Dragonwatch
Brandon Mull
384 pages
ARC through Netgalley
From the publisher: In the long-awaited sequel to Fablehaven, the dragons who have been kept at the dragon sanctuaries no longer consider them safe havens, but prisons and they want their freedom. The dragons are no longer our allies….
In the hidden dragon sanctuary of Wyrmroost, Celebrant the Just, King of the Dragons, plots his revenge. He has long seen the sanctuaries as prisons, and he wants nothing more than to overthrow his captors and return the world to the Age of Dragons, when he and his kind ruled and reigned without borders. The time has come to break free and reclaim his power.
No one person is capable of stopping Celebrant and his dragon horde. It will take the ancient order of Dragonwatch to gather again if there is any chance of saving the world from destruction. In ancient times, Dragonwatch was a group of wizards, enchantresses, dragon slayers, and others who originally confined the majority of dragons into sanctuaries. But nearly all of the original Dragonwatch members are gone, and so the wizard Agad reaches out to Grandpa Sorenson for help.
As Kendra and Seth confront this new danger, they must draw upon all their skills, talents, and knowledge as only they have the ability to function together as a powerful dragon tamer. Together they must battle against forces with superior supernatural powers and breathtaking magical abilities.
How will the epic dragon showdown end? Will dragons overthrow humans and change the world as we know it?
Review:
If you know me in read life – or have followed my blog for a year or so, you probably know how much my family LOVES Brandon Mull and his books. My older boys (ages 10 and 13) have read and re-read Fablehaven so many times I have lost count. My husband first read the series out loud to them when they were 5 and 8 after I read the series and convinced them that they would love it. My husband is now re-reading the whole series again to the kids, so the younger three (ages, 4, 6 and 8) can get in on the action this time. (I will admit my 4 year old falls asleep when he is reading, but she still loves that she is being included in the magic of the story and Daddy reading time)
I hope you get the drift, we are big fans. My boys have been patiently counting down the days for the Dragonwatch release. While I received an advanced reader copy through Netgalley in exchange for a review, my boys are holding out to read the hard copy edition with their dad. They’ve asked me questions about the book, but at the same time they don’t want spoilers, so I thought I would share the same main questions they ask me for my review too. Spoiler free!
Their first immediate question is will Seth and Kendra be in this story…of course! They are back at it again. And of course Seth is acting just like Seth and Kendra, just like Kendra. I literally laugh out loud and roll my eyes at Seth, his character is spot on. There are returning characters like Newel and Doren (who my boys think are SO funny) – and new characters as well that are SO fun to read and add to the mix.
Another question that the kids have asked me is if the settings are the same, or if we learn of new places. It’s a mix. With out telling the kids too much information there are some settings that we are familiar with, but we do travel to some new reserves and locations as well. I believe Brandon Mull has SUCH a talent in his writing for really describing and painting a picture of his settings.
I will admit that going into this book I already really wanted to like it and love it. Sometimes that backfires and I am let down, but not with this book. It had some great action, it had some new fun characters, and it still had the same charm and magical feel that Fablehaven always had for me too.
I highly recommend this book. If you haven’t read Fablehaven, there is still time – the release of Dragonwatch is set for March 14 and you have plenty of time to read the 5 Fablehaven books – because trust me, you will fly through them! If you aren’t familar with Brandon Mull some read alikes are: Tyler Whiteside’s Janitor series, Worlds Aligned by Gregory Felix, Rick Riordan, J.K. Rowling, and The False Prince series by Jennifer Neilson.
Final Score:
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