Rise of the Dragons is an interesting story. Like many of the books I read, it has a compelling female hero who breaks boundaries and becomes a warrior. Kyra lives in an occupied country, but because her father commands the fort which guards The Flames, her people are allowed to have weapons and train as warriors. But only the men. So Kyra, with her wolf Leo, trains in the woods until she can best any of her father's men at archery. Because a double-handed sword is too heavy for her, Kyra fights with a staff.


But at some points the novel moves too fast and the character's triumphs feel unearned. The story is similar to the Protector of the Small or the Song of the Lioness quartets by Tamora Pierce. Keladry, the hero of the former, also faces down bullies and becomes a great warrior in spite of prejudice against her because of her sex. But Keladry spends eight years, and three novels, as a page and then squire, mastering her craft and earning the respect of her fellow warriors; when she finally receives her shield at 18, none can doubt that her knighthood is deserved. Kyra, in contrast, completes her training in the two years preceding the start of this novel, and she needs only five chapters, and one pivotal sparring session, before "on this day she was accepted among them [the warriors]... From this day forward, she knew, everything would change."


And everything does change, but not because of her alleged new status. Kyra's father immediately forbids her to train with the men again. This feels out of order; parental objections to a girl becoming a warrior should take place before she begins training, not after she has achieved her goal. And this conflict between Kyra and her father doesn't matter. Immediatly, a proclamation from the occupiers states that the oldest unwed daughter of every family can be taken in marriage by the governor, for himself or whomever he chooses. To avoid this fate, Kyra runs away and immediately experiences more pivotal moments. She prays to become a warrior at a magic lake, makes a vow to a witch that she will pay any price to avoid living the life others have planned for her, and then discovers, saves the life of, and loses a dragon. To save the dragon she had to kill soldiers of the occupying force, and she let their squire get away, so she immediately returns home to warn her people. All this happens in the first half of the book. But the rest of the book contains more of the same: too many monumentous events, many with dire consequences, happening in quick succession; but the events have no meaning as each new event overturns the consequences of the last. Overall, Rose of the Dragons is an interesting concept that is poorly executed.


In addition to the main storyline, there are three narrators, each with their own story, but their chapters feel like an interruption of Kyra's story. Probably they will play a role in later novels. Merk is an ex-assassin, who struggles with his vow to avoid violence as he makes his way to join the Watchers who keep the magic sword that ensures The Flame doesn't go out. Alec takes the place of his disabled brother when the latter is forced to join the Keepers of the Flame. Vesuvius is the king of the trolls on Marda, on the other side of The Flames. He is a two dimensional villain who reflects on his love of causing suffering.

The writing is not terrible, but it's not great either. I've seen better writing by high school students.
I noticed several typos, and I've read novels, even YA books, with more sophisticated writing. This writing is too verbose, and I found myself skimming through overly detailed descriptions and repetitive introspection.

This book was free, and it is worth reading if you have nothing else to do, but I don't see myself buying the remaining books in this series or seeking out other work by this author. ( )

While I don’t mind series, I do very much mind authors who take a couple hundred pages to do nothing more but set up following books. The story and characters are promising but I won’t read the following books simply because I won’t reward the author for wasting my time and not bothering to tell a complete story in book 1. ( )

A chosen 15 yr old, this time a girl, two ugly bothers, a home under siege by an evil overlord ... entertainingly written and There's Dragons! ( )

I enjoyed it, but I don't think I would have finished it if I had spent anymore time away from it. It has a girl warrior and she will become a leader, and I'm over here just going, "eh" ( )

A nice quick read at the airport, the plot was simple but just interesting enough that I would like to get book 2. ( )