Annabelle Jay

rating: 3.5 stars

The Sun Dragon is a standard YA novel with dragons and magical people, and a "Chosen One" protagonist. The main character, Allanah is actually bisexual, and has feelings for both a boy and a girl in the book. She also loves fantasy novels of all kind, and has the tendency to space out, which were both great to read about. I love reading about dragons, and with Allanah's time spent with the Igreefee, this book reminded me of Gunnerkrigg Court, which is a graphic novel series I adore.

The Sun Dragon is also divided into three parts, with the third part being shorter, and this is where my main issue lies. This book essentially felt like two (and a half) books crammed into 180 pages. By the end of the first section (halfway through the book) Allanah goes through a character journey that should have taken a whole book. This made the whole thing feel rushed, and her character development undeserved. Likewise, the romance felt incredibly undeveloped to me, which is unsprising given that it didn't have /time/ to develop.

Overall, this was a fun read, but it seriously should have been two separate books, or at least longer.… (más)

Ok so this book....its a weird one. The only thing I can honestly say about it. What I gather out of it is 3 children are "cloned" and don't know it. The one committed suicide and the family paid to have him cloned under provisions. Another one ended up killing himself as well and parents did the same thing. It was all developed tho to save the 3rd person. A girl. She had become sick with cancer and it had spread to her organs. But there was a fault in the cloning process that ended up making their life span shorter. In the end one of the boys makes the decision to keep the program destroyed.… (más)

The imaginative and exciting world of ‘The Sun Dragon’ pulled me in from the beginning. Other than the magical prologue that sets up the problem explored in this series, Allanah’s teenage world seems utterly “normal”, i.e., nonmagical at first. That doesn’t last very long though, and soon the revelations, threats, and unexpected events merge into an adventure of the best and most fantastical kind. Allanah’s journey of discovery of her abilities, her heritage, and the magical world that has been hidden for centuries is breathtaking. There are epic battles, magic to be learned and understood, and all kinds of exotic creatures to discover. I loved every minute of this first book and already look forward to reading the next book set in this world.

Allanah’s life is not easy, what with her lack of academic brilliance, but nothing out of the ordinary for a teenager growing up with an utterly organized single mother and a best friend who is far more beautiful and popular than Allanah. When the president himself reveals the secret world of dragons and the danger everyone is in from evil King Roland, Allanah discovers that she has magical abilities she never knew existed. But that isn’t all. She turns out to be a witch of considerable power, summons a never-before-seen type of dragon called Grian when her strength is tested by a secret council of witches and wizards, and continues to discover amazing abilities as the adventure progresses.

Allanah is not just struggling with her magical abilities and how to use them to save the world, she is also finding her proverbial feet on a personal level. She has a crush on her classmate Jason, who ends up dating her best friend Victoria, then she discovers feelings for the council’s young general, Cormac. But then there also is Dena, a member of the forest-dwelling Igreefee who have a magic all their own. Like all teenagers, Allanah struggles to deal with her emotions as much as she does with the forces of the outside world that demand she figure out who she is and what kind of person she wants to become.

If you like imaginative stories that are full of witches, wizards, and dragons, if you want to find out more about an unsuspecting teenage girl trying to survive high school only to discover she has magical powers and a role to play in saving the world, and if you’re looking for a fantastical adventure filled with suspense and a touch of first love, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It begins with a bang, never lets up, and has a great ending.


NOTE: This book was provided by Harmony Ink Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.… (más)

Set about twenty years after the end of book one, this second adventure in the ‘Sun Dragon’ world is as exciting and fantastical as the first. From the moment King Roland was defeated – without his body being found – in the previous volume, I suspected he would be back in some way. Unfortunately I was right, and he continues to make life very difficult for the characters I began to love in ‘The Sun Dragon’. But the brunt of the burden is not on Allanah and Dena’s shoulders this time. Instead their adopted son, a half dragon/ half human seventeen-year-old young man named Mani, takes up the baton. With a unique set of gifts – and issues – it is up to him to save the changing world of magic, witches and wizards, newly united Igreefee, and several types of dragon.

Mani has grown up with what he thinks is a curse: he is human during the day and turns into a blue dragon at night. It sets him apart from the other children, so he grows up feeling lonely. When Allanah tells him about the Animal Guard back at the mansion that is home to the witches and wizards of this world, Mani decides to try his luck there – after all he is half an animal, in a way. But what he finds is not what he expects, and he is soon involved in a quest to help the cursed animals recover their humanity. He meets the sorceresses, more powerful versions of today’s witches and wizards, finds out the truth about his dragon mother, is told that the world of magic is changing, and has to figure out what the future will look like and what his place in it is going to be.

While the external battle rages for all to see, Mani also has to deal with his changing feelings. There is the fact that he is part dragon, yet supposed to be the next Librarian for the witches and wizards. His magic seems to work differently from everyone else he knows, he feels an overpowering need for revenge that darkens all his actions, and then there is the half wolf boy, Lup, whom Mani feels attracted to. Mani’s coming of age is not easy, but I found myself glued to the pages as I followed his discoveries, revelations, and decisions. The final confrontation is not what I expected when I began reading this book. It is brutal and epic, probably unavoidable, and opens up a whole new avenue for this series to follow. Bravo!

If you like creative worlds filled with magic and curses, witches and wizards, and various kinds of dragons, if you want to find out the secret of a half dragon, half human boy who thinks he is cursed, and if you’re looking for a grand quest and adventure full of tension, powerful villains, revelations, tough decisions, and first love, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do. It’s a great sequel to ‘The Sun Dragon’ and I can’t wait for ‘Starsong’, book three in this amazing series.


NOTE: This book was provided by Harmony Ink Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.… (más)