When I requested this book, I was unaware that it was a part of a larger, overarching storyline, even though it is the start of a new part in the wider series. So this was my first look at Ragond, and author Ava Richardson's work. It was an interesting story that was fairly fast-paced. Even without having read anything else of this series before, I felt like I understood the world, characters and magic pretty well. I especially enjoyed seeing the growth in Yanna's character throughout the story. That being said, I felt like I didn't get to know most of the characters well enough. There wasn't much to make individual characters stand out or traits that made them particularly unique from one another. However, I was invested in the story and read it pretty quickly. I would definitely be interested in reading more works by this author. I'd recommend this to those that enjoy fantasy stories with a large dose of dragons.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

Representation matters. Dragons and BIPOC stories need to be told. This is Yanna's coming of age story. It is the first of the series. Action and magic from the start. Waiting patiently for the next book.

I thought this book had a decent premise but as soon as I started reading I knew that I would not like it. This prose shows a lack of skill, no nuance or beauty. All of the characters from the main character to every side character, have absolutely no personality. All of the "good" characters are glaringly good as shown through their frustratingly and unrealistically forgiving actions. Every single one of them sounds almost identical. Plus, on top of everything Yanna is the epitome of a Mary Sue.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in return for my honest review.

I quite enjoyed this coming of age story where we follow Yanna Gray who tries to navigate a new world, while trying to find her way home. The characters had a lot of depth to them and the worldbuilding was solid, the story kept me engaged the entire time. The story was compelling from start to finish.

This book was OK but I realize it is part of a larger series that I am not sure I want to invest time in. I appreciate in sci-fi/fantasy the time the author takes to create a world and it's characters and it is quite evident the investment and talent it took in this book.

I love a dragon fantasy, so finding a dragon fantasy with BIPOC rep was an immediate 'one for the shelf'. This one felt very similar to Cinderella is Dead, both in writing style, consistency and the personal journey Yanna goes on - which came with pros and cons.

It wasn't until I looked closer at the cover, that I realised this was part of a longer series/spin off, and whilst a lot of people have criticised the heavy info-dumping, I didn't mind it for that reason. It gave me more context than I would have had, having not read anything else by Richardson. That said, I can see why this might get tiresome for established readers. I'd love to continue the series, and I'll probably go through the backlist first, as I really enjoyed the way the characters and setting were established. It felt authentic to the world Richardson was creating, and whilst I didn't always agree with the choices characters made, I could at least understand their motives.

Because Yanna's perspective on the world is challenged, I didn't mind the confused way she acted as much as I might if she had been more cynical. However, the way she stands up for herself at the end felt earned because we'd already had her established as confused, bordering on cowardly in places (the running away, coming back etc) - and it made it more authentic that a witch hunter being thrown into a world of magic would have this moral crisis.

My main gripe was the pacing. YA is notorious for quick pacing anyway, and with the level of action in this novel - some stuff feels a bit 'blink and you'll miss it.' But I don't think this novel was ever looking to be subtle and I can respect that.

The last 3 years I’ve slowly gone from reading almost only YA to reading mostly adult but I hadn’t noticed the shift regarding that until I read this book.

It’s a good book and I will recommend it to anyone that reads YA and likes fantasy without question but it wasn’t my area of enjoyment anymore which makes me a little sad. It’s a great idea for a story and I really liked the main character Yanna and how she stood up for herself later in the book and didn’t let anyone else make her decisions for her.

But I had two problems with this book that took it down to a 3 star instead of a 4 star. The first was the cringey moments throughout the book, for example when Yanna runs away and then comes back, it was just too many times of running away and then coming back for me. I don’t really know why this annoyed me so much, it might be because of my age and how I lean more towards adult books at the moment.

The second thing that took it down to a 3 star was the endless info dumping, this is a dealbreaker for all the books I read. I like to experience new things with the characters and not have everything explained in detail every time something new pops up for the character to learn about.

But overall it was a good book and a great book even if you enjoy YA. A bonus was that our main character is POC and I love seeing more of these kinds of fantasy stories with POC main characters cross my reading path.

Recommended: yes!
For a dragon story! For a story with the "realizing you were wrong about everything you thought you knew" storyline, for respectful characters that I was constantly pleasantly surprised by, for only the occasional stupid teenager decision

Thoughts
The simplest way I can review this book is to say that I will be continuing the series, for sure.

This was a decent introduction to the world, and I can't wait to meet more of the characters in it. There are a lot of books already set in this world, but I'm new to it and can't wait not to be. Hooray that there are so many other books to read from here! :D

I love books where the main character's understanding of the world is challenged, and that is exactly what Yanna is going through. She's a witch hunter, a killer of those who channel evil magic. But now that she's in a world OF magic, and actually, she herself is now one of those evil magic users... maybe it's worth a second thought. No surprise that there's a lot of angst around this for Yanna as she wrestles with making her own decisions or adhering to what she has always been taught and trained.

I think angsty is actually a pretty good word for this book overall, because there was a lot of it. No shade, though. Yanna is literally and metaphorically thrown into another world! I'm pretty sure I'd lose my shit if dragons were suddenly overhead, too. I love the little pieces of lore thrown into the story as well to explain the differences between all the realms. Dragons being relegated to lizard form when on Earth was a delightful little touch.

There's a bit of character development in here primarily for Yanna, with a little bit for the main people around her, but I think more will come as the series continues. There was so much time spent on her mindset and adjustment to the new world that most other things took a backseat. Action does NOT, however! This had a pretty quick pace to it, and there was usually one exciting thing or another happening. I was actually a little bored with the first section of time before she comes to Ragond, but once there, I was totally committed!

This book was by no means perfect. Some decisions made seemed a bit obtuse at times, or exposition dragged on a little to obviously like with a professor just giving two pages of history lessons. But you know what? It was really, really fun. At no point was I annoyed with that lengthy, non-subtle exposition because it was so interesting and I was so excited to learn more!

The conflict hinted at for the second book seems to be moving away from what we saw in this first book, but I'm not worried. I'm actually really thrilled for it because it's a whole new type of conflict (and angst, I'm sure!) that will result. I don't think we're done with the issues from book one, though. And of course I cannot WAIT to see more of the DRAGONS AND MAGIC! Good thing this book is titled after both of those things. 😂

Thanks to NetGalley and Relay Publishing for a free copy. This is my honest review!

This book centers around our main character (Yanna), who is the daughter of prolific witch hunters, as she is swept away from Earth to the magical realm of Ragond. She is forced to examine her beliefs about witches and magic. The experience she’s having does not match up with what her parents have taught her. This is a sweet tale of making your own way and examining your own biases.

This book would be well suited for middle grade readers and people who aren’t very familiar with fantasy. The world was very well thought out - most likely due to the author’s numerous other books that are set in this world. The plot was good, if not a little predictable, and the ties to our world were a nice surprise. The writing and characterization are where this book fell a bit flat for me. I found myself fighting to like the characters as well as having to push through some redundant writing.

Overall, this book was a fun read and a good introduction to fantasy as well as the author’s magical realm of Ragond. It contains many good components and is with checking out if you enjoy magic schools, dragons, and found family. Seasoned readers of YA and/or fantasy may not enjoy this book as much.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

This book was given to me by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.


This is the first book I'm completing in a year. I will admit that the first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover. You can't blame me though, it is an amazing cover.

What makes this book likable? And why did I enjoy it? Let's find out.


Plot

Yanna Grey is a witch hunter, born to witch hunter parents, who believe they're doing the entire world a favor by ridding the earth of witches.

It's all Yanna ever knew until she was accidentally transported into a magical realm known as Ragond.

So this is a YA book and going into it, I expected the regular YA tropes. While there were a few tropes here and there, it wasn't as much as I expected.

This book was quite a breeze to read, not too predictable either and I quite enjoyed the story.


World Building

To me, the world created by the author is the best thing about this book. This story happens on earth and Ragond.
There were two other realms mentioned as well, even though the story did not take place there.

I adore the magic system. It's one of the most thought-out things in this book.
And the dragons are the best part of this book.


Writing

While the world was great and gave the book so much potential to be great, the writing was what made it fall flat. It wasn't bad at all, just very simple. It made me feel like I was reading a children's book sometimes. Maybe that's the idea. I guess I'm older than the target audience.


Characters

The characters were all okay. Yanna behaved like a child sometimes. Most times I forget she's 16 and not 8.

Farica was an okay character though she did not have much of a personality.

My absolute favorite character has to be the dragon Phaedron.



In conclusion, this was not a bad book at all. It was quite a fast and easy read.

The author is a new name for me so I really need time to adjust in her world building and her characters that I think related to her another series. I will make my review only based this book.
The story started strong with a young witch hunter who being transported to a witch world. The plot become extra interesting from there especially when you love dragons and another creatures.
I would try another books from the author.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Let me start off by saying that this book is full of tropes and things that I love. Found family, dragons, magic, a magical school, portals, all the good stuff. And yet I sadly didn’t love the book as much as I hoped I would. I still liked it, but I just couldn’t really get myself to care about the characters. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something was lacking, at least for me. (Maybe it all just comes down to me reading too many similar books lately.) The story was still really interesting though and I’m really intrigued by the world the author created. I’ll probably check out book two once it comes out. I’d definitely still recommend this book, especially to fans of dragon-fantasy and magical schools.

Well written with an enchanting plot, characters that are well developed and who I really liked, and good world building. An enjoyable read.