Book Review: The Dragons of Chiril by Donita K. Paul

The Dragons of Chiril by Donita K. Paul

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 390
Acquired: 6/4/2011
Book of Your Shelf? No
Why I have it: ARC
Series: Valley of the Dragons (1)

Tipper's father, Verrin Schope, has been missing for a long time. When he returns in a most unexpected manner, followed by a magician and his librarian, things start to get a little strange. Verrin Schope is an artist, and three of his sculptures are much more important than anyone could ever guess. In order to save the world (and himself) the statues must be reunited once again. Tracking down the three statues, which have been sold over the years Verrin was missing, proves to be harder than it was originally thought. The journey to recover the statues is what drives the story forward through a very interesting series of events.

I enjoyed reading Dragons of the Valley, and while this book preceeds the story, knowing part of the outcome did not detract from the story at all. Seeing where my favorite characters came from and how they met was great. I did not enjoy the characters quite as much as I did in Dragons of the Valley. They did not develop and grow in a way that I found satisfying, but this being the first book in the series it may have just been setting them up to do so.

A very typical good vs bad storyline, with a few twists to make it interesting. The bad guys were a little too obviously bad. A few more in depth surprises would have helped the story a bit.

3.5/5

Book Review: Dragons of the Valley by Donita K. Paul

Dragons of the Valley: A Novel by Donita K. Paul

Chiril is in danger. An invading force is sneaking their way through the borders led by a terrible beast known only as The Grawl. A group of friends must fight once again to save their country, with the help of dragons.

I did not realize this was part of a series until after I started reading it. I really wish that authors would include that on the cover. Because of this, it took me quite awhile to get into the storyline and understand the relationships between the various characters. However, once I figured them out a bit, they were fantastic.

All the characters had just the right mix of seriousness, humor, doubt, and heroism. Lady Peg had me laughing every time she spoke. Paladin had me wanting to meet him so we could talk philosophy. Tipper reminded me of any love struck confused young woman that is trying everything she can to do the right thing.

The storyline is almost your typical good guys vs bad guys, but The Grawl puts an interesting twist on things. I found myself feeling sorry for him throughout many parts of the story. Overall a good read. I may try to find the previous books and see if they are just as good.

4/5