I never purposefully jump into a series in the middle of it because every time it’s accidentally happened, I’ve hated the book. Part of why I’ve hated them is just how obvious it is that I’ve jumped in at the middle of the story… It either feels as if I’m missing something, or every time the author mentions what happened in the previous book(s) it makes me want to throw the book I’m reading out the window.

So when, over halfway through reading Mystic Dragon, I found out it was the second book in a trilogy, I was extremely impressed by how Jason Denzel had weaved his story. I found myself dying to read the first book, but not because I felt as if I was missing something in reading the second one first – it was because I just want to read more!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Mystic Dragon. The world(s) itself was enough to keep me interested. It’s a little crazy because there are basically two worlds – Fayün and the “normal” world. Fayün is bleeding over into the mortal world and unnatural events are happening everywhere. The Mystics must stop the worlds from merging together forever, but they have limited time to do so and they’re up against a force much more powerful than they are!

The characters are very well-developed and complicated. I loved the way all of their stories were weaved together, as if they were always heading to the moment when the fate of all the worlds would be decided.

Even at the end, when everything came together and fates were sealed I was shocked by the ending! I literally said “Well, I didn’t see that coming,” out loud.

I definitely recommend picking this one up!

I’d love to know what you think! Leave me a comment below!

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND MACMILLAN-TOR/FORGE BOOKS FOR PROVIDING ME WITH AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!

Seven years have passed since Pomella AnDone became the unlikely apprentice to Mystic Grandmaster Faywong. Despite having attained significant accomplishments as a Mystic, Pomella feels incomplete. She laments that her Master isn’t teaching her quickly enough.

Characters are nicely developed, but the plot has some holes and it feels incoherent in places.

Mr. Denzel excels at world building and creating rich and well developed characters. This story is full of action, adventure and I really enjoyed the back stories he included in the plot. I felt they added depth and richness to my reading experience. About halfway through though, the flow of the story changed and it lost a bit of it's steam. For me, I felt that the potential I saw in the first part of this book did not fully carry through to the latter part.

While my favorite book in this series remains to be Mystic, I did enjoy reading Mystic Dragon. I am looking forward to reading the third installment of this series when it is released!

I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own. Thank you to Mr. Denzel, Tor Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book started on a really strong note and quickly got off track.

This book was interesting to begin with. Though it is technically a sequel, it didn't feel like one and it opens on an interesting magic system (where you harness Myst, which feels kind of like the Force) and a compelling action scene. And for the first several chapters, I was very engaged and really excited about this book. The characters were fascinating and their backstories really felt like they added to the world and to the story. And the magic system kept getting more complex and the politics of magic wielders really fascinated me. It was a slow build that really felt like it would pay off and I was really enjoying reading it.

And then, about halfway through, things changed suddenly. The slow crescendo picked up without warning and immediately went from a growing <i>p</i> to <i>fff</i>. It was an abrupt shift that felt forced and unnatural and it was unclear how we got from the first half to the second half. Suddenly, we're at what feels like the climax of the book, but we're only 2/3 through and it keeps building and building, but without any breaks or really any additional character development. It felt like the first half of the book was completely dedicated to setting the scene and getting to know characters and the second half was completely action. And that was unfortunate. Plus, the longer the action went on, the less sense it made. The ending came out of nowhere and really didn't make any sense and I felt like we had suddenly (again, everything in the second half is sudden and unexpected) come to a halt and the book was over. And I didn't even quite understand what had happened - there were no signs or clues of the twist ending that the author tried to throw in and so it really fell flat and felt forced.

It feels like this author excels at character development and struggles with coherent plot. Reading the characters' backstories and how they get to the action made a lot of sense and was really rewarding. As soon as we got away from character development and focused completely on <b>THINGS ARE HAPPENING NOW</b>, a lot was lost and it felt like an entirely different (and much worse) book.

I may be interested in giving this author a second try because I was so impressed with the first half of this book, but the second half made me lose a lot of faith in this author's ability to craft a coherent story and I'll be approaching his future books warily.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the first book then ye might want to skip this post. If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

mystic dragon (Jason Denzel)

Title: mystic dragon

Author: Jason Denzel

Publisher: Macmillian-Tor/Forge

Publication Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2018!! (hardback/ebook)

ISBN: 978-0765381996

Source: NetGalley

This be the second book in me e-Arc Extravaganza Challenge wherein I attempt to read 5 books in 7 days before their July 17th release date.  Arrr!  Yesterday I reviewed the first book in the Mystic Trilogy.  Yes it came out in 2015 but was included in me Challenge because I inadvertently, and happily, requested book two.  I saw Jason Denzel's name and thought "oh I love him" and clicked only to realize that while me ports for plunder list had the first book, mystic, on it to buy since 2015,  I never had!  Remedied, read, and really loved.

Now I be conflicted on this one.  Part of this is because I don't read blurbs for sequels on account of spoilers.  So I was expecting the story would pick up soon after the events of the first book.  Instead seven years has passed and we have skipped Pomella's training.  This is super clear in the blurb.  So I can't get too grumpy about it.  But I really wanted to know more about how and why the magic works the way it does and especially how Pomella uses her version of it.  Like specifics.  And I thought we would get to be on every part of her journey.  Nope.

What ye do get is a celestial event that threatens the very fabric of Moth and the rest of the world.  The time up to and through the eclipse is especially dangerous.  The Fayün world is blending in with the mortal world and the mystics from all different regions have gathered to help during the chaos.  There be some explanation of how the magic works in an overarching way.  This part was kinda odd and cool.

Ye also get a new mystic apprentice named Shevia.  I absolutely loved her background, character, and part in this story.  Ye get more awesome Fayün creatures.  I could have used even more!  Ye get to know why dragon is in the title.  The answer is surprising and certainly different.  I enjoyed how that played out.  Ye get to see more of Sim.  I adore him and I found the story of his seven passing years to be engrossing and wonderful.  And I still of course enjoy Pomella.

Two small problems for me were lots of flashbacks and Pomella's magic.  The flashbacks themselves were wonderful.  The shifts in time and plot took some getting used to.  And Pomella's magic was performed mostly through intuition.  I personally didn't like that her magic always "just worked."  I like me magic to have rules that I can follow.

I cannot say that I loved this one but I certainly enjoyed it for the most part.  The writing was as lovely as in book one.  I just had expectations that weren't met.  And that be okay.  The author went in a different direction.  It happens.  I think that this is the fault of me as a reader and not the author as a writer.  In any case, there seemed to be clues of how book three will go.  I will be reading it but I will keep a more open mind next time.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Side note: Check in tomorrow for book three of the e-Arrrrc Extravaganza - kill the farm boy (Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne)

Normally I would post a blurb here but it be way too spoilery for me tastes!

To visit the author’s website go to:

Jason Denzel – Author

To buy the novel go to:

mystic dragon - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

mystic (Captain’s Log – Fantasy)