Great dragon rider story

Dragons are my favourite fantasy creatures and dragon rider stories are amongst my favourite. I enjoy how the focus here is often on character progression/coming of age and magic is secondary or not featured at all.

I liked the main character Kalina from the start and the other characters are very relatable too.
The parts of the country relative to Kalina’s adventures are well described and the glimpses into the wider world show that the world has been well thought out.

The first chapters were a little slow and all about getting to know the heroine Kalina.
After that the story picked up the pace and a number of different events followed on from each other in quick succession. In some cases I felt they moved on too quickly, because what happened should have had a bigger, often traumatic impact on Kalina, but she seemed to be able to move on fast.
I was also a bit confused as to time progression, I felt it was sometimes unclear how long Kalina was in a certain place and situation, and her injuries seemed to heal very fast considering their severity and often not be a hindrance to her soon after. Maybe Valdir heal quicker than regular humans, but if this is the case it is not mentioned.

Overall I enjoyed the story, though I think the author tried to fit too many experiences into the length of the story, so some parts felt a bit rushed and the effects and emotions not explored fully. Having said that, I would be hard pressed to say what could be left out, since everything played a part in developing Kalina’s personality. So maybe the book needed to be a bit longer?
For the same reason the flow of the story was at times a bit inconsistent. I am still looking forward to reading about Kalina’s next adventures and how she deals with becoming Queen of the Valdir.

The narrator Elizabeth De Vault has a pleasant voice and she was very clear and concise. In general I prefer narrators, who can give each character their own voice, but I didn’t really miss it.

I received this book in audio book format free from the author and am leaving this review of my own volition.

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