Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general - also known as her tough-as-talons mother - has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you're smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away . . . because dragons don't bond to 'fragile' humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother's daughter - like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She'll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Alliances will be forged. Lives will be lost. Traitors will become allies . . . or even lovers. But sleep with one eye open because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
I think it is only fair to start this review off by saying
that I am not really a big Fantasy Fan so I took a big chance on this one but I
have to admit after seeing so many clips of people saying this is their book of
the year I was intrigued.
This was one of those books that after hearing all the hype
I started reading with extremely high expectations and as I started making my
way through chapter after chapter feeling a little overwhelmed with the number
of characters, I was already meeting I was feeling a little like I am not sure
what all the hype is about here
BUT THEN
Chapter 14 arrived and by the end of that chapter I finally
felt like the book had started for me and I suddenly cosied down to lose myself
in the storyline.
As I mentioned before I am not a big fantasy reader but I
have enjoyed a few over the years and I could feel so many of the emotions, the
thrill and excitement that I remember when I read those books returning as I
read this because it was almost as if they were all rolled in to this book, the
dark twisted danger of Hunger Games, the magic school of Harry Potter the
intense overbearing romantic connection from Twilight and the excitement and
intrigue of Eragon. What more could I need in a fantasy book than all of the
things I loved from these books all rolled into one it was amazing!
Violet is a character who you warm to instantly, your heart
goes out to her right from the beginning when you see her vulnerability through
her sisters eyes and then when we learn how much Violet wanted to be a scribe
but is railroaded into becoming a Rider by her powerful yet heartless mother.
But as the storyline moves along we see her character begin to grow and her
determination and courage build we are routing for this little dark horse all
the way hoping she can prove to herself and those who doubt her that she is stronger
than she looks and is not to be underestimated.
I don’t want to give anything away when it comes to the
ending but what this author done so well was to take a chink out of my heart when
something happens to one of our characters and whilst I am feeling low but
starting to feel like things are starting to wrap up she then blindsides me
with a completely unexpected revelation that I didn’t see coming at all and
left me sitting gaping like a fish as I closed the book! SO often with
adrenalin filled books like this towards the end the book starts to slow and
feel a little anticlimactic well that is not how Rebecca Yarros roles! She is
keeping you on your toes right until the very last page.
SO the big question, does this book deserve the almighty
hype it is currently receiving?
Yes!
All I say is give the book a chance to get going and don’t worry if you forget who is who because some we lose along the way and then the characters we really need to know and remember will be etched in your mind by the mid-point of this book.
Roll on book 2!
Kindle Hardback
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