I had no idea what to expect when I picked up Slayers. I can't even remember the last time I read a book solely based on dragons, so maybe that's why it so enjoyable, because I had little expectations for it. The thing that popped into my head when I first saw the cover was "Why is this girl wearing a dress and high heals while facing a dragon?" Then, as I began to read it, it made complete sense. The cover portrays the main character, Tori, perfectly. She's used to having fancy things at her disposal, being the senator's daughter does have it's perks, I suppose.

Tori has always had a strange fascination for these mythical beasts. One summer, she decides to attend a camp about dragons, where she discovers a group of teenagers with special abilities who fight dragons. At first she's treated as a snob (which she kind of is at the beginning), but there is definitely a huge development of her personality by the end of the novel.

While I liked the characters in Slayers, I didn't truly connect with them. Tori annoyed me at some times during the beginning of the book because of her decisions, and the romance/slight love triangle didn't appeal to me much, but it wasn't stab-worthy horrible.
The plot was actually really good. Although some parts were predictable, there were also plot twists that I did not expect. ( )

Dragon's exist. Descended from alchemically altered knights, the Slayers know this to be true. Now a diverse group of teens that includes Tori, a smart but spoiled senator's daughter, must prepare to save the rest of us at any cost. Because after laying dormant for centuries, the dragon eggs are ready to hatch.

"Slayers" is the first book in this YA series by C.J. Hill, the noms de plume of a YA romance writer with 18 other books published. The writing of "Slayers" is generally tight, the pace and action following an escalating pace, but the book is not without its faults. Reading "Slayers," one gets the impression that the author wasn't completely comfortable breaking away from romance novels. At inconvenient and even inappropriate times, the action is interrupted with spurious romantic observations and thoughts.

I have no problem with the fact that there is romance in the story - only with the odd way it interrupts the action, sometimes literally in mid-fight having the protagonist wonder if so-and-so likes her, and maybe he'll kiss her? Its as though the author tried to merge two different stories, or went back through to add the romantic elements to flesh out the story after the fact. Because while both the action and the romance are well written, they don't mesh well together, leaving the reading a bit disjointed.

All that said, the story has potential. There is a temporary resolution in the story and we are left with enough nuggets to know that the story will continue. I only hope its handled better.

Readers of YA fiction looking for something new and contemporary, but with fantasy elements, will enjoy this novel. With a title like "Slayers," I had envisioned something more like Buffy vs. dragons instead of vampires, an expectation that tainted my appreciation for the story. ( )

An ultimately underwhelming supernatural/fantasy adventure.

Dragons are real - only, most people don't realize it. At a small summer camp, teenaged Tori expects to get immersed in all things dragon-lore - mock dragon battles, role-playing games, and possibly crafts - but instead she learns something unbelievable: she is one of a small group of teens who were exposed to a dragon egg while their mothers were pregnant, activating long-dormant dragon slayer genes. Now, it's up to her and her teammates to track down those dragon eggs (and the soon to hatch dragons) , and destroy them before millions of people die via dragon fire/EMP.

Too many cliches (love triangles, traitor in the mix) and exposition make this story a loooong slog. ( )

Tori has had dreams about dragons her entire life. When her parents finally allow her to go to Dragon Camp, she discovers that she is a Slayer, a descendant of the medieval knights who battled dragons and hunted them to near extinction. There are only two dragons and two dragon eggs left in the world. However, a villain named Overdrake can control the dragons with his mind, and he plans to use the dragons to take over the U.S.
Tori and the other campers train constantly in order to be ready to stop Overdrake and the dragons when they attack. However, one of the other campers is a traitor, passing information to Overdrake about the rest of the Slayers, while Tori isn't certain she wants to risk her life to be a Slayer. ( )

I came into this book just needing to read it so I could review the ARC of the second one. Boy was I missing out. I loved it! It far exceeded my expectations. Tori was actually written very well. Her reluctance and fear are more real than if she suddenly just decided that a large change in her life, such as this, were normal. I appreciated that. A few things were annoying. The nice, neat little set up at the beginning was far too convenient. The whole "This can happen only in this situation at this time before this happens" thing is irritating but the story does make me forget about that after a while. The other thing is the italics when suddenly switching point of view. It's sloppy and distracting. Overall though the book was fantastic and I've gotten the second one ready to go! ( )