Member Reviews

this was a great scifi novel, the characters were great and I really the plot of the book. It was a very entertaining read and I hope there is more in this series.

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ARC from NetGalley

3.5 stars

This is a nice light victorianish steampunkish fantasy with a bit of a crime/caper mystery that revolves around a central romance. It was actually better than I thought it would be judging by the cover. Some things are alluded to quite heavily and so the surprises weren't at all surprising when their reveal times came, but the writing was decent. I wasn't distracted in that regard. I enjoyed the alternate London and the steampunky bits, though for some it might not be enough. It's more of a feeling than an actuality, more in the setting, though it was a good part of the plot. I felt it was more about the magic than it was about the mecha. It is definitely YA, there is nothing adult or scandalous to be found here. I thought the romance was sweet. I'm not signing up for any alerts for the next one, but I would definitely read it if it found its way to me.

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Loved the magic and steampunk mix. The Chinese legend of the Dragon's Eyes was interesting. The romance of the story was slight and I really didn't feel the chemistry between Brixton and Adelaide. The main part for me was the legend and action. Story was slow at parts but the ending was full of action. I would try the next one in this series to see what happens next.

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Books like One Flew Through the Dragon Heart make me want to be a steampunk aficionado. This book had all the great things: fascinating magic, crazy contraptions, forbidden love, apocalyptic potential, and dragons! What else could you want in a great story? Good writing? Check. Interesting, well-fleshed characters? Check. Enough stupid mistakes and moments of brilliance to keep you turning the pages? Check.

This was a great read, and I highly recommend you check it out. I’ve read (and enjoyed) other C.S. Johnson stories, but I think this is my favorite so far. 🙂 An easy 4 (maybe even 4.5) out of 5 stars!

Many thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the digital copy of this novel for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my very own! 🙂

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Brix and Ada meet at the Rembrandt School where they bond over their mutual love of engineering. When the DragonHeart gets broken everything changes for them. Ada has to go away and Brix becomes an indentured professor for the Rembrandt School. When Ada shows up in his life again so does adventure and quite a bit of danger!

I adored the vibrant descriptions and the way the author described the way magic flowed. Really good and intricate book. I hope we will get Lou's story in the future.

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I received a copy of One Flew Over the Dragon HEart courtesy of #netgalley, C S Johnson and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Having read the blurb, I was hyped up for a bit of steampunk and so I was bitterly disappointed and the only fragments were the occasional goggle-wearing and a little tinkering, I was left wondering what the reviewers had actually read.

The book is best suited to early teens that like a little magic but not the traditional wizards and elves. There is more to do with emotion at play in this novel. It's also better suited to those that like a little history, although the Victorian setting isn't particularly strong either.

We are led to believe that Adelaide Favan cannot control her magic. Whilst that is true, we never really see her as a threat and that isn't explored enough. Too much time is spent on the buildup, which grows weary after time and not enough spent on the climax. Coupled with the novel pacing being very plot heavy, it threw the pacing out of sync.

There are not enough steampunk novels out there and I root for this genre but sadly this wasn't a major hit with me. I would have liked to see more mechanics, more drawn out, explosive magic, and more character development.

I'd watch the films it if it ever got to movie franchise status but I wouldn't rush out to finish the series. I rate this book an average 3/3 stars.

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This is a great steampunk adventure, interesting magics and deep characters. A nice slow burn star crossed love story.

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I had to pick a Cyberpunk novel for my book club but I’d call this more of a genre hybrid. It’s not a bad book, I just wonder if there’s too much going on. As a historian, I sometimes struggle to appreciate artistic licence. In this case though, the Victorian period mixed with magic and dragons was quite fun. It reads as though there will be other books in the series but I don’t think I’ll be reading them

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In all my years of reading, I'd never ventured into the steampunk genre. I have nothing against it, I guess I just hadn't had an interesting book jump out at me. Based on my limited general idea of steampunk, I imagine this story may not be exactly representative of the genre, with dragons and magic being thrown into the technologically advanced Victorian setting, but I could be wrong. Regardless, I enjoyed reading it. The story moves along quickly, keeping you turning pages. The main characters were both interesting and pretty believably flawed, although Adelaide sometimes seemed even more prickly than necessary. Luella was an intriguing side character, and in any future books in this series I'd love to see a bit more of what she can really do with her magic.

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