Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 12, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy, Dragons
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year, these five outcasts will answer the call….
THE LIAR: Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death.
THE SOLDIER: Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again.
THE SERVANT: Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game.
THE THIEF: Ajax knows that nothing is free–he must take what he wants.
THE MURDERER: Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.
I am starting to learn something about myself, I think I review books based on how entertaining they are to me vs. intricacies. If I am super entertained, I don’t care if such and such didn’t add up. Or if characters are boring or whatnot.
Anyways, I say that because this book was really entertaining but it had some slight problems. Just not enough for me to dock another star.
I always like to start with the problem areas so then we can end on a good note! And really, I only had one problem. The characters.
The characters were boring. It’s hard to explain because they didn’t have a lot of personality, while still having 5 very different people.
Hyperia: She is the “mean girl” with a past of abuse
Lucien: The good looking, goody-goody boy scout
Emilia: The smart girl who doesn’t know she’s pretty
Vespir: The shy, quiet, gay girl
Ajax: The class clown
I liked them, they were just a bit bland. They get better the last half of the book when they start to use what they are good at to shine during the trials.
WITH THAT BEING SAID: I ENJOYED THIS BOOK!
There were dragons galore! There was adventure, a mysterious plot, and plenty of action. THOSE are the things that make me love a book! I was entertained! Dog, Ajax’s dragons, was my favorite! He acts like a puppy! Cluess knows how to write dragons! And I loved it! Each dragon had it’s own personality that sort of matched their riders! It was so cool!
The trials to become emperor were sooooo much fun to read about! The Hunt, The Game, The Race, and The Truth. In The Hunt, they had to hunt a basilisk and that was my favorite! They were all on an island hunting it and it was so intense! LOTs of adventure going on. Each character tried to use their skills to win (or not to win in Lucien’s case), and it was interesting to see how they would use those skills. Emilia was probably my favorite to read about, just because she had the added element of dark magic she had to try to control and keep secret, while trying to compete.
Maybe 70% of the way through, the book changes gears. Meaning, there was a huge twist that I am here for! I won’t spoil it, but it’s so good! I definitely can’t wait for book 2!
I am going to try something new. Novel Heartbeat (follow her, she’s amazing!) has star ratings for each aspect of the book. I would love to try my own hand at that! Here are mine:
Characters: 2 🌟
Entertainment: 5 🌟
Plot: 5 🌟
Adventure: 5 🌟
Writing: 4 🌟
Let’s talk DRAGONS! Tell me your favorite book that has dragons in it!
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