Reviewed by Olivia
Rating: High Five
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Erin Hunter, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and Cornelia Funke.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Peril has been loyal to Queen Scarlet, who used her fatal firescales to kill countless dragons in the SkyWing arena. Now, Peril is loyal to Clay, the only dragonet who has ever been her friend. So when Scarlet threatens Jade Mountain Academy, Peril sets off to find her former queen, stop her, and save the day, no matter what it takes.
There's just one problem: a strangely persistent SeaWing, Turtle, insists on coming along, too. Turtle is worried about his friends, who left to search for Scarlet and haven't returned. Peril is worried that she might accidentally burn Turtle -- or burn him on purpose, for being so annoying -- and frustrated that she keeps saying and doing the wrong things. She can't escape her firescales, and she can't escape her reputation as the deadliest dragon in Pyrrhia.
So when she's offered a chance to trade everything for a second chance, Peril has to decide who she's really loyal to . . . and whether her own scales might actually be worth saving.
Rating: High Five
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Erin Hunter, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and Cornelia Funke.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Peril has been loyal to Queen Scarlet, who used her fatal firescales to kill countless dragons in the SkyWing arena. Now, Peril is loyal to Clay, the only dragonet who has ever been her friend. So when Scarlet threatens Jade Mountain Academy, Peril sets off to find her former queen, stop her, and save the day, no matter what it takes.
There's just one problem: a strangely persistent SeaWing, Turtle, insists on coming along, too. Turtle is worried about his friends, who left to search for Scarlet and haven't returned. Peril is worried that she might accidentally burn Turtle -- or burn him on purpose, for being so annoying -- and frustrated that she keeps saying and doing the wrong things. She can't escape her firescales, and she can't escape her reputation as the deadliest dragon in Pyrrhia.
So when she's offered a chance to trade everything for a second chance, Peril has to decide who she's really loyal to . . . and whether her own scales might actually be worth saving.
Thoughts: I am literally blown away by this book. Sutherland has really outdone herself - in fact, I feel like her books only continue to improve. That's not to say that I didn't have a few issues with this book - but those were very minimal and hardly took away from the story.
The plot was the only issue I had, actually. It felt like Sutherland wrote this whole book, and then decided that the ending wasn't memorable enough so she added in half of the next book to leave us on a cliffhanger (it worked). This, I found, was very frustrating, despite the added tension and excitement. Other than that, this book was amazing! I loved every one of the characters and how they've evolved over this series, although I would've liked to see some more of Winter, Kinkajou, and Qibli, some of my favorite characters. Peril's character was spot-on - the entire time, you could really feel her emotions. Although I originally wasn't too excited about the prospect of a book dedicated to Peril, I grew to love her character and was rooting for her by the end of the book. I loved the twist, too, and how it tied in with the brilliant prologue. The writing didn't stray far from its normal humor, suspense, and adventure - honestly, I think that the Wings of Fire series is the best series for middle grade readers. And although this book took a bit of a dark turn at the end, I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.
The plot was the only issue I had, actually. It felt like Sutherland wrote this whole book, and then decided that the ending wasn't memorable enough so she added in half of the next book to leave us on a cliffhanger (it worked). This, I found, was very frustrating, despite the added tension and excitement. Other than that, this book was amazing! I loved every one of the characters and how they've evolved over this series, although I would've liked to see some more of Winter, Kinkajou, and Qibli, some of my favorite characters. Peril's character was spot-on - the entire time, you could really feel her emotions. Although I originally wasn't too excited about the prospect of a book dedicated to Peril, I grew to love her character and was rooting for her by the end of the book. I loved the twist, too, and how it tied in with the brilliant prologue. The writing didn't stray far from its normal humor, suspense, and adventure - honestly, I think that the Wings of Fire series is the best series for middle grade readers. And although this book took a bit of a dark turn at the end, I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.
