Tag: dragon rider

Review: Black Dragon Rising (Dragon Riders of Vorden #1) by Nita Round

Rating: 3.5⭐️

This latest dragonrider book and series is more YA fantasy than dark romantasy and follows the predictable dragon trope of a young female character with unique abilities and hidden powers very well.  

There’s a gathering of misfits young people, including a clique of antagonists, who hope to be chosen by the dragons as riders. 

And there’s also another group of elite society members who don’t want to see their own heirs and potential dragonriders interfered with by lesser mongrels and misfits of society. And will do everything to deter them from being there. 

Nothing new here, nicely laid out but the friend is a better more interesting character. 

With pointed ears that easily give the reader an unsubtle hints to her heritage and connections to magic, Kanastya is the main character I come close to find annoying in her continuing naïveté for the majority of the story. Whether it’s her grandmother healer telling her to listen to her about the dangers of the village (hint she doesn’t), the visitor and his tiny dragon which she is enraptured by to the point of stupidity, or frankly the various scenarios that see her and the other people around her in shaky circumstances, her inability to really listen or understand the gravity of various situations makes one want to shake her. 

Even when her knowledge is either helpful or pushes her towards a certain dangerous goal, she’s just not a credible person in her level of emotional reactions.  Taken by soldiers? Ok. In a fortified house? Ok. It’s all too bland as opposed to the reactions of other characters. 

Her grandmother, who we barely know, is a major player here. But we’re given very little information about her, or the situation that she or her granddaughter find themselves in. 

This is a young adult fantasy series so perhaps I’m judging it too harshly. My expectations are more along the lines of an adult fantasy novel and characters that have a multi faceted personality and storyline to match. 

Perhaps that will change going forward.  I love dragons and dragonriders but please dont give me magical twits and dragons. That’s what I’m asking.  I believe the series is complete. 

Dragon Riders of Vorden (4 book series)

Black Dragon Rising #1

Red Dragon Ascended #2

White Dragon Reborn #3

Blue Dragon Returns #4

Cover design: Adrijana Cernic (Adriatica Creations)

Buy link 

 Book 1 of 4: Dragon Riders of Vorden 

Blurb 

Outcast. Healer. The girl they shunned may be the kingdom’s best hope.

Kanastya has always been an outcast. With her pointed ears and slight build, she stands out as different.

Orphaned young and raised by her grandmother on the edge of the swamp. Kanastya lives quietly on the fringes healing wounds, gathering herbs… and guarding a deadly secret. She knows ancient dragon lore, and in the four kingdoms, knowledge like hers could mean death.

For generations, the Sundered lands have known peace, but now war is brewing. Rogue dragons have returned and are attacking the four kingdoms with relentless fury. Desperate for survival, the kings of Vorden seek to raise new dragons by any means necessary.

When Kanastya is torn from her home and thrust into a world of nobles, dragon riders and shifting alliances, she finds herself among strangers who see her as a threat or a tool.

As danger mounts Kanastya must decide whether to remain the outcast they expect—or become something far more powerful than anyone is prepared for.

Pink Tea Books

Publication date

August 1, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

404 pages

Book 1 of 4

Dragon Riders of Vorden

Review: Borrowed Amulet (Splintered Realms, #1) by Jilleen Dolbeare

Rating: 3.25⭐️

I should have remembered why I didn’t finish the original Splintered Realms series before I picked up this book. In fact, I didn’t make it past book 2 there. And I’m stopping here. 

I do like Jileen Dolbeare overall but find I need to be selective about what books or series of hers to read. I just read a prequel book that was terrific and I’m getting ready for the series finale of a paranormal romance thriller that’s highly recommended she’s co-authored with Heather G. Harris. 

But her Splintered Realms series just continues to be one that has too many issues. That of problematic characters and plots with storylines that are nonsensical, given the characters status and current events or just seem forced into the plot for the sake of drama itself.

This one is based off history and events that happened in the previous series. A death has already happened.  The main character, a dragon rider, is grieving . She’s supposed to be older here but acts younger. Merlin, that Merlin of King Arthur’s Court, is an unpleasant character but not a complete bad person. 

The actual story is a bit of a mess if you’re not familiar with the universe and background already set down in previous novels. 

But it’s the actions of the main character that I find actionable here as written by Dolbeare. I’m not sure why she’s not thinking a reader will listen and look at this whole woman and wonder why the lack of development. 

Granted she’s grieving and yes, Merlin was deeply cruel in his comments. All true. But past that, her dragon is very young and inexperienced in his own way. 

Then comes a young dragon mage, who has zero experience because she’s been totally isolated in Scotland, beloved, and given to an equally untrained wanna-be rider.  

Megan and Merlin decide to go after the eminently powerful Big Bad Mage with his own dragon who was responsible for her hunny’s death. Guess who they take with them? 

Oh no what could possibly go wrong?

That’s a SMH scenario.  And of course, it ends in a cliffhanger that anyone could see coming. When a author has her characters who are supposed to be seasoned mages act with all the instincts of first year grade students going into battle with kindergarteners, it destroys any credibility that they have.  Including that plot line. 

So I’ll try to remember that it is the Splintered Realms series I’m not reading. 

If you are a fan, I’ll leave it to you. 

Cover Designer: Covers by Christian

Splintered Realm Series 

Borrowed Magic: Book .5 

Borrowed Amulet: Book 1 

Borrowed Chaos: Book 2* 

Borrowed Trouble: Book 3*

Buy link

 Book 1 of 3: Splintered Realms 

Blurb 

Megan’s world has shattered. The love of her life is gone, leaving her hollow and consumed by grief. In the midst of this despair, one venomous remark from Merlin—yes, that Merlin—sends her over the edge, pushing her into a reckless new purpose: bounty hunting across the Splinters of reality with her red dragon, Goch.

One target fuels her obsession: Mordred and his dragon. It’s the only thing keeping her from drowning in sorrow. But the hunter’s guild has left Mordred’s bounty up for grabs, and it’s already claimed lives. Worse, as a realm walker, Mordred’s impossible to track across the splinters, driving Megan mad with frustration and leaving her too much time to think.

Out of options, she grudgingly teams up with Merlin. Powerful, legendary, and hard to ignore, he should be the perfect ally—except she loathes him with the fire of a million burning suns. Then Mordred makes a move, reaching out to both of them.

The hunt is back on, but Merlin’s shadowy past is catching up, turning an already dangerous mission into a deadly gamble. Can Megan capture Mordred, survive Merlin’s demons, and make it out alive? Or will her pursuit lead to her ultimate downfall?

Enjoy this urban fantasy adventure with an older heroine, a slow burn enemies to lovers romance, dragon riding, and tons of action!