Oh my gosh, I didn't even realize that this is the same author who wrote Year of the Reaper! I remember stumbling upon that book when I was shelving at my branch one day and devouring it. I loved this story. The worldbuilding was so lush and vivid, and I loved Hana and Sam as characters--they were so well-realized and I loved their development throughout the story. Also, Sea Dragons??? How cool. I loved that as an element in this work. This was awesome, and it's definitely working to cement Makiia Lucier as one of my favorite authors--I love the way they write and their world-building is clear and vivid.

Another great one from Makiia Lucier!!

A few years back I picked up Year of the Reaper and was absolutely astonished at how good it was. Since then, I have been very excited for Lucier's next work, which happened to be Dragonfruit. I was so pleased to learn that I would have the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dragonfruit- the world-building and atmosphere was rich: I could almost feel myself on the islands she wrote about. I also really enjoyed Hana and Sam's characters and development. The sea dragons were so fascinating to read about, and I felt myself become very involved in their fates.

In an era where multi-book fantasy series seem to reign supreme, Makiia Lucier provides a much-needed breath of fresh air by writing succinct, yet well-formed standalone novels. I really love her work and I am very excited to see what she will do next!

Loved, loved, loved this one.

A few years ago I tried to find a Pacific Islander book for an AAPI YA display and couldn’t find one so I was ecstatic to see this title get announced.

The book lives up to its stunning cover. The world is immersive and lush. Our cast of characters grows and learns with each other and the minor details really made the book shine.

SPOILER - the only thing that bothered me was that Tetu dies. I kept waiting for it to be undone but it never was.

A big thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the copy of this novel. Dragonfruit by Makaii Lucier i a fantasy novel about the consequences of the choices we make. In the kingdom of Tamarind, sea dragons are a precious commodity. They are harvested for their scales, skin, fat and most importantly for their eggs which are called dragonfruits. Sea dragon eggs can grant any wish,. but every wish demands a price. When the princess and her eight year page named Hanalei are poisoned, her father makes the difficult choice of stealing the sea dragon egg and running away. Ten years later Hanalei is back on Tamarind. She has been following a pod of sea dragons, and one of them is due to lay her eggs very soon. Hanalei and the prince, must go in search of the dragon and hope they find it before the pirates who are after the same thing.

I loved the world building, the sea dragons and their beautify scales. Hanalei was brave, resourceful and smart. I loved Sam and the crew of misfits they end up with on their quest to get the dragonfruit. It is a story about family and the sacrifices we are willing to make for those we love. It is also about redemption and second chances to right a wrong. I highly recommend it. Five stars!

Young adult Pacific Islander mythology in a beautiful story of magic and family.

This story is so unique. Haliendi has been exiled since her father stole a seadragon egg. She's spent years traveling, learning about creatures, and then she lands back in her homeland.

This book feels magical. The description of the magic, the setting, everything. The large cast is well-rounded, and the world feels flushed out. The heroine is loveable. The magic! Wow! I loved learning about it. I was so interested in learning about the lineages, tattoos, and animal guardians that assist them, dragon eggs; everything just made me want to learn more about this world and these characters.

The writing is beautiful! The plot is done well. I read a lot of YA fantasy and this is one that stands out to me because it feels special and rare. An easy addition to YA books that I will be shouting out for a while.

This story is just as beautiful as the cover.

I absolutely adored this book. I haven’t read a YA fantasy in quite a while that affected me like this one did. The worldbuilding was fantastic, based in Pacific Islander culture and history. I LOVED the dragons. I haven’t seen an interesting, unique portrayal of dragons in years. The magic was so cool — tattoos that can turn into animal friends is such a cool concept. The romance was very sweet, and the characters were well-rounded and interesting. I love Makiia Lucier’s writing and I will gladly read anything else she writes.

<b>2.5 stars, rounded up</b>

This was…fine. I can’t really give it much higher praise than that, but I can’t really put my finger on why. I think part of it was that the writing style didn’t really work for me which made it hard for me to connect to the characters. I was fairly ambivalent to them.

This book follows Sam, a Prince from a matriarchal land who is trying to save his mother and Hanalei, who was given the cure Sam’s mother needed as a child so she was exiled. They team up together to find a dragon’s egg that is capable of granting a wish, though with serious consequences attached.

I really liked the lush setting of the novel. It’s Pacific Island inspired, which felt unique, and I also loved the living tattoo animals. Those were cute and a lot of fun to read about.

(Also, on that note — why was the cute little bat tattoo animal KILLED??? I almost knocked it down to a 2 because of that.)

I also didn’t like the way the dragons were treated in this world. They are hunted for their magical eggs and I didn’t like all the dragon deaths.

Overall this fantasy was fine, but definitely not a favorite.

After reading The Year of the Reaper by this same author I couldn’t wait for her to have another book out! Her covers are always amazing and the blurbs catch my attention every time

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Hanalei. She becomes an outcast and is to never return to her home island due to what her father did to save her life. A parent’s love knows no bounds. I thought that she was an interesting character and had a very caring heart unlike some of the other characters in the book. She loves to study the seadragons and has a gift for finding them, probably due to how she was cured.

Other characters in the book didn’t get as fleshed out as Hanalei, but even then even her development fell a bit flat at times. The relationship forming didn’t have the chemistry I was looking for. There wasn’t a lot of showing and most of the development was behind-the-scene. Those types of relationships just never work for me.

I did like the world the author created when it came to the creatures, islands, and the magic system. Mythology is something I love to read about and its cool to see another culture represented in the YA genre.

Overall, this was good but I think it would have been better with a bit more fleshing out of the characters and the romance. It definitely makes for a quick read though!

This book is for the dragon girlies. Dragonfruit is so beautifully crafted with gorgeous mythology. I literally felt like I was right there adventuring in the ocean and Pacific Islands along with all the characters. My only caveat is to not go into this book expecting a lot of romance because it's nearly nonexistent. Nevertheless, the story is very well done and Dragonfruit is just a dazzling book with worldbuilding full of magic and legends. I already miss the seadragons and all the animal companions.

Absolutely gorgeous book both inside and out! A lush tropical setting, mystical sea creatures and the choice between having it all but not knowing what your dire consequence will be in return. Would you risk it all to save someone you love? Friendship, love, pirates, sea dragons…a must read!

The cover and synopsis drew me to this book instantly and I wasn't disappointed. The world building was great and really drew me in. This was a fast read for me filled with magic. I mean there are dragons, you can't go wrong!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of Dragonfruit! I enjoyed this book! I really loved reading about the island and the magic system. I loved the pacific island inspiration that was the heart of the book. I loved the seadragons and all the little creatures that appeared throughout the book. I did feel as though the characters needed to be more fleshed out, as well as the relationships. The relationships were definitely told not shown. I also felt like the ending of the book was very abrupt, but I'm not sure if Lucier plans to write a sequel. I would definitely read another story in this world.

I adored this with every fiber of my being. Wow. I have loved Makiia Lucier's other novels but I feel like she really shone here and has become a force in YA fantasy. The world was beautiful, but not too complicated. The stakes were set perfectly and loved that it was a little more interpersonal than what we usually see. I wanted a little more romance from Hana and Sam but was really satisfied by the end. And also, the tattoo magic. the TATTOO MAGIC. How original and breathtaking. I'm grateful to read an early copy of this, starting off my reading year so strong!

First of all, I’m obsessed with the cover. This was a really enjoyable fast paced read with a gorgeous island setting, seadragons, romance, and a unique magic system. I loved both Hana and Sam, their relationship was so sweet and heartwarming. I obviously loved the dragons (and the bat!) and the hunt for the magical dragon eggs was super exciting and fast paced. The only thing I would have liked is a bit more from the ending, I feel like it was wrapped up a little too quickly. Overall I would recommend this is you’re looking for a quick romantic fantasy full of culture & mythology.

Thank you to HarperCollins for the ARC!

big shoutout to makiia lucier for writing the ya fiction that we NEED. year of the reaper was such a pleasant surprise for me last year that when I saw dragonfruit, I knew I had to request it and OH BOY I was NOT disappointed. the polynesian inspired worldbuilding was so vivid and magical, and this was a case where I felt the cover of the book just perfectly captured the essence of the world. the characters are delightful and just so easily likeable, and I loved seeing all their interactions with each other, especially some characters I initially disliked but ended up really loving. the plot was relatively straightforward but lucier knows how to foreshadow enough so that you know there's something going on but you're not always sure the exact way the chips will fall. and also the SEADRAGONS! such a clever way to integrate dragon mythology into a polynesian inspired world. an easy five stars, and definitely something I will be recommending to all my fellow dragon girlies.

Makiia Lucier does it again. This book was phenomenal. Quickly paced, deeply engaging, evocative, mysterious, so creatively magical. I loved that the history and culture of the world was so vivid. Never once was I confused or bored, and I know that I will think of Hana and Sam and this story often.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with a digital arc of this book!

*minor spoilers*
There are not enough words for me to be able to describe just how special this book truly was. From beginning to end, Makiia Lucier had me captivated, hanging on to every word she wrote. This story is set in a world where seadragons are hunted and poached for their scales, oil, and most importantly, their eggs. In this world, it is known that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds inside it the power to undo a person's greatest sorrow, but at a terrible price. The main character, Hanalei, knows this all too well. When she was 8 years old, she and Princess Olliana, a mother-like figure to her, were poisoned and left in a sleeping curse. To wake her, her father stole an egg from the Queen, and fed it to Hanalei. She survived, but he did not. After 10 years, Olliana remains in her sleeping curse, and her 19-year old son, Samahitamahenele (Sam), has been searching for dragon eggs ever since. When Hanalei finally returns to the island after a decade of exile, she embarks on a quest to help Sam save his mother.

This book has everything you could possibly want in a book; dragons, pirates, diverse cultures, a matriarchy. I was genuinely unable to put this book down, despite being in the middle of two other books. I truly cannot recommend this book enough, and am so excited for its release date so I can purchase the book for myself and recommend it to all of my friends. I am looking forward to reading every book Lucier has ever written.

6/5 stars, but that's not possible, so 5/5.

Dragonfruit is set in a magical world where ships scour the seas, hunting for dragons. Not only do the dragons provide scales and other valuable items, they might have dragonfruit: rare eggs that can, according to legend, can undo a person’s greatest sorrow when they are consumed.

Hanalei is an exile. As a girl, she was collateral damage from an assassination attempt against her royal mistress, the princess of Hanalei’s home of Tamarind. Her father, desperate to save Hanalei, stole the last precious dragon egg– or dragonfruit – to save her. Legend has it that dragonfruit can undo a person’s greatest sorrow. But this meant the dragonfruit could not be used to save the princess, and Hanalei can never return home. Until she’s forced to by an unscrupulous dragon hunter who realizes Hanalei seems to have a connection to the beasts…

This is an absolute gem of the book with an engrossing plot, a compelling protagonist, a bit of romance, a magical setting with exquisite worldbuilding, animal sidekicks, and Pacific Islander-inspired mythology. I truly can’t say enough good things. My expectations were sky-high since I’ve enjoyed the author’s other books so much, and I was still utterly charmed.

I especially loved how the characters were deeply connected to one another, and we could see those relationships– borne from love, hate, jealousy, and more– impact the plot. It felt very organic and beautiful.

It’s a rare treasure of a book indeed, especially since, like Year of the Reaper, this is a standalone. I’m sure there’s more to explore in this world if the author chooses, but it is SO satisfying to read a book with a full story arc. (And if you want more, also check out Lucier’s Tower of Winds books– they are also extraordinary.)

This is a read that while I didn't personally enjoy, I can tell the exact brand of teen who would like it.

This is a big case of it's not you, it's me.

The book just had too much going on. There's the ink animal markings that behave similarly to Philip Pullman's Daemons, the sea dragons and the whole rigamorole on how to actually use the eggs,.etc. etc.

It's not the book, it's me. I'm sure there are readers who will enjoy a range of overlapping and unique elements but I couldn't keep my head straight on it all.

In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt ... gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.

Beautiful and so well-written! Lovely setting with great characters and mythology.