My daughter read this and LOVED it. She was so excited to see the sequel coming out and thoroughly enjoyed this addition to the lore of the world.

Thank you toNetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. Lightningborn was fantastic, so I had high hopes for this follow up and it did not disappoint! More action, more dragons, more pirates, and more adventure. Remy, Storm, and Gem are looking for a true dragon so they can help save their world from falling into the maelstrom because the cray stalls are failing. Join them on their amazing adventure full of surprises as well as learning how and why Bart went from one of the elite dragon riders to the drunk who lived at land’s end. I gobbled up this story and cannot wait for the next installment.

Book 2 in the Storm Dragons series is almost everything I could have hoped for. The continuing story of Remy and his True Dragon partner Storm is a fast-paced story, perhaps a bit more serious than Book 1. Remy, Storm, and Gem, along with Bart and the captain and crew of the pirate ship they've hired for transportation are looking for other True Dragons, so Storm can find out about his heritage - oh, and save their world in the process. This volume includes Bart's back story, as well as a quest to find the long-missing elves and dwarves, who used to populate the world along with humans and dragons. Firebred is a wonderful story about helping your friends, overcoming past mistakes, and doing what's best for everyone, not just yourself. It's appropriate for upper elementary students, and entertaining enough for adults.

I quite enjoyed right up to the finale, when it just... ends. Abruptly. Yes, there's a third book due out next year, but even so, this one builds to a crescendo, and then crashes. It's certainly worth reading, but look out for that feel of incompleteness. For me, the abrupt ending disrupted the tone of the book. It may not bother others at all.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After the events of the last book, Remy and Gem are in hiding from an evil pirate names Jhaeros. Aboard the Queen’s Blade, the two are working with a great mage named Lysander to master their magical skills. The crystals powering their airborne world are failing. To save their world, they must evade the king’s guards, discover hidden truths about the past, and find the true dragon. To do that, their best shot seems to be with a depressed, often drunk, Sir Bartello Axtell. Will they succeed?

This adventure-filled plot is well developed and engaging. The world building is well done and draws the readers into the story. The characters are well developed, likable, and, at times, entertaining. Readers who like fantasy, adventure, dragons, and magic will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections. 4 stars, Gr 3 to 7

Storm Dragons is not simply a rehash of every other dragon series. Rather, it is a unique mixture of magic, sentient and verbal dragons, pirates who sail their ships sail airborne from one floating island country to another and those who ride dragons in order to protect the kingdom’s citizens. The world-building is well done with elements being revealed throughout the action rather than simply stacked up in the first few chapters in a less exciting way. Firebred continues the Storm Dragons series with main characters Princess Gem, Remy and their dragons Cloud and Storm, magician Lysander, and pirate captain Cutlass striving to correct the magic drain on the crystals that keep the island worlds safely suspended in the air above the massive swirling Maelstrom.

Love the relationship of riders to dragons, the growing magical ability of Gem and the strengthening bond between Remy and Storm. The sarcasm of Lysander keeps things from getting too “touchy-feeling” and the no nonsense attitude of Cutlass also adds some zip to the cast.

Text is free of profanity, sexual content and the violence level is perfectly appropriate to fantasy for those in grades 4-8. Many in those lower grades may be intimidated by the 300+ pages but the non-stop action and steady reveal of new pieces to the puzzle of repairing the crystals should encourage many to reach the cliffhanger leading to the 3rd and final book in the series.

Note: I did not read the series opener, Lightningborn, but was able to enjoy this book 2 without any difficulty.

When I requested this title from Netgalley, I was not aware that it is volume two in the Storm Dragons series. That being said, it explains why I felt so lost at the beginning of the book as I did not have a good grasp of each character's back story nor of the world they inhabit. I did find the story engaging once I figured out what was going on and was disappointed that the next volume won't be published until April of 2026. I'd recommend this to kids who like adventure, pirates, dragons and magic. I would caution them though that the next volume won't be available for another year!