Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for sending me an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone—even the lowborn—a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders.
Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn’t be more different. Annie’s lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee’s aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.
But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, bent on reclaiming the city.
With war on the horizon and his relationship with Annie changing fast, Lee must choose to kill the only family he has left or to betray everything he’s come to believe in. And Annie must decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.
From debut author Rosaria Munda comes a gripping adventure that calls into question which matters most: the family you were born into, or the one you’ve chosen. (Goodreads)
There is a delicate balance between too much and not enough when it comes to books, and for me, this one was too much. The world-building was great, but It was a lot. I know I am always complaining about there not being enough world-building, well this one had enough and then some, and given the option, I will choose too much, but there were times when I was reading and thinking okay can we get on with the story?
The plot as great, I loved having both Lee and Annie’s points of views even with Lee’s POV I was never really sure where he would land. Lee and Annie’s relationship was delightfully complicated and I cannot wait for that to carry over into the next book.
I love a good dragon and this reminded me a little how to train your dragon, but with much more complicated relationships. There is a lot of good lore in this, and I do think it is extremely original. I just hope that the next book focuses more on the plot.
Overall: 4/5
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