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kebreads's review
4.0
I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
Content: clean - some violence, a few swear words
Content: clean - some violence, a few swear words
michellehenriereads's review against another edition
3.0
As the whole series goes, I didn't just gobble it up and love it, but I didn't absolutely hate it either. My biggest problem has been feeling like the intended audience and the content don't match. The covers look like the books are for a young audience.
I think it is very important for families to talk about their values and check in with what kids are reading. Sometimes a book can be a great conversation starter to help define family morals.
Outside of the sexuality, I found The Dragon and the Scholar series to be...
To read the full review on the series go to www.talesuntangled.wordpress.com
I think it is very important for families to talk about their values and check in with what kids are reading. Sometimes a book can be a great conversation starter to help define family morals.
Outside of the sexuality, I found The Dragon and the Scholar series to be...
To read the full review on the series go to www.talesuntangled.wordpress.com
thatgirl0903's review against another edition
Cute little romance about a girl and a dragon. No inappropriate content.
morrib's review
3.0
I received this book through a goodreads contest. It was a quick and enjoyable read. The premise was original but the world building and character development felt a little shallow.
deathpup1's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book, and so far I'm really enjoying the series also(currently listening to book 3). I'm a sucker for dragon books to be honest. I love how descriptive everything is and a lot of scenes and characters are easy to picture while listening. The characters feel very real and complex, and what little politics it goes over is simple(thankfully). I only had a couple things that I found a bit irksome. First, the foreshadowing was pretty heavy handed, so the latter half of the book was pretty predictable(and a bit infuriating waiting for them to finally realize who the big bad is). Also, the romance felt a bit...maybe not quite forced, but definitely rushed. The main characters are told by others that they're obviously in love, more than we really get to see it develop. But, it is a fairly short book so that's probably why. Overall, I still really enjoyed it and am looking forward to finishing the series. I received a free copy of this book, and just wanted to share my honest thoughts on it.
hardbackednooks's review against another edition
1.0
I had a couple of major issues with this book, first and foremost being what a colossal letdown it was in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this for the first 40% or so - scholarly girl who doesn't take anyone's crap and knows how she deserves to be treated? Heck yeah, sign me up! Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. I will admit, I think the description of the book seriously led me astray. If I'd realized this was "fantasy romance," I never would have picked it up - mostly because the following is exactly what I'd be afraid would happen.
(major spoilers ahead)
As soon as Shannon realized who "Gnaw" really was, the story went from, "I'm Shannon and I'm on an adventure because I'm an awesome botanist" to "I'm Shannon and I'm in love with this guy, so I need to save him! Just kidding, I got captured super easily and now I'm stuck, help!" We went from strong female lead to basically useless plot device who's stuck in a well for the better half of the book. From there on out, it felt more like dragon-boy was the main character rather than Shannon as he moped around and tried to figure out if he should turn back and/or rescue Shannon. Even the synopses of the other books make it sound like Shannon is just a side character and plot device.
Some other things worth mentioning were the boring side characters (most importantly, Edmond and Martin) and the internalized misogyny. I'm so tired of reading about how evil women are because they stand up against sexism (i.e. "this woman and her entire line must be nuts because the woman got mad over losing her rightful crown"). Not to mention the fact that men who use dark magic just kill their hostages, but women are far more evil because they're so manipulative and subtle. Because they're women. *rolls eyes* Even more insidious is the idea that a young girl can be a "reward" for someone else, such as when Adonna offers Shannon to Roderick so he can "have his way with her" when Adonna's finished with her treachery. Not okay, even for a villain.
All in all, this book was massively disappointing to me. Bland and sexist characters, a generic world, and total lack of developed magic system came together to make a grossly stereotypical book. If you don't look into it that deeply, it might be less unsatisfactory, but I definitely would not recommend it.
(major spoilers ahead)
As soon as Shannon realized who "Gnaw" really was, the story went from, "I'm Shannon and I'm on an adventure because I'm an awesome botanist" to "I'm Shannon and I'm in love with this guy, so I need to save him! Just kidding, I got captured super easily and now I'm stuck, help!" We went from strong female lead to basically useless plot device who's stuck in a well for the better half of the book. From there on out, it felt more like dragon-boy was the main character rather than Shannon as he moped around and tried to figure out if he should turn back and/or rescue Shannon. Even the synopses of the other books make it sound like Shannon is just a side character and plot device.
Some other things worth mentioning were the boring side characters (most importantly, Edmond and Martin) and the internalized misogyny. I'm so tired of reading about how evil women are because they stand up against sexism (i.e. "this woman and her entire line must be nuts because the woman got mad over losing her rightful crown"). Not to mention the fact that men who use dark magic just kill their hostages, but women are far more evil because they're so manipulative and subtle. Because they're women. *rolls eyes* Even more insidious is the idea that a young girl can be a "reward" for someone else, such as when Adonna offers Shannon to Roderick so he can "have his way with her" when Adonna's finished with her treachery. Not okay, even for a villain.
All in all, this book was massively disappointing to me. Bland and sexist characters, a generic world, and total lack of developed magic system came together to make a grossly stereotypical book. If you don't look into it that deeply, it might be less unsatisfactory, but I definitely would not recommend it.
serenam's review against another edition
5.0
Dragon's Curse is a wonderful self-published fantasy/romance and, true to the title, it features dragons. I devoured it in just a few days, my only disappointment being that the second book is still in the works.
It is fairly short as far as novels go, but great things come in small packages, right? Of course they do. H.L. Burke packs action, romance and just enough detail into her book without making it feel rushed. Dragon's Curse is a light read while also being incredibly difficult to put down.
I love the relationships between all of the characters in this book, both existing ones and those that develop throughout the story. The plot is wonderfully unique and mostly unpredictable.
*H.L. Burke gave me a free pdf to beta read, and I loved it so much I wrote a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
(Review originally posted on poetree)
It is fairly short as far as novels go, but great things come in small packages, right? Of course they do. H.L. Burke packs action, romance and just enough detail into her book without making it feel rushed. Dragon's Curse is a light read while also being incredibly difficult to put down.
I love the relationships between all of the characters in this book, both existing ones and those that develop throughout the story. The plot is wonderfully unique and mostly unpredictable.
*H.L. Burke gave me a free pdf to beta read, and I loved it so much I wrote a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
(Review originally posted on poetree)
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