A Narnia-esque adventure story with two children stumbling into another world and being charged with saving the young emperor from his power hungry, step mother. An interesting blend of science and magic, with scientifically minded Dee finding the adjustment to life in Sericea that doesn’t follow the scientific rules he knows difficult, while Lucy is happy to embrace magic and the unknown and indeed seems to be well on the way to developing some pretty awesome powers. For me the story didn’t completely hook me until after they escaped the castle on camels - with an extremely ad hoc plan. Parents in this instalment are absent but overshadow everything, the emperor is an orphan, Dee has long been looking for his explorer parents and Lucy feels embarrassed by and neglected by hers. I look forward to seeing how things continue to develop in the next instalment.

Lucy and dee the silk road by Kristen Marion.
Marion spins a fantastical narrative that seamlessly intertwines magic, reality, folklore, and witty dialogue for an uproarious tale in her imaginary latest middle grade read.... Un-put-downable." - BookView Review"Oh, cheer up," said Lucy. "It's simple really, we find the Emperor, help him stay alive until he's ready to take the throne, get the key for changing lead into gold, and then it's off to find your parents. What could go wrong?"Lucy wants an adventure.Dee needs money to help him find his missing parents.When a flaming bird leads them to a hidden road, and the lord of stone offers them a quest, the opportunity for both arises. In a land full of magic, dragons, and demons, all they have to do is befriend a young emperor―which would be a lot easier if he wasn't a royal pain and an angry queen didn't want to destroy him.Soon they're running for their lives with the entitled ruler in tow. Lucy and Dee must find a way home with a mysterious feather and a dragon-whisperer (who looks suspiciously like a hedgehog) their only defense against capture...or worse.
A good read with good characters. I loved the cover that's what drew me to this book. 3*.

I flew this book - I didn't want to put the book down as I wanted to know what was going to happen next with the characters.