Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

12 reviews

judassilver's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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midnightrose_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Dragonfruit is a Pacific Islander YA fantasy adventure that is positively magical! Definitely reminds me of the adventure stories I read as a teen. 
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kg18's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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folkofthebook's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Every wish demands a price.

this is a beautiful story about family, greed, and sacrifice. i NEED more tropical-set fantasy; the descriptions are so lush and vivid, with an exciting seafaring islander adventure undertone. hanalei is clever, brave, and compassionate as a protagonist, and her sympathy and understanding for the seadragons is admirable. her budding romance with sam was organic and sweet, it was a very well-done childhood friends to lovers.

i loved the idea of dragon eggs being dragonfruit, and the theme of greed and sacrifice was played out well w the wishes and their costs. how far are people willing to go for glory? for their dreams? one pays for their wish, whether it was made out of selfishness or selflessness alike.

also so cool to see a matriarchal society and how it works.

as someone who's been pushing for writers to stop needlessly extending their books, this is a rare exception that i'd say i wish this were longer! a follow-up novella to learn more about the seadragons would be fun, too.

tw for some violence/blood/injury/death, animal cruelty/death.

We are defined by our hardships, and how we face them. We are made stronger or weaker by those we hold closest to us.
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a_libra_library's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Magical sea dragons?! 💚🌊🐉
Magical tattoo??? 
Pirates and seas adventures??? 
I love this book and the audiobook? Amazing Highly reccomend . 
I'd love to see this author write an adult adventure with like the smallest romance plot line because they can write the most sublte flirty that has me kicking and screaming 
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mirificmoxie's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Tapping into the current zeitgeist for all things dragony; Makiia Lucier has lovingly crafted a lush, vibrantly unique YA fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology that completely stole my heart! 

Set on the island of Tamarind, where legend states imbibing the egg of a sea dragon (called a Dragonfruit) can undo a person’s greatest sorrow. We follow the exiled Hanalei, a decade after her father stole a seadragon egg from the Tamarindi Royals in order to save her life. 

Captured by Dragon hunting pirates (Dragoners), Hanalei manages to escape their clutches only to find herself returned to the island of her birth, with an opportunity to undo her father’s actions (by helping childhood friend and prince, Sam find a dragonfruit to revive his comatose mother.) 

But Hanalei knows that Dragons and Dragoners are the least of their worries as imbibing the Dragonfruit comes with it own danger. For every wish comes with a price…

This was such a magical, swashbucklingly adventurous read, exploring themes of family, friendship and community in ways that few books ever do, let alone as successfully as Lucier does here. 

With family ties and ancestral heritage key motivators for our POV characters, I enjoyed delving into both Hanalei and Sam’s backstories. Having grown up together as children, it was also really interesting to see how their dynamics changed after soo many years apart, especially for Hanalei who’s yearned to return to her homeland and the safety it represents.

I loved both our MCs (Hanalei and Sam), and found that throughout their shared emotional journeys they each remained endearingly likeable. For Sam, a Prince within a matriarchal society, it was interesting to see how he navigated the expectations and duties of his royal heritage— which was a refreshing change from the typical western portrayals of monarchy and leadership. I also adored his bat marking Fetu who had such a cheeky personality. 

Hanalei, was probably the most in depth of our characters with a fairly detailed yet tragic backstory that drew me to her instantly. Brave, compassionate and willing to risk her own life for the people she cares for most—it’s impossible not to like her! 

The chemistry between the pair was so quite magnetic but the romance isn’t as prevalent as I had hoped (taking a backseat to their quest to save Sam’s mother), but adorably sweet nonetheless.

The lore of the Island (particularly around Sea Dragons) and the unique, tattoo based magic system (where people form bonds with their sentient, animal markings) was one of the most fascinating aspects of the story. We don’t go into too much detail surrounding the latter (which was a shame) but I loved how immersed I became in this beautifully lush world. 

Overall, a gorgeously crafted, fast paced and engaging read that fans of dragons, seafaring adventures or villains you’ll love to hate should definitely consider adding to their TBRs. 

Also, a huge thank you to Harper360YA and Insta Book Tours for the finished copy. 
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nikkic66's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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pbella3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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nashaytreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Absolutely loved this book. The dragons, the lore, the adventure, the desperate goal they have knowing the cost. The only reason it’s not a 5 is because I wish the “final showdown” was a bit more. It wrapped up pretty quickly and easily. Fetu and the concept of tattoo companions was my favorite part of the story.
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