Elizabeth J. M. Walker
My rating: ★★★½
ASIN: B00N4923OU
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Date of publication: August 27, 2014
Age: Grades 5 - 9
Genre: Fantasy
Themes: friendship, discrimination, power, competition,
Fifteen-year-old Trina is a dragon mage, attending the poor and decrepit mage academy in a country run by the witches and wizards--the same people that hunted dragons and other magical creatures to near extinction. And the same that are withholding financial support from the academy. So when news drifts in about a Royal Tourney, a competition to find the heir to the throne, Trina and her cousin enter--the only mages in the whole competition--with some hope of gaining support for mages. What she doesn't expect is becoming the frontrunner. Nor falling for a wizard.
Walker did a great job with this book in that she captured the dislike between two disgruntled races (wizards and mages), created an altruistic and brave heroine, added a touch of romance, and created an exciting plot. I enjoyed it. However, it did feel a bit lacking in some areas. In terms of character development, I felt that Trina was a little bit too altruistic and innocent, in that it came off a tad unbelievable. Especially for her age Also, I never really felt that the villain in the book was given full depth; I still don't fully understand why it was that she wanted to take over the kingdom. Was it simply that she didn't think the queen was proper or mannered enough? That seems a bit drastic.
As for the story, I really did enjoy the competition and the other characters involved there. The climax was pretty great, too, although I am sad that the reader did not get to go on the journey with Trina to find a dragon. Overall, it's a really cute story--an amazing fantasy story with an exciting plot, but not quite the depth I was looking for. I'd still recommend it, though.
Find it on Amazon
(I received a digital copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
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