Perhaps the cover of this book is not as snazzy as plenty of other indie reads, but I feel its softer and more abstract visuals are the perfect backdrop for this dual POV teenage female / dragon partner fantasy series.

The first chapter tosses the reader into the middle of the action, which feels like quite a bang: an enslaved teenage human woman named Camilla sneaks into the coliseum where the Ilesh Wood Elves that are her owners are excitedly waiting for several dozen dragon eggs to hatch. What initially seemed like an accident changes her life forever when a prized gold baby dragon named Radiance bonds with her the instant she is born.

Horrified upon realizing a precious dragon has bonded to a slave (a process which is apparently irreversible), Camila is locked up and uncertain of what has happened. I really enjoyed how the story starts. This is probably the first time I read a book that starts with this specific conflict, and it was handled very well. The second chapter was good, but I would have wanted to enter this mysterious city of Ilesh with Wood Elves that have created some kind of corrupted magic. We only see vague glimpses of this city or, err... country when Camila is taken to some unspecified place within their territory to work in the dragon stables. It would have been nice to see her watch the lucky elves bonded to other dragons learning how to prepare saddles. Most of this portion of the story focuses on the pain Camila feels from uncontrollable magic that is causing a chronic burn in her right hand. The writing here was certainly great. I was just left wishing to know more about this city. We discover that two other slaves bonded with two male silver dragons: Camila's younger brother Lavilor and a teenage slave Camila detests named Sylvara. If there were any scenes where Camila interacted with her brother upon such a life-changing event and their separation from their mother, I don't recall them. The book seems to skip all of these scenes and spends most of the novel focusing on the trio of humans and their bonded dragons escaping Ilesh and Camila's personal growth and struggles.

The second POV features another teenager named Kario (later on adding the second name Kario Flameheart) as she is exiled from her people for bonding with a mythical immortal dragon named Nelexi. Whereas Camila spends most of her story frustrated at her situation, Kario's sheltered upbringing among peaceful free humans shows a quaint innocence that is quite a stark contrast.

The contrasts don't end there. Camila soon discovers an ancient evil called the Nightmare, and she decides to make its destruction her life-long mission. At the same time, the dragon Nelexi tells Kario about their mission as a bonded pair, and she is commanded to perform various tasks to ensure world peace. Everything hints both heroines are destined to fight this mysterious nightmare, and I will assume they will bump into each other in book 2.

What was my favorite part of the story? By far, it was the loving bond and sense of awe as humans and dragon grow closer together. I had not felt this joy reading about a dragon-riding duo growing together since Eragon. So, if a reader is hungry for more books with this theme, this story will be up their alley.

I also enjoyed the different species of Elves that we met along the way. While the Ilesh elves are barely mentioned, we briefly meet Sea Elves, Light Elves, and Fire Elves. These last elves fascinated me. Are they bonded with a magical fire tree? Can they travel beyond their lands carrying a potted fire plant? Are Ilesh elves also restricted by the geography of bonded plants? I would have enjoyed learning a bit more. Since Camila and Kario spend most of the story traveling to the same destination, we don't get many chances to stop by and find out.

Lavilor was a fine supporting character, but I would have wanted to see more of Sylvara. Yes, I know, bully characters are one of my biggest pet peeves, and those scenes bore me out of my wits. However, this book avoids the topic so much that we don't get to really dislike her. We only know Camila resents her. While it is true Sylvara never approached Camila and helped dress her hand wound, I do wish to maintain the benefit of the doubt she isn't as terrible as Camila claims. Perhaps the changes in her personality happened immediately when she bonded to her dragon Sleet, and the reader never gets to see her doing bad things because the story begins right when the three characters bonded to their dragons.

The shapeshifter dragon mages were interesting. We get a good chance to meet them as the Elf female mage Serose teaches Camila in their hiding spot. This portion of the novel confused me a bit. When we have scenes where characters are fugitives and hurry to leave, I never quite understood if the barrier field the book mentions was an impenetrable defense barrier surrounding Ilesh that zaps anyone on sight or if the field only surrounded the dragon mage hideout. I also didn't quite know what kind of place this was. Is it a stable? A cave? I don't really remember seeing a description of the hideout.

Akin to many fantasy novels, the big villain is an amorphous evil heralded by a wizard. I prefer my villains to have their own POVs, and ones that are more morally grey. So, I do feel the book could have defined these characters much better. The only villains that seemed cool were some corrupted dragons. It seems like they are the only ones where we get a chance to see their personality and motives.

As for story pacing, it did feel a bit uneven at times, especially in the middle. We have very long dialogues of the dragons talking about the nightmare to their riders and the history and lore of the world. I would have preferred if they had been tightened and got more elf society screen time instead. However, when Camila begins to feel her inner voice and the magic trying to be released, the text is so beautifully crafted that I feel grateful the book focused on the bond between dragon and rider instead of entire human nations fighting against the wizard. The sense of intimacy in this book was very well done.

In a nutshell, the book is a quick read with very pleasing dragon characters, lots of riding action, and flawed characters trying to break from their shell with the help of their dragons. It was a good read, and I would like to read the sequel sometime. ( )

This was such a fun read. Nightingale did an excellent job building a unique world and bringing it to life. I enjoyed getting to know many of the characters, Camilla, Kario, and Sylvara are all different, and have enough depth that they feel real. They each bring their own pasts to the story, and sometimes they clash because of them. I wasn't sure how I felt about Sylvara at first, but I'll let you form your own opnion of her. I loved Camilla's rebellious spirit, and I could relate to Kario's unsureness when it came to her destiny. The story itself is packed with magic, magical creatures and fantasy races, as well as enough tension and twists to keep you reading from cover to cover. I can't wait to see what book two has in store! ( )