Scales
By. Nicole Conway
P. 300
Format: eArc
Rating: ***
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I received an e-arc from @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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Scales is a young adult novel about a teenage boy, Koji, who is the son of a fighter pilot. They move to New York and enroll in a private Catholic school. Koji finds a bracelet that attaches to him and allows him to transform into a dragon.

The novel reads more like a Middle Grade novel then a young adult novel, even though Koji is in high school. There were weird plot holes in the novel and other items that seemed like a big deal that turned out to not be important. There were also character inconsistencies. It caused a disconnect with the story.

I have really enjoyed Conway’s writing in the past, I did not enjoy this book as much. It had a lot of potential, and overall it was interesting enough to read. It just felt like it could have been polished a bit more.

What an excellent ride! This story is so much fun. There's mix between serious and light. The more I read the more I love it. This book is really great.. I like the concept of it. I think the writer is genius! Koji is cute! He felt so real. There's flaw, but Koji was a caring and considerate character. This would be great hit for young reader and a fantasy lover. Thank you Netgalley.

What a great YA read! The more I read, the more I got into the story. By the time I hit 75% of the way done I could not put this down! Koji is so sweet, funny, and adorable!! I laughed out loud too many times for me to count. <spoiler> I am disappointed about the ending, but only because now I have to wait for the next book to see what happens next!! Madeline just can’t be gone forever!! </spoiler> I also love how the characters became more complex as things went along and I liked Drake the most (besides Koji obvs). He was just so quirky and interesting that I couldn’t help but love him. Basically I’m saying the next book needs to come out immediately.

The cover the book instantly stick out to me, however I find I reminiscent of The Percy Jackson series. The blue color in the background also remind of other fantasy mythology book series. While the cover immediately catches my eye, I think it could a bit more unique and thoughtful. Maybe we see the silhouette of the main charcuterie walking down the school hallway with a hint of something magical taking place? Just something to think about. The description of the book, or blurb, seemed interesting as well. It didn’t feel repetitive and it gave just enough, but not too much information to continue reading. However, maybe the author could end with a cliffhanger question that really draws the reader in even more.

I received this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book was just not for me. I wanted to love it but I just could not get into the writing or the plot. I think I read about 60 pages and just decided to lay it down.

I could see this being a great middle grade read or even a younger side of YA and normally I enjoy those as well. I am not sure if I just wasn't in the mood or if this book really just didn't seem interesting to me. I may try to give it another shot later but at this point I just had to lay it down.

This story is a great children's book. It is about the odd boy out, Koji. Due to his father being a pilot, he has moved around a lot and is beginning at a new school again. Since he is very clumsy, he tends to get bullied, so he really wants to make a good first impression at his new school. And fails... because his father forgot to mention that it is an exclusive private school, with uniforms and a strict 'no gympies' rule.
But fortunately, he is saved by Drake, a highly intelligent boy, who takes him under his wing. When he then finds a present in his locker, Koji feels a little more welcome. What he didn't expect was that the bracelet he got turned him into a kind of dragon. Confused and scared, he flies through the city, being caught by a similar dragon girl. She is grumpy, but teaches him how to transform between boy and dragon and what his powers can do. So now, Koji is ready to become a superhero and attract all the pretty girls at school...
Soon he finds out, that there is a lot more to this superhero stuff and the hidden identities. And where there are heroes, there are also bad guys. So, the adventures begin..
A wonderful first part of a series, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Koji, Madeline and Drake. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

I have read very few superhero books, to be honest, i read the ones that just recently came out that were done by major ya authors in the last few years. So my knowledge of this genre is limited to what been shown in movies. I do know this author though and she is very talented in the realm of dragons so when she told me she was mixing superheroes and dragons I was all for it.

I was not disappointed Scales is everything you want in a superhero story that you did not know you needed. You got a goofy nerd guy who is amazing and strong as a dragon, you got stuck up snobby rich girls who have evil parents, and then you got a mystery around magical totems. All of this while our characters are trying to save New York City from being destroyed without revealing their true selves.

Of course, a superhero can never keep their identity to themselves they got to have sidekicks to help them along the way. Their no shortage of that nor does our author reveal all of the superhero’s true identities in this first book. We are left with guessing but maybe being entirely in the loop as we come to the end of the first book.

I really liked the pacing of the story there was lots of action to be devoured, and plenty of character development so that you really felt you know these characters. I like that they are unique and not your typical white protagonist. This story also works out very well cause the author lives this story and can draw from her personal life to really make this story come to life.

I am eager to read the next one and see what else our goofy Koji can get up to in the rest of the Spirit of Chaos series. Time to get your scales on and pick this one up.

This was a fun superhero themed book that younger teens are going to love. It's light, fun, has great characters, and was overall, a joy to read.

The story begins with Koji moving to a new city with his Dad and starting a new school. He's worried about not fitting in or making friends. The usual teen angst. He finds a purple gift box outside his room, but with no time to open it, he places it in a drawer to open when he returns from school. The box contains a bracelet and once on his arm, it can't be removed. This is the start of the transformation for Koji.

The story is unique and I loved all the characters and felt they were well written and fully formed. I had a particular fondness for Drake and Madeline and loved how they played such a big part in the story as well.

There's plenty of action and choices for Koji to make as the book unfolds and there were some great subplots interwoven too. The story includes friendship, family, and even love, and I felt the author did a great job of getting into the mind of a young teenage boy and exploring the depths of life in a new city and school. I loved that Koji was a caring and considerate character but still had his own doubts and flaws. He felt real.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, the action, the superpowers, and all the characters and look forward to seeing where this series goes.

What a fun read this was! It has a good balance of light/fun and serious, of jokes and wise words, of teenage life meeting adult problems. It takes itself just seriously enough that you feel for the characters and the situations they find themselves in, but not so serious that you forget to enjoy the story and the awesome ability to turn into a dragon and have control over an element. There’s also some good messages blended into the mix without coming across as preachy, and instead providing life advice in practical situations.

I have to say though, the way this reads, the way there’s all these little steps building to direct Koji where he needs to be, what he needs to understand in order to make the right decisions, it felt a little too directed – in fact, I’d say it felt like reading a comic book with a single 12-page issue coming out at a time, where each issue builds on the last, but is also a bit independent as well. Even the writing itself, the way details were presented, the descriptions were written, the action shown and Koji’s thoughts related, I felt like I could be reading a comic book instead. If this ever did get made into a graphic novel/comic book as well, it would be a relatively easy reformatting of the story because of this.

I'm sorry. I DNFed. I could not get past the first few chapters. I just hate book that have the interactive type of writing where the character's talks to you. I can't stand it. And also the writing itself was so amateurish.

This review is probably biased since I didn't finish the book so maybe the plot was good. I don't know.

This isn't my usual type of book. To me it was definitely aimed at the younger side of YA, maybe even middle grade. It was almost a cross between spider man and Percy Jackson. So as an adult, I could see exactly where it was going, and how it was going to get there way in advance. Despite that this was a fun read, and I will keep my eye out for the next in the series.

I really liked this book it was really interesting I really liked the concept I have not read any books like it before I like that the story is unique. I really liked the characters especially Koji,Madeline and Drake they were very well written and interesting characters I liked the gradual build up of the relationship of Madeline and Koji hopefully the next book adds more to it. I really liked the story it was exciting and very engaging I liked the not popular not good at much main character that was a good change from most YA I really liked the concept very much. So overall I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more.
-got from netgalley for a honest review-

Spiderman in a novel form. Not that there were spiders or webs or any of that, but if I were to compare it to anything, it would be that.

It's the typical superhero comic book cliche - an average geeky teen finds an object that turns him into an awesome (muscled six pack) dragon creature at will. And he has to keep his normal geek identity secret, and decide which girl to fall in love with.

Yeah, that does sound kinda cliche, but it wasn't. Koji, the MC, has some family stuff going on that added a very interesting subplot. All his relationships - friendships and others, were nicely developed outside of his superhero character. I was annoyed at times at the love triangle, but I liked the way it worked out. He chose the right one, and it ended up being about more than just good looks, which I was happily surprised about. Since it ended nicely, and the girls weren't just fluffy airheads, I'm willing to overlook it. Still, this was definitely a YA novel. They're all awkward teens.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot, action, superpowers, and the characters. I wasn't sure if I should read the book at first - I had nothing to go on beyond the summary, but I'm glad I did. The prose was great, and I really enjoyed the ride. I rate it at like 3.8 stars.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fun to read and enjoyable. A nice YA book, well written and entertaining.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley

A decent YA supers story which manages to avoid the heavy reliance on cliche that can plague both those genres.

The protagonist, while explicitly mediocre (or is he?) is not a mediocre white guy. The pacing and tension are well managed (good chapter-ending points that make you want to read on). The love interest has blue-green eyes, but don't they all? That's the YA equivalent of a muscular bare chest on a romance cover: cheesy, but so much expected now that it almost can't be dispensed with.

The superhero side of things plays out pretty Spider-Manish (New York nebbish gets superpowers, is regarded as a threat by the media), but not so much so that it's just a clone. And although the protag, and most of the people around him, think he's mediocre, he's kind and courageous and deserves his superpower; he doesn't just luck into it.

The identity of the villain amused me. It just seems such an obvious play to the prejudices of the teenage audience. But it's handled well, and so are the characters in general and their interactions, motivations, and development.

The pre-release review copy I got via Netgalley was still a little scruffy, but nothing a good copy editor couldn't tidy up in short order.

I will be watching for a sequel.