Dragon Bonds

Return of the Darkening, Book 3

By: Ava Richardson

Narrated by: Tiffany Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Darkening has risen...

Agathea Flamma and Sebastian Smith now face an overwhelming enemy. The rapid spread of the Darkening, a threat arising from the mists of legend, looms over the entire land. With both their families torn apart by the conflict and betrayal lurking around every corner, one mistake could doom the kingdom.

They'll have to decide where to put their faith: blood ties or newfound friends?

After the destruction of the Dragon Academy, it's up to Thea and Seb to gather their loyal comrades - and forge uneasy new alliances - to quell the ancient menace and face the evil Lord Vincent.

With civil war raging, the Dragon Riders must race against time to find the legendary Dragon Stone, the only tool they have to fight against the endless darkness that threatens to swallow them all.

©2017 Relay Publishing (P)2017 Relay Publishing

Interesting

I'm not entirely sure why but I had a difficult time being engaged with this book. I did like the story, the narration was very good. I can only attribute it to a distracting toddler interrupting all the time. Lol. I found that things didn't feel like they were explained very well.
The characters in the story were given strong and distinct personalities and you could imagine what each of the main characters would want or think.
I thought the second book was the best of the three in this series.

A Good Performance And Story...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes...This Is A Nice Book For Fantasy Lovers...

What other book might you compare Dragon Bonds to and why?

I Haven't Read A Book That Talks Solely About Dragon Riding...It Was New And Refreshing

What does Tiffany Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I Absolutely Loved Her Voice With Kalax..I Fell In Love With This Dragon

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

Yes...It Was Very Entertaining...

Any additional comments?

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

Good book

I thought that the books were very interesting! I got to know & love a lot of the characters.

I gave it this rating because I think that it had a lot of good elements like lots of adventure, some good characters, and lots of emotion. I loved the friendship that grew between all these characters. When I first began to listen to this book I really loved Seb and grew to love Thea. At first her attitude really bothered me, as well as the other nobles. But, I was grateful that she warmed up to Seb and I was grateful that most of the other people warmed up to Seb too. I loved how good he was but, how he was still human and imperfect. I also love Thea’s sass and I think they balanced each other out very well.

However, I was disappointed by numerous things. I think that my number one issue with the book was that the book hinted many times about Thea’s romantic interests but I felt that the book didn’t recognize it enough. I was waiting at the end for something to happen, but then it never did. I could never tell if Seb was just a friend or more. I feel that if you’re going to hint about that, than you should get into it and talk about it, or not really do it at all.

The attitude of the nobles bothered me and I feel they never really changed. But I’m grateful for the obvious change in Thea’s attitude, again, I loved how you could see she was more tough and didn’t think about being higher than anyone else at the end.

Also, I didn’t like how many of the chapters stopped abruptly. This also kind of happened at the end, I think there were more loose ends to tie up. I wondered about each of their families, some of the characters disappeared, and of course the other things I mentioned.

In all I think the book is good for ages 11-13 depending on the person, especially because there are older kid sort of things in the book, but there is also a sense of adventure and fun that’s good for this age. I would not recommend this book to anyone who cannot stand cliffhangers or loose ends. Also, to anyone who dislikes fantasy. If you are a dragon lover, you will most likely fall in love with this book though ;)

great series

This story is great for young kids, and for those that are kids at heart.

Satisfying Conclusion

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The Darkening has risen...

Agathea Flamma and Sebastian Smith now face an overwhelming enemy. The rapid spread of the Darkening, a threat arising from the mists of legend, looms over the entire land. With both their families torn apart by the conflict and betrayal lurking around every corner, one mistake could doom the kingdom.

They'll have to decide where to put their faith: blood ties or newfound friends?

After the destruction of the Dragon Academy, it’s up to Thea and Seb to gather their loyal comrades—and forge uneasy new alliances—to quell the ancient menace and face the evil Lord Vincent. With civil war raging, the Dragon Riders must race against time to find the legendary Dragon Stone, the only tool they have to fight against the endless darkness that threatens to swallow them all.

MY TAKE
This is a fun conclusion to the trilogy. I listened to the audiobook, and Tiffany Williams does a great job as always. The story works up to the satisfying conclusion as the characters wrestle with the right path to take to save their people and even their world.

4 1/2 stars

Dragon Bonds

This was good.It was long and at times overdone.Thea and See are dragon riders for good.They must gather more dragons from the wild to fight the Darkening that is threatening the world.Tiffany Williams is good at narrating, though sometimes it comes across as whining.I was provided this book for review by the author, narrator or publisher.

Great end to a wonderful fantasy series!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Awesome teen/YA series that all adults would like too!

Any additional comments?

Dragon Bonds: Return of the Darkening, Book 3
Written by: Ava Richardson
Narrated by: Tiffany Williams
This book ends a great series with lots of battles, magic, emotions, thrills, and surprises. A great series and I must say I will miss the dragons and their riders! I may not be a teen or young adult but I enjoyed this series too. Lots of special powers are exposed and the one behind the darkness. Everything comes together nicely. The narrator is wonderful to continue the great with consistency, emotions, and so much more. Perfect for these books!

great ending to this series

loved the connection between the three main characters. it made me feel as though I was there. loved it.

Was That It?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was the final novel in the Darkening series. There were a lot of things to love in this book - the relationship between Thea, Seb and Kalax is probably the best part of the novel. It was enjoyable, I just didn't enjoy it as much as Book 2. It wasn't always easy to follow or clear, but the characters are well characterised and easily recognised from previous novels. The ending itself felt incredibly rushed and I found myself asking, 'was that it?'

Rushed

The story was good and flowed well from the other books, but when you get to the last 2 chapters you almost want to think there would be another book. You get pumped, but then the last chapter comes along and it's over just like that.

Was That It?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was the final novel in the Darkening series. There were a lot of things to love in this book - the relationship between Thea, Seb and Kalax is probably the best part of the novel. It was enjoyable, I just didn't enjoy it as much as Book 2. It wasn't always easy to follow or clear, but the characters are well characterised and easily recognised from previous novels. The ending itself felt incredibly rushed and I found myself asking, 'was that it?'

.Flames for freedom.

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

Magical,enchanting,intriguing.

What did you like best about this story?

If you haven't read books one and two the spoiler alert :)
I was given this book, the third in the series to review so obviously I went back and bought books 1 and 2 and it was very very much worth it Im going to review it as all three books in the trilogy as this is the climax.When Jodrith told Thea, Seb and Kaylax that the story of the three brothers must act out again through them I got goosebumps.I adored listening to Jodrith,who is from the long standing and secretive Draconis Order, telling them the tale of the old King and queen of the united land and the three brothers and the origin of the dragon stones. granted this was in book two but I must mention it as it was my favorite part of the whole trilogy.this series stars off with a much celebrated day .Its the day the newest dragons will choose their riders ,a navigator and a protector.Kaylax chooses Thea:an upper class girl from the great house of Flama who grew up playing with Prince Justin and knowing that most her family have been dragon riders and Seb a poor boy from one of the poorest parts of town who's Father is the local blacksmith and alcoholic.Both are elated when Kaylax chooses them and scoops them up in her claws. Its only when they land that they meet each other that things start to go a tad bad,the difference between their social class shines through in the first second.As all of the other riders are mostly from noble houses Thea is embarrassed by Seb, and how he doesn't know how to act in a "noble" fashion.but Thea thaws slowly as the first book goes on and Is Seb's partner from then until the end of the series.However the difference in class is always popping up.They are Battling lord Vincent from the first book forward ,whether they know it or not.In this book Thea is hesitant to go on a special mission of Sebs design with Seb and Kaylax. She is being pulled this way and that way by the king,her crumbling family,Commander Heggerty and Seb. seb and Kaylax go in search of the one stone that controls them all as the evil lord Vincent is now in control of all three dragon stones;the Armour stone the healing stone and the memory stone.Thea feels like all the way throug they have been finding the stones just for Lord Vincent to take then,despite her recovering the memory stone from him at great sacrifice to herself in the first book.In this book Thea is hesitant to go on a special mission of Sebs design with Seb and Kaylax. She is being pulled this way and that way by the king,her crumbling family,Commander Heggerty and Seb. seb and Kaylax go in search of the one stone that controls them all as the evil lord Vincent is now in control of all three dragon stones;the Armour stone the healing stone and the memory stone.Thea feels like all the way through they have been finding the stones just for Lord Vincent to take then,despite her recovering the memory stone from him at great sacrifice to herself in the first book.But ultimately Seb ,Thea ,Kaylax,Vala,Merek and a few others follow the path of the first dragon rider.there will be great loss as you travel journey with them but can they defeat Lord Vincent and his Army and restore the rightful king?

Which character – as performed by Tiffany Williams – was your favourite?

Tiffany Williams does a great job with all the characters but lets see now...oo hard . I think that's a fair toss up between Seb and Kaylax .They become so in tune with each other over the course of these books its a bit hard to distinguish but I love how playful and loyal Kaylax is and how simply she sees thing .see fish eat fish :) and she doesn't understand all the useless human jabber that goes on. I like Seb so much because he is so optimistic even in the darkest of times ,honest, true to himself,kind,a great friend to Thea although she sometimes does stuff that makes me feel his unconditional friendship and loyalty are unwarranted. She usually comes to the right conclusion of what to do after a while where as it is Sebs first thought, his instinct .Thea does have the "upper class" to navigate though and I think that's a large part of what hinders her the fact that shes a Flama(from a really big important house) and the fact that she is only one of two female riders doesn't help her much either.I like her much better after she is healed after nearly dying in the first book it brings her closer to Kaylax and Seb and they have more o a positive influence on her but still she is a little jealous of Seb's relationship with Kaylax the fact that he is a "Dragon Friend"and his dragon infinity. I liked instructor Mordacai too and he certainly deserves his name.That was a small stroke of genius by Ava Richardson.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many but one stands out but I can't explain because its a massive spoiler but one you read the book you will know what I mean when I say its a pity that the person who sacrifice took so long to become a likable and almost loved character, it just makes it all the more heart braking but beautiful.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this trilogy, there were small things like Arcades the gypsy and his family, i enjoyed his camp side fire stories which are really history.I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator. This review is my honest opinion with no added sugar ;)