Dragon Legends

Return of the Darkening, Volume 2

By: Ava Richardson

Narrated by: Tiffany Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Ever since scruffy Sebastian Smith and Lady Thea Flamma were paired as Dragon Riders, their lives have been forever changed. The unlikely duo forged an unbreakable bond, but now with dark stirrings in the south their bond will be put to the ultimate test.

Seb discovers Lord Vincent has returned and he wants to unleash an ancient evil that will destroy the lives of everyone in the kingdom - The Darkening. In order to defend the realm against unspeakable foes, Seb, Thea, and their shared dragon, Kalax, set out on an arduous journey to find the sacred Dragon Stones - before their dark power ends up in the wrong hands.

But to conquer an old enemy, Thea must find a way to overcome her own inner demons, and Seb has to muster the courage to become the brave leader his kingdom needs...

©2016 Maxitech Media (P)2017 Maxitech Media

Better than the first!

In this second instalment of Return of the Darkening, our heros are no longer in training: they're riders. With the ability to leave the academy virtually anytime they like, they can get up to more trouble trying to discover the secrets of the Darkening and the Dragon stones.

This book starts right after the events of the first book. While I think it would be possible to pick up directly with this book and still be able to understand most things in the book, I would recommend picking up the first book in this series first. It is such a joy to listen to that I doubt you will regret doing that! While the book ends, I'm already wishing the 3rd book in the series was released on audio books already.

I started and finished the book in a day. I didn't want to put it down. The narrator definitely brought the story to life for me and wove magic into the authors amazing story.


This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge.

And it all comes tumbling down ...

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Ever since scruffy Sebastian Smith and Lady Thea Flamma were paired as Dragon Riders, their lives have been forever changed. The unlikely duo forged an unbreakable bond, but now with dark stirrings in the south their bond will be put to the ultimate test.

Seb discovers Lord Vincent has returned and he wants to unleash an ancient evil that will destroy the lives of everyone in the kingdom – The Darkening. In order to defend the realm against unspeakable foes, Seb, Thea, and their shared dragon, Kalax, set out on an arduous journey to find the sacred Dragon Stones – before their dark power ends up in the wrong hands.

But to conquer an old enemy, Thea must find a way to overcome her own inner demons, and Seb has to muster the courage to become the brave leader his kingdom needs . . .

MY TAKE
This was definitely a middle book in a trilogy. The new dragonriders are still finding their way in the hierarchy and could still lose the privilege of being dragonriders, all while dealing with things that happened in the first book.

And then things completely fall apart. I'm not going to spoil it, but their world literally turns to ashes around them. The book has resolution for its story arc, but there is definitely another book in the series.

I listened to the audiobook and, as always, Tiffany Williams did a fabulous job bringing the story to life.

4 1/2 stars

A pleasure to listen

I liked this one more than book one. I feel like there were a few small gaps in the story, where it seemed that something previously recognized by a character was a revelation a second time or an object wasn't where I remembered it. That could be that I missed something since I listen in short chunks but I feel pretty confident there was at least one miss. Worth the listen. Loving the narrative as well.

amazing second story

I loved the further character development. The story made me feel as though I was there. can't wait to read the final installment

Continuity Issues

Enjoyable, but this is the book that the author begins to struggle with continuity. Backstories for characters completely change, and lots of action appears to happen that isn't written about so that the story becomes confusing.

A Slight Struggle

Any additional comments?

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

I read this without having read book 1, and for the most part it made sense. It was easy to follow and a pretty good read. I think it kinda suffered the fate of all second books in trilogies - finishing up book 1's plot and setting up book 3's plot. For some parts I did struggle to differentiate between Seb and Thea's chapters, but that could have been improved by two separate narrators, rather than just one.
That being said, both characters were well developed and I enjoyed listening.