While the first book in this series sets up an intriguing world, this sequel has built on the less interesting aspects of Illith's identity - her mysterious parentage that seems aligned to nobility and her being a young woman who could choose the traditional wife role rather than continue to pursue her dreams of being a dragoneer. I can't help but wonder at what interesting plot points could be explored by unraveling the inheritance provided her by her adoptive dragon father and remain disappointed that this is not where the story goes.

I didn't realize this was a sequel when I requested it, but it does explain why I was having such a hard time connecting with the story. I ended up DNF the book strictly for this reason, but I think if you liked the first this would be a great sequel, so I've added a star.

Daughter of the Serpentine by E. E. Knight: Engaging Characters
As a young dragoneer moves through the ranks of the prestigious Serpentine Academy, her challenges grow greater and her time grows short to draw out a series of deadly threats, in this thrilling coming-of-age fantasy novel.
Sixteen-year-old Ileth is now an Apprentice Dragoneer, with all of the benefits and pitfalls that her elevation in rank entails. But her advancement becomes less certain after she's attacked by an unknown enemy, and Ileth begins to suspect that someone deadly may be hiding within the walls of the academy.
Outside of the walls there is a different challenge. The Rari Pirates are strangling the Vale Republic. What they lack in dragon firepower, they make up for in the brutality of their ever-expanding raids, making hostages or slaves of the Republic’s citizens. Surrounded by enemies, Ileth will need to learn what kind of dragoneer she wants to be. And as she makes decisions about her future, Ileth will have the chance to uncover the secrets of her past. Both will irrevocably change the course of her life.
I read the first novel in the series and truly enjoyed the main character Ileth along with those who aided her within the Academy. I wondered if the second novel would maintain the same pace and energy of the first book. Thankfully, the sequel is as satisfying and interesting as the first. Truthfully, I find the growth in Ileth one of the most engaging transformations of a character as she learns new skills and while always manages to be both smart and strong in spirit, she is never flat or boring as she comes more into her strengths and continues on her path as a Dragoneer. She is never perfect but she is always engaging.
While the secondary characters don’t have as much growth, they are placed in critical points in the story to help Ileth in her narrative or aid her in learning more about herself. They are never two dimensional, and not everyone acts as expected. And while the narrative does revolve around Ileth and her past, as we learn more about her mother and her origins, we also learn more about the world she lives in and the dragons themselves. The worldbuilding in the novel is detailed and gives the reader a very real sense of the life Ileth leads, both now as a Dragoneer and in her past.
Not every second novel maintains the same pace and energy of a first novel but E.E. Knight manages that feat with ease as he introduces new elements in Ileth’s change to Apprentice Dragoneer and new challenges. There is just enough blend of worldbuilding and action to keep the pace energetic and kept me engaged in the story. The dialogue and action together provided me with new information about the characters and the world without dragging the story down with endless details.
If you like dragons and fantasy with a diverse character that has unusual talents, this story is for you. I would recommend reading the first novel first as it helps but if you want to jump into the 2nd novel, it does provide enough details of the previous book to help a reader follow the story. As a reader, I loved this book and recommend it as a solid, engaging and strong second book in the series. I can’t wait to read the next.
Rating: 5 out of 5 dragons

Ileth is now officially an apprentice. But when trouble starts to swirl in the north, her heritage may take her away from her beloved Dragons.

It feels like so much happened in this book and yet not very much. Ileth wants to be a dragoneer and it seems like all the in-charge adults are telling her to be happy dancing. I liked seeing her learn more and develop strength in strategy. We learned a little bit about Ileth's parentage but not enough to make any difference. I am curious to see what becomes of Aurue and Sifler.

I am definitely looking forward to the next book.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Like its predecessor, Daughter of the Serpentine has some lovely lines in it. Knight can clearly write. Unfortunately this book as a whole isn't nearly as satisfying as the first one in the series.

It is a really difficult one to review for me. I am rather heartsore for two reasons: I had huge expectations and somehow they were not met, the other being that this is a well written book, but if you take a look at my rating, I didn't much enjoy it.
I adored the first book. I couldn't wait for it's sequel, I was convinced that there was no way that I wouldn't like it but sadly though, I don't loath it, it just didn't work for me. It took me ages to pinpoint what it was actually. Because there are many things that are really good about Daughter of the Serpentine. The plot is probably the biggest let down actually. This is slow. And I mean slow. There is a lot of world building in Novice Dragoneer, tons of details and character building. This sequel on the other hand felt like a chore to read.

If you recall (probably not), The Novice Dragoneer was one of my surprise favorites of 2019 when it was released. I was not expecting such a lovingly crafted tale of an orphan girl who runs away to join the Serpentine Academy that she might become a dragoneer. It was actually quite heartfelt and I loved the main character to bits, plus the awesome setting and the dragons were pretty fab too.

Ileth, having survived a situation as a political hostage and impressed the powers that be, has finally made it to Apprentice status at the Serpentine. This comes with an entirely new set of struggles and higher expectations. Ileth once again leaves the Serpentine for a brief period of time, though she remains within her homeland and there are pirates! There are battles, love, loss, and strengthening bonds of friendship. Poor Ileth is practically run ragged for the entire book, constantly pulled this way and that, trying to balance her work as an Apprentice and as a Dancer.

This also happens to have a fantastic setting – it’s sometimes harsh, particularly in the Freesand from where Ileth hales, but the other cities mentioned sound lovely and exotic. As I mentioned before, the story mostly occurs at the Academy and in the areas around the Freesand so it was cool to further flesh out this area since so much of the previous book seemed to be set in Galantine lands.

Anyway, this book was amazing and I’m really excited for the next one to be released! I think this will be one of my favorite series of the last few years. If you’re looking for a wholesome read with dragons, a coming of age story, a cool school setting, this might just be the series you’ve been looking for all along.

Daughter of the Serpentine is the second Dragoneer Academy novel by E.E. Knight. Released 17th Nov 2020 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley Ace imprint, it's 512 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

I've always loved epic character driven fantasy. This is an excellent and very well written addition to the genre. Despite being the second in a series, it worked very well as a standalone novel. The author is adept at providing the necessary backstory without info dumping or spoon feeding his audience. Protagonist Ileth is loyal, intelligent, and brave and despite being patronless, previously uneducated, and from a poor background, she shows she's willing to work for advancement without sacrificing her moral code to achieve her goals.

Although ostensibly written mostly for the YA/NA audience, I found the narrative enjoyable and very readable and engaging (despite being neither young nor new myself). The technical detail of the writing itself is well controlled and exactingly constructed - the plot moves along at a very good pace and the plot never dragged or lost my interest. The author is clearly adept at his craft.

This is a wide ranging novel with a large cast of characters. The author has included a list of dramatis personae at the end of the book (though I didn't find myself needing to consult it).

I read this in the middle of a pandemic. As a healthcare worker, I have faced many long and unpleasant days trying to perform a challenging job under trying circumstances. Reading has been a sanity saver for me (and many of my colleagues). Epic fantasy in my particular case has been a lifeline and a relaxation from a very demanding daily routine. I devoured this book. It could partially be "right book at the right time" but I truly enjoyed this one and fully intend to go back and read the first book in the series as soon as possible.

Five stars. This would make a superlative selection for lovers of fantasy, dragons, strong female character driven coming-of-age fiction, etc. Looking forward to more from this very accomplished author.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

This was was a bit far stretched at time, but I still enjoyed following Ileth a lot, and the dragons of course! I also find it a bit repetitive when it comes to the treatment of Ileth, like, we got it that she is different and not as advantages as others but yet still brave and all... I would have liked a bit more character evolution.
And again, I do love the dragons!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The character development was subtle in a myriad of ways, and the plot moves along quickly enough to keep interest. I could have used a little more expansion around the ending of the book, but on the whole found the experience very enjoyable.

Daughter of the Serpentine is the second novel in the Dragoneer Academy, continuing Ileth’s journey as an apprentice dragoneer.

Character-Driven Story
Much like with Novice Dragoneer, Daughter of the Serpentine is a character-driven story. This means that while not a fast-paced story, it is still made engaging by the characters.

The story continues to follow Ileth as she continues her dragoneer apprenticeship. It is a good story that focuses on the characters and their dynamics. Daughter of the Serpentine is not a fast-paced novel, but it is also not a slow-paced novel either. Much like with Novice Dragoneer, reading Daughter of the Serpentine is like taking a leisurely jog. There are moments where the pace quickens near the end of the novel, making those scenes some of the more engaging scenes. However, what continues to give this novel substance is the characterization.

It is very engaging to see Ileth continue to shine throughout this story. Knight strives to make the characterization engaging, and he succeeds because of how Ileth shines and grows. Ileth still has a stutter, which can sometimes be debilitating for her, but what is remarkable is how she continues to prove herself to her comrades how clever and resilient she is. So this makes the story incredibly engaging as far as the narrative goes. Knight showcases the respect she has earned, how the opinions of others change around her. What is more, is how Knight highlights the equality she gains from the Dragons.

The fact that the Dragons give Ileth’s more consideration than they do other humans shows that they respect her more than they do other humans. It creates a strong connection between Ileth and the Dragons, foreshadowing how highly she will rise through the ranks of the series. Ileth honors these Dragons; she treats them as equals and with reverence. This also highlights how different she is from her comrades. Most of her fellow apprentices joined for a title and nothing more, and the Dragons know that. For Ileth, it was her love of Dragons, her admiration of them and Dragoneer’s that drove her forward. It gives Ileth more depth and connects her to the reader, seeing how loyal, kind, intelligent, and thoughtful she is.

Storytelling
As well as the storytelling goes, it is very intricate. Daughter of the Serpentine is a coming-of-age story that focuses on the coming of age aspect of Ileth’s journey as a dragoneer. However, once again, it is rather long. There is nothing wrong with a story being almost 500 pages; the only issue here is that the chapters run long. Given the politics going into the novel, the long chapters do not give the reader a moment to breathe and absorb the information given to them.

The story’s pacing is not an issue, but it would have benefited the story much more if the author had decided to break up these chapters to give the reader a moment to breathe in and absorb all the information. Because there is much information going on in the story, there are many intricacies regarding politics and social upheaval. Knight is still building up the world for the reader, which is not a bad thing but with a character-driven story that is not fast-paced, it does run the risk of becoming tedious just because the reader isn’t having a moment to breathe.

Final Thoughts
Daughter of the Serpentine is not a fast-paced story, but it is still very engaging. It has a strong voice and enough strong characterization to keep the reader engaged. Just be warned that this is not some action-packed story with Dragons and battles. There is a battle near the end of the story, but the story focuses on growing Ileth, growing into her role, and proving to everyone that she can be a strong dragon apprentice.

Adventurous. Fantastical.

Daughter of the Serpentine is book two in the Dragoneer Academy series. Ileth is now an apprentice. She still is proving herself to everyone there. She isn’t afraid to work hard. Her dream is to be a dragoneer with her own dragon. A lot of obstacles are thrown her way, along with political matters. Ileth must make choices and hope she is doing the right thing.

I was excited to read more about Ileth! She is a survivor and I wanted to know what adventures she would find herself on in book two. The pacing of the story is slow. I had to start and stop numerous times. I struggled through most of the beginning of the book. I felt a lot of the scenes and information were more filler than actually advancing the plot and could have been left out. The story picks up around 60% and I am there for it! There is action and dragons! A bit of romance and of course, some sort of betrayal. I find it interesting how Ileth always seems to find herself in certain situations and always ready for adventure. A brave one she is!

As a whole, this book is entertaining and a wonderful follow up to the first book. The book is well written and I love the world building along with the characters. Oh and DRAGONS!! I can’t wait for the next adventure Ileth will have! I give this 4 stars.

These books have absolutely gorgeous covers, and I love this one even more than Novice Dragoneer. I very much enjoyed the first book, so I was unbelievably excited to read an advanced copy of this one. And, wow, it was not a disappointment – it’s even better than the first. As this is the second in a series, I would not recommend this as a standalone.

“Through endless toil, people kept the dragons alive and the dragons kept the Republic alive.”


Now sixteen, Ileth is an apprentice dragoneer, and the last member of her class of novices to advance. That’s not entirely her fault (courtesy of her stay as a war prisoner in the Galantine Empire, among other things) but it’s certainly making her life harder, from trying to find an apprentice sash to convincing the new Master of Apprentices that she wants to be in the Guards. Things go even more off-plan when a reconnaissance trip to the north with everyone’s favorite trio of dragoneers leads to startling revelations about Ileth’s past – revelations that may take her away from the Academy just when she’s needed the most.

“There are two basic sorts of people. Those who try to change their situation for the better, and those who look around and seek out villains to explain life’s many, many disappointments and spend the rest of their life crying on the proverbial stump assigning blame.”


This book roughly covers a year in Ileth’s life. Ileth at sixteen is a bit more world-wise than the girl who ran away to the Academy, and she does a lot more growing in this book due to both positive and negative events. Ileth still has a core of honor that drives all her decisions, but she’s also learning how to look critically at the world around her, including evaluating how the realities of the Republic don’t necessarily live up to its ideals. Everyone around her tells her to settle for being a dragon dancer until she can’t dance anymore, but Ileth’s dream is to be a dragoneer, even if her poor education, lack of a family name, and gender make it harder for her. Because of this, she’s also more skilled at getting those around her to live up to her idea of honor. I loved how Ileth never took the easy path instead of the right path. It’s so much fun to root for the underdog.

“She dreamed of doing something that would be written about in a book someday, be talked about after she was dead, even if her part in it was forgotten with her name.”


Unlike the previous book, where the core of the plot was Ileth finding her place at the Academy through various trials, this one has more of an overarching external plot line – someone at the Academy means Ileth harm. It still meanders in and out with a lot of the mundane workings of the Academy that I loved, including a long section where Ileth is trying to find a piece of white cloth to make an apprentice sash. Being the last of her class means that the usual ways to scrounge one up have all been used, so she ends up solving the problem in true Ileth fashion, 25% creative thinking and 75% sheer chutzpah. On top of the daily life of an apprentice bits, there’s a lot more action in this book, including several scenes of fighting on dragonback. Aurue, the scaleless dragon introduced in the first book, has a larger part in this book, though we also get to see other characters like Santeel Dun Troot (who is absolutely hilarious in a few scenes) and Dun Huss, Dath Amrits and the Borderlander. Some of the secrets around Ileth’s parentage are revealed, but those answers also bring up even more questions. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Overall, I thought this entry lived up to the first book, and I’m very much looking forward to reading Ileth’s next adventure!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Before we get started, in case you are interested, I also reviewed the first book in this series, Novice Dragoneer.

We start this new book where the last one left off. Ileth is now an Apprentice Dragoneer, which pretty much means having to do a LOT more work. But since her true love is dragons, she is more than willing to lose sleep and expend vast amounts of energy for their benefit. She really does have an admirable work ethic. I’m worn out just reading about it.

She is a great character, hard working, principled and sincere. She makes mistakes, but it’s easy to see why she has begun to really attract notice and respect from dragoneers and teachers alike. She’s not afraid … ok scratch that … she does have a healthy amount of fear, especially when thrust into battle, but she is ultimately valorous. There is also a certain young dragon who I REALLY hope ends up paired with her in the end. I really love him.

This book has all the same things I loved about the first one. Adventure, dragons with distinct personality, found family, a good cast of characters and enough intrigue to keep the plot moving forward in new and interesting ways.

I am looking forward to the next book. I think this is a trilogy?? Maybe more? I’ll be reading that’s for sure.

A great follow up to the first in this new series. Full of adventure and new intrigue, we continue to see Ileth grow and meet the challenges that are put before her. In working to keep the dragons safe, she also begins to discover more information about her own past. I look forward to continuing to follow her story.

Going into this book I somehow didn't realize that this was the second book in a series or that E. E. Knight was the author of the Way of the Wolf, which is the first science fiction book I can remember reading and easily one of my favorites. So the first thing I did was buy Way of the Wolf so I could experience the joy of rereading it for the first time in almost 20 years and to buy the first book in the Dragoneer Academy series so that I wasn't too confused when I read this book. Daughter of the Serpentine was a fantastic book with an amazing cast of characters and a great story that I managed to read in a single sitting because I kept telling myself that I would read just one more chapter. 

I don't think it would surprise anyone that knows me to hear me say that I love pretty much any book that features Dragons in it, whether they're sentient being or just wild animals of some sort. So one of the things that I loved about Daughter of the Serpentine and the Dragoneer Academy series as a whole is that it gave us both of those things in a way. We get dragons who are wise and knowledgeable as well as dragons who seem little more than wild animals with no sentience or sapience to speak of. I don't think it's often that you see both of these types of dragons in one book and I loved that we do with this one.

One of the other things that I really enjoyed about this book was Ileth and the rest of the characters. I often struggle to get into a book if it doesn't have characters that I find engaging or can empathize with and I'm lucky that I could do both of those things with a lot of the characters in this book. I found Ileth to be a wonderfully realistic character with understandable goals and desires who I loved reading about in both this book and the previous book in the series. 

I don't want to spoil the series with just what the story is about as I think the synopsis they provide for the book is more than enough. I will say that the story was great and I can't wait to find out what happens to Ileth, her friends, and all the dragons in the next book whenever it comes out. Things are really starting to get interesting!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ileth has finally become an apprentice, one step closer to her dream of becoming a real Dragoneer with a dragon of her own. But life is never straightforward for Ileth. As last of her class to become an apprentice she is injured during an initiation ceremony in what appears to be an accident but rumors circulate that it was deliberate. The headmaster of her group of apprentices sets her an interesting task in which she learns more about the female Dragoneer she met as a child who inspired her dream to come to the Academy. She splits her time between her apprentice duties and her duties as a dragon dancer until, surprisingly, a highly placed man claims her as his daughter and removes her from the Serpentine Academy. As war comes to the Republic Ileth faces first love, heartbreaking loss of friends and difficult choices about her future at the Academy.

This was a wonderful sequel to a wonderful book. Once I started I read it straight through without stopping. I can hardly wait to see what new adventure and challenges await Ileth in the future books we must have in this series

I kept putting this book off until the last minute because I didn’t want to be disappointed if it ended up not being as great as the first book. Although I enjoyed the characters, I just wasn’t feeling the plot as much. It didn’t live up to the first book but I still liked it for the most part.

Ileth is back and is just as determined to become a dragoneer. In this book her role changes a lot since she is no longer a novice. She also doesn’t do as much dancing for the dragons for either. It was nice to see her do other tasks and socialize with more people. We also get to see her more humorous side!

Old and new characters make there way into the plot. The dragons are still there but I also felt they kind of were on the backburner for this book. I missed reading about Ileth and the dragons together. There are still some moments but they are few and far between.

The plot for this book involves a new threat. From the prologue we get a glimpse and it definitely piqued my interest. The thing is, the pacing is on the slower side and it takes awhile for it to pick up. I’m glad I at least enjoyed the characters because otherwise it would have been a bit hard to get through this one.

The ending felt a bit rushed and I didn’t like how most of the newer characters were just there for plot twists. I never grew a connection with them so I didn’t care what happened to them. 🤷‍♀️

Overall, I liked it but it was still a bit of a letdown. I will still continue on with this series because I would like to see where it goes.

Wow, yeah, this book was so fantastic! It was still as dense as the first book, there still were very few, very long chapters, and it was still another great story! But now that we know this world, well, it was much easier for me to read, and just a bit quicker, too.

Ileth compares her problems to a hydra, that she keeps having to cut off heads and such. And that was pretty apt, because right away she has two tasks-to get a sash, and complete the commission she was given, to find a problem in town, and deliver a solution. And this is just first first part of the book! But it's a seed for what happens in the next two parts, and I really enjoyed watching it grow!

There was a minor plotline going on with Ileth and the injury she received when she did the tailer initiation. I enjoyed how it played out, it was minor, but it played a part in how things went down, and that was really great to read!

Ileth faces a lot of personal challenges in this book. Her parentage is a big question from the first book, and in this one, we got answers, and threads to follow to find more. But it came at a cost, and that's on top of campaign that got launched and what she saw and what happened there. So there's a lot going on for Ileth in this book. And I can't wait to see where it goes from here!

I loved reading this book, it was really fantastic, and I need a 3rd book!

This is the sequel to the wonderful Novice Dragonneer and continues to follow the young Illeth journey to become a Dragoneer. Illeth has come a long way from the first novel where she escaped the captain's lodge (an orphanage basically) to head to the Serpentine to become a Dragoneer. She arrives too late and spends almost two weeks on the doorstep refusing to leave. Now she on her way to becoming an apprentice.

Once she becomes one she needs to provide herself with a sash. She tries so hard to make one and is humiliated time and again when she cannot have the funds to buy the material. She ends up having to get very creative in providing one that is accepted. She ends up in the horse troop which almost to me looks like slave labor but it does make her stronger in her resolve.

She is then basically kidnapped by a governor for a time and then in unusual circumstances amid a very intense battle. The novel shows the grit of our wonderful Illeth. She embodies the idea that if you want something in life you have to work for it, no one is gonna just hand you your dreams. She is an inspiration and I can not wait to read more about her journey to becoming a Dragonneer.