Dragon Dreams

The Chronicles of Shadow and Light, Book 1

By: Dusty Lynn Holloway

Narrated by: Rob Goll

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A prophecy of murder.

An elf hunted by dragons.

One man who risks everything to save her.

Nachal is a human that should not be having prophetic Dragon Dreams. But he does. Every night he dreams of an elf running through flames, trying in vain to outrun the Rebel Dragon Obsidian. Every night he sees her fall. Sees her eyes close. Feels her heart as it slows, and then stops. Every night, through the connection of the dream, he dies with her. It's a spiral that he can't control, and it's slowly driving him insane.

Auri is an elf raised by a powerful human king not of her own blood. Left behind by the mother who perished far from the elven isle El'dell, she seeks to forge her life among the humans. Her journey takes her to the land of her heritage. To a place that holds both a haunting betrayal, and a miracle that just might save her life.

Together, they become embroiled in a conspiracy where destinies are intertwined, love is born in the fallout of ultimate sacrifice, and the only path to victory lies through the searing flames of dragon fire.

©2011 Dusty Lynn Holloway (P)2015 Dusty Lynn Holloway

Great Begnning!

What did you love best about Dragon Dreams?

I enjoyed the scenes with Nachal trying to make sense of his Dragon Dreams.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found the book to be entertaining. I loved the detail and descriptions of the new world. It created a space you could believe in as the story unfolds

Any additional comments?

Murder….. always a good binding force in mystery. Dragon Dreams is a two world story that weaves between the worlds of Dragons, elves and magic and the human world. Told as two intertwined stories there can be some confusion in the beginning. As the story progresses the two parts become easier to understand as they make a whole story. The emotions and struggles keep you wondering what comes next.

Overall it is well written and builds a wonderful world with enchanting descriptions. Dragon Dreams sets a well built stage for a series. I look forward to seeing what comes next, but do hope the writer pays closer attention to the joins between the separate stories if she chooses to continue in this style.

I loved Rob Gall's narration. He gave great voice to the dragon. His voice and narration was a great addition to the book.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Entertaining Fantasy

Any additional comments?

What a fun story! Dragons, elves, magic, mystery, romance and plenty of action - what more could you ask for in a fantasy adventure? Throw in the wonderful narration of Rob Goll and you have all the ingredients for a highly entertaining listen. I would definitely recommend Dragon Dreams.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator. This review is my honest opinion.

A fantastical tale of war and love

Dusty Lynn Holloway has written a very interesting book. It starts at the end with a dream that is a vision of a rather bleak future. To be honest, I felt a little lost initially, not quite understanding what was happening and who it was happening to.

Then the story meanders through an intricate tapestry of complex patterns with a lyrical flavour. This is a world filled with dwarves, elves, humans, a wolf and dragons in a war between light and darkness. It is filled with love, sacrifice, decisions with deepseated ramifications and much more. As the threads become clearer, the plot picks up momentum, builds and thickens.

It is hard not to be fascinate as a wonderful and terrible world is brought to life. The relationship between the characters are intrinsically tied together in past and present with coincidences that certainly don't feel coincidental. The plot has tremendous potential and I look forward to the next book.

Rob Goll has narrated the story in a way that matches the temperament of the book. He has brought the characters and circumstances to life making the journey enjoyable.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

I enjoyed it

the story was good and the narrator spoke well. I'll be listening to the next in the series.

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Good but lacking in some areas

I am not sure how to review this. On one hand the story was captivating, and there were many times I found myself smiling while listening. On the other hand there were also many times I found myself rolling my eyes at the things the characters said/did/didn't say. I don't want to ruin anything by spoiling things, so I am going to try and be as vague as possible here ...

First - the story itself. Overall it was a good story, but I never found myself sucked in. There was talk about a past war, and a war brewing, and then all of a sudden (it seems) the war is here now. And these characters are pivotal to one side winning or losing. And there were secrets revealed and quests accomplished, yet at times it all seemed pointless. Like the story would have gotten the same message across if some of it had been cut out.

Next - the narration. I am super picky about men doing female voices. It is rare to find one that I enjoy. And this narrator is no exception. I think it is just difficult for a man to do a woman's voice without making her sound ... dumb? But fortunately most of this story is male POV, so it isn't often an issue. Though I do have 1 complaint - he often made the male lead sound like he was shouting. I am not sure if it was the voice, the accent, or what. But he did a great job making each and every voice distinct, which is always an amazing feat.

Finally - the characters. While not a romance story IMO, there is still almost a love triangle, which I think muddies up the story some. One man is more of a father type figure and the other is the obvious choice. No it isn't resolved in this story. And I didn't ever really connect with the characters as much as I like. But I did find myself wanting to continue the story, to find out what would happen with them, when they would meet up, and how things would be resolved or not.

Conclusion - While I enjoyed listening to the story, there were some issues that are pet peeves of mine. Of course that is going to affect the overall enjoyment of the story for me. However, I did like it enough to continue on to book 2 right away, and look forward to seeing where things go from here.

A Dragon Elf Fantasy..

Any additional comments?

This book had a bit of everything from prophecies, elves, and murder.

I liked this author's take on Dragons, Elves, as well as the Humans in this story line.

Overall, an Engaging Fantasy Read.

The narrator, Rob Goll, did well with the narration as usual.

Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

Entertaining

Overall enjoyed the book even though at times I was a bit confused with what was happening. The narrator did a great job with the voices and inflection.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for an unbiased review."

Sweeping epic

Would you listen to Dragon Dreams again? Why?

Absolutely, the story is awesome and the narrator is fantastic.

What did you like best about this story?

The new world created by the author and, of course, dragons!

Which scene was your favorite?

The sea battle

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I didn't want to stop listening, the story was so engaging.

Any additional comments?

Fantastic start to a new fantasy series. There's romance, intrigue, and magic. I loved it! I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

A Fun and Magical Tale

If you could sum up Dragon Dreams in three words, what would they be?

Finding one's destiny.

What did you like best about this story?

I don't read many fantasy books but I enjoyed listening to this tale. The characters of the sea dragon Drashmere and Wolf were the most interesting to me, as well as Liran the elf. I would have liked to hear more of Drashmere and his history, especially.

What about Rob Goll’s performance did you like?

Rob is an excellent narrator and I really enjoyed all of the creative and versatile characters' voices he created. His ancient dragons, dwarves, elves, and humans all sounded like very different, distinct individuals and I even noticed some different regional accents, such as the dwarf's! All of those traits made listening to the story fun. Rob also portrayed the emotions of the characters well in his voice, which made them all the more convincing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If only I had time. :)

Any additional comments?

I will probably give more fantasy books a try! I would have liked further explanations of just a few points in the book (without creating spoilers here) like some vague details about the reasons for certain conflicts, why or how certain magical elements worked, or how characters have special knowledge of other characters. Some of these aspects could have been developed a little more more within the story, but overall it was fun to listen to.

A 5 Star Dragon

I got this book via audiobook boom. I enjoyed it and the narrator made each character believable. I loved the interaction between each. The story is well developed and tells a tale of dreams, dragons, humans, elves and other mystical creatures. Although the beginning started out slow it picked up quickly and carried me along the H quest to find the girl who kept dying in his dreams. Loved the king and the fight/training scene. This could be another good dragon series.