Wednesday, April 27, 2016

The Dragon Hunter and the Mage~V R Cardoso | ARC Review

Title: The Dragon Hunter and the Mage (Wounds in the Sky #1)
Author: V R Cardoso
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 500 Pages (Approximately)
Release: April 2016
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review
For me it's the characters, more than anything else, that make or break a story. And this had an excellent cast of characters. I also love strong sibling relationships, and while that wasn't the entire focus of the story, the relationship between Aric and Fadan was very important and very beautiful.

The beginning of this novel was somewhat slow and I feel that it could have been tightened a bit, giving the reader more of a connection to the central characters without feeling like they were thrown at you, but that only lasted a few chapters. Once it moved past the initial introductions and general world building, the story and characters really took shape.

The story follows to main paths, as indicated in the title. Part of the narrative focuses on dragon hunting while the other focuses on magic. These two blended really well together. Aric had to learn a lot as he was thrust into this new world and it was nice to see him in a new element. I also really enjoyed his friendship with Leth and Clea. And Geric, of course. While he was learning to hunt dragons and getting tangled in the webs of ancient gods and mages, Fadan was learning to control his magical abilities. The side characters here were just as interesting, though never as big a part, really, as those with Aric.

Magic had a nice place in this world. It was explained well, had an interesting feel, and was dangerous. World building can be hard to balance within a story, but it was done very well here. The political agendas, cities, dragon hunters, mages. So much swirled together that you would think it might overwhelm it (as happens in some fantasy novels), but it doesn't.

There was friendship, love, loyalty, and family. All of these were tested at some point in this novel and it was a beautiful journey to see what would happen. The ending was very satisfactory, but leaves plenty open for a sequel. There are plenty of questions still to be answered, people to be reunited, and fun to be had. I am very much looking forward to the next installment.

Also, take a minute to appreciate that cover. Because it's amazing. Had I not already known this author, one look at that cover would have convinced me to give it a try.

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