A Cat's Guide to Bonding with Dragons

Dragoncat Series, Book 1

By: Chris Behrsin

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

The unlikely duo who might just save the world

Ben must be the hungriest cat ever....

One moment, he was enjoying a breakfast of salmon trimmings in his home in South Wales. The next, he was teleported across time and space onto the cold stone floor of an evil warlock.

Locked in the warlock's tower through day and night, Ben may have to serve him for a while. He'll hate this, especially having to hunt those infernal demon rats when the warlock doesn't feed him well at all.

Meanwhile, in a distant academy, a dragon is bored out of her mind. Unable to wear a saddle, no human dares mount her. Is there anyone in this land who can ride her into battle against the forces of the evil warlocks? Somehow, she doubts she'll ever find a suitable bond.

Unless there is another creature with enough dexterity to fulfil that role. One, perhaps, who is currently sprinting right out of a warlock's front door....

©2020 Chris Behrsin (P)2022 Tantor

light fun and enjoyable

i dont write a lot of reviews, but this is a fun book. the reader did a good job and Ben is a fun main character

Fun read

It was a cute story I’m planning on gifting it to my niece and nephew for their birthdays.

Please fix the volume

The best way to annoy me is to go from barely audible whispers to loud shouts making me have to play DJ on mu volume all day.

A fun listen with cats and dragons!

This book begins by introducing us to Ben, a domesticated Bengal cat who is a descendant of a Great Asian Leopard Cat. Ben lives in Wales with his humans, who feed him regularly and also provide him with yummy salmon snacks. They spoil him, as any good humans should do for their cat owners, and Ben has no plans to give up this life.

Unfortunately for Ben, life has very different plans for him. Those plans start when Ben is suddenly - and without warning - whisked away to a different land by a warlock. Unfortunately for Ben, his new home has no windows that he can lounge in front of and look out of. Nor does the warlock give him yummy salmon snacks. Clearly, he is an evil warlock. Instead, Ben feeds himself by catching the many mice that get into the tower in which he is trapped. But, being a cat, being trapped does not suit Ben well, and he takes it upon himself to plan his escape.

Unknown to Ben - at least at the time he is trying to escape from the evil warlock's tower - there is a dragon in an academy. But this dragon is incredibly bored. She is unable to wear a saddle, and no human dares to try riding her. Until she can find a rider to bond with, she won't be able to participate in the battle against the evil warlocks.

Can anyone guess what's going to happen next?

I don't think it would be much of a spoiler to tell you that our resident awesome cat Ben will end up bonding with the dragon and becoming her rider. The title of the book kind of gives that away, after all. What comes after that is a fun story with wonderful writing. I am quite convinced that the author Chris Behrsin has at least one cat at home. He manages to capture the character of Ben so well that I can't imagine him not having experience belonging to a cat.

The book is told using the first-person point of view, with Ben as the narrative voice. That narrative style, along with the main character being a cat, offers plenty of opportunities for fun and snark. Ben's commentary about what was happening had me smiling frequently.

But, don't be fooled by the levity and humor that is present. There are several scenes that are actually pretty dark - no, I'm not going to tell you what they are. That would be spoiler-y, and I'm trying to be good.

I will also say that I think part of my enjoyment of this book was in listening to the audiobook. Matthew Lloyd Davies did such a wonderful job with the voices and narration that he added to my enjoyment. While I would have liked the book if I had read it myself, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much. After listening to this book, I will absolutely be continuing this series, and if I get the chance to listen to the audiobook versions of those sequels, I will definitely do so.

Funny, relaxing

This was a good book....good humour, crazy scenes. I enjoyed the characters. Entertaining. Will follow this series.

Pawsitively amazing writing & Story

Kudos Chris - I wish I could write a review near as close to deserving as this gift of literary enjoyment is! Being a human owned by bengals - you literally captured the Bengal spirit amazingly spot on - there were parts of all of our cats in Ben (Benji)

The narrator of this book did an amazing job it was simply stellar. Jim Dale would surely agree.

Thank you for bringing these splendid books to life

Nothing special.

Just a mediocre story. Got mostly through and had to give up because I kept spacing out from lack of interest and kept having to rewind. Might just be me but seems to lack any real substance, character development or world building. The narrator did fine but just didn't feel like a good fit for the story.