Dragon Fire

Rise of the Dragon Riders, Book 3

By: Ava Richardson

Narrated by: Amy Hall

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

A young woman and her dragon must free their kingdom from evil magic.

King Onyx has kept Tenegard ensorcelled for too long. Dragon rider Cora, along with her dragon, Alaric, are determined to free the kingdom from his sinister grasp. With the aid of rebel forces, they’re training a new wave of dragon riders—the first the country has seen in a century—but will their forces be enough to combat King Onyx's dark magic? In his quest for power and immortality, there’s no line he won’t cross and nothing he won’t risk. With the nation on the brink of war, the stakes have never been higher.

The rebels must do whatever it takes to cut off the sorcerer king from his source of power before it's too late. If they fail to stop him, his corrupting reach will extend far beyond Tenegard.

And all hope will be lost....

©2023 Relay Publishing (P)2023 Relay Publishing

BOOK 3. A GREAT CONCLUSION TO A HEROINES STORY.

BOOK 3. A GREAT CONCLUSION TO A HEROINES STORY. STORY IS WELL WRITTEN AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

ACCEPTABLE FOR PRE-TEENS AND UP. MOSTLT CLEAN.

NARRATOR WAS GREAT, WELL SPOKEN AND WAS EASY TO FOLLOW.

Plotlines Merge; The End of a Major Story Arc

I have read or listened to several series by this author, and this may be my favorite one yet! This particular book of this powerfully written fantasy series pulls together some separate threads from prior books and finishes a long chapter in the overarching plot of the series’ story. In the previous books, we followed two heroines, one a young dragon rider—the first in many generations—and a princess who became disenchanted with her role as heir to a villainous king. In this book, their paths finally cross; we had watched their stories independently of each other previously. The heroines are quite different but are strong women in their own right. The dragons are fantastic major characters as well, especially mother and son, the son the dragon for the first dragon rider and the mother the dragon of the princess. As always, I appreciate the plot’s twists and turns in this author's stories, and the battle at the end was epic, as it should be in tales like this. The way magic works in this world and how the riders’ bonds with their dragons—and what that means—are well thought out, making logical sense as each challenge arises and is faced. This book also has some romances that add urgency and poignancy to the story, giving the characters they're involved with even more to lose and more to inspire them to defeat the villain against horrendous odds. While this book could certainly be understood as a standalone—the author does an excellent job catching the reader up at the beginning of the story without it feeling like a massive info dump—you would most enjoy this story if you read or listened to the prior books, both of which are excellent and absolute joys to listen to. I highly recommend this series and this author.

Great Ending

So I know this is Book 3 and the series continues, but this book has a nice ending that wraps up the story of Cora that started in Book 1 and continued through Book 2. This book ends with a bit of sweet romance with the pairing off of three couples. I like that these books have strong female heroines. The narrator did a wonderful job. Spolier alert: the good guys win. 😄

Cora and Alaric Still Trying . . .

Cora, a dragon rider, and Alaric, her dragon, have to help their kingdom even if they don’t feel ready. They must go up against the powerful sorcerer King Onyx, but they desperately need help. Time is quickly running out. Cora is growing into her role as leader and learning much along the way. The rebel forces have been focused on training more dragon riders which may end up to be the only way to ultimately win this fight. But will they be enough against the dark magic? Can they somehow stop King Onyx’s access to his source of power? If they cannot, there may be no way to come out of this alive. The narrator for the audiobook version, Amy Hall, brings the “reading” experience alive for the listener. She does a good job with the voices to personalize the story and make it easy for the listener to get an accurate impression of what each character is like. It helps to set the mood, familiarize the reader with the characters, and offers a pleasant way to “read” and enjoy the book.

Can't wait for my ten year old to listen to this

This is the 34th book I have read/listened to by this author . She is my favorite dragon story writer. I love that many of her books are gentle enough for my ten year old to listen to.

I enjoy how the other characters have as much of an important role in this story as the main character Cora. Octavia, the princess, plays a big role as do the rebels
It is refreshing when an author does not have a clueless heroine/ hero who in a short time becomes fully trained and the only one capable to win the day. I is also refreshing when the bad guy is not so unrealistically overly powerful that beating him is almost insurmountable without this overly powered up hero/heroine.

This is the 7th book I have listened to by this narrator ( Amy Hall ). I listened to another series she narrated and found her narration occasionally stilted. I also noticed there was some issues with the writing, and now listening to her read this lets me know she did her best with what she had. I did not notice those same issues in this series. She does well with different voices and lets me immerse myself in the story- which is not hard to do with this writer. She does not try to go beyond what seems natural to her to voice the dragons. She does not really use accents to differentiate characters, instead relying on tone and cadence.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive / overly descriptive violence, or swearing.

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

Loved it

I’ve read the whole series but the is something about listen to a story that makes it come alive. I love the bond between Cora and Aleric. They make an amazing team and leaders in the resistance. Lots of action and sadness as A Elric and his mother are reunited. Loved it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Freeing

Will King Onyx win the battle or will Cora and her dragon Alaric stop him. Can the forces that came to help really help. Lets cheer Cora and the Rebels.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.