DragonFire Review

DragonFire by Donita Paul is the fourth book in the Dragon Keeper Chronicles. This book takes place 3 years after the events of the third book. Kale and Barden are now married and have spent the last three years living in The Bogs with little contact to the outside world (except through family and close friends). Lost communication with Regidor leads them to leave The Bogs in search of him, and so sets them on a new series of journeys.

I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars. This has been my favorite book in the series. I don’t know that I would like it as much without the knowledge of characters and events that came in the preceding books, but I still liked it a great deal. One of the reasons I liked it so much is that I liked both Kale and Barden a great deal more in this book. Their personalities are more developed and Barden is no longer irritating. I also find their interaction entertaining and feel they mesh much better than before.

Furthermore, they both were the main characters (so we followed back and forth between both their perspectives) and it felt very smooth and well done. It didn’t feel out of place or uneven like in the previous book.

The plot, like in the other books isn’t extremely strong, but it was interesting and there was quite a bit of action to keep things moving forward. Only one instance really bugged me and that was because they built up this enemy as being so strong and the idea that they would be so hard to defeat, and then they were dead almost before I realized what had happened. It seemed a bit too unrealistic for my taste. Other than that, the events that took place were fun and exciting to read.

I enjoyed seeing old familiar characters throughout the story (not just at the end) and meeting (or getting to know) a few new ones.

Now I am quite interested in seeing how this story will be wrapped up in the last book.

August TBR

Today I thought I would do something different and will be sharing with you my ‘to be read’ list for August. I tend to be a bit ambitious with my monthly TBRs, but I like to give myself a challenge. That is especially true this month as my mother is coming to visit for the whole month (we live in separate countries so long visits are a must). Something you also need to know about me is that I am a mood reader, this means that I will most likely be reading books that aren’t on the list as well as (hopefully) all the ones that are. I also have a few books on hold at the library, so if they come through, I will be reading them (but they will not be on this list). As a further note, the reviews of these books may or may not be posted in August (they might be posted in the following months). So here we go:

Christian Non-fiction –

The Overcoming Life by Dwight L Moody

A Shiver of Wonder: A Life of C S Lewis by Derick Bingham

Christian Fiction –

DragonLight by Donita Paul (fantasy)

Searching for Sara by Nona Mae King (historical)

Raspberries and Vinegar by Valerie Comer (contemporary)

Fantasy –

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine (middle grade)

Poetry –

The Swamps of Sleethe by Jack Prelutsky

The Place Within by Pope John Paul II (translated by Jerzy Peterkiewicz)

Wildwood Review

Wildwood by Colin Meloy is the first book in the Wildwood trilogy. This is a middle grade fantasy series.

This first book is about 12 year old Prue McKeel. She lives in Portland, Oregon and next to it is the impassable wilderness; a place all children know not to go. One day her baby brother is carried off by a flock of ravens and she sets out on the mission to find and rescue him. To do that, she must enter the impassable wilderness. A schoolmate, Curtis, follows her in and the adventures ensue. 

This was a delightful read. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. The writing was rich and lively. The characters were interesting and multifaceted. The plot was well crafted and never too predictable. It is quite a long book (over 500 pages), which I think is too long for a middle grade book. However, I really enjoyed seeing all that both Prue and Curtis went through and how it felt like it told both of their stories not just Prue’s (even though she is the main character). We really get to know them and see how they grow and learn and how these adventures change them. I like that, for a trilogy, it still had a good solid ending (I have a thing about cliff hangers). It has a similar feel to books like the Narnia series, just not in the Christian genre.

As a disclaimer: this is the first book in a trilogy, so come the end we are still left with some questions unanswered. The main overall book plot is resolved, but there are other new things brought up through the story that aren’t (to be answered in the future books I am sure). And isn’t that what makes a good first book: resolve first book plot, but set up and/ or tease plot for following book(s) to keep us wanting to read more?

I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read the second one.

DragonKnight Review

DragonKnight by Donita Paul is the third book in the Christian fantasy DragonKeeper Chronicles.

This book is set 3 years after the events of the previous book. Bardon and Kale have both come to the end of their respective training. Barden is setting off to complete his sabbatical before taking the oath to become a knight, but those plans are derailed by the appearance of two emerlindians (a young girl and her grandmother). Together he joins them as the reluctant leader of a new quest to find and rescue some lost knights of Paladin who are being kept in a secret location under a sleeping spell. 

I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars. I was surprised that the main character for this book wasn’t Kale, but Barden (at least for the first 75 % of the book, at which point it started to switch back and forth between the two). This seemed an inconsistent move and bothered me. I’m not fond of switching main characters between books in a series unless it changes to a supporting character with every book, but with two previously from Kale’s perspective it just annoys me. Furthermore, it makes it even worse (in my opinion) to then turn into a back and forth within the same book (especially for only the last fourth of said book). This is just personal taste, but for me it’s just something I don’t like.

It also did not help that I find Barden to be quite an irritating character (not bad, just his personality rubs me in the wrong way).  Don't get me wrong, I don’t dislike him, but feel more like I put up with him or tolerate him; which is not a good place to be in with him as the main character. Much of what he does or thinks I just don’t understand (his motivation or where he is coming from). And unfortunately some things are not made clear or settled (that I feel should have been) by the end of the book. All of this plus an almost completely new cast of characters (at least for the first ¾ of the book) didn’t set me up to enjoy this book as much as the others.

On a more positive note, the action scenes were really good and probably my favorites. They kept me on the edge of my seat and my apathy for the characters quickly faded in the midst of the events taking place. Thankfully they took place frequently enough to keep me moving through the book without getting too discouraged. The writing was also the familiar easy to move through style and the pacing was much better.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the others. I don’t feel that I wasted my time reading it, and I do plan on continuing; I am just disappointed in some of the writing choices and characterization (I feel I could connect better with the characters if they felt a little more fleshed out, well rounded and less flat).

DragonQuest Review

DragonQuest is the second book in the DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita Paul. It is about former slave Kale who is the new Dragon Keeper and follower of Paladin. She has just finished her first quest to find and recover the meech egg from wizard Risto and is finally at the Hall for her training. However, circumstances soon thrust her into early wizarding apprenticeship and another quest to rescue a new meech dragon in the clutches of Risto.

I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Like the first book, the writing is nice and easy to read. The pacing was a bit better in this one as well. We got to know more about some of the characters we already are acquainted with, along with the introduction of a few new ones. Wizard Fenworth is probably my favorite character in this series so far, he is so quirky and adorable (the one that feels the most 'real' to me). 

I found this plot to be a little more interesting than that of the first book; but certain elements were far more predictable (so I didn’t understand how Kale couldn’t see it). Kale is still a struggle for me to connect to or fully understand; she and I just aren’t on the same wave length. But I am still interested in her story and curious to see what will happen to her in the coming books.

In the end, I did enjoy reading this book and look hopefully toward what comes next for Kale (perhaps a breakthrough for me and her character).

DragonSpell Review

I recently began to read the DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita Paul. It is a Christian middle grade fantasy series.

The first book in the series is DragonSpell. It is about a young slave girl named Kale who finds a dragon egg and it changes her whole life. She is sent to the Hall with the egg to receive training to serve Paladin, but is taken off course by events leading her on an adventure she could have never imagined. As her whole world (including her perception of the world) is changed, she makes new freinds and discovers more about who God is and who God says she is.

I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. The writing was easy to read and follow, but the pacing was a bit off. I'm not generally a big fan of allegories (where Jesus and God have different names, etc.), but this one isn't too bad. I did enjoy seeing Kale learn about the world she lives in, herself, Paladin and Wulder (God). However, I didn't really connect with her. It felt like her character needed to be fleshed out so that I could understand where she was coming from and why certain actions she took were good and others not. There wasn't much depth to any of the characters here, but I hope to get to know them more in the coming books.

Overall it was a nice read, but I probably wouldn't re-read it. I am continuing with the series, so look out for coming posts on the following books.