Niell Torvald is on a mission is to learn arcane magic from the monks of the Draconis Order monastery that will help to cement his father’s power, but Niell will need more than magical arts alone to navigate the challenges before him. Among the students, Niell meets Char, who senses evil deep within the ranks of the Order’s membership. She takes him to a dragon she has raised, Paxala, and the three become fast friends. But when Niell’s brothers grow impatient and attack the monastery in a bid to seize power, he will have to decide where his loyalties lie: with his warlord father’s domain, or the new friends he has made in the wider world.


The short review...

Dual POV stories always intrigue me. I especially enjoy it when we get a girl's POV vs a male's POV. Char and Niell made Dragon God really enjoyable because I liked them as people. They felt really authentic to their back history which worked really well to inform who they were and how they reacted to being drafted into the Draconis Order. This added to the fact, I love dragons. I especially love dragon books about raising a dragon. Dragon God had a little dragon raising and I loved all these moments with Char. I even liked it when Niell became involved too.

There was also a TON of politics. Well at least there was a lot of setup for politics. Many characters were introduced and villains were setup to use politics with these Draconic monks. Nothing really came of these politics except for a battle that didn't need all of this political setup. This formed the bulk of Niell's POV and it was rather boring in places. At other moments everything felt quite rushed and easy, much like a middle grade book is at times.

So we end up with an adult framed story and a middle grade read, it will throw some readers off, even though it has potential. The next book will really be the gauge because if the author does some plotting with all of this setup the following books will make for a depthful read!


Cover & Title grade -> A-

For an indie cover this is gorgeous!! Ava Richardson knows what she is doing when it comes to cover design. I was totally drawn to Dragon God because of the art. And happily so... My only problem with it is that the setting in the cover seems off. I know there was a large cavern that the red dragon lived in but it was under a waterfall. And the kind dragon lived in one under ground but the red dragon wasn't there...


Why you may enjoy Dragon God and the following books in the First Dragon Rider series?

-The Dragon Culture.
Most of the time dragons are portrayed as one of two ways... Friends and companions to humans or monsters who humans must fight. This world bridges both of those dragon tropes and positions dragons are more human than creature, being both good and bad. It's an intriguing idea!

-Medieval World.
This world certainly hearkens back to the traditional old world style fantasy with castles, swords and war mongering. It also incorporates the magic and dark sorcery that is so popular in fantasy right now. While this isn't totally fresh it's setup in a way that takes on a personality of its own.

-All the Political Characters.
Right now we get a ton of introductions with a bunch of political vignettes. I feel like all of these secondary characters have great potential to add to the dragon rider story. Sure it isn't quite achieved in Dragon God but the setup is in place to take us places!


Dragon God is a solid start to a middle grade transitioning into YA story that has the potential for unusual depth and breathe to the story. The dragons are truly a superior aspect and well worth revisiting the medieval setting of the story. Char and Niell are dragon riders to watch!

<a href="https://aramblingreviewer.wordpress.com/2018/11/19/dragon-god-by-ava-richardson/">Full review here</a>

have a strange relationship with Ava Richardson’s books, and Dragon God is no exception.

Technically, the books are riddled with errors. The main character was both fifteen and sixteen years old at one point. There are niggling inconsistencies – the book could do with one final edit and a lot of these would be caught.

The grammar and punctuation are used in a strange way – at times, there isn’t enough, so you have to read a sentence twice to work out its meaning. There is also the classic ‘show-don’t-tell’ theory, with rambling descriptions of emotions, feelings and plans. Exact phrases are repeated within a few pages of each other, hindering the progression of the story line.

Character naming conventions have rules of their own as well. The characters are referred to by both their surnames and their first names throughout. But there is no pattern: one paragraph will have the main character calling his friend by her surname, the next by her given name. At the start of the book, this can mislead you while you still get to know the characters.

But here’s the catch…. Despite the inaccuracy and the issues, I always enjoy reading her books.

Maybe it is the dragons?

There’s something innocent about her main characters, and Neill and Char were no exception this time. They are always the underdog and we watch Neill attempt to make his father proud even while realising he could make friends and be his own man. The main characters are always true of heart: Char risks everything to care for her dragon and Neill’s loyalties are torn between his family and his friends.

There are always the loyal friends – those talented but not quite good enough to shine on their own; they need the position of side-kick. These sidekicks often drive the main characters, making them realise what they have to lose if the forces of evil are allowed to win: the main characters want to protect their friends.

There is refreshingly little deception in these books: you know who the bad guys are because they are extreme in their attitudes towards the ‘good guys’. The Abbot, Prince Vincent and the Quartermaster are cruel from the start, while the good tutors are there with bandages and advice. You know who is on whose side.

This series is taking a different approach to the previous ones: so far, it’s unclear whose side the dragons are on and what part they will play.

Also, having read the other series, I feel like I know where this is going to go simply because of the names of the characters – I know their legacies, which gives away where this series is going to go. I might be wrong.

I think the series is aimed at a younger audience than mid-twenties, which is why I’m picking up on the technical errors rather than just being swept away. Still, it’s an easy and fun read and you know what you’re going to get with these books.

Fun and reliable characters, beautiful world-building, and a fast paced plot! I enjoyed reading this, and am excited to see what happens next in this series!

I was sucked into a wonderful world with great characters that left me wanting more.
A great Fantasy read.

I absolutely LOVE Ava Richardson's writing and this book was just absolutely amazing! Love the cover art and absolutely love all the dragon interactions. I always wish her books could be longer. Looking forward to book 2

“I was a friend to dragons. It was like one of those old fairy tales. I was a dragon-friend, me, Neill of Torvald!”
-Ava Richardson, Dragon God
The Draconis Order monastery helps hold together the three kingdoms ruled by three brothers. When rumors of war and contention between the three kingdoms, a child from each noble is sent to the monastery to learn and in turn bring the kingdoms together. But no one knows where the Draconis Order gets their magic from or why the dragons are on their side. Dragon God, written by Ava Richardson, is a fun story that follows Neill through his struggles at the monastery and the dragons just outside the walls.
Young Neill Torvold, the illegitimate son of a warlord, is sent on a private mission to find out the secrets of the Draconis Order to help his father, but when many challenging obstacles begins to face him can he succeed? Upon entering the Draconis Order monastery and realizing that many of the noble families have also sent one of their children to become a Draconis monk, he begins to go through the different tasks given to find out what type of monk they will be: Scribe, Protector or Mage. Neill tries to make friends while at the monastery but has a hard time due to his background, but after following Char, a princess of the North, he learns of her secret... A dragon!
This was a fun book to sit down and read. I love dragons and like to read books with them in it, when I saw that the trilogy is called The First Dragon Rider, I almost expected it to be similar to Eragon (written by Christopher Paolini) but I did not see many similarities. I enjoyed the parts with the dragons in them. The book does bounce between Neill (main) and Char and is easy to follow along with. There were a few characters that I felt like were all too similar in their mannerisms and I didn’t like when it came to parts with them in it. I still haven’t decided if I want to finish reading the rest of the trilogy.
This was posted to my blog, InkTeller.com, today as well as posted on GoodReads and Amazon. I have left links to it through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

To start off I liked this book. Great storyline and characters. Now the buts. Who was the target audience? The story itself was a great read for middle readers, grades 4th and up. Her is the but the usage of the word bastard is not appropriate for grade school readers. Did it really make a difference that some of the characters were illigenerent? My answer is no. Using that word the author tried to make this a young adult novel. Now I have a book that is good for middle readers but not quite a young adult book. Take a lesson from JK Rowling, a good story does not need crude language. Good story but hard to give to the right age reader.

I picked this book up because it's been a while since I read a good book featuring dragons. it definitely did not disappoint!
The characters were well fleshed out. it included friendships, betrayals, magic, everything you could possibly want from a fantasy book.
I must mention, though, that the writing style was not my favorite. It's not something I would normally reach for, but that did not stop me from enjoying this book!

Char and Niell are two very interesting characters that I wasn't truly expecting. Mostly because I don't normally read YA or kids fiction. This book might get me back into it, for the sheer fact that it was so incredibly entertaining, even for an adult like myself. Some of the writing was a tad amateur for me, but that has less to do with the book and more to do with my tastes in reading. And it is a kids book, after all, so I can't really fault it too much for that. I will definitely be buying this for my nieces and nephews.