Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.
Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.
Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. Quoted from Goodreads
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When I first started this book, all I could think of was Firelight by Sophie Jordan. I mean the plot ideas are almost identical: dragon girl, dragon hunter boy, first taste of freedom outside in the human world, controlling dragon society that will determine girl's future without giving her any say, red hair. The list goes on. Fortunately I've read enough by Julia Kagawa that this wasn't a turn off. I knew things would be different, and she was so creative with the ideas around her Iron Fae series that I was interested to see what she would do with dragons.
You can tell this is the first book in a series---a five book series, no less. The main character has a lot of growing to do. It's not that I didn't like Ember, because I did, but like I said before, she has a lot of growing to do, and I'm interested to see where she ends up. She's impulsive, rebellious, and reckless, but also strong and endearing, and you can't help but root for her. Garret is probably the character that grows the most this book, though Ember does her fair share, and I'm curious where his character will go from here.
What this book does, really, is set up the next four. It's a little slow in the beginning---well, the entire first half, to be honest---and doesn't really pick up until the last quarter. What it's doing is establishing characters and multiple conflicts that you know will all come into play in the next four books. The ending, of course, is heartbreaking and intense, guaranteeing that you will be reading book two. It just takes a minute for you to get there.
As for the dreaded love triangle, I read once that a good love triangle will bring out different aspects of the main character's personality. It's not just two boys that she will be choosing, but two different lifestyles and really the person she will ultimately become. Maybe the author has the same philosophy because that's exactly what our different love interests do for Ember. One is for her dragon, one for her human, and I'm actually interested to see where it ends up. With four more books coming, you know there will be a lot of ups and downs.
As for the dragons themselves, there's nothing really groundbreaking here. They're fun, supernatural creatures but not anything we haven't seen in a dozen dragon books. Still, I love the way they're portrayed and can't wait to see what else the author does with them as the book progresses.
Basically this is a slow start to what will probably be an amazing series. Julia Kagawa is an excellent writer, and she knows how to torture both her readers and characters in the best possible way. I'm giving this book a nice 3.5 stars with the absolute certainty that I will be reading the next one in the series.
The Slayers – teens who have powers to fight dragons—are back by popular demand in this high-octane sequel, now with a new cover package!
Tori is at a White House dinner party when she hears a horrifying sound: dragon eggs hatching. It means in less than a year, the dragons will be mature and dangerous. The Slayers are well-trained, but their group is not yet complete, and Tori is determined to track down Ryker Davis, the mysterious Slayer who has yet to surface.
What Tori doesn’t bargain for, however, is the surprising truth about her powers: she isn’t a Slayer after all, but a Dragon Lord, with a built-in predisposition to protect dragons, not kill them.How will she overcome this to save the lives of her friends? Quoted from Goodreads
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I love this series. Well, I'll be honest, I love anything by Janette Rallison (aka CJ Hill), and this is no exception. I may even like this second book better than the first one. Basically, it's everything you love about the first book times 2. We get more action, more danger, more romance, more conflict, broader setting, and more dragons.
So I'm going to start where I usually end: the romance. I actually really am enjoying this love triangle. Wait. Hold back your groans. I know that the love triangle has been overdone a bit in YA, but like I said before, I actually like it here. It helps that I like both guys (for very different reasons), and I honestly have no idea who Tori is going to end up with. It's not like the Twilight "triangle" where we all know Bella was going to get with Edward and Jacob was created to add conflict, drama and angst.
Next, the plot. Friends and Traitors end a few months after Slayers ended. I was glad we got a glimpse of the camp, but it was fun to change up locations and see all the main characters back in their everyday lives. Plus, when we do get attacks, it's not just a summer adventure but intrudes on their lives. It makes everything more personal and the danger more menacing. Plus, there's just plain more going.
The characters had to grow up a lot in this book. Jesse is trying to prove that he's a good leader. Dirk has the whole unrequited love/family loyalty issues to deal with, and Tori has to juggle being a presidential candidate's daughter and a slayer at the same time. Then there's the whole Dragon Lord thing Tori has to deal with. I love the conflict where she wants to kill dragons and protect them at the same time.
The ending was excellent. It's one of those rare second books were it reaches it's own high points while still building towards the final book. All in all, it's a great series. My only complaint was how long it took for this book to come out, but I'm hoping this third book comes out quicker. So should you read it? Absolutely. Its a very strong 4 stars for me, and one of the series I'm looking forward to the most. So if you haven't started it, now is a great time, and if you have read the first book, what are you waiting for?
