Dragon Rift

Riders of Fire, Book Three - A Dragons' Realm Novel

By: Eileen Mueller

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

A captive dragon master. A dangerous rift between mages and riders. And a secret weapon that will tear Dragons’ Realm apart.

When Ezaara’s powerful dragon master, Roberto, is captured by Commander Zens, her world is thrown into turmoil.

Why is the council refusing to rescue Roberto, her clandestine lover?

And why do the caverns of Dragons’ Hold echo with whispers of a prophecy unfulfilled? A prophecy that says she has no right to be Queen’s Rider.

As tension mounts, with an attempt on her life, Ezaara must take action to prevent Commander Zens from destroying her lover and Dragons’ Realm.

Kierion, a dragon rider and prankster, wants to bridge a bitter feud between dragon riders and mages, but his reputation prevents anyone from taking him seriously.

If mages and riders stand united, Dragons’ Realm might stand a chance against Commander Zens’ new secret weapon.

But when Kierion takes matters into his own hands, he risks more than he realises.

How will Roberto survive Zens’ torture? How can Kierion heal the rift? And how can Ezaara save the people she loves?

©2018 Eileen Mueller (P)2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.

Does it again.

I enjoyed this story, even more when the mages arrived. I understand that is a bit of a romance but it was a little thick and even a bit whiney at times. That did not stop my enjoyment at all though. I need the next one.

Dragons Galore!

Dragons Galore!
Ezaara still faces opposition, especially with Roberto all because of who is father was, but they find out, the actions of his father, may not have been his own. Roberto must find out what's going on, and in doing so is captured. It's up to Ezaara and some other fantastic characters, including some wizards who appear and start kicking butt with magic!!! to save him, and to unite old alliances.
This book was fantastic! The narration, wonderful. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

Good continuation of the series

I have finished the first three audiobooks in a pretty short time. There are many things that I love about about all of them. The characters are wonderful, with a depth that is brought out over time. In the first two books, I felt like things developed too quickly without enough back story. After finishing the third, I am beginning to appreciate the slow release of background information. I also love the narrator, who does a great job despite the large number of characters.

In this third book, there were a few things bothered me a little. It might sound like I did not like the book, but you usually have to really like a book and a series to have things bother you about them. I will withhold final judgement until I get a little farther into the series, since it is possible the problems will work themselves out like the missing back stories in the first two, My first disappointment is in the back story of the villain of the series, Zens. There seems to be an attempt to make him a little more human...to explain how he became such a despicable person. Sometimes I don't want to know why a character became evil...I just want to be able to accept that they are evil and leave it at that. Similarly, if too many of the "bad guy" characters turn out to have been forced to be bad, I feel cheated. I want to have a few bad characters that are simply bad for the sake of greed or hunger for power, and not because they are drugged or brainwashed. Sometimes there is just evil in the world. And finally, much of the first three books have invested a lot of time breeding discord, division, and sometimes even hatred in in individuals and groups that will have to eventually work together. It felt like too many of those were resolved in this book with relative ease...one moment they are sworn enemies, never to work together, and the next it's "I'm sorry I was such a fool, can you ever forgive me?" Maybe these issues say more about me than about the stories, that I don't want simple happy endings and happily ever afters.

Despite the reservations mentioned above, this series of books is definitely worthy of a careful read or listen, as they are very entertaining.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook, at my request, en exchange for a fair review.

Even better than the last!

Thus far, this has been one of those series that just keeps getting better. I love the way the different paths the characters take intertwine to create a ripple effect for good or bad.

With this audiobook, I would highly recommend listening to the first two books in the series before this one as you may end up a bit lost otherwise.

And as I said in my review of the second book— Caitlin Davies is quickly climbing the ranks of my favorite narrators and the same can be said for the author, Eileen Mueller. The way they weave the points of view and tap into the essence of the characters is very nice and keeps you on your toes. So if you are looking for an action packed story full of family, friendship, and love, then this is most definitely something you should give a shot.

Thank the egg!

Time out for a little political intrigue within Dragon’s Realm. Each of our heroes also has its antagonist. Sophia has had it out for Ezaara since the accidental stabbing of her leg. Now she’s spreading dangerous rumors that could cause Ezaara big problems. Ezaara’s certification has yet been made official, so she’s vulnerable. Roberto has his own set of problems. Once again he is in the clutches of Zens. To add to Roberto’s troubles, his old antagonist Tonio is in no hurry to help to rescue him. Aside from these sub-plots, we have a couple more budding romances to fill in the gaps. Kierion, a new dragon rider makes his appearance as a prankster who has a more serious mission; to bring riders and mages together to defeat Zens. Speaking of Zens, he’s busy torturing Roberto while implementing a new plan up his sleeve. So many things going on, along with additional background on key characters. Eileen Mueller continues to spin an enduring tale. I eagerly await the next volume. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Just stupendous

Couldn't put it down. This is a must have for dragon lovers and lovers of Sci-fi and Fantasy

Dragon Riders, Meet the Mages!

I don't know how she does it, but Eileen Mueller's series Riders of Fire keeps getting better and better! The narration by Caitlin Davies was perfect as well. Building on the world set up in Ezaara and Dragon Hero, Dragon Rift continues where the previous books left off. Tomaaz and Roberto have been away in Death Valley, when Tomaaz arrives back at Dragon Hold, barely alive and with news that Roberto is a prisoner of Zens. Due to Spymaster Tonio's hatred of Roberto's father, Roberto spends nearly the entire book as a captive, while Ezaara, Adelina, and others propose various rescue attempts.

The mages also take center stage in Dragon Rift, as we learn about their decades-long quarrel with the dragon riders. Kierion, a mischievous, young, dragon rider hopeful reconnects with his old friend, Fenni, who is facing his mage trials. Together, they remind both the mages and dragon riders that they can be stronger together. The theme of uniting and putting aside misunderstandings and past hurts for the good of the realm runs through the entire book. Mages and riders. Archers and soldiers. Even counsel member and counsel member. Prejudices run deep, but only by overcoming them can Dragons' Hold take a stand against Zens.

We also get our first glimpse at how Zens became the villain who strikes fear across Dragons' Realm. His childhood was difficult and his thirst for power and revenge is much larger than it seemed in the first two books. Yet, in the midst of an uncertain future, there is celebration and life. We get to watch the mage trials, the dragon races, and a hand-fasting ceremony.

And in the end, our beloved riders are moving forward, not giving up, not giving in to despair, but more determined than ever to defeat Zens and to live!

An excellent entry that further deepens the story.

A new character. New adventures. Deeper connections. Stronger arcs. Lots and lots of prior plot threads coming to fruition.

As with the previous books, Caitlin Davies gives us an excellent performance. She has a great assortment of voices with excellent vocal inflections and solid tempo shifts throughout. As before, my one complaint is that I don't care for her choices for the Dragon voices.

Oddly, I think in many cases the Tharuks sound more like dragons than the dragons do.

As with the last book, we're bouncing between a fairly large number of POV characters, which gives a lot of depth to their personalities.

In this one we dive even deeper into some of the existing relationships, the history, and some of the reasons for things being the way they are.

We're introduced to our first wizard, which also takes us on a deeper dive into the reasons for the rift between the Dragon riders and the wizards. And why it's been perpetuated for so long.

A lot of past beliefs are challenged, layers of meaning are stripped bare, and in the end we're left with an evolved sense of the world and the momentous events that have been set into motion.

My only complaints are minor and totally understandable.
I don't know if it's expected that nearly every major character will end up pairing off into romantic couples in YA, but it's definitely something that I see a lot. And it irks me a bit. I'm not opposed to the romance subplot, I just don't think everyone needs one.

And, there's a period of about six weeks that is totally glossed over in which big things are happening. I totally get the author's decision on this (it would have likely added a LOT of length to the book without adding a ton of depth), but I really would have liked more detail on those events.

And my only other complaint is that the next book isn't available in audio yet!

I think one of my favorite parts was finally getting some inside information about the main villain. It was fascinating getting a peak at what makes him tick!

Which brings us to the ending.

I can definitely see how the author is improving with each book, especially in regards to the climaxes. Although there were one or two things that I caught on to pretty early on that I think were meant to be surprise reveals, the ending still came together brilliantly. There is a series of successive climaxes that build with each one until we reach the final culmination of the novel...

Which, of course, sets up the next book while also bringing the events of this one to a very satisfying close.
And the suspense is killing me!
I can't wait to listen to the next one!

Wish the others were here

This is an amazingly captivating series!!! The author is phenomenal with her descriptions and the narrator is great!!! Only wish all the other books were loaded onto audible