Review: The Ice Dragon

The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin's take on a children's book! Guaranteed to ensure your child never sleeps alone again! This book is listed as a children's novel by Martin set in the same world as his A Song of Ice and Fire series. So naturally I had to read it, and I was not disappointed.

This book is about a small girl and her love winter, and the great ice dragon that it brings. It is set in a time when the seasons seem to work more like our own, and there is, as always, a great war between nations. Although the language and style were written on a much lower reading level than the main books, this was far from a children's book. Be it descriptions of men lit on fire, or a young girl stepping on a nail and it going the whole way through her foot, the content is not what I would call child friendly. Bur for fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, this was excellent!

the pages were beautifully covered with illustrations by Luis Royo that brought this book to life. This book will most likely be incorporated into the series in some way, much like the Dunk & Egg series of short stories. 

I highly recommend that anyone who has enjoyed the A Song of Ice and Fire series, or the Game of Thrones television show pick up this book. It raises many questions, and leaves room for quite a lot of speculation, as well as several theories!

This book is published in beautiful hardback, so go pick your copy up immediately!

The Ice Dragon on Goodreads

My Review on Goodreads 

Review: Rogue

Rogue by Julie Kagawa

This is the second book in the Talon series. I read this very shortly after finishing the first book in the series which was excellent. This book continues to follow the young dragon Ember with the addition of some chapters in the point of view or her brother Dante, which was exciting. 

I really enjoyed seeing the situation from the point of view of both of the twins because you can see how the people surrounding them and the information that they are given really affects their point of view, as well as their actions. 

The swift pace continues with this book, even when there is a moment of calm, Ember manages to turn it into a wild chase! The feel of this book was very different from the first one, which I liked. While Talon was more based out of one area, Rogue really draws you in to the 'on-the-run' atmosphere. 

The romantic plot line was a little disappointing to me, but as I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of love triangles. They always seem to have so much melodrama. As far as love triangles go, however, this one wasn't terrible. 

I am very excited to read the next book, particularly with a cliff hanger like this book had!

Rogue on Goodreads

My review on goodreds

Review: Talon

Talon by Julie Kagawa

I have been a big fan of Julie Kagawa for a few years now. I loved her Iron Fey series, and have recently finished her Blood of Eden series, so when I heard she was writing a new book about dragons I was ecstatic! It did take me a while to get started because of real life interfering (I know!) but I finally got a chance to read Talon.

I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but it was not this at all, and that's OK! This was such a unique book about dragons! This book is a story of a young dragon named Ember who, with her twin brother, is training to enter her adult life with her assigned role in Talon, the organization of dragons. Disguised as humans, Talon is waging a war against St. George, a religious organization determined to save humanity from the dragons. Ember's is forced to question everything she thought she believed when she is placed in Crescent Beach for her final training and meets Riley, a rogue dragon on the run from Talon, and Garret, an undercover St. George agent.

I loved the pace that this book moved at, there were lulls in the action but everything kept moving along. I think back to the first time I picked up one of Kagawa's books and her writing just keeps getting better. The changing point of views gave you a wonderful image of the whole story with some great dramatic irony. 

I was a little disappointed that Kagawa went with the love triangle story line again with this series, unlike Blood of Eden. I'm not generally a fan of love triangles. That being said, she always manages to elevate them beyond two guys like the same girl, and this time is no exception. Ember is torn between raw instinct and passion, and a true human connection, even where she should not be able to have one. 

Overall this book was spectacular and anyone who loves fantasy YA should read this!

Talon on Goodreads
My review on Goodreads