This is another wonderful read from Ava Richardson.

This is a light read with great characters and a enjoyable story line.

As always it left me wanting to read more.

Another fantastic read by Ava Richardson! Her world-building is hands down breath taking.
The plot and storylineis as always is fascinating! I absolutely love her fantasy world the dragons are wonderfully written and captivating. Absolutely loved this book!

ARC provided by Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.

What an amazing story! And what an amazing author! This was my first dip into Ava Richardson’s novels and I must say i really enjoyed it. The dragon and fantasy element in this books was phenomenal, alongside with lovable characters and cute baby dragons

This was my first book by this author and I am glad I gave it a shot. It snags your attention from the very beginning though some parts did drag a little. If you enjoy danger and some dragon companion you will like this book.

This book took me a while to read, but I will say this: I liked the characters and the world the author built. About the plot: It definitely could be appealing to a middle-schooler, but I felt like it was adressed to an older audience and for that it just wasn't gripping enough. While the main conflict - fighting the Deadweed with Dragons sounded interesting to me, in the end the execution felt lacking. Especially the last part - where the main character discovers her powers, is very unremarkable.

So, I would recommend this to a middle-schooler, who likes dragons.

I thank Netgalley and Relay Publishing for an ARC to read and review.

An enjoyable start to a trilogy. When orphan Dayie’s adoptive parents are killed by an invasive weed, the rest of the village believing her to be a witch, blame her for the village misfortune. So begins her journey which ultimately finds her at the dragon training hall and bonded to Zarr. Easy to read and suitable for teens upwards.

I love dragons so when I found this title it jumped out at me. I loved every second of this world. The pace was wonderful and the story leaped off the page and drew me in. I loved how the dragons bonded with the people they hatch for. It kind of reminded me of Eragon. I loved Dayie she was so independent and spoke her mind. I am very excited to try other titles from this author as well as book two in this series.



Go Into This One Knowing: Dragons

This manuscript clearly never saw the desk of an editor before going out to book reviewers. I hope that the published version had some polish, but a copy edit would not have been deep enough to save this story. I'll give it two stars for its possibilities. The story has a ton of great potential, but it seriously needs a developmental edit. I enjoy the concept of Dayie and Thump. I just wish their story had better cohesion and continuity. If there is ever a revised edition, send me an ARC and I'd be happy to try reviewing again.

This was a really enjoyable read, great world building and character development - even if I didn't like half of them! Will definitely read the next book in the series.

Title: Dragon Called: Deadweed Dragons
Author: Ava Richardson
Pages: 288
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade,
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This is an Advanced Readers Copy. That means that this is not the final version of the book therefore some facts and quotes are subject to change in the published book.

If you are looking for a dragon adventure then look no further! This book follows Dayie, a servant to a group of bandits who steal and deliver dragon eggs to the southern colony. But when things go horribly wrong, Dayie is left to care for a dragon of her own. It's up to her and her newfound friend to fight the evil Deadweed and convince everyone that she deserves it.

Oh No's
This book info dumps way too much in the beginning. Eventually it gets better but I dont remember a single type of dragon except for the Sinuous Blue that the author constantly brought up. I wish there was a unique dragon guide to the different types.

The names. Fan and Dagfan? Nas? Dayie and Name-Day? The names feel like they were grasped out of the algae in a pond. The names do not live up to the novel but I did love "husband quote"

Yay's
Um, DRAGONS! It's literally in the title. There all all different types of dragons and different types of people. This novel really brings together the different lines of work dragons can have an those who work with them. Also, I might just be biased.

Finally,
This is a great middle grade novel. As I said, dragons and training are the main factors in the novel. Also the inability for anyone to take the main character seriously. I did quite enjoy this novel though!

My similar recommendation for this novel would be Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Petro.

Favorite Quote
"“Don’t think, Dayie–feel.”"

90%

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-PM

The story follows Ms. Tam, owner and PI at Fae Investigations. She's hired to protect a Seelie fae baby., Daisy. Ms. Tam along with her trusty assistant, Roo, and Louissaint, a voodoo practioner are out to stop a demon from destroying the baby and New Orleans. Along the way she fights a member of the PIA, Paranormal Investigation Agency and Seelie folk determined end her reign as the judge of the fae world. It has some predictable moments and some not. It is a good read for those who love fae stories and New Orleans.

I'm so sorry I'm late for this but Dragon Called is such a good book.

The characters are great and there are wonderful dragons!
Well written and a great story, and that cover! Beautiful!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this book!

Really loved this book!! The characters where great the story engaging and there where dragons!! If you like Dragon fiction this book is for you!!

I have always, since a child, loved books about dragons. I found this to be a delightful book. It was a light, very enjoyable read. The story was sufficiently different to prevent it being too stereotypical and the characters, particularly Dayie were refreshing. Dayie is an engaging character and the promise of magic around and the cultural elements add additional elements. The book was fun and refreshing, I shall read the others in the series.

I quite enjoyed reading Dragon Called. It is a coming of age story, focusing on the main character, a female protagonist called Dayie. The story walks one through Dayie's history and self-discovery, as well as her struggle with self-confidence/self-awareness. Within the scope of this journey, she continues to discover new depths to her "different-ness" - and how being different can actually be an asset. While I found Dragon Called to be a quite typical YA story, I did enjoy it. I would definitely read the rest of the trilogy. That said, one needs to account for the lack of complete editing (typo, grammar...); the first half of the book is worse in that respect than the latter half.

The characters behave immaturely, and while annoying to an adult reader, is quite appropriate to their age level and where they are in their mental/emotional/social development. The dragon characters are similarly aligned. The young ones act young, the more aged dragons behave more maturely. Overall, the dragons are organized more as "teachers" to the humans. I enjoyed this relationship amongst the characters. Ultimately, the dragons and the humans have to learn to work together to defeat the greater challenge - that of the Deadweed. The deadweed is it's own character, which I assume will continue to develop throughout the trilogy.

I found Dragon Called to be an enjoyable and relate-able story for the intended audience of YA readers. I would have given it 4-stars if there were not so many editing errors. Our YA readers deserve better, and they should expect better. How do we teach them to know better/be better if it is not modeled for them? Not every YA story needs to be as complex and layered as the Harry Potter series. This is an engaging read that makes one want to read more (i.e. the remainder of the trilogy), which is a goal met here.

I am an avid reader of YA fantasy, but this book is not for me. It is written at more of a middle level and the writing is not at my level of preference. This will be a DNF book for me, but I do hope that other reviewers will love it.

Dragon Called is a lightly written, easy to digest, YA fantasy romance featuring the usual YA tropes. Those who want a Twinkie type of book will enjoy this tale of derring do and dragons; those who want something more nuanced and with more depth, on the other hand, will likely be frustrated. It's not terrible but it's not exactly innovative, original, or featuring a unique voice, either.

Story: Dayie works for the Dragon Traders - merchants who secretly steal rare dragon eggs from the Torvald and smuggle them to the Southern Kingdom. She is little more than a slave - sold to the traders and working off her indenture with menial tasks. With unusual coloring and a very odd gift for soothing animals, she is treated with hostility and disdain. When she goes to steal an egg - the unthinkable happens and she finds her situation will greatly change. Enter a handsome prince dragon rider to whom she can be rude and cause him to fall in love with her.

Here's the issue. I've seen this plot before. Raise your hand if you've read:

- Unique snowflake heroine, with special powers that she can't control/were hidden from her, with mysterious background she has to find out about, and that her power is so unique and powerful it will change the world.
- Heroine spends most of the time being rude to or yelling at the hero for no particular reason. Instead of disliking her for being so nasty, he falls inexplicably in love with her. Because being nasty/rude apparently is super sexy.
- Heroine has bursts of defiance at all of the most inappropriate moments - which should realistically have had her killed or beaten.
- Heroine turns haters into supporters through her heroic acts and great admirable deeds.
- Heroine is said to be tortured and treated horribly - but the most we see of it is yet another female character hate-shaming her or being rude.
- Every interaction with the hero/love interest is to a) make her look 'spirited' or b) save her. The love interest has NO personality at all as a result.

Dayie, as a character is fairly simple - righteously 'good', standing up to bullies, saving the day. Prince Akeem is there to make her look good and either let her yell at him so she can show she's no pushover or to aid her in 'heroic' deeds so she can appear to be a strong female lead. It completely subsumed his personality into a complete cardboard shell - his dragon had more personality. And Dayie felt like a construct - something pleasing to teen readers who won't question logic or reality too close.

I think the book probably lost me in the first chapter, where Dayie comes across a body part and yells, "Holy crap!" Throughout, the characters pretty much talk like your next door neighbor's 12 year old, which took me completely out of this world that the author was trying to build. Imagine reading a fantasy book written in the 19s0s and the main character exclaims, "That's the bees knees! I'll have to razz him some more." It sounds really stupid now.

I can't help but feel that books like Harry Potter have shown you don't have to talk down to your audience and you can experiment and create layered and nuanced words. That's true world building that I just didn't find here with Dragon Called. There just wasn't anything original, unique, or interesting in the plot or the characters. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This is in an engaging, fast pace and entertaining read.
I loved the plot, the cast of characters and the world building.
It's the first book I read in this series but there were no issue in understanding the plot and the characters.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have not read any other books set in this world, but it was fairly easy to get into the swing of things. I'm assuming that the typos in the advanced copy have been taken care of by now. It's a good story. It deserves good editing.

I liked the main character, Dayie. She's a little impulsive, she has a conscience and she tries hard to do the best she can. I enjoyed the relationship between Dayie and her dragon, and their affection for each other as they both try to figure out their places in the world.

The author did a good job of making several characters feel distinct. Dayie underwent quite a bit of growth, but what impressed me was that other, more or less secondary characters started to change as well. That made the story more interesting. I also liked that, with maybe one or two exceptions, characters had reasons for thinking as they did. Even when they were wrong.

The only place where Dayie started to irritate me a little was her squabble/flirting with the person who seemed to be set up as her romantic interest down the road. Her antagonism was understandable at first, but I guess I was ready for her to move past it long before she was. Still, it wasn't a big deal. It didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

Dragon Called is a wonderful read - fun and fast-paced, with a great main character. Dayie is shown to us as a slave girl, sold when her signs of magic become too much for her adopted village. She develops on her journey into a spunky and intriguing character. The dragons are well written and the system of both dragons and the different dragon rider group and the struggles that Dayie faces make for a great read. Not to mention the set up of the challenge the world is facing - deadweed. I am glad this is a series and am really looking forward to reading the next one.