Ava Richardson

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! … (más)

Dragon Bonds by Ava Richardson is the 3rd book in the Return of the Darkening trilogy. The story continues to follow Seb and Thea, who have been chosen by the red dragon Kalax. War is here, and the tensions are wound tight. Some of the dragon stones have been found. But will it be enough?

Kalax and co have more than proven themselves. From the disparate parts a new whole has been seamlessly forged. The themes of friendship, loyalty, trust and bravery continue here, along with the theme of found family. There are places where the writing stumbled a bit, but overall, Dragon Bonds is an epic finale that will sing to the soul of any dragon lover. Recommended, especially for fantasy lovers and dragon fans.

***Purchased and read for my own enjoyment.… (más)

Dragon Legends by Ava Richardson is the 2nd book in the Return of the Darkening series. The story follows Seb and Thea, who have been chosen by the red dragon Kalax. War is coming, and the newest dragonriders have been integrated into the bulk of the warriors. As the true nature of their adversary becomes apparent, a race begins to find the lost 'dragon stones', capable of great magic.

Seb, Thea, and Kalax continue to grow and change. There's more with Kalax as a stronger presence. Seb has a unique gift that allows him to speak with not just Kalax, but any dragon. Getting more of Kalax's inner thoughts and beliefs was exciting. The themes of friendship, loyalty, trust and bravery continue here. There are places where the writing stumbled a bit, but overall, Dragon Legends is a tantalizing tale that will tempt any dragon lover. Recommended for fantasy fans.

***Purchased and read for my own enjoyment.… (más)