I wanted to like this little novella, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. While I love dragon books, this dragon was more of a political preachy retelling of A Christmas Carol to some extent. The dragon flies the racist main character around trying to show him why his ideals are wrong. The premise is fine, but the execution isn’t the best. I made it about halfway through before I DNFed it. I hate, hate DNFing a book, but honestly just couldn’t bring myself to keep going.

Kahnilla is the last of the dragons, and she takes it upon herself to be humanity's omniscient sentinel. When she discovers a social justice clash, she decides to sequester the riot leader and teach him a lesson in humanity.

This novella includes:
- a socially conscious dragon
- exploration of current social and political issues through a VERY moderate lens

"Kahnilla the Dragon" is an interesting concept. however this novella was not for me. The extremely moderate lens through which the story approaches social issues was unpleasant and left me feeling like real life issues were being reduced and sanitized for the comfort of hateful people. I'm sure there are some people that could learn something from Kahnilla's teachings, but that person is certainly not me.

I received this ebook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Karina McRoberts, and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of this book :)
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I am conflicted in how to word this review, as it's not my intention to hurt the author's feelings - I deeply respect the message they are trying to portray in this book - one of peace, togetherness, and anti-hatred.
However, this is lacking the elements needed to promote that message in a satisfying and interesting way.
It is more focused on teaching morals than having an intriguing plot, and character growth is very fast and not told with any subtlety or in a way that feels earned.

The key character Kahnilla the dragon, is a sort of protagonist and moral teacher rolled into one; Her characterisation is very confusing - she's a very old, wise dragon with a wealth of philosophical knowledge, but her speech and internal dialogue comes across immature at times. Her character is inconsistent throughout, going from Gandalf to a young girl dreaming of cheerleading.

I also am unsure of what the target age for the audience is; The writing style lends itself to younger audiences - simpler descriptions, dialogue, and excessive exclamation marks - but it features a lot of rude language, along with moral themes that a younger demographic probably wouldn't understand. Perhaps it would have been better as a middle grade book?

I admire the author's intentions to promote a positive message, though I think this book needed a few more drafts and an editor.
(Also the prose does read like it could have been written by AI. If this isn't the case, then I sincerely apologise to the author - but I believe this should be looked into if possible)

Thank you #Netgalley and #Booksgosocial for proving an ARC copy of #KahnillatheDragon for an objective review.

At first glance, this was a perfect selection for me: the blurb was well-crafted and hinted at a fresh, short novel with an intriguing premise: a dragon in search of another of her kind who somehow pairs with a human character on a path to destruction. After downloading, the first paragraphs was equally compelling: the novella opens with Kahnilla, the dragon, pushing through a subway wall and having to decide when to time her escape to the open air, given the complication of too many people in transit through the station.

Sadly, the exposition at the start is the only portion of the tale where the author follows the sound practice of "show; don't tell."

After emerging from the underground, Kahnilla perches among some architectural gargoyles and eyes what seems to be two mobs clashing akin to the recent "Unite the Right" clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia. Kahnilla literally plucks Rory, a white nationalist, from his podium, and flies him to one of her lairs in Siberia. Promising premise!

In Siberia, things get weird, but the interesting details about this dragon and her lair read as devices to resolve legitimate reader questions about plot gaps. That alone would not hobble the text, but the plot pattern is preachy and rather than being rhetorically compelling, it repeats a pattern to the degree of stagnation. Pattern: Kahnilla flies the racist--then a drug dealer, then a bully, then an anti-semite--through the following plot arc. Show historical or other instances of the fallout of those acts of micro-violence, then preach at the sinner until they vomit and have a change of heart.

The messages are all valid; I'm just bemoaning that an otherwise interesting dragon has to turn in to a moralizer.