I enjoy Taran Matharus writing. Always have.
It reminds me a lot of the books I enjoyed when I was in middle school. That is a compliment btw.

However this isn't the book I was looking for. There is no dragon riding in the book. Not really at least.

This book was hard to get into this book initially. It did get more interesting as the book went on.

Personally I think I read this book at the wrong time. That being said, I do plan on purchasing a copy of this book when it comes out to reread a better time

This book was a wonderfully woven tale of adventure, friendship, and surprises around every corner. I really enjoyed the attention to detail in the world building in this book. The unlikely friends made along the way made the book even more captivating. A word to the wise, this book is long. It’s a great tale, but it’s a long one. Also, since this is part of a series, the ending of this book is also a beginning. Lovely writing overall.

Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu is full of fantastical beasts, magic, and an empire at war. Matharu took time to focus on the world building in this novel, and as the first book in the series it really sets the groundwork for what is to come next in this epic saga.

I really enjoyed learning about the different cultures that Matharu created, and the bonds that the "soul bound" have with the creatures of their regions.

The story does start off a bit slow, as it takes time to paint a picture of the empire and the as we get to learn more about the main character, Jai. Things really start to pick up about a third of the way into the book, with a constant flow of action and character development.

I look forward to next book in this saga!

Rating 3.5

"Dragon Rider" by Taran Matharu: A Promising Start to an Adult Fantasy Series

In the realm of fantasy literature, size doesn't always matter, and Taran Matharu's "Dragon Rider" is a testament to that notion. While not an epic tome, this book packs a punch that's worth experiencing. I'll admit, the journey through its opening chapters felt like a slog, but patience is rewarded as the narrative unfolds.

The story introduces us to Jai, the youngest son and a de facto prince of a tribe that has fallen under the oppressive rule of the Sabine empire. He finds himself a hostage, a pawn in a precarious game orchestrated by his uncle, who happens to be the tribe's king. All three heirs are thrust into servitude within the Royal Family, setting the stage for a tale rife with tension and intrigue.

In a literary landscape where female-led fantasies have taken center stage, "Dragon Rider" offers a refreshing change of pace. While my personal preference leans toward such narratives, I couldn't help but be captivated by the book's latter half. Matharu's growth as a writer becomes evident, showcasing an improved writing style compared to his previous works.

However, "Dragon Rider" leans heavily on the promise of sequels rather than standing resolutely on its own. The character development and worldbuilding, while engaging, leave room for improvement. Some elements felt somewhat lacking, given the potential they held.

Nonetheless, "Dragon Rider" marks a promising beginning for Taran Matharu's foray into adult fantasy. It weaves a tapestry of imaginative world-building, complex characters, and a captivating blend of magic and intrigue. Matharu's storytelling prowess shines through, making this novel a compelling addition to the genre. For fans of epic fantasy and those yearning for dragon-centric stories, this is undoubtedly a must-read. With anticipation for what lies ahead in this new series, "Dragon Rider" has laid a solid foundation.

A new fantasy world rife with politics, betrayal, and soul-bonded humans and magical creatures. Matharu did a thorough job with the world building and political layering without it being overwhelming or becoming stale. Slave to the emperor who killed his father and doomed his people to a life of slavery we follow Jai as he discovers a dragon while escaping the Sabine Court as chaos explodes. His escape also includes a handmaiden, Frida, to another court who holds secrets herself. They find themselves relying on each other to survive a dangerous adventure on their return to their homelands.

Most of the story is spent with the main characters on the run while Jai has to learn the secrets to bonding with the hatchling dragon, Winter. I love Winter! So fierce and cute! Matharu describes Jai’s experiences of training so vividly you can feel his triumphs and pain. Jai is a true testament to strength of the mind and perseverance of the body.

I recommend this series to lovers of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and Game of Thrones by George R. Martin. I cannot wait to read the rest of this saga!

Find the first book in this series on April 2, 2024!

Thank you to @NetGalley, @AvonBooks, and @HarperVoyagerUS for the opportunity to read and review this book with my own honest opinions!

Dragon Rider by Taren Matharu


Summary:
Can an orphan captive learn the secrets of the Dragon Riders to stand up and avenge his people?
Jai lives as a royal hostage in the Sabine Court—ever since his father Rohan, leader of the Steppefolk, led a failed rebellion and was executed by the very emperor Jai now serves.
When the emperor’s son and heir is betrothed to Princess Erica of the neighboring Dansk Kingdom, she brings with her a dowry: dragons. Endemic to the northern nation, these powerful beasts come in several forms, but mystery surrounds them. Only Dansk royalty know the secret to soulbonding with these dangerous beasts to draw on their power and strength. This marriage—and the alliance that forms—will change that forever.
But conspirators lurk in the shadows, and soon the Sabine Court is in chaos. With his life in danger, Jai uses the opportunity to escape with the Dansk handmaiden, Frida, and a stolen hatchling. Hunted at every turn, he must learn to cultivate magic and become a soulbound warrior if he has any chance of finding safety, seizing his destiny…and seeking his revenge.

Review: 3-Star

This book was just alright. I struggled to get into the storyline and could put the book down for days without even thinking about it. The only positive thing I can say is that it’s well edited.


I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

This book is very slow at first and has a lot of imagery building, but the plot falls short. This book doesn't have a lot of balance between plot, character building, and scene building.

Wow! I found this to be a slow start, but there was a lot of storyline that had to be established. I loved the characters, especially the relationships with the dragons, and the plot twists. I wish I could have seen a map. This reminded me of Game of Thrones, with the political intrigue, blended with Eragon. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Dragon Rider had a bit of a complicated start but if you stick with it and enjoy epic high fantasy series this could be a great pick.

E-ARC review via NetGalley, all views expresses are my own.

“Dragon Rider” by Taran Matharu follows Jai, a young man who has been relocated from his home as part of a peace treaty. Jai goes through many trials, losses, and transformations throughout the story. He remains steadfast in his character, almost to a slightly humorous degree. This book is full of the hallmarks of basic fantasy and contains a few time-honored tropes as well.

I found it slightly difficult to immerse myself into the world and lore of this story in the beginning. There is an abundance of scheming, plotting, and uncertainty (political and general) in the first several dozen pages that made it hard for me to understand every moving piece. After that, it read like a regular fantasy book, and despite wanting to, I found it hard to get myself to believe in or deeply care about the characters.

I do feel like the author had some really good ideas and concepts within this story, and I hope to see these ideas and characters fully sharpened in future books within the series.

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading traditional fantasy and is not looking to depart far from this genre style.

The writing/dialogue felt stilted and unnatural. Not for me. I stopped at the end of chapter 1 (2%). I’d guess a solid three stars from the target audience, four to potentially five from the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

I received a copy through NetGalley for review.

While I was really hoping to like this one, I unfortunately did not. it's a 3.5 for me.
It reads like old school fantasy in format. Honestly the last time I encountered anything that's been written in the format I'd have to go back to early 2000's fantasy to find something that feels like this.
If very traditional fantasy is your thing, you may like this.

And although it wasn't a that big of a book, I absolutely slogged through it.
We meet Jai, who is the youngest son, technically a prince of his tribe that has been conquered and subjugated into the Sabine empire. He's a hostage from his tribe, negotiated by his uncle who is king of their tribe. All three of them in line were handed over and given to the Royal Family as servants.

There's a lot of info to gather about this country and its conquered peoples that have been absorbed, and there are many. The Sabines have a large army and a larger contingent of Soulbound warriors who have bonded with great powerful beasts, giving them the ability to become stronger physically and magically. Through Ascending and building up mana they can survive injuries, and hardships that would kill most people, and still have strength to fight.

Jai is the manservant to the blind, aging former emperor, Leonid. Jai is his eyes, informing him of what he's seeing. And while Leonid may be old, his brain isn't slow.

The Sabines are looking to marry their Heir to the Dansk, a northern people who they have battled against for hundreds of years, who have to power to Soulbond to Dragons. The princess is resilient and shrewd and will do whatever it takes to save and protect her people.

There are plots, assassinations, violence, dragons, unlikely friendships, adventure, and a young Prince who realizes he has a pathway to power if he only reaches out to claim it.
And that going home to his people has a very different meaning than he expected.

Thank you Netgalley/Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC!

DRAGON RIDER is a solid read if you can stick out the tough beginning. While I usually prefer female-led fantasy (which has overtaken the market) this was an interesting change of pace. I found the ending much more captivating than the beginning. Having read the author's previous works, I have never found his writing style all that engaging, though I do see improvements over his last series. I felt DRAGON RIDER set the stage for sequels as opposed to standing on its own regarding character and worldbuilding, meaning that I did find some of those elements more lacking than they should have been.

Also, a lack of dragon-riding. Disappointing.

First, the title is a bit misleading as Jai did not actually ride a dragon in this book.

That being said, I still really enjoyed this novel. I agree with some other readers that this book starts off a bit slow. There is some immediate world-building, then a very long build-up of Jai's backstory as he is more or less a bystander in the court.

But things start to get wild when a massacre leads fleeing Jai to stumble upon a dragon egg. As the egg hatches to save Jai's life, we are thrown into the main adventure of Jai's journey with Frida another refugee on the run. We are privy to the bond between Jai and his dragon, Winter, who is just a pure ball of light. I loved their bond and the way that the magic system is thoroughly explored throughout the book.

Where the first third was slow, the last third was full of nail-biting anxiety that had me flipping pages so I could rest. If you can push past the first part, this was a very solid start to Matharu's series.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Collins Voyager for this eARC!

I have been obsessed with reading about Dragons lately and have been looking for my next read. Dragon Rider was what I have been looking for.

We have Dragons, soulbonds, and great world building!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review!
I was very intrigued reading this. Feels like it could be an epic high fantasy.
As you first start off the book with a royal hostage held by a concurring empire that seems intent on taking over the world. Jai, the 3rd son, is basically a handmaiden to an elder King. UNTIL there is a wedding announcement. The world building and politics in this book is a good start off to the series.
Tarun Matharu is bring us the next Eragon series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a high fantasy with a massive world and magic system. I loved the use of all the mythical creatures that humans could be soul-bonded to. Winter was brave and adorable. Jai was a good narrator and main character and he went through a TON of stuff on this journey. Since it’s fantasy you really have to pay attention to all the details of the new world the author created. The book starts out really slow and picks up towards the middle. The shorter chapters definitely made this easier to read. I wished the characters had more in-depth personalities, but liked them overall.

This was very good hi fantasy book. This fallows the story of a young man who his life as his family’s enemies servant for years until things happen and he is push on his own travels. This was very well written, and I look forward to reading the next book.

This was an absolute blast!

If you though Fourth Wing was lacking in writing quality, but loved the dragons and violence- this is for you!

We are dropped into a world with complex and brutal politics at play. Jai is a prisoner, one living in a castle serving the elderly royal who murdered his father. He was born a third string prince to a people at war, but has lived most of his life as a hostage. His two older brothers become companions of a sort for the Sabine prince Titus, but Jai rarely leaves the palace.

The Dansk royals come to marry their princess off to the Titus to protect the fragile peace between their nations. Jai meets the princess' handmaiden and by luck, she saves his life. Things quickly become bloody, and it's clear that Titus has no intention of allowing a peaceful future. Jai's life is now at risk and he attempts to flee and warn the Dansk of the horrors intended for them.

During his escape he discovers a dragon egg and soul bonds with it. Individuals can soul bond with certain animals in order to gain the ability to use mana. They must cultivate it within themselves through a painstaking process. The mana allows them to use magic. Fire, light, speed, and strength are all available to those who have bonded with such a creature. In fact, the Sabine royal family has a deadly group of soldiers who are soul bound to Gryphon and they strike fear into the hearts of any who encounter them. The process is incredibly secretive and intended only for the elite.

From there it's an epic journey of survival, endearing love for his baby dragon Winter, and determination to finally be free. Jai and the handmaiden Frida team up to escape with their lives. They encounter starvation, extreme elements, battles for their life, and one man who promises to help them survive- at a high price.

The bond that forms between Jai and Winter is beautiful to watch, they pull each other through some incredibly dark moments, The process of cultivating mana was creative and detailed, I could picture Jai reaching within and seeing his core, pulling mana from the world around him and directing it through the passages of his soul. I do wish that ascension was more thoroughly explained as it is vaguely described as reaching a new level of soul bound ability that is rare and makes the individual incredibly powerful. Along with that, while the process of creating mana is detailed, the actual use of magic is brushed over. This is partially due to the fact that Jai is constantly on the move, captured, tortured, or just unable to find a single moment of peace. That being said, how to the hand gestures work? What is the extent of the magical abilities? Does it consist of spells or intentional thought? I also wish that I knew Jai a bit better. I don't have much intimate knowledge of who he is personally or his motivations (other than freedom), despite closely following him throughout the book. I have a clear view of teh overarching world, but would love to get deeper in his brain.

This world and the politics were expertly crafted, and the violent bloodshed is a hallmark of many of my favorite books. While the beginning is slow, it is very much needed to set up the world that Jai is living in and provide context to what is to come. If you stick with it you will be rewarded! Betrayal, subjugation, poisonings, brutal beatings, patricide, and a pinch of mystery all wait within these pages. There was nothing light and easy about this, but that makes it all the better! There is great struggle, deep pain, and honor in unexpected places if you choose to fall into this insane world. EVERYONE PLEASE READ ASAP. It's killing me that I can't discuss my theories until you all get this into your grubby little hands. :)

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

While this was a good read I had a hard time really getting into the story and relating with the characters. Three stars