I really took my sweet time getting to this one, it came out last year! The third one is about to come out, so I knew I had to get this one read so I was ready for it and I’m really glad I did!

It seems like I’ve read a lot of middle grade fiction lately, and I’ve really been enjoying it. It seems like this genre is really growing and expanding right now and I LOVE that! I think if you can get a middle grade boy or girl sucked into reading a great new series, they’ll be lifelong readers. And this is a great series!

I love the whole idea behind it. The dragons are attacking so the people of the world have to hide and still make it so that they have food to eat and everything else we humans need to survive. In the first volume of this series, we learn how the people of Cove did just that. This volume moves us to Seattle. And the people there have not had anywhere near as easy as a time as the people of Cove did.

I really like Kallista and Trenton. The author did a great job making both of these characters believable and likable. I wish we could see some of the plot from Kallista’s perspective, but that’s just a matter of preference. I like that they’re kids, but they are smart and are able to solve hard problems. At the same time their naive and don’t know just who they should trust or not trust yet. That causes them some problems in this volume.

I like the rest of the characters too! I love the way the author portrays the fictionalized Seattle with everyone hiding underground, afraid to go out for fear of being eaten. It really felt dark and cold in those parts. Such great descriptions by the author.

And the plot is fantastic. So fun and you’ll never guess what’s going to happen or to whom!

This is such a fun middle grade series that adults enjoy too! I am so excited for the next in the series!

I love this series! Great steampunk and characters. I love that I can recommend this to my more conservative readers, too.