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Dragon Prince (Dragon Prince, Book 1)

Dragon Prince (Dragon Prince, Book 1)

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Suprisingly Pleased
Review: I picked up this book only because I had bought the third first not realizing it was a series. Wanting to fix this problem, I bought the first and second and went to work. I was put off by the cover...never judge a book, you know, but read it anyway. I wasn't looking for romance in this. I found it anyway..and a lot of it. But it was written in such a way that I actually wanted to follow it. I wanted to see where everything went and ended. The magic in this book is original at least to me. The characters I've grown to like quite a bit, and the world itself with its dragons and three moons is interesting. Everyone does seem to have the perfect figure and gleaming hair with shining eyes that is associated with most fantasy art or newer writers looking to make descriptions longer and more interesting, but I didn't mind it. Indeed, I finished the book in a very short amount of time, having become quite eager to see where it was going, and have started the second. If you want romance and a wonderfully written everything else, here it is. if you don't want romance...well...I didn't either and it's still a wonderful book. Happy reading!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Fantasy novel equivalent of a chick flick.
Review: Ok. First I want to say that if you're a gal you'll probably love this book so don't bother reading any further because all you'll end up doing is giving me an unhelpful vote anyway. (don't hate me for my male's perspective on the book) Go read a review by a female reviewer. If you're a guy, then consider this a potential warning against purchase.
Rawn is an excellent writer. She has wonderful descriptions, her characters are real, and the relationships are filled with a genuine give and take of emotions.
However.
I have several problems with the book.
First was the romance. I have nothing against romance in my fantasy. More often than not it adds a needed poignancy to an epic. I just didn't plan on reading a novel that was more romance than anything else. The fantasy aspect of the book, just seems more like background, and scenery. I would rather read an author that uses the fantasic setting to take a unique look into human nature. This was more of a straight up romance novel during medieval times with some dragons and magic in it.
Second was the nigh-glacial pacing. Oh brother. I felt like I was reading in slow motion. Let me give you a quick summary here. The book begins with the ruler of the land taking a mortal wound and slowly dying. His son is about to ascend to the throne, and although he is a proven fighter, most question his ability to rule since he's a bookish type. He also must soon marry, but if he marrys one of his liege lord's daughters he won't survive much past the birth of his first male child. So his aunt, the leader of the books mage clan (sunrunners), arranges for him to marry one of her young apprentices. The two meet and instantly fall in love. Yet because the wily hero has machinations of his own in mind they can't show it in public. He intends to fool everyone and get something out of it from his liege lord at the 3 year fair who he's supposed to be picking a bride from as well. Eventually they get out of the castle and head off to the fair.
That my friends is the first 180 pages.
180 pages! Sheesh! Oh, and the fair finally comes to a conclusion around page 300.
Lastly is the narrative vs. dialogue mix which is overly heavy on the narrative side by about 8 to 1. Melanie seems to want to tell us more often than show us.

Therefore I cannot recommend this book by an excellent writer. Unless you like a heavy (and I mean heavy) dose of romance in your reading. It's like the fantasy novel equivalent of a chick flick.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Political Fantasy
Review: This book does break away from the standard "adventure" fantasy novel that shows a character change while faced with a journey or difficult task. In this novel, no character struggles to their possition, for every pertinent individual has power at the beginning. From that point on, the book follows the political plotting of good versus evil. If you love the details of running a government and the nuances of delegating power, give it a try. I find it works really well to lull me off to sleep at night.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing piece of Literature!
Review: This is a book that i had sitting on my shelf for years before i even bothered to read it. I don't know what i waited for!
Yes, it's a very long book, but it reads quickly. The characters are realistic: they think, they act in their own (or their family's) interest, they change sides/opinions, they sometimes use their emotions to make decisions for them...and so on. THe plot was engrossing enough, with enough aspects of the fantasy, action and romance genres mixed in to keep a reader's interest piqued.
Read this if you: like epic fantasy with multi-faceted characters, have an appreciation for creative concepts within books, have a lot of time to read (it's a long book, but good), have patience to figure out good vs. bad guys.
Don't read if you: Need fairly straightforward characters, get frustrated with too many characters appearing and disappearing, have difficultly with long books and meandering (though not boring) storylines.
Great example of what the fantasy genre CAN produce.


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