NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

This is an amazing one sitting read. It is book two of the series. It can be read as a stand alone but why not read the first. I loved the diversity of the characters and their powers. I look forward to the next installment.

What an exciting follow-up to the series! There was still some of the same issue from the first book where exposition was not very creatively inserted and was spelled out blatantly. That wasn't a big deal though, as the rest of the story and creativity made up for it.

Early on there's an actual fortune telling scene predicting the future. It was a dry scene in itself with a lot of classroom instruction, but it was fun to try to predict the plot from it, and to align moments in the story with the predictions from earlier. I think I got pretty much all of the predictions wrong, though. 🤣

There were some new kinds of magic that cropped up in this book now that the initial world and characters are established. As usual, that's TOTALLY what I'm here for and I loved the creativity in the rules and mysteries in their lore. Some of the delivery of it was a bit uncreative, with teachers literally just lecturing to students (and by proxy, me the reader), but whatever -- use the medium I guess, right?

For those who were hoping for a little more of the actual dragons in the title, you'll get it! Right from page one, in fact! There's a lot more natural integration of the dragons as characters now that Yanna has settled in a bit and we can learn more about them. Unsurprisingly, their world is defined largely by the presence of dragons, and we start to see more of them interacting with it.

I'm so excited about the direction the story is going! I'll definitely be reading the next (final?) book in this series! Side note: it's super hard to write about sequels without ruining so much of the first book...

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy. This is my honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

tl;dr
Dragon-riding, magic-wielding fun with a good underlying story about the power of choices. Romance is so ancillary to the story, it might be better without it.

About
Yanna used to be a witch hunter - part of a group dedicated to tracking and killing magic users of all sorts. But now that she's a mage and a dragon rider, those days are behind her. Unfortunately, they may not be as far behind her as she'd like.

What I Liked
I really love a fantasy story where choices have powerful consequences. Destroy an all-powerful amulet? Of course there's going to be a magical fallout. Defeat an evil witch? Expect her to hold a grudge. The consequences of book one are on full display here in a very meaningful way. This book has a lot of thoughtful discussion on power and responsibility of choices, but also the value of not dwelling in the what-ifs. Yanna is a relatable lead, with a well-written internal conflict. The magical world building is consistent, albeit a little fuzzy. Flourishes like the race and the library do a great job of making the world feel lived in. I enjoyed the character relationships between Yanna, Farica, and Felix. The dragons are great. If you like dragon stuff, you'll like these dragons.

What Wasn't For Me
The romance felt a bit like an afterthought, especially considering how much focus there was on Yanna's love for her family. I would have preferred either a lot less or a lot more, but at the moment what we did get feels underdeveloped. Felt very much like a "book two" in a series (it is), in that there's very little story arc, and it worked mostly to connect the catalyst in book one to the finale that will come in book three.

The Dragon's Protector is book one in this series, and I'm really excited to see what comes next. If you are a fan of fantasy this book is for you, its a fresh thought and unique concept in the fantasy stories I have ready. Many others have too many similarities that reading this was a refreshing change.