It is so exciting to be part of this blog tour! Today, I am glad to present to you my review of this middle-grade book, which I must say I enjoyed very much.
My rating:
Synopsis:
In this hilarious fantasy adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of the Story Thieves series, a girl strikes a deal with the ancient, cranky dragon she accidentally summoned to teach her the forbidden magic she needs to save her mother.
Read More:
STOP. Don’t read any further. There are magic spells in this book, and the Emperor has forbidden anyone from learning magic, because it’s way too dangerous! If you try one of the spells, any number of terrible things might happen (or so the Emperor says).
Don’t be like Ciara, a twelve-year-old girl living in the tiny village of Skael. When she used a spell from within this book, she ended up summoning a dragon. A DRAGON! Those things breathe fire! From their mouths! She’s obviously doomed.
And don’t listen if Ciara tells you that dragons won’t hurt humans, and that they even once taught us magic, a thousand years ago. Definitely don’t pay any attention to the fact that the dragon she summoned, Scorch, might be willing to help rescue Ciara’s mother and free her village from the Emperor and his Warden, because it’s all obviously a big lie. So put this book down, and forget about it. Magic is just way too dangerous. After all, you wouldn’t want to summon your own dragon, would you?
- Pages: 240
- Genre: Fantasy, Middle-Grade
- Publication date: April 1, 2025 by Labyrinth Road
- Format: Paperback, Kindle, Hardcover
- Source: eARC, TBR & Beyond Tours, NetGalley
PURCHASE LINKS & BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
SCHEDULE
THE REVIEW:
Now, this was a fun ride!
The story follows Ciara as she discovers a book (quite the naughty one) that will totally change her life and give her the adventure of a lifetime! And what does this adventure involve, you may ask? Dragons? ✅ Magic?✅ Despicable villain?✅ Cliffhanger? ✅ ✅ ✅
With this book, the author only scratched the surface of what is yet to come in this world full of magic, dragons, and a fun, witty and quite bold 12-year-old protagonist who would do anything to try to find a cure and save her mother and the villagers of Skael from the Warden and the evils that have befallen those people. With the help of Scorch (a cute but stern-looking dragon) and her close friend Meg, they join forces for one epic quest! Or more epic quests… I just need the second book to find that out!
I found some characters very likeable and funny, especially in the voice of the owner of the said found book! (but shuushhh, I’m not going to say more about who that person is; you need to read the book to find out!) Others were quite mysterious, and we didn’t see enough of them as this was a hint there would be a following book to come, and no, the ginormous cliffhanger was not a clue!!
I just need the second book, really!
It clearly is a middle-grade book, so sometimes, the actions and dialogue did make me cringe a little, and at one point, the “name callings” became a tad irritating...
This aside, this was a solid 4-star read for me that I quite enjoyed, and I will be absolutely looking forward to the second book! I do recommend it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
James Riley is the New York Times bestselling author of the HALF UPON A TIME series, the STORY THIEVES series, the REVENGE OF MAGIC series, and the new ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME series. Contrary to what previous biographies have stated, he is a) real and b) not the character Nobody from his STORY THIEVES books. Where would people even get that idea? (Spoiler: From him. He totally made it sound like he really was Nobody. He thought it’d be funny. We’re sorry.)
He was born in Connecticut, where he lived for only a short time before moving to … well, quite a few states. He currently lives in Northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C., because that’s where his cats are. He has three of them. Other people think that’s a bit much.
James is currently working on the final book of the ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME series, so he might be a little busy. But feel free to e-mail him with questions at jamesrileythatwriterguy@gmail.com, or ask him anything on his blog.
Lin's Perspective 
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