Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Dragonkyn” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I love DRAGONS:
I have had a soft spot in my heart for dragons for a very long time – I haven’t always sought out #dragonfiction to read because I have particular interests in how I am hoping a story about #dragons will go – therefore, when I spied ‘Dragonkyn’ arriving on a blog tour this Winter, I thought I’d take a chance on a new author. My love of #LelandDragons is quite apparent in the twitterverse, as I have extensively spoken about how much I love Jackie Gamber’s Leland Dragons series (see also this Overview post) – the bar was set quite high indeed! What I love the most about stories involving dragons is the heart-center of focus being on dragonkind and if they interact with other species, including humans or creatures similar to humans; as every author has their own vision for where Dragon Fiction can take them visually through world-building.
I even like stories where dragons and humans share DNA – or where there are a new generation of a hybrid species of shapeshifters of whom are part dragon and part human. It simply depends on how the context of the story is told and how the undertone of the narrative is approached which will sway me one way or the other about the presentation of the story. For YA stories directly, I am hoping for an uplift of narrative wherein a hearty adventure and a dramatic story could be inserted to tell a stimulating fantastical story overall. The only time I feel the most disappointed is when the tone of a YA novel turns darker than midnight – where there isn’t as much light flickering through the core of the story’s heart as I’d prefer or if the circumstances turn from dramatic to beyond dire without any hope of turning back round again. In essence, I look for a balance between Epic Fantasy world-building, strong character driven narrative, and a good back-story on the fantastical creatures and the humanoid characters who walk alongside them (and/or any other species selected for supporting cast). When I looked towards ‘Dragonkyn’ I was hoping I might find a new author to follow and see if this might develop into a series I could appreciate reading.
Share what motivates your own bookish heart to dig into #dragonfiction in the threads below! I’d be delighted to hear what draws your eye towards this niche market within Fantasy!
Dragonkyn
Marc Mondragon is just an average teenager who's always getting in trouble or crushing on the pretty girl in school. When strange things begin happening to him, Marc is thrust into a new world where dragons are no longer just in fairy tales. Suddenly with new friends and new enemies, his very survival depends on his ability to use a new source of power that gives magic to and connects all dragons - the invisible fire within him.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781462119783
on 1st February, 2017
Pages: 214
Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse on Twitter via: #dragonfiction
my review of dragonkyn:
I admit when I first picked up ‘Dragonkyn’ – I was thinking this was going to be introduced in a more traditional Fantasy setting however it’s more Urban Fantasy than Fantasy; wherein the characters are rooted to the modern world but lead a life outside the ordinary. The first pages of the novel honestly did not pull me into the narrative – as I couldn’t see the point of a power hungry cop chasing after a teenager whose down on his luck; to me that just felt a bit cruel hearted as being bullied is never something to take lightly. Also, there was a hint of a health issue early-on, but all of this was on the fringes of the story starting to gain it’s momentum into how ‘dragons’ and the lead character would start to interact.
The downside for me with an introduction like this one is that it feels a bit awkward and it’s of the vein of interest most Contemporary YA take their stories – in essence, the opposite of where I’d like to see YA Fiction take readers. I am unsure why a lot of YA ‘sounds’ similar in today’s book world but there are moments when I wonder why instead of building up a story with a strong narrative core and a character you can rally behind as the ‘everyday hero’, the opening chapters fall a bit flat instead; drawing your attention outside the story rather than inside it. I decided to hold off a bit until I made a make/break choice to continue or to stop reading this novel – as it could simply have a slow start. Despite not presenting itself the way I had hoped nor opening the story-line where I had thought it might, I was thinking perhaps somewhere in the introductory chapters I might find where Mr Jones was leading his readers into the heart of what makes this #dragonfiction.
The hard part for me is that I love Fantasy Fiction – it’s a genre I am passionate about and one that I love to drink in the world-building as there are such distinctions which make this genre brilliant to read. Perhaps because of this passion I have for Fantasy and for the kind of world-building which becomes immersive, I’m more critical on stories which tend to take a different spin on the genre and fit into a category of stories which simply aren’t my cuppa tea. It’s hard to know for sure – except that I do find myself impartial to certain YA stories which just feel uncomfortable to read. They just lack something I am seeking from YA and that’s the truth of it really.
I continued to read this for several chapters until I honestly was bored waiting for the story-line to kick-in the reason why Marc was experiencing his transition. I won’t spoilt the surprise dear hearts, but you might have inferred part of this plot simply by the name and the revelations in the premise. The downside for me is how Mr Jones approached the opener – I felt the back-story was quite a stretch to be honest; nothing felt authentic but rather told what was required and staid a bit aloof of getting into Marc’s mind and heart. He didn’t feel well flushed out to me either – which was part of the problem, as I felt like he could still be developed as a character. This simply did not work for me – the disappointment truly was how this is less Fantasy and more Contemporary YA.
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{SOURCES: Cover art of “Dragonkyn”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Nathan Smith Jones as well as the blog tour badges were all provided by Cedar Fort, Inc. and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.
Comments via Twitter:
I haven’t read any dragon related books yet :) but I feel like I’d enjoy that kind of fantasy! I go more for fantasy than YA though. YA only very rarely :)
By the way, I still don’t quite understand what a blog tour is :/ maybe you can oblige me? :)
Hallo, Avalinah!
A blog tour is hosted by a publisher or publicist or even a blog touring company – this is how I started reviewing books on my blog back in August 2013. You sign up for the books you think you will enjoy reading and then post your honest impressions and thoughts about those stories on your blog. This one in particular didn’t rub me well as for some strange reason it didn’t feel like it fit it’s genre!? If you want to start reading dragon stories, I highly recommend you start with Jackie Gamber’s series; the first of which is Redheart! Available in print and digital editions, too. Hers is enriched with a Fantasy world brimming with fantastical creatures, wizards and a clan of dragons which has their own hierarchy and rules. Be sure to click the link I shared on this post to route to the overview of her series or search for Jackie Gamber in my search box. You’re welcome to return after you’ve read the series and we can discuss it further.
Speaking of blog tours – bloggers can join them by reaching out to those who host them. In my sidebar are the badges of whom I host and you can find links clickable off those badges to route to the various places I host. They work with traditional readers and digital readers, so you should be able to start hosting if you wanted too. Let me know what you decide.
Oh my, I’ve just found this misplaced comment notification sitting in my email since February! So sorry for not replying :) thanks for explaining, really helps :) I’ll look into it!