A brilliant story with great characters.
Slightly spoilt by some characters just seeming to disappear.

Part two of a three-part saga, Dragon Dreams does not disappoint. Magic, political intrigue, and choices that can change the course of history pepper this fantasy novel. The characters are well developed and true to their nature, and the reader will enjoy following as they fight to forge their own paths in history. A must read!

Dragon Dreams was the second book from Ava Richardson’s First Dragon Rider series. I received this book as a ready-to-read from NetGalley. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited and $2.99 as a Kindle eBook, and will be released on Nov. 1.

The three-part story follows a mage, Char, her dragonrider friend, Neill, and their dragon friend, Paxala.

The book starts out with Neill and Char trying to remove dragon eggs from their nests. Neill and Char don’t want the young dragons to grow up under the evil influence of Zaxx, an ancient, mean, gold dragon. Their venture fails, and they’re back at the monastery, with Char learning how to wield magic.

Soon after, Char is called back to her father’s home. When she returns and he learns that she’s friends with a dragon, he tries to cajole her into using Paxala to defeat his enemies. Three kingdoms are at war with each other, and he gives her an ultimatum: to either use the dragon in war or marry a warlord.

Neill soon shows up with a quest to find a magnificent crown in Char’s family’s home. The two sneak into a boarded-up part of the castle in the dead of night, and find out that there’s a much more sinister side to dragon magic.

This book was a fine read on its own, despite it being the second in a series. I’ve never read any books from Ava Richardson before, but I came to discover she has multiple books, presumably taking place in the same world. “Dragon Dreams” felt like a sliver of a much larger world, but I was given enough exposition to understand what was going on. I caught strong hints of Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon” saga from this book, so if you liked “Eragon,” you’ll like this book.

I really loved the sense of adventure contained in the book, but I could have used more depth from the characters. More of Char and Neill’s personalities and motivations were likely fleshed out in the first book, so I was willing to overlook that small flaw. I also was confused as to whether or not there was romantic tension between Neill and Char. The book description described Neill as Char’s “love,” but I didn’t get the sense that there was anything more than friendship between the two.

Themes of empathy and understanding are woven into the narrative. Overall, I appreciated the good-versus-evil plotline, where the bad guys had little respect for life and living things and the good guys fought for a peaceful world and better understanding between those who are different.

This was a very nice fantasy story, kept interested and entertained !