DNF. I couldn't connect with this book at all and found it really hard to get into. I had high hopes for this, which is a shame.

A hilarious and unique take on the coming-of-age story, this book had me laughing out loud more times than I can count. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a different kind of story than the usual, especially ones that make them laugh. Well done!

I was excited for this book but the story ends up being underwhelming. I didn't enjoy the writing, didn't feel invested in Gork, and just felt like it was trying too hard.

Gork is a teenage space dragon who is nicknamed Weak Sauce and is nothing like his famous grandfather Dr. Terrible but must get the girl and find a planet to conquer by day's end. Some parts are hilarious and made me LOL but some of it made me eyeroll - the writing/execution just isn't there the way the premise promised. 2.5 stars.

2 Stars

DNF at 15%

This book was not my thing. I think most of my problems with this book came from my expectations. I thought this was going to be a YA fantasy about a dragon that would be cute and funny. And I guess some of that was true? I mean, it's about dragon. Past that, not really. For one thing it's an adult book, and for another this actually has a lot of sci-fi in it. Since I don't tend to like sci-fi, my struggles with reading this book began there. 

I tried reading this book multiple times, but the farthest I got was 15%. I thought that the world building was mediocre at best, as it was very confusing with overly complicated names for things. I think it was an attempt at cleverness and satire, but for me it fell very flat. 

I also did not appreciate the brutality and sexist nature of the world this was set in. Gork is a runt and he's characterized as the most useless, scrawny, unimportant dragon out there. He's also fawning after the most beautiful and strong dragon and it's purely a physical attraction. As I said, that sort of world is not my thing. Especially since it wasn't very fleshed out or nuanced.

Maybe this book is for you, but it wasn't for me and I didn't think it fair to either myself or the book to continue reading.

Gork is a 16yo dragon attending the Warwings military academy on the planet Blegwethia. It is Crown Day when the males ask a female dragon to be their queen and give them a crown. Gork wants to make Runcita his queen but first he has to find her.

Gork is not your typical dragon, he has a larger than normal heart and has a lot of compassion (which is bad for dragons). Apologies are illegal on Blegwethia. When situations get a bit treacherous he tends to feint. 
The story goes through Gork’s quest to find Runcita and ask her to be his queen. Gork is a bit of a loser so he is picked on and bullied; his only friend is Fribby, a robot dragon hatched in an artificial egg.
Gork the Teenage Dragon is a YA Sci-Fi thriller with spaceship flying dragons whose end purpose is to take over the universe.

I haven’t read a lot of Sci-Fi and I must admit I didn’t enjoy this bizarre story filled with murder, bullying and suicide. There were a couple of funny moments between the scenes of tearing flesh and dripping and spraying blood.
2 stars because I was caught up in the bloody violence and I just had to know how Gork’s story ended.

I will leave this one for the Sci-Fi fans.

{Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an eARC of Gork, the Teenage Dragon free of charge.}

Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson seemed to hit a few of my "must read" categories. (1) It's set on a school campus - the WarWings Military Academy of Planet Conquering. (2) It involves dragons. (3) The blurb says its for fans of Harry Potter and The Hitchhikers's Guide to the Galaxy. That's all me.

Having read this novel, I can certainly see the comparison to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, particularly the tone. Gork has the name whimsical and often nonsensical view of the world, with a dash of humor and satire thrown in. But HP? Nope. The only connecting thread there is the fact that the novel is set on a campus (in this case, a campus where being evil and terrible is a minimum requirement).

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of this novel was curtailed by numerous and repetitive info dumps, combined with tangents that resulted in a very slow moving plot. I can only assume the repetition was done on purpose as a writing device, but hearing the same information repeated using the same words and phrases grated on me.

So, while this book has a super cool 80's retro cover, it just wasn't for me.

An interesting idea. The style was somewhat cute but the story wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped......

This book kept cracking me up.  I kept forgetting they were dragons, and I think that's a pretty solid compliment.  Sarcasm is my love language, so I appreciated this book maybe more than the average person.

This book wasn't my cup of tea, however I can see that some people would really enjoy it. The book does speed up after several chapters in and does get more interesting.

Oh Gork. This book may be a lot of fun for others, but it feel flat or was trying to hard for my taste. However, this may be a demographic issue. If I could send it back to myself in middle school, I may have loved it.

This one wasn't for me. I did not finish it. It just didn't click.

While I was intrigued by the premise, I could not get into the story. The story seemed too high-school-daze, but with the slight bonus of dragons. I hope to try again in the future, but it did not hold my attention for very long this go around.

Gork is different from other dragons. His heart is big, his horns aren't and he faints. At the WarWings Military Academy he is called Weak Sauce and he is the lowest in his class. However, he doesn't let any of this get to him. Tomorrow he is to graduate from high school and tonight he needs to ask a female to be queen. It could go one of two ways, she could say yes and they will go off together to other planets, or he could end up being a slave.

This is a combination of love story, fantasy and just so much fun. The author has such an imagination, it is hard to believe this could be a debut novel. Teens will be able to relate to it as they empathize with Gork and cheer him on. 

This would be an enjoyable book for this age reader and I recommend it. I was given this book by NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing in exchange for my honest review. 

This book may be purchased from Amazon HERE!

Or at Barnes and Noble HERE!

Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson is a quirky, tongue in cheek, sometimes angsty, all around good read. Our hero, Gork, isn’t much like the other dragons at his school. He is weaker, his horns are smaller, and his heart is way too big. He is a really fast flyer and it has kept him alive this long. 
I enjoyed this fun story. It brought me back to high school and feeling the misfit. There is a terrific set of supporting characters who round out this tale.

This quirky title claims to provide an insider’s view of dragon culture, wrapped up in a teenage high-school drama wrapper. While it might have appeal to a niche audience, it disappointed me. While the premise was highly unique (dragons are actually high-tech alien conquerors with a highly complex yet superficial society), the dialogue and plot both fell flat for me. Fans of John Scalzi or Kurt Vonnegut and dragons might enjoy this title, but they would be better off rereading old favorite instead.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
DNF @30%

I was really looking forward to reading this book. The synopsis makes it sound fun and exciting and while I thought it started out that way... my excitement was quick to abate after the 10th "scaly green ass" comment. Humans do not go around commenting or thinking about their "hairy/jiggly/firm/scrawny pink ass". It felt like whenever something was mentioned, scaly went with it -- beak, grandpa, ass, etc. 

The other negative for me was how I felt I was waiting for something. I thought Gork asking Runcita to be his Queen would be in the beginning of the novel with an adventure or growth happening after that interaction, so at 30% after chasing after her for.... 15%-ish, the book felt like it was dragging. So much was feeling like extra information or even filler especially when Gork would keep thinking back to how he needed to get back to his Queen Quest. So, I was just kinda done with it. 

This is not to say that there are no good parts to this book. This book is certainly creative. It starts out fun and learning about Gork and dragons put a smile on my face. This humor and all the information about this different world may just be the right thing for someone. I'm honest just bummed that this book didn't fit with me.

Gork is not your typical dragon.  He's not particularly fierce and his horns are a bit lacking.  But boy is he motivated to ask his crush to be his queen.  Too bad the rest of the dragon cadets are in his way!

This was such a bummer - the book blurb and advertising sounded so good! I was really not into some of the main themes of the book (a lot of do this or die about things that should be consensual) and how the women dragons in the book were described and talked about (looks and body parts only). Nope nope nope.

How cool!  Awesome book!  Awesome concept!!  Loved it!!