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Wings of Fire #14
The Dangerous Gift
The #1 New York Times bestselling series continues!
Snowfall didn't expect to be queen of the IceWings at such a young age, but now that she is, she's going to be the best queen ever. All she has to do is keep her tribe within IceWing territory, where it's safe -- while keeping every other tribe out, where they belong.
It's a perfect and simple plan, backed up by all the IceWing magic Snowfall can find. That is, until a storm of unidentified dragons arrives on her shore, looking for asylum.
The foreigners are completely strange and, Snowfall is certain, utterly untrustworthy. But as she escorts the miserable new tribes out of her kingdom, Snowfall is forced to reconsider her plan. Maybe she can only keep her tribe safe . . . if she's willing to risk everything.
Snowfall didn't expect to be queen of the IceWings at such a young age, but now that she is, she's going to be the best queen ever. All she has to do is keep her tribe within IceWing territory, where it's safe -- while keeping every other tribe out, where they belong.
It's a perfect and simple plan, backed up by all the IceWing magic Snowfall can find. That is, until a storm of unidentified dragons arrives on her shore, looking for asylum.
The foreigners are completely strange and, Snowfall is certain, utterly untrustworthy. But as she escorts the miserable new tribes out of her kingdom, Snowfall is forced to reconsider her plan. Maybe she can only keep her tribe safe . . . if she's willing to risk everything.
316 pages, Hardcover
First published March 2, 2021
1375 people are currently reading
8904 people want to read
About the author
Tui T. Sutherland
195 books6,138 followersOkay, I know what you’re thinking. Tui? What kind of name is that? Is it short for something?
Nope. Among the many great things to come out of New Zealand (the Lord of the Rings movies, cats that paint, my mom) is a bird called the tui—not as well known as the kiwi, but a heck of a lot noisier!
I was born July 31 (same birthday as Harry Potter!) in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived in Asuncion, Paraguay; Miami, Florida; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before moving to New Jersey in high school, where I started doing theatre—mostly backstage work, because (a) it was fun, and (b) you got to hang out in the dark with cute boys. (Er, I mean . . . because it was artistically fulfilling, yes.)
I graduated from Williams College in ’98 and I currently live in Boston with my husband, my perfect new baby, and my adorable yoodle Sunshine (what’s a yoodle? A puppy that’s three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier, of course!).
Much to my parents’ relief, I abandoned my theatrical aspirations after college for the far more stable and lucrative career of fiction writing.
My first two official books were beginning readers, part of Grosset & Dunlap’s “First Friends” series for kids learning to read. MEET MO AND ELLA is tough to find now, but FUN WITH MO AND ELLA should still be out there somewhere.
My first novel for teenagers was THIS MUST BE LOVE, which retells Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a modern-day high school, from the POV of the two heroines, Hermia and Helena.
And now I'm writing in a new project called SEEKERS! It's a children's book series that I'm writing with Erin Hunter. Check out my blog to find out more!
Nope. Among the many great things to come out of New Zealand (the Lord of the Rings movies, cats that paint, my mom) is a bird called the tui—not as well known as the kiwi, but a heck of a lot noisier!
I was born July 31 (same birthday as Harry Potter!) in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived in Asuncion, Paraguay; Miami, Florida; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before moving to New Jersey in high school, where I started doing theatre—mostly backstage work, because (a) it was fun, and (b) you got to hang out in the dark with cute boys. (Er, I mean . . . because it was artistically fulfilling, yes.)
I graduated from Williams College in ’98 and I currently live in Boston with my husband, my perfect new baby, and my adorable yoodle Sunshine (what’s a yoodle? A puppy that’s three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier, of course!).
Much to my parents’ relief, I abandoned my theatrical aspirations after college for the far more stable and lucrative career of fiction writing.
My first two official books were beginning readers, part of Grosset & Dunlap’s “First Friends” series for kids learning to read. MEET MO AND ELLA is tough to find now, but FUN WITH MO AND ELLA should still be out there somewhere.
My first novel for teenagers was THIS MUST BE LOVE, which retells Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a modern-day high school, from the POV of the two heroines, Hermia and Helena.
And now I'm writing in a new project called SEEKERS! It's a children's book series that I'm writing with Erin Hunter. Check out my blog to find out more!
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 815 reviews
February 24, 2020
I hope at some point Kinkajou will get her own book
September 25, 2019
I can't wait for this book to come out. I just want to read the wings of fire books 24/7.
January 14, 2020
WHEN IS IT GOING TO BE RELEASED????!!!! PLEASE BE BUMBLEBEE
July 7, 2022
Best series in the entire world, I am so excited for the next one, but the book before this one wasn’t that good.
November 22, 2019
i cant wait for book 14 I love the series
October 4, 2019
I thought it was literally the best book I have and will ever come across in my whole entire freakin LIFE. Iz so gud.
May 20, 2020
Just seeing that a new book is coming out this year is killing my patience because this series is SO GOOD and I am SO HAPPY that this book is coming out! AHHHHHHH! Fangirl over here!
August 22, 2020
Lol this series is so good I think I’m gonna go back and read the whole thing since this one won’t be available till next March. 👌🏻👍🏻
October 10, 2019
it is the best book series ever exept for the fact that morrowseer is moons father
March 8, 2021
Wow. Just, wow.
4.5 stars
I actually forgot how much I love love this series. It's fantastic.
I'll just jump right into it because I'm tired and I want to go to bed (yes, I know, at 7:30 pm...)
Characters. At first, when the author introduced us to the main character, Snowfall, I was like: "Ugh seriously, why..?", but I ended up loving her as a protagonist. Yes, she's really a jerk at the beginning, and that got annoying. But then Tui T. Sutherland was like: "by the way, there's totally more to this character than you expect... ;-)". I loved the depth that was added to her insecurities and trust problems and the whole sympathy ring thing was spectacular. I felt like I understood this character a lot. Like, people had a lot of expectations on who she should be, and she was scared to break that barrier, but once she did, she was better for it. ALSO , sidenote. I WAS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED WHEN SHE BROUGHT IN CHARACTERS FROM DRAGONSLAYER. But also Sky was adorable with Snowfall, and I most certainly ship it. (Lowkey shipped Snowfall and Lynx until Sky showed up tho...)
Plot. The action in this book was undeniably pretty absent from this book, and I found myself being okay with that. Usually, I hate the middle-book-syndrome where the entire book's existence is just to promote the final book in the series. But I quite enjoyed this book without the abundance of action that most of the books in this series usually have. We got to dive deeper into the main character in this book--that being something that a lot of the other WoF books lack a little bit.
Writing. I just love Sutherland's writing. She adds so much weird humor that I somehow love and laugh at, like ALL OF THOSE ALL-CAPS MOMENTS. Also, I love that this is a middle-grade series, and Tui is not scared of adding some hecka dark things in there. (Honestly, probably why I loved Darkstalker so freaking much, haha).
I loved this and I'm already both really excited and most definitely sobbing for the LAST AND FINAL BOOK IN THE WINGS OF FIRE SAGA. YESSS BUT ALSO NOOOOO!
I am so much sad right now.
Anyways, have a fantastic evening 😎.
4.5 stars
I actually forgot how much I love love this series. It's fantastic.
I'll just jump right into it because I'm tired and I want to go to bed (yes, I know, at 7:30 pm...)
Characters. At first, when the author introduced us to the main character, Snowfall, I was like: "Ugh seriously, why..?", but I ended up loving her as a protagonist. Yes, she's really a jerk at the beginning, and that got annoying. But then Tui T. Sutherland was like: "by the way, there's totally more to this character than you expect... ;-)". I loved the depth that was added to her insecurities and trust problems and the whole sympathy ring thing was spectacular. I felt like I understood this character a lot. Like, people had a lot of expectations on who she should be, and she was scared to break that barrier, but once she did, she was better for it. ALSO , sidenote. I WAS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED WHEN SHE BROUGHT IN CHARACTERS FROM DRAGONSLAYER. But also Sky was adorable with Snowfall, and I most certainly ship it. (Lowkey shipped Snowfall and Lynx until Sky showed up tho...)
Plot. The action in this book was undeniably pretty absent from this book, and I found myself being okay with that. Usually, I hate the middle-book-syndrome where the entire book's existence is just to promote the final book in the series. But I quite enjoyed this book without the abundance of action that most of the books in this series usually have. We got to dive deeper into the main character in this book--that being something that a lot of the other WoF books lack a little bit.
Writing. I just love Sutherland's writing. She adds so much weird humor that I somehow love and laugh at, like ALL OF THOSE ALL-CAPS MOMENTS. Also, I love that this is a middle-grade series, and Tui is not scared of adding some hecka dark things in there. (Honestly, probably why I loved Darkstalker so freaking much, haha).
I loved this and I'm already both really excited and most definitely sobbing for the LAST AND FINAL BOOK IN THE WINGS OF FIRE SAGA. YESSS BUT ALSO NOOOOO!
I am so much sad right now.
Anyways, have a fantastic evening 😎.
December 17, 2021
I loved this!! I forgot how creative Wings of Fire is....I loved the concepts, plot, and especially the character growth. Snowfall grew so much in this. I love her!! 5/5, 100%.
October 8, 2019
Havent read it yet, vut i an sure i vill lov eet
Want to read
October 31, 2019I really really feel like this one is going to be about Swordtail or tsunami or tutle since they came over to pantala.
March 19, 2021
This is the first book in the series that really whiffed for me, which, considering I've read 15 of them now, isn't a bad ratio.
I wasn't a huge fan of Snowfall's perspective. The her 'voice gimmick' at the beginning was pushed so hard it got tiresome and annoying. Snowfall doesn't do much in the way of being the protagonist - much of her actions are driven by Lynx or the other dragons, and she is one of the more passive dragons, despite her Queen status. Snowfall doesn't get the luxury of an arc, even, with her growth being retroactively taken from her. Specifically,
There wasn't anything in the book in the way of plot. In summation: A large portion of the book consists of visions, and most of the action is in these—where Snowfall is just a passenger and can't influence the outcome.
I will say the series continues its blend of whimsy and brutality. Sky is disgustingly saccharine, as is Bumblebee. Jerboa is a monster whose horrific actions against Boa are detailed.
I also have not yet read Dragonslayer. I was able to follow the references from it well enough, but one of the reasons I like the series is the relative lack of emphasis on humans. I am not stoked about a bevvy of humans taking part of the spotlight.
I wasn't a huge fan of Snowfall's perspective. The her 'voice gimmick' at the beginning was pushed so hard it got tiresome and annoying. Snowfall doesn't do much in the way of being the protagonist - much of her actions are driven by Lynx or the other dragons, and she is one of the more passive dragons, despite her Queen status. Snowfall doesn't get the luxury of an arc, even, with her growth being retroactively taken from her. Specifically,
There wasn't anything in the book in the way of plot. In summation: A large portion of the book consists of visions, and most of the action is in these—where Snowfall is just a passenger and can't influence the outcome.
I will say the series continues its blend of whimsy and brutality. Sky is disgustingly saccharine, as is Bumblebee. Jerboa is a monster whose horrific actions against Boa are detailed.
I also have not yet read Dragonslayer. I was able to follow the references from it well enough, but one of the reasons I like the series is the relative lack of emphasis on humans. I am not stoked about a bevvy of humans taking part of the spotlight.
June 18, 2021
New Review: I really loved this book. The perspective changed drastically, but the amount of character development just blew me away. Plus, we all can say that Snowfall isn't the ass we thought she was.... I mean, maybe.... Or maybe not.... She gave me Anenome vibes.... Yeah, nope, she's still a brat. But a better one I mean.
Old Review: My first reaction when I realize the main character is going to be Queen Snowfall:
Then my face turns to:
Then I'm like:
When I realize it comes out in September.
Old Review: My first reaction when I realize the main character is going to be Queen Snowfall:
Then my face turns to:
Then I'm like:
When I realize it comes out in September.
Want to read
March 5, 2020I am really hyped up for this to come out!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2020
i love this series so mich and hope it never ends and i know that this next book will be amazing.
also i feel like this book is gonna be from the pov of a totally new character we’ve never met before, or from multiple points of veiw(like cricket, sundew and blue after he is no longer mind controlled)
also i feel like this book is gonna be from the pov of a totally new character we’ve never met before, or from multiple points of veiw(like cricket, sundew and blue after he is no longer mind controlled)
March 10, 2021
Okay. Good book. It was fine. Snowfall's perspective was interesting enough, even if she sounded like a whiney child most of the time.
(Spoilers duh)
When I opened the page and the prologue began with my FAVORITE boi, Swordtail, I was overjoyed!! Then we found out he's been mind controlled by the plant and Wasp. NO! How could they do this to poor Swordtail!! My favorite character!! The funniest and bestest Silkwing of all time!!! Oh, and Blue too.
My complaint? The INFODUMPING. Holy moly. Snowfall wasn't a complicated character from the start. She was young, her thoughts and feelings were simple and predictable. She was the perfect vessel to explain what was happening in the actual plot over on Pantala. And it was infuriating! Reading from literally any other perspective of someone on the Lost Continent would've been a million times more interesting and just work better for the story. This was nothing but "what should we do with the leafwings now that they're on Pyrrhia?" and "meanwhile where the villain and characters you actually care about (except Sundew and Cricket who just did nothing) are, Wasp is getting stronger".
Look, I get it. This book is the build-up to the super epic 5th book of the arc that'll come next. But there was NO action. It felt like a fanfiction of an Icewing OC that was just alive during the time of the Pantala & Breath of Evil stuff going on. Not an actual book that'll contribute to the overall arc in any important way.
While this was disappointing, it was still written solidly enough. The prologue was the highlight for me because SWORDTAIL, but all the different perspectives were written really well. With only a few sentences you could get a real feel for the character. If only Queen Snowfall herself could've been written with that much thought and care.
(Spoilers duh)
When I opened the page and the prologue began with my FAVORITE boi, Swordtail, I was overjoyed!! Then we found out he's been mind controlled by the plant and Wasp. NO! How could they do this to poor Swordtail!! My favorite character!! The funniest and bestest Silkwing of all time!!! Oh, and Blue too.
My complaint? The INFODUMPING. Holy moly. Snowfall wasn't a complicated character from the start. She was young, her thoughts and feelings were simple and predictable. She was the perfect vessel to explain what was happening in the actual plot over on Pantala. And it was infuriating! Reading from literally any other perspective of someone on the Lost Continent would've been a million times more interesting and just work better for the story. This was nothing but "what should we do with the leafwings now that they're on Pyrrhia?" and "meanwhile where the villain and characters you actually care about (except Sundew and Cricket who just did nothing) are, Wasp is getting stronger".
Look, I get it. This book is the build-up to the super epic 5th book of the arc that'll come next. But there was NO action. It felt like a fanfiction of an Icewing OC that was just alive during the time of the Pantala & Breath of Evil stuff going on. Not an actual book that'll contribute to the overall arc in any important way.
While this was disappointing, it was still written solidly enough. The prologue was the highlight for me because SWORDTAIL, but all the different perspectives were written really well. With only a few sentences you could get a real feel for the character. If only Queen Snowfall herself could've been written with that much thought and care.
April 2, 2020
GREAT SERIES! Oh, and it is coming out September 15, 2020.
March 26, 2021
I'm just gonna start off and say that Wings of Fire was my childhood and my early middle school experience. It probably shaped the way I am and boosted my love for dragons and fantasy creatures.
I adored this series. I loved the characters (my favorites were Winter and Darkstalker) and I loved the world!
But I was highly disappointed with the 14th book.
The writing was super difficult to read. Every other word was either in all caps or italicized. Why would anyone need to read screaming words? I understand our main character is practically a child, but I came *this* close to putting down the book multiple times just off the writing style alone. Yes, her inner thoughts are scattered, we get it. It gets a little too much sometimes.
Also, previous characters who I loved before were very flat in this book. They either had 0 character depth or acted completely different than their supposed personalities.
I guess the ending was pretty sweet. After all, this is a book marketed towards a younger audience. It's plot isn't gonna be super intense.
I feel bad rating it 1 star but I guess through all this quarantine and lockdowns and stuff, I've grown into a different type of person. The series isn't my cup of tea anymore :(
I adored this series. I loved the characters (my favorites were Winter and Darkstalker) and I loved the world!
But I was highly disappointed with the 14th book.
The writing was super difficult to read. Every other word was either in all caps or italicized. Why would anyone need to read screaming words? I understand our main character is practically a child, but I came *this* close to putting down the book multiple times just off the writing style alone. Yes, her inner thoughts are scattered, we get it. It gets a little too much sometimes.
Also, previous characters who I loved before were very flat in this book. They either had 0 character depth or acted completely different than their supposed personalities.
I guess the ending was pretty sweet. After all, this is a book marketed towards a younger audience. It's plot isn't gonna be super intense.
I feel bad rating it 1 star but I guess through all this quarantine and lockdowns and stuff, I've grown into a different type of person. The series isn't my cup of tea anymore :(
March 3, 2021
This was actually pretty good! When it was announced that Snowfall would be the PoV, a lot of people were reluctant and thought that she would be a horrible protagonist just off how she acted in the epilogue of TPJ (not to flex, but I was one of those people who said Snowfall had good potential instead), but she was actually a really good protagonist and even though she was pretty annoying in the first part, she gradually becomes much more likeable in the second and third parts and I really like her friendship with Lynx!
Also daily reminder that Snowfall is a traumatized teenager who'd just lost her mother and became queen before she was prepared to out of nowhere, and her actions throughout the beginning of the book and the epilogue of TPJ is completely understandable
Overall, better than the last three books, but I should mention that this book doesn't have a lot of action or whatnot, and it's mainly just about how Snowfall becomes a better dragon and setting things up for the climax in the final book.
Also daily reminder that Snowfall is a traumatized teenager who'd just lost her mother and became queen before she was prepared to out of nowhere, and her actions throughout the beginning of the book and the epilogue of TPJ is completely understandable
Overall, better than the last three books, but I should mention that this book doesn't have a lot of action or whatnot, and it's mainly just about how Snowfall becomes a better dragon and setting things up for the climax in the final book.
December 28, 2023
There wasn’t much progress of the prophecy in this book, it was mainly about Snowfall growing as the queen. Although I liked how the gift of vision changed her throughout the story, and my favorite part was when Sky came to rescue Daffodil. My favorite character was Lynx, and I also liked both of the backstories of the Jerboas. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 28, 2019I wonder what tribe it would be because every tribe has been used at least one please be a patalan tribe!!
March 5, 2021
1 OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ.
December 31, 2020
AHHHHHH I NEED THIS NOW!!!!!!
AND WHAT DRAGON IS THAT?????!
ICE WING??? IF NOW, WE GET A NEW DRAGON!!!!!!
Edit: Nevermind, It's Queen Snowfall.
I. WANT. A. KINKAJOU. BOOK!!!!!
AND WHAT DRAGON IS THAT?????!
ICE WING??? IF NOW, WE GET A NEW DRAGON!!!!!!
Edit: Nevermind, It's Queen Snowfall.
I. WANT. A. KINKAJOU. BOOK!!!!!
March 11, 2021
This was a pretty solid book, not many complaints from me. I really enjoy how even though this series has been going on for quite a while, I still want to keep up with the series and I'm always looking forward to the next book.
That said... this book definitely felt like a filler book. Not like it wasn't good though! I thought that Snowfall's character development was done very well, considering she was really just introduced for the first time here. The "young-queen-who-is-definitely-not-ready-to-be-queen-and-is-wayyyy-too-paranoid" character was super interesting, and she developed well into a confident queen over the course of the book. I'm glad her entire development wasn't dependant on the magic items she had because then her development would feel kind of cheap. That whole thing with the crown that makes you hate Nightwings though? That was kind of weird, I don't think it was really necessary to say that Snowfall was only super paranoid of Nightwings because of this weird crown (at least that's what they were implying I think). It's totally reasonable for her to be paranoid of Nightwings in her position, and to then develop past that after learning more about the experiences of other dragons! It took that part of her development away when the last 10 pages were like "Oh yeah, that crown that we always had to say was super heavy and spooky? Yeah, it makes you hate Nightwings and that's why Snowfall was being paranoid over this one specific thing, not because we literally set her character up to be like that because of the stressful position she's been put into and the lack of support she has.
Ok, maybe I have more qualms with this book than I thought.
Regardless!! I think this book was still quite good. My only other problem is that it felt more like a filler book since the overarching plot of this arc wasn't really pushed forward at all. The entire book felt like it was setting everything up for the next book and just generally filling in any plot holes that might be around.
Also, the whole thing with discovering the scavengers can speak Dragon and they're apparently the key to this whole mess? That was really abrupt. I think it's cool that humans are becoming more important in the series (I should probably read Dragonslayer soon). But it was just very weird how the whole thing was introduced into the story. Like Snowfall is just watching over this pet scavenger for a couple of minutes and then this random dragon, Sky, comes out of nowhere? And what's up with the story implying that Snowfall is interested in Sky??? If that becomes a romantic subplot, then I'm done.
Ok, I started this review with 4 stars and now we're down to 3. I'm going to stop overanalyzing this dragon book for middle school kids now.
That said... this book definitely felt like a filler book. Not like it wasn't good though! I thought that Snowfall's character development was done very well, considering she was really just introduced for the first time here. The "young-queen-who-is-definitely-not-ready-to-be-queen-and-is-wayyyy-too-paranoid" character was super interesting, and she developed well into a confident queen over the course of the book. I'm glad her entire development wasn't dependant on the magic items she had because then her development would feel kind of cheap. That whole thing with the crown that makes you hate Nightwings though? That was kind of weird, I don't think it was really necessary to say that Snowfall was only super paranoid of Nightwings because of this weird crown (at least that's what they were implying I think). It's totally reasonable for her to be paranoid of Nightwings in her position, and to then develop past that after learning more about the experiences of other dragons! It took that part of her development away when the last 10 pages were like "Oh yeah, that crown that we always had to say was super heavy and spooky? Yeah, it makes you hate Nightwings and that's why Snowfall was being paranoid over this one specific thing, not because we literally set her character up to be like that because of the stressful position she's been put into and the lack of support she has.
Ok, maybe I have more qualms with this book than I thought.
Regardless!! I think this book was still quite good. My only other problem is that it felt more like a filler book since the overarching plot of this arc wasn't really pushed forward at all. The entire book felt like it was setting everything up for the next book and just generally filling in any plot holes that might be around.
Also, the whole thing with discovering the scavengers can speak Dragon and they're apparently the key to this whole mess? That was really abrupt. I think it's cool that humans are becoming more important in the series (I should probably read Dragonslayer soon). But it was just very weird how the whole thing was introduced into the story. Like Snowfall is just watching over this pet scavenger for a couple of minutes and then this random dragon, Sky, comes out of nowhere? And what's up with the story implying that Snowfall is interested in Sky??? If that becomes a romantic subplot, then I'm done.
Ok, I started this review with 4 stars and now we're down to 3. I'm going to stop overanalyzing this dragon book for middle school kids now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2021
I always forget how funny these books are until I start one and then suddenly I'm laughing so hard I'm crying. Snowfall needs a nap omg. But while this was clearly mostly just a setup for the next book, I loved Snowfall's character development and to be back on Pyrrhia (and it was also interesting to see dragons we knew from Snowfall's suspicious, largely-in-the-dark POV). I also liked how the characters from Dragonslayer came into play, and I do appreciate knowing where the the final book is going and how such conflicts are going to be resolved (considering how incredibly confused I was after The Poison Jungle).
March 30, 2022
Another excellent addition to this series
Funny and engaging, moves the story forward to what should be an exciting conclusion in the last book of the series
Highly recommended for age 10-15 (or their parents!)
Funny and engaging, moves the story forward to what should be an exciting conclusion in the last book of the series
Highly recommended for age 10-15 (or their parents!)
March 2, 2021
Spoiler free, guaranteed! Though before I get too far into talking about this, I will say that it would help for context if you read the Legend books that came before, as well as of course the previous ones in this series and the last two. I haven't read the Winglet short stories so I don't know how much they factor into this.
I always focus on the negative side first, and I have to say that Snowfall as the POV character is A Lot to deal with. Out of the other POV characters in this series so far, I would compare her inner monologue most with Peril. Snowfall, understandably, distrusts other dragons (especially NightWings) and is extremely paranoid about all of them. I really wanted to empathize with her but for the first half or so she was so intensely suspicious and thinking everyone was out to get her, and she bit the head off pretty much every dragon who spoke to her, that it was pretty exhausting being in her POV.
I mentioned before I didn't particularly like where the series was going with its dragon-human relationships. I liked it best in the first series where the humans were seen as intelligent pets or prey, kind of like how humans see certain animals. That's why I recommend reading the Legend books, because Dragonslayer is written from the human perspective and some of the things introduced there come up again in this book. I'm not going to give the book a lower score because it's going in a direction I don't like, but I still am disappointed.
This book had a unique way of keeping the reader updated on events happening on the other continent. I thought it was pretty clever. Also, for those wondering, this book does explain how and why animus magic was lost. I personally think this is a bit of a cop-out from the author and still doesn't solve how OP the magic was.
I think this was the shortest book so far, or it felt that way. My Kindle edition didn't even break 300 pages. This is not necessarily bad, as the story kept my interest and it was neat to fall into a ruler's mind for a change so readers got a sense for how it felt to have all that responsibility and power suddenly dumped on the character. I admit I smiled with some of the things that went on particularly with the IceWing kingdom and am very curious to see the aftermath of all that. The book deals a lot with prejudice and judging based on appearances. I was reminded of a line from the Pocahontas song "Savages": they're different from us, which means they can't be trusted. That attitude was permeated a lot in this book, particularly with Snowfall, though we know from past books that other dragons feel the same way. And we sadly know from our own history how long that attitude can last, and how difficult it is to defeat. But we'll see how this series handles it.
Over all, I would say it's a decent book. It didn't blow me away like the last one and I would have to wait to re-read it because Snowfall is an exhausting POV for a while. If you got irritated with the CONSTANT CAPSLOCK of Peril, be warned that it happens a lot here. But it did hold my interest and there are some satisfying moments in there. I am interested in seeing how they solve the breath of evil problem, but not so anxious that the wait will be torture.
I always focus on the negative side first, and I have to say that Snowfall as the POV character is A Lot to deal with. Out of the other POV characters in this series so far, I would compare her inner monologue most with Peril. Snowfall, understandably, distrusts other dragons (especially NightWings) and is extremely paranoid about all of them. I really wanted to empathize with her but for the first half or so she was so intensely suspicious and thinking everyone was out to get her, and she bit the head off pretty much every dragon who spoke to her, that it was pretty exhausting being in her POV.
I mentioned before I didn't particularly like where the series was going with its dragon-human relationships. I liked it best in the first series where the humans were seen as intelligent pets or prey, kind of like how humans see certain animals. That's why I recommend reading the Legend books, because Dragonslayer is written from the human perspective and some of the things introduced there come up again in this book. I'm not going to give the book a lower score because it's going in a direction I don't like, but I still am disappointed.
This book had a unique way of keeping the reader updated on events happening on the other continent. I thought it was pretty clever. Also, for those wondering, this book does explain how and why animus magic was lost. I personally think this is a bit of a cop-out from the author and still doesn't solve how OP the magic was.
I think this was the shortest book so far, or it felt that way. My Kindle edition didn't even break 300 pages. This is not necessarily bad, as the story kept my interest and it was neat to fall into a ruler's mind for a change so readers got a sense for how it felt to have all that responsibility and power suddenly dumped on the character. I admit I smiled with some of the things that went on particularly with the IceWing kingdom and am very curious to see the aftermath of all that. The book deals a lot with prejudice and judging based on appearances. I was reminded of a line from the Pocahontas song "Savages": they're different from us, which means they can't be trusted. That attitude was permeated a lot in this book, particularly with Snowfall, though we know from past books that other dragons feel the same way. And we sadly know from our own history how long that attitude can last, and how difficult it is to defeat. But we'll see how this series handles it.
Over all, I would say it's a decent book. It didn't blow me away like the last one and I would have to wait to re-read it because Snowfall is an exhausting POV for a while. If you got irritated with the CONSTANT CAPSLOCK of Peril, be warned that it happens a lot here. But it did hold my interest and there are some satisfying moments in there. I am interested in seeing how they solve the breath of evil problem, but not so anxious that the wait will be torture.
March 10, 2021
Wow, just wow. Seriously loved this one and have no idea how to talk about it without giving anything away, so this will be short and sweet. Snowfall is like TOTALLY annoying in her OBSESSIVE thinking that everyone is out to get her. She's like a fuzzy penguin on crack. Once the dragons from the other continent start arriving she gets worse. I was into chapter four and thinking I was going to hate this book when little by little she starting learning and changing and growing and by the end of the book she is ABSOLUTELY one of my MOST FAVORITE dragons. I did NOT think she would mature/grow enough to do what she did at the end but she did and it was AWESOME! I also absolutely LOVE the way she thinks about other dragons especially as she's learning to see the world through their eyes. I have to admit some of the names she called the other dragons made me laugh out loud and COMPLETELY annoyed my one 10 yr old twin who was in line to read the book next. Sutherland does another incredible job of making us fall for her protagonist all the while giving us new twists and turns we didn't see coming. Book #6 WAS my favorite but now I think this one is. All I have to say is if you hate Snowfall at first, give her time, because it's totally worth it. I love reading these with my kids and feel like it's one of the best Middle School type aged series I've read in a long while. 5 stars!
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