A tale of worth, determination, faith, loyalty and friendship. A great adventure through the time of ancient Egypt, with a remarkable way of entangled history, myth and logic. This tale appeals to all ages, since it’s filled with non-stop action and suspense.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
1 star rating. I couldn't get into this book.

So, two quick things: 1. I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion in any way. 2. I didn’t realize that this book was written originally as two separate stories so I’m going to review the first part and the second part in two different paragraphs. Continue on now.

Part 1: The Dragon and the Thief

This first story was super sweet and adorable. We follow Prahotep, also called Bad-Luck, as he travels through Egypt attempting to find something that he can do. He has been plagued by bad luck for his entire life, and while running away after being accused of thievery, he seeks refuge with the last dragon of Egypt, Hathor. Yes, like the Egyptian goddess of love and beauty. Prahotep proceeds in helping the dragon to sail up the Nile to get to Nubia, where she could theoretically find other dragons. This story is full of little quirks and fun tricks and bits of magic that bring back a younger person’s interest in Ancient Egypt. Prahotep has spent his entire life believing that he is terribly bad luck for everyone, but suddenly finds that he is very good at helping this dragon to find her freedom (without leaving behind her hoard of treasure).

I found Prahotep to be clever and witty and quick on his feet, but insecure and nervous to the point that I worried a little about him tripping over his own feet and dying. Lady Hathor is probably one of my favorite dragons I’ve read about because she reminds me of a large pet cat with a sassy attitude and wings. The writing was not what I expected, it was very juvenile and the story was simple and felt very much like a children’s story.

Part 2: The Land of Gold

This story had a very different sort of vibe to it. Though Kandaki grew on me after the first half, she was very annoying for the first half and I just wanted to cover her mouth and tell her to take a deep breath and calm down because she’s being loud. Also, I’m not one who enjoys big groups of people sitting down at a table and talking things over although I understand it is necessary. By the end of this story Baki was my favorite character simply because he was so collected and never falsified anything, and he believed in his friends the entire time. However, this story was just a bit too political especially the middle, I just found myself bored and I totally predicted the ending, a bit too perfect.

In General:

The writing is a bit juvenile, and I wouldn’t have put it in young adult section but more middle grade and I would in fact read it to a younger reader as a bedtime. There aren’t any confusing parts, and it’s quite straightforward and understandable. This threw me for a while because I was really expecting it to be geared towards the ya readers and while the second part was, the first part was more middle grade and/or almost lower level at times. I will say that this is one of the best dragon/human friendship stories I’ve heard in a long while, and I really enjoyed that part. Although, too many of the problems they ran into were easily solved by Hothar’s own magic.

Overall, this book was ok. It wasn’t what I was expecting and I think that threw me for a bit of a loop at first. However, once I got used to it, it was a very quick and easy read. I’m going to recommend this for children more than adults, though there is the important message of be nice, but I would for sure read at least the first one to children as a bedtime story if not the second one too. So, 2.5 from me.

I wasn't aware that this was middle grade but it definitely has that feel. This was a fun, quick read and I definitely recommend it for younger readers!