Call of the Dragon

Dragon Riders of Elantia #1

by Jasmine Walt

Kick-butt heroines. Fire-breathing dragons. Epic adventures. Your thrill ride awaits in this brand-new fantasy series, perfect for dragon rider fans!

Zara Kenrook has never wanted to be ordinary. Abandoned at an orphanage, destined for a life in the slums, she's clawed her way to the top and made herself a name as one of the best treasure hunters in Elantia.

But Zara hasn't gotten to where she is without making enemies, and when one of them calls in a debt, her entire livelihood is thrown into peril. Suddenly, Zara is faced with two impossible choices--break into a dragon rider's home and steal a priceless artifact, or lose the career she's worked so hard to build.

Luckily, Zara has some experience pulling off heists, and she's never been one to back down from a challenge. But when the object she tries to steal turns out to be a dragon egg, her whole world changes. For this particular dragon is about to hatch, and once it lays its fiery eyes on Zara, her life will never be the same...

Call of the Dragon is the first book in the Dragon Riders of Elantia fantasy series. If you like kick-butt heroines, snarky dialogue, and spunky, fire-breathing sidekicks, then you'll love Jasmine Walt's action-packed adventure. Scroll up to grab your copy today!

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Magic, Steampunk, Adventure, Paranormal, Young Adult

243 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2018

Reviews

[Endoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this book was recommended to me by goodreads because I liked another book and boy these recommendations sure suck.

This is not really a fantasy novel, because the fantasy is just contextual for a teenage angst romance drama, only with dragons and a little magic.

After 100 pages I was still completely unsure about the technological level of the world. The story is interspersed with modern words and phrases "taking a cab", but what is a cab? A coach? a car? We never find out how the city looks, we can only piece together things from context.

The protagonist is a whining 23 year old "girl", who behaves like she is 13. Many of her traits, abilities and knowledge are simply neatly arranged at the beginning of the story, although the logic behind them are questionable at best. Between dozenes of orphans being forced into prostitution, she gets "Picked up by a gentleman" who trains her and for reasons unknown nobody ever gives a shit about her having a magic ability to evaluate and find treasures, despite the important people always knowing that magic talent goes along with dragon rider blood. (Why nobody gives a shit about her obviously belonging to the high class of people never makes any sense at all) She is forced into "burglarizing" a dragon lords home because for reasons unknown she would lose her shop because her friends brother owes money to some shady character, who despite being low level criminals has the fantasy police force in his pocket. She can conveniently reach the dragon lord's home by being flown up there in an air ship, because apparently the high and mighty recruit low borns without background chekcs to work as servants at events (like this is some modern age gala with a catering staff, only nobody ever heard about people stealing shit), but what do we know? We never actually learn anything about the world. Of course she is caught stealing, because despite her being a "treasure hunter" she absolutely sucks at breaking into things, always relying on magic to work for her (magic lockpicks ... lulz)

The hole story is a teenage angst drama (with a 23 year old protagonist), including pumping hearts, rushing blood and warm feelings... the author even sucks at describing the core content of the book, romance stuff.

If you are not a 14 year old female looking for a romance drama with fantasy and a very low expectations in writing, world building and story telling, stay away from this book. I deeply regret the 2 hours I wasted on trying to read it.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really love a character in this book. The main character was meh and the love interest (idk if he actually is that though, hope not) I really don’t like.

[Cassidy Washburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun adventure filled with dragons. I especially loved the relationship between our main character, Zara and her dragon, Lessie. Lessie was honestly the best part. She was a little spitfire.

My main complaint is I felt like the author didn’t know who she was aiming the story at. The writing and dialogue was very YA (nothing wrong with that), but then their were moments where we almost had a sex scene which would have put it in the adult genre if you know what I mean. Plus the main character herself is 23. I wish the writing matched the story.

Overall I enjoyed my time reading it but it was very cliche and easily predictable.

*Thank you to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.*

[kitkat (semi-hiatus ♡︎)]

in my dragon era ✨🐉❤️

[Jemimah Decker-Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I legit love all of Jasmine Walt's books I've read so far but I have to say I think this book is the best of hers so far. I really feel that the author has connected with this story and us the readers and it really means that this book is a riveting read. I may also be biased as anything with dragons means I'll love it, dragons are just my favouritist supernatural creatures of all time. I devour any book that I possibly can about them and 90% of the time I'll enjoy them. Well I FLOVED Call of the Dragon. I loved the main character Zara, she has spunk, she is kickass and she's a great character. I loved the Steampunk bits that were in this book, they don't overtake the book but they're there in the background. I love the varied side characters I'm not sure yet who Zara's love interest will be but I'm really holding my hopes for one character who is mysterious and dark and handsome! But the thing I absolutely adore about this book is Lessie, the Dragon. She is a great character arc in the way she acts and her humorous comments, I feel that there is a lot more to her and how important she is that we have yet to discover and I'm looking forward to finding out if I'm correct or not. I'm really hoping this will be a five (or more) book series, I think that this is a story that go on for a while and I wouldn't get bored as I think the author has created a world that is ripe to be explored for us the readers. I really, really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next part. Please Jasmine Walt, give me plenty more of this as I'm loving it.

[Anyssa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Fourth Wing and dragons, this definitely is right up your alley. Zara is a young lady who grew up in poverty in an orphanage. She has this ability to be able to search and find valuable things. She uses this to help find treasures and open up her store. Her mentor sends her on a mission where she finds a dragon egg that hatches for Zara and the rest is history. I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the banter between Lessie and Zara. The bond that they form. There’s a twist that you can kind of see but also still keeps you on your toes. I’m not a huge fan of Jallis at all. I give it a 4/5. No spice 🫶🏾

[Maggie Lynn Heron-Heidel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining!

I enjoyed this one and will be immediately getting the next in the series! I can’t wait to se where the adventure leads next

[Ashley Rose]

DNF at 30%

August 2025

Hate how I wanted to give Jasmine Walt a second chance and somehow disliked this more than the first book I read for her.

The writing and MC are just a little too immature for me, and despite being interested in the dragon aspects within the plot, I just couldn’t get into it.

[Jumms]

Dragon Heart

One of the author's best work! I absolutely loved this story and it's one i couldn't put down. I loved Zara as a heroine, she is down to earth and you want her to win.

From the very beginning when she confronts a no good ex to the end when what she believes gets turned upside down you root for her thru every stage.

Zara is an orphan who has worked hard to make something of herself and is given a bit more than she can ever dream of. She tries to help a friend and ends up in a bit of trouble that might just be the best thing to happen to her. Not just because she gets a very dragon of her own but she finally finds out where she belong.

This story is filled w a bit of romance, finding where she belongs, dragons and a biatch arch rival. All in all it has a bit of something for everyone. If you are looking for a good read this is def worth it.

[Kendall Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you know what I hate?!?! Reading a book, liking it and then realizing the book just came out so it has no sequels yet! Arrgh! This book was so fun and easy to read. Of course, the plot line was very predictable and nothing I haven't read before but Walt was still capable of making me enjoy reading it. I really liked Lessie, the main character's dragon, and her sass. The bond that she and Zara share is quite adorable. I can't wait to see what happens next in this series.

Plot Summary to jog my memory when the next book comes out(*definite spoilers ahead*):
So at the beginning of the story, the reader is placed into a house that the MC, Zara, is stealing from. From the blurb at the beginning of the novel, I thought Walt had immediately placed us into the heist of the dragon egg but that is not so. It is revealed during this heist that Zara had an ability to detect valuable objects which helps her to be the best treasure hunter in the city of Zuar. Tonight she uses her ability to steal a face-transforming fan from her ex-bf (a detail that has absolutely no significance to the story so I don't know why it had to be him that she was stealing from). Anyway, fast forward a few pages and we are at the Treasure Trove, the antique shop that the MC owns with her bff Carina. Once they talk about the fan and the ex-bf, they move onto Carina's problem... her mischievous brother, Brolian, is missing. Zara assures Carina that she will put her best people on finding him and then a minute later he stumbles into the store looking beat up and disheveled. He tells Carina and Zara that the reason he has been away so long is because he has gotten in trouble with a mob. He owes them a lot of money from recent damages he did to their place of establishment. If he doesn't pay up they will kill him. Zara takes it upon herself to fix the problem for a few reasons but mainly because if she doesn't then the Carina will try to sell her shares of the Treasure Trove to help out her brother. Because the Treasure Trove is new and struggling to get on its feet, Zara doesn't have the money to help but she knows someone that can. Her mentor, Salcombe, is an old frail man but he took Zara in when she was young and taught her so that she could perfect her craft and help him acquire more valuable objects. He is rich and is an investor in her store. He strikes up a deal with her that if she steals a Dragon Heart from a Dragon rider named Tavarian he will pay off the debt to the mobsters that is out to get Brolian. Zara has not stolen from anybody in a very long time(stealing from her ex-bf doesn't count because he stole from her first) because she doesn't want to hurt people by stealing and she prefers the adventure of finding things, she also has never stolen from a dragon rider because stealing dragon artifacts is high treason that results in execution. But she doesn't want her BFF's brother to die or for Carina to have to sell her shares so reluctantly agrees to the deal. She plans to sneak into Tavarian's house and get the artifact during a party by posing as one of the servers. Once there, she ditches her serving duties in search of the dragon heart. She comes to a vault but what she finds in the vault is not a dragon heart but a petrified dragon egg. While admiring the egg, the vault door closes behind her and traps hers in. Along with suddenly being trapped in a vault that means her certain capture and death, the petrified egg starts to hatch in her presence which means that she is its owner. Craziness. Tavarian and his guard find them in the vault later that night and decides that he does not want to press charges so she is sort of off the hook. After she is given time to rest, Tavarian informs her that because she attempted to steal from him and because the egg is an heirloom to his family that he essentially owns her now so she has to pledge herself to the family and start school at the Dragon Acadamy...if she does this he will get his guards to throw the mobster that is after Brolian in jail... She agrees. She starts the dragon academy and of course makes an enemy out of a crazy, jealous girl named Aria because of a boy named Jallis(terrible name). Because of mutual hatred of Aria, she becomes friends with a girl named Rhiannon. Fast forward, Solcombe tells Zara that she still needs to find and steal the dragon heart piece away from Tavarian because Solcombe saw Tavarian at the black market trying to buy the dragon heart piece so he believes that T is trying to bring the five broken pieces of this specific scary Dragon that killed millions of people back in the day back to life by putting the dragon pieces back to together. That is no bueno. So she sets off to learn more about the person she just basically pledged her life to and he seems normal but is shocked to find that, in fact, a piece of the Dragon heart is on his property. Also during this time, Lessie is getting bigger and can fly a little now, so on a whim, Zara and L decide to ride a little even though neither of them has gone through proper training yet or been fitted for the proper equipment needed for safe flying. Their flying gathers the attention of a few others who are watching in excitement for their success but also draws the attention of Aria. Aria uses a slingshot to hit Zara which makes her lose her grip on Lessie and tumbles to the ground. Lessie dives to save her and they both walk away injured pretty badly but okay. Zara is suspended for 2 weeks because of her reckless behavior of flying without proper training and permission. During the downtime of not being able to learn, she sets a trap for whoever might be trying to bring the pieces of the dragon heart together by saying that she has another piece that she is trying to sell. The trap is set and then she is ambushed by four men trying to kill her for the other piece of the dragon heart. Jallis is with her (they've kissed a couple times and I don't really know what their relationship status is) and together they kill the four men. After the attack, she decides that Tavarian is the only one who could be the person who would send someone to kill her so with the help of Jallis and Rhia they sneak onto T's property to find the heart piece. They are caught by T and his guard and because Rhia has the ability to detect lies finds out that T has no intention of bringing the heart pieces together and never sent those men to kill her. T asks Z to make a blood oath with him when they are alone to never divulge his secrets and she makes the oath on the condition that any of the secrets he tells her are always truthful. When the oath is made T tells Z that he is half dragon rider -half mage so he can do magic. The five mages that survived the dragon age all inherited a piece of the heart and he is supposed to have the dragon heart which means the story of Solcombe seeing the dragon heart in a black market auction is false and that Solcombe is, in fact, the bad guy. After their revelation, T gets his guard to try and catch Solcombe but he found out that he was being sought after and has fled. Also, T got Z's suspension lifted and Aria suspended. Later that week Zara gets a letter saying that T needs her help finding S but it's a trap. Shes drugged and brought to a dungeon where Solcombe tells her his nefarious plans of world domination with the help of the resurrected dragon. He tells her that he is going to ransom her life for the dragon piece that Tavarian has in his possesion. This will work because if T does not give the dragon heart piece over and S kills her, Lessie will die as well. Lessie is rare because she is female and her death will mean that the dragon race will dwindle even more. Anyway, while he's making his speech, Lessie breaks through the window and saves her. T, his guard, Jallis, and Rhia are there to help as well. So after her kidnapping, T decides that it is not safe for her or the dragon to be somewhere easily found so they pack their bags and are headed to a secret place to train with T until they are ready. The end.

[Randy Harmelink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another author I've added to my follow list on Amazon. Loved the book. Not only was it easy to read, but I really liked the characters and the story. It hit on on all cylinders.

Luckily, there's a Kindle compendium with all 6 books of the series.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and since it's part of a series, I'm looking forward to the rest of the books in the series. I liked the world building, and the way the dragons were handled, and the riders too. It's always interesting when the statis quo is challenged, and having a sewer rat inducted into the upper crust is about as big a shake up as there is. The glimpse of the various lifestyles is typical of such books, but it's handled skillfully, and while it raises questions about how the other 99 percent live, it does a good job of giving a peek into both ends of the spectrum, and I think it's likely to only get better with more installments in the series. I agree with the cover blurb that pern and aragon fans both will like this one, though it's likely pern fans will enjoy it a bit more.

[Rioden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first read in my dive into Kindle Unlimited trash fiction. The book starts horribly, I almost put it down even with the expectation of it not being the best.

The first couple chapters read as almost stream of conscious from a teenager with an exclusive and steady diet of fan fiction.

Admittedly, the writing and the pacing seems to chill out as the book goes along, though some part of me wonders if it was just me getting accustomed to the style? But at the same time, if the author actually did become better and more confident as she went along, is that not a sign of a poorly edited book? Was she in such a hurry to push out a 6 book series she couldn't go back to the beginning to apply some of her improved craft?

IDK, she's wrote like 10+ books with plenty of well-received reviews so I guess it is working out for her!


I find Zara's power confusing, as it seems to imply the world has a concrete concept of "value" or that she is somehow able to know an item's worth to someone with no context or prior history? IDK. If you don't think about it too much it's fine.



Here are some choice lines that I highlighted:

"He pulled me in for another kiss, and this one had an edge of hunger to it that made my nipples tighten in response."


"As I watched him jog away, unapologetically admiring the way his pants molded to what looked like a firm ass and powerful thighs,"


“I have been listening to humans converse for hundreds of years, and have picked up the idiosyncrasies of your language. Now are you going to feed me or not?”



"Zara, watch it!” Tiana cried just as I was about to step into a pile of dog shit

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out a little predictably, but the characters were fun and the plot was sufficiently interesting that I'll be reading the next in the series.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously this was adorable, such an easy fast paced read and really cute story. I’ll keep going!

[Isabel Brassell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragons, dragons, dragons!!! I love the banter between Zara and Lessie.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book! Characters were well rounded and likeable. The story was straight forward and engaging. It didn't drag and skip around just a fun and engaging read that delivered on promises and tied up loose ends.

On to the critiques. Although I really enjoyed reading this book, I have to say that it wasn't all that original. I know what you are thinking, nothing is these days every concept has been taken, every story has been written, well that might be true but in this case I took specific offense to a couple things.
First off I have read other books about dragons and having a specific connections to certain humans before. That book written by Robin Hobb actually had the personality and link identical to this one. The dragon was vain and loved to have their ego stoked by the human (Rain Wild Chronicles). They even longed to soar through the sky and be ridden by the rider. The colors were described as the same, and Anne McCafrey also wrote the Dragon Riders of Pern series, which this strongly resembles on the outside. Then you have to draw the comparison to Dragon Riders of Pern, and how this isn't just a twist on that concept. Well it basically is, almost like fan fiction. Like what if Dragons didn't completely rule the world and humans had somehow came out on top and found a way to live with the dragons? Well this is it. Other than in general concept and it being very obvious that the author is a big Robin Hobb and Anne McCafrey fan, this is a great book.
Like I already stated it is fantastic. The few things like a steampunk era that was kind of hinted at and that is about it, and the upper and lower class that is outwardly obvious, and Drako Malfoy being female in this one don't ruin the story. This book is kind of short I read it on kindle in no time and it probably could have been combined with the second one for a more complete novel that I would actually purchase from the store instead of buying on kindle. The twist was extremely obvious, but still satisfying, the magic is endless use and skin deep, but tasteful and not overly used. The school is a background thing and not something where you are sitting through classes as a reader. Overall this is a great between books kind of book. It has everything you want not much of what you want to avoid and is delivered well.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story! The characters were great and I enjoyed the storyline, which has a unique and fresh twist on things. There are some great possibilities for the characters that I would be excited to read about in the next book(s)! I found myself devouring this book, which is always a sign of a book well written with interesting characters and a decent plot. My only slight criticism is that some of the events felt a bit rushed, like the events happened in very quick succession (which is not necessarily a bad thing, I just mean that to me it felt rushed) I think that a little tension would have made the book even better. Or perhaps, maybe it’s a lack of self reflection? I’m not sure, but anyway, it didn’t take anything away from the story as a whole, it’s just a personal thing. I would definitely want to read more about these characters, their dragons, and their adventures!
*I was honoured to have received an ARC of this book.

[Erin Remen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me from the very beginning. An adventure and a heroine that remind me of Sunaya, with all the independence and morals, sass and bravery you could want in a heroine. An adaptable and loyal woman that takes the punches given with stoicism and bravery, trusts even when it should not be given so freely and a wanderlust that presents itself with an innate need to find things once lost. Dragons. Magic. Flying islands. Treasure. A sexy, brooding hero reminiscent of a few earlier favourites of mine and a cast of friends we could only wish for in our own lives rounds this story of perfectly. Sublime is the word that comes to mind.The adventure is just getting started and I am anxiously awaiting the next one. Go Jasmine!

I received an Arc of this book and have freely given it the five star review it deserves! No spoilers intended.

[Gen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Walt always does an astounding job of creating fierce, intelligent and sexy FMC.
Zara is a treasure hunter who has worked extremely hard for her own business. In this magical world, there is very much the low lifes and the aristocrats. Zara lives in the dangerous part of town and has to be bold and aggressive in order to survive. One can make enemies very quickly - and one can end up owing favors to the wrong people.
Zara ends up in a huge predicament that changes her life forever. Thrust into a magical world where she meets and bonds with a dragon she tries her best to survive in these new dangerous waters.

The action scenes are done extremely well. Light romance - reads more YA right now.
Violence and talk of war.

I'm curious about Zara's heritage as a large clue was given to us at the end that she's not who she thought she was all along.

Very well done!

[Tala Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Love LOVE this series already!

I am a total sucker for anything dragon, so when I heard about this new series, I couldn't hardly wait. I am seriously not disappointed! Zara and her dragon, Lessie are the absolute perfect pair. So in tune with each other, and the bond continues to grow. Zara's parentage is still a mystery, but bits and pieces are coming into place, what with the dragon pin, the dragon lance and the now known fact that her parents didn't abandon her, but rather were killed protecting her. Though Lord Tavarian seems forbidding, he is proving to be an ally that she can trust, who will do what he can to protect her from the evil Salcome. Then there is Jallis. Can't wait to see where that goes, wink, wink! Needless to say, book two can't get here soon enough. Looking forward impatiently!

[JustJess Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great book!
I loved the world, with its floating islands and DRAGONS and dragon lore and mage magic. Super cool. The main character Zara was very fun to follow and especially with Lessie!
The plot was very engaging and the pacing was very good as well.
What held me back to giving this a 5 ⭐️ was the insta love between the main characters 🙄
And their relationship just did NOT click at all. And Aria being one of the villains just because she was bad, with no character depth to her just made me be annoyed at her.
Overall very enjoyable and highly recommended! Up to the next book!

[Iori · Rating 5 out of 5]

From all the dragon rider series on amazon this one is the best I've read so far, it has solid world building, rag to riches for the main character, awesome drama, side characters who are not just NPCs. The love story didn't develop right away, I think the characters has choice too between a fellow student and her sponsor. And there is the mystery of the MC's parentage that is nagging at us.

I will definitely buy the next book.

[Sharon Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful read!

This series is very similar to another dragon rider series with bonded dragons, but a different flavor.

I enjoyed this book and the rest of the series very much.

It's definitely worth reading.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragons, dragon riders and magic! What's not to like?!? Adventure and mystery abound in this upper middle grade to YA novel. I love Zara, the intrepid treasure hunter turned dragon rider. She is tough, resourceful and brave. Looking forward to reading the next book.

[Teresa Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Loved the characters and dragons and I am looking forward to more adventures!!! The beginning of a new series that catches my attention is a happy day for me!

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

YA

Book one in the series and I’m not impressed. I both like and dislike the FMC. I like that’s she’s a treasure hunter with unusual magic, but I really dislike how emotional and doormat like she is, she’s pathetic. She’s a bleeding heart and takes on everyone’s problems as her own, leading to making stupid choices. The FMCs emotions didn’t make sense a lot of the time, they seem overly dramatic for the situation most of the time.

Her worries seem to come out of nowhere, and while they make sense, there’s no working up to those worries. There’s minimal “thought process” before suddenly she’s riddled with anxiety. It’s too abrupt.

The world building is good, and the information was parsed out at a good pace, though a little more show than tell would’ve been appreciated.

There were a few inconsistencies such as her testing which was supposed to start the following day but then suddenly was later the same day, suggesting a continuity edit wasn’t done or not done well.

As soon as the “MMC” shows up, our FMC turns into a simpering, blushing moron. Eye roll. I didn’t like how the “relationship” unfolded at all. It was too quick and made literally zero sense. There was no connection, no growth of feelings. They weren’t even really friends and suddenly they were together? We’d only had like 3 scenes with him and the FMC, all short, and only one where they actually interacted one on one. I’m really not a fan of him.

The high school style relationship drama with a mean girl ex is so cringe and juvenile, when these people are supposed to be in their twenties.

The time jumps seemed wholly unnecessary and were kind of annoying. And at 76% her favorite room is suddenly the library. Why? There’s literally been no mention of her enjoying reading or libraries at all yet. The only reading she’s done is history related, not exactly reading for pleasure.

Absolutely nothing happens in this book until 88%. And honestly, even that small piece of action was lacklustre. The plot here is minimal at best and not at all engaging. It’s 243 pages of basically nothing, no character development or growth, no real relationship growth between the FMC and anyone else, not even friends.

[Anika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short review: This might not be the next Tolkien, but its perfect for a casual read when you just need something fun with loveable characters. Its very similar to fourth wing, but better imo. The book reads like only one episode of a series though, so I'd recommend getting the whole set from the start.

I got a big issue with lots of peoples reviews here: Can we please stop calling books YA solely because they dont have spice? The main characters in elantia behave more adult than 90% of romantasy protagonists (looking at you acotar) and nobody's calling those books YA.

Also why is nobody on booktok talking about how much fourth wing is a copy of this series? (Elantia predates FW) The setting and plot are already very similar, but the best friend even has the same name and same colour of dragon! This is either the most obvious plagiarism or a crazy coincidence.

If you like the idea of Fourth wing, but not the execution you probably gonna like Elantia. Especially when its about the characters and their relationships, Elantia just does it better. Zara is strong and confident right from the start, but bonding her (singular) dragon also doesn't make her ridiculously overpowered. And I enjoyed how she cares about her friends and interacts with them regularly, even after getting together with her love interest, which is rare in romantasy in general. The love interest is a sweet guy who can actually talk about his feelings. Booktok might tell you otherwise, but it is in fact possible to enjoy a romance without a dark, broody enemies to lovers guy and a minimum of three chapters of spice.

What I didn't like is the ending though. Not because its predictable who the bad guy is, but because finding out whats going on and who's behind it is the beginning of a plot, not the end. Its like having to buy each episode of a TV series separately.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely Promising!

I've ALWAYS enjoyed Jasmine's books, she brings that something-something that some authors miss. I felt like this book was more of an introduction to the series, like a 0.5 book rather than the 1st of the. I liked the characters, they were interesting, like we've only glanced the tip of the ice berg with the majority of them (even the school social scene looks like it has more beans to spill), the plot is definitely promising, I can already see a number of different ways Jasmine could take this story and I like the no nonsense narrative. I absolutely DETEST books that have weak characters that whine and complain and all that nonsense, it really saps my will to continue with the book. Though Zara's personality is brave and quite confident, I feel like this is just the beginning of her journey to a stronger, wiser self. She's definitely got a long way to go. I'm also enjoying the triangle going on. It's not one where She's leading one boy on a wild goose chase with no prize at the end of it while the other is the automatic choice from the beginning. It's more like we're being shown both their respective pros and cons, liking them both equally, then being left to decide which might suit her personality and needs more. I'm personally leaning a little bit towards Lord Tavarian, simply because I like a good onion(a guy with many layers😂😂), I'm more intrigued by him than Jillis, who I find is more of an open book. I enjoy a guy with a bit of mystery/history. Over all I enjoyed the book and I'll definitely be getting book 2 to see how the story pans out, I'm not quite as invested yet but there's still plenty of time for me to become fully submerged in Zara's world. I recommend the book. xx

[Cinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

READ

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 2.5/5⭐
𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘: 𝖥𝖺𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗌𝗒 𝖱𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾
𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗘: 𝖲𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌
𝗔𝗚𝗘: 𝖭𝖾𝗐 𝖠𝖽𝗎𝗅𝗍
𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗬: 🟡
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𝗘𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:
𝖢𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗉𝗍 𝗂𝖽𝖾𝖺: 4/𝟻 🤔
𝖯𝗅𝗈𝗍: 3/𝟻 📖
𝖶𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽 𝖡𝗎𝗂𝗅𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀: 2/𝟻 🌎
𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀: 2/𝟻 📝
𝖯𝖺𝖼𝗂𝗇𝗀: 3/𝟻 ⏱
𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌: 2/𝟻 👥
𝖱𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾: 0/𝟻 ❤️
𝖲𝗉𝗂𝖼𝖾: 0/𝟻 🔥
𝖢𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋: 4/𝟻📓
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𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦 / 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘:
🐉 𝖣𝗋𝖺𝗀𝗈𝗇
🎓 𝖠𝖼𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗆𝗂𝖼 𝗌𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀
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𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦:
Nothing special and poorly written. There was only telling, no showing, and the characters and plot is weak.
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𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬: FMC wanted to steal a god dragon heart, but got caught. Her life was spared because a dragon hatched, and she trains as a rider. Now, her "adoptive father" tried to kill her and use her to find the other pieces of the dragon heart. She manages to flee and stays hidden with her mentor.
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𝖶𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖨 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗎𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌? ❌
𝖶𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖨 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖻𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗋? ❌
𝖶𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖨 𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝖽? ❌
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𝗧𝗪 / 𝗖𝗪: rape, torture, gore, violence, abuse