavných postáv je minimálne naznačená, no o tých vedľajších sa dozvedáme až príliš málo. Celkovo je akcia zastúpená hojnejšie ako opisovanie. Všetko v duchu prehĺbenia svižnosti a dobrodružnosti.
Plusom je, že autori čitateľa vyslovene nevodia za ručičku, hoci niekoľko faktov ponúkajú ako na striebornom podnose. Takisto záverečné vysvetlenie záporáka je obsiahle, detailné a ako vystrihnuté z príručky o dejových prešľapoch. Toto všetko knihu napokon predurčuje k tomu, aby sa stala oddychovým jednorazovým dobrodružstvom. Skvelé na nalákanie ďalšej generácie na fantastiku.
Kniha Farba drakov je výbornou voľnočasovou jednohubkou o mladých pre mladých. Tento účel podporuje celková jednoduchosť a strohosť. Najväčším nedostatkom ostáva samotný záver. Prichádza prirýchlo a je odbavený doslova niekoľkými vetami. Čitateľ sa síce dozvie, že dej mal predchádzať artušovskej legende, napriek tomu pretrvá pocit, že príbeh je akýsi odtrhnutý – alebo ide o začiatok rozsiahlejšej série.
viac v recenzii: https://www.fandom.sk/clanok/recenzia...
November 5, 2021
With a cover like this and promises of dragons and a female lead who was discovering herself and her gift in a fantasy land, I had to give this one a try. Unfortunately, I am saddened to say it did not live up to its beautiful cover. When you see dragons on the cover and in the title, you are led to trust they will be at least the semi focus of the book around the main character...it was about halfway through that we even got a fullish scene containing them and even then, it was sparingly from then. The flow of the book wasn't there; after halfway through and me still having no connection to the world, story, or character....my unconscious mind was made up and although it was an interesting story...it just did not enjoy it as much as I wished I had.
The one positive thing I could say it honestly if they changed a few bits this would make a brilliant middle grade book, the style of the writing is perfect for that age group.
All I can say is whoever the cover artist is...I really want more of their work. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the book itself. Disappointed.
The one positive thing I could say it honestly if they changed a few bits this would make a brilliant middle grade book, the style of the writing is perfect for that age group.
All I can say is whoever the cover artist is...I really want more of their work. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the book itself. Disappointed.
April 6, 2024
This book had an interesting premise but it felt like it was underdeveloped. The world building could have been expanded upon, and the climax felt very abrupt. It was nice to find a fantasy that is a standalone novel, however, it could have been a little longer in order to flesh out some of the plot elements and character development.
June 10, 2021
I love R.A. Salvatore a lot and was really excited to see what their foray into YA fantasy would look like. Overall, I enjoyed this easy read. There was nothing mind-blowing about it except the twist at the end. I wish there was just a little bit more detail and the switching from first person to third wasn’t my favorite.
However, I loved the magic and dragons and wish that was developed a little more. I also really enjoyed the plot and characters. The hierarchy detailed throughout put a lot into perspective, made the stakes higher, and kept me intrigued. I would absolutely recommend this book for a light read and kind of as a palate cleanser between reading a series or more taxing books.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen publishing for the opportunity to read this book and review it honestly.
However, I loved the magic and dragons and wish that was developed a little more. I also really enjoyed the plot and characters. The hierarchy detailed throughout put a lot into perspective, made the stakes higher, and kept me intrigued. I would absolutely recommend this book for a light read and kind of as a palate cleanser between reading a series or more taxing books.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen publishing for the opportunity to read this book and review it honestly.
Want to read
February 23, 2021Pre-Arthurian tale, star-crossed lovers, magic...yes, please!!
March 31, 2022
Full review on my blog 23/05/2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/23/t...
Character - 3
Atmosphere - 5
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 4
Rating: 4.57 / 2 stars
--
Thanks to HarperTeen for the ARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
I was listening to this at work and it still didn’t manage to keep my attention - when a book is less interesting than manual data entry? That’s not a good sign. I didn’t hate this book, and nor did I love it. I guessed the plot twist around 40% into the book, because it was fairly predictable. The writing was fairly simple and felt like it was on the lower end of the YA age range, but then the content felt upper YA with repeated on-page references to sexual harassment, implied assault (from the power dynamics in the court) and prostitution. It meant that the tone felt super inconsistent.
The idea of a medieval world where magic is completely unknown was interesting, and I’m a huge fan of the magic origin story, but this one didn’t really land for me. The fantasy elements didn’t feel that significant, there was far more focus on political machinations, court life and this huge competition (that I just did not care about) than there was on the magic and dragon aspects, and it took over half the book for us to get any actual dragon content - and even then it wasn’t a huge part of the book. For a book with dragon in the name? I gotta admit I was disappointed. The political/court aspects of this were very accessibly written, and I could see a young teen reading this and getting hooked on political fantasy, but as a book on its own? I wasn’t impressed.
Our two main characters, Griffin and Maggie, committed the cardinal sin for a protagonist - they were boring. I didn’t hate them, I didn’t love them. They were meh. I wasn’t really rooting for them at any point, their character arcs didn’t interest me and while they did both have very distinct character voices, I still didn’t like them enough to care what happened to them. I kept listening to see how it ended, mostly because I saw reviews stating that the book’s ending had them hooked. I didn’t really see it. At 98% the book still felt like book 1 in a duology, and that guarantees the ending would feel very convenient. It was a bit too much of a deus ex machina for me, and felt like a very unsatisfying ending for a standalone.
Character - 3
Atmosphere - 5
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 4
Rating: 4.57 / 2 stars
--
Thanks to HarperTeen for the ARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
I was listening to this at work and it still didn’t manage to keep my attention - when a book is less interesting than manual data entry? That’s not a good sign. I didn’t hate this book, and nor did I love it. I guessed the plot twist around 40% into the book, because it was fairly predictable. The writing was fairly simple and felt like it was on the lower end of the YA age range, but then the content felt upper YA with repeated on-page references to sexual harassment, implied assault (from the power dynamics in the court) and prostitution. It meant that the tone felt super inconsistent.
The idea of a medieval world where magic is completely unknown was interesting, and I’m a huge fan of the magic origin story, but this one didn’t really land for me. The fantasy elements didn’t feel that significant, there was far more focus on political machinations, court life and this huge competition (that I just did not care about) than there was on the magic and dragon aspects, and it took over half the book for us to get any actual dragon content - and even then it wasn’t a huge part of the book. For a book with dragon in the name? I gotta admit I was disappointed. The political/court aspects of this were very accessibly written, and I could see a young teen reading this and getting hooked on political fantasy, but as a book on its own? I wasn’t impressed.
Our two main characters, Griffin and Maggie, committed the cardinal sin for a protagonist - they were boring. I didn’t hate them, I didn’t love them. They were meh. I wasn’t really rooting for them at any point, their character arcs didn’t interest me and while they did both have very distinct character voices, I still didn’t like them enough to care what happened to them. I kept listening to see how it ended, mostly because I saw reviews stating that the book’s ending had them hooked. I didn’t really see it. At 98% the book still felt like book 1 in a duology, and that guarantees the ending would feel very convenient. It was a bit too much of a deus ex machina for me, and felt like a very unsatisfying ending for a standalone.
September 26, 2024
What a frustrating reading experience!
I really struggled to get into the book at first because the opening chapters were so long, and my interest began to wane. At one point, I thought I would end up DNFing. However, by the end of chapter 5 (page 102), when Maggie finally made it to the castle, my interest started to pick up, and I began to really like her character. From that point onward, I found the story much more enjoyable and easy to read. In fact, I was surprised by how much progress I had made, but also a bit miffed because while I was enjoying it, not much was actually happening
Much of the book focuses on kingdom politics and serves as filler, building tension for the ending. Then, when the conclusion came, everything happened in the blink of an eye, with conflicts resolved through quick decisions and sudden deaths. It all felt anti-climactic, too easy, and unfinished! Nothing was truly wrapped up!
Who was taking over the kingdom? What would happen to Maggie and Griffin? Maggie’s backstory, too, felt glossed over and was never fully explored. I would have loved to learn more about her history, powers, and to see more of her relationship with her dragon
This story could have made for a fantastic duology, but sadly, it isn’t—and I’m left feeling a bit unfulfilled
I really struggled to get into the book at first because the opening chapters were so long, and my interest began to wane. At one point, I thought I would end up DNFing. However, by the end of chapter 5 (page 102), when Maggie finally made it to the castle, my interest started to pick up, and I began to really like her character. From that point onward, I found the story much more enjoyable and easy to read. In fact, I was surprised by how much progress I had made, but also a bit miffed because while I was enjoying it, not much was actually happening
Much of the book focuses on kingdom politics and serves as filler, building tension for the ending. Then, when the conclusion came, everything happened in the blink of an eye, with conflicts resolved through quick decisions and sudden deaths. It all felt anti-climactic, too easy, and unfinished! Nothing was truly wrapped up!
Who was taking over the kingdom? What would happen to Maggie and Griffin? Maggie’s backstory, too, felt glossed over and was never fully explored. I would have loved to learn more about her history, powers, and to see more of her relationship with her dragon
This story could have made for a fantastic duology, but sadly, it isn’t—and I’m left feeling a bit unfulfilled
March 16, 2023
"Ona ťa bude potrebovať, Nemôže byť pre ostatných svetlom v tme, keď je slepá k svojej existencii."
Keby sa Eragon stretol so sériou Kroniky Pozostalých a zameral sa primárne na rytierske súboje, Farba drakov by bola ich dieťa.
Vo svete, ktorý je sužovaný hladom a suchom, panuje kráľ, ktorý postavil svoj hrad na kopci, aby tak videl na celé svoje kráľovstvo. Kedysi ho uznávali ako záchrancu, no čím viac rokov ubehlo, tým viac zlenivel. A jediní, kto na to doplatili, sú ľudia vo vnútrozemí.
Hlavná hrdinka príbehu, Maggie, robí asistentku kúzelníkovi Xavierovi, ktorý ju našiel ako malú a staral sa o ňu až dodnes. Keď ich cesty ale skríži princ so svojou družinou a uvidia ich kúzla, oboch ich berú do hradu. A, čo je horšie, postupne sa začína ukazovať Xavierova pravá podoba.
Na druhej strane tu máme hrdinu, sira Griffina, ktorý možno nie je urodzeného pôvodu, ale je oddaný kráľovi a korune. Pre ľudí, ktorým verí, by urobil všetko, aj keď to znamená držať sklopenú hlavu čas od času.
Keď sa títo dvaja stretnú, o zábavu má človek postarané. Čo sprvu vyzerá ako ľúbostný trojuholník, prípadne nenávisť, sa postupom času mení a poviem vám, táto časť príbehu sa mi páčila. To postupné odhaľovanie hrdinov pred tým druhým.
Z čoho som však ostala trochu sklamaná, bol samotný fantasy element. Autori sa väčšinu diela sústredili na rytierske súboje v rámci turnaja, potom prišla na rad politika s romantikou, takže samotnej mágii a legendám neostalo veľa priestoru. To ma nechalo ešte aj po dočítaní knihy v pomykove, pretože keď som otočila poslednú stránku, mala som ešte otázky. Viacero otázok, niektoré možno doplňujúce, iné však k zápletke a dieram v nej.
Cítim sa, akoby si autori povedali pred poslednými 50timi stranami, že na to kašlú a chcú to len dopísať. Príbeh pekne plynul, postavy sa vyvíjali, a síce som vedela, kto je záporák, tešila som sa na veľké odhalenie. Nuž... myslím, že si to budete musieť prečítať sami, aby ste sa o tom presvedčili.
Ak máte radi stredoveké súboje, dvorové politikárčenie a obstojnú romantiku, táto kniha by sa vám mohla páčiť.
January 16, 2022
I have read a whole slew of adult novels by Salvatore but I guess this is his first venture into the YA universe. The concept was good: heroine from a mysterious past, poor hero who has fought his way out of the gutter, DRAGON who speaks telepathically to the girl, slimy prince who's plotting against his slimy father, pseudosorceror yearning for glory. Mix them all together and you get a book that does keep one's attention. However, there are editing mistakes (wrong character names) that are just plain jolting. The best part is the last paragraph.
September 23, 2024
It gave me just enough to keep me reading but not enough to be remotely satisfying. And the end wrapped up so hard and fast with a set of last lines that made me so mad I will likely not read anything by these authors ever again.
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