Review: The Dragon Tamer by Ava Richardson

Title: The Dragon Tamer

Author: Ava Richardson

Series: Alveria Dragon Academy #1

Genre: Fantasy/Dragons/YA/Romance

Publisher: ? Self-pub I think

Publication Date: October 31st, 2018

Edition: Kindle Edition, 476 pages

Source: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon US 

Synopsis:

 A kingdom divided cannot stand. For those caught in the middle, it means death.

   For centuries humans and dragons existed side by side in Alveria, bonded by their care of one another. But no longer. After decades with no viable eggs, humans far outnumber dragons, and the survival of the species appears bleak. The outlook for everyday humans is little better as rogue dragons raid and torment villages. Yet it’s far worse for the tamers, beaten and killed simply for serving the noble dragons. 

   But eking by at the bottom of Alverian society isn’t any easier for seventeen-year-old Kaelan Younger. Harder still when her loyalty to the dragon crown is no secret. But when her dying mother reveals a horrifying truth about her identity, Kaelan is thrust into a world for which she is ill-prepared.

   Faced with a new life at the proving grounds for humans and dragons alike, Kaelan must reconcile not just her past but embrace the future laid out before her. When her responsibilities as an Akademy tamer collide with her feelings for a powerful dragon shifter, it will take everything she has to prepare for the danger threatening them both. The fate of the dragons she has sworn to serve rests in her hands. 

   Now Kaelan is no longer an outsider. 

She’s the enemy.

Review:

I'm actually reading the three books in an eBind-up. But I think it's better to review each book separately, and my memory is trash. I would struggle to remember certain details if I was to review the series as a whole.

This was a pretty good start to the series. I didn't like it quite as much as the other book I've read by Richardson. (Dragon Raider). But I still really enjoyed it.

I liked Kaelan as a character. Though she had moments when I found her a little insufferable. I felt she should have tried harder sooner to earn her place at the school. She waffled too much in my opinion. Especially when she was on an unexpected time schedule with finding a cure for her mother.

Lasaro is pretty different from what I would expect from his type of character. He's the youngest prince of the Dragon Queen, but he's not arrogant, he's not full of himself. He's pretty humble and willing to accept help and admit when others are better/more equipt at things than he is. I honestly saw the romance coming a mile away. This is also one of the most healthy romances I have read in a while. 

The latter half of the book was a little more interesting to me than her traveling to the Academy. I hope the rest of the series has more of the political intrigue than this book did. Though I expect the romance to play a prominent role as well. Not that I mind, I did like the romance. They treated each other as equals, balanced each other. But considering their situation, I also hope that there isn't any of that weird angsty BS too, and no annoying love triangle. I've already started it, so I'll find out soon enough.

I hope more people discover this author, especially people who like Dragons.