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Dragons and Skylines #2
Eyes of Silver
When Grith revealed the existence of magic, the world was changed forever. The peace is fragile, and Pret and Grith might be all that stands between the earth and all-out war. After his visions of the future reveal a fiery end, Pret knows he must stop it — only he doesn’t know how or if it’s even possible.
Though defeated, GMI’s plans have been all but stopped, and their mysterious leader has come out of the shadows. Chris has risen in the ranks to become his protégé, but Ashley’s curse has weakened his magic, rendering him defenseless to his rivals. A new ally has him questioning everything he’s worked towards, and he must choose what role he’ll play in the coming storm.
Praise for Feathers of Gold:
“A unique urban fantasy setting and an entirely fresh perspective on tried and true fantasy tropes make both the series this book is starting and the author who wrote it one to watch in the future.” - Heather G.
Though defeated, GMI’s plans have been all but stopped, and their mysterious leader has come out of the shadows. Chris has risen in the ranks to become his protégé, but Ashley’s curse has weakened his magic, rendering him defenseless to his rivals. A new ally has him questioning everything he’s worked towards, and he must choose what role he’ll play in the coming storm.
Praise for Feathers of Gold:
“A unique urban fantasy setting and an entirely fresh perspective on tried and true fantasy tropes make both the series this book is starting and the author who wrote it one to watch in the future.” - Heather G.
430 pages, Paperback
Published June 14, 2023
7 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Rowan Silver
6 books31 followersRowan Silver was hatched and raised in Austin, Texas, but as a writer and physicist, she has been lost in other worlds for a long, long time. Though Rowan hasn't yet found her way back, she has plenty of stories to tell: legends of mythic lands from long ago and sagas of worlds more familiar.
And there are sure to be dragons.
For updates on new books, you can find her and subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.rowansilver.com. She can be emailed at books@rowansilver.com
And there are sure to be dragons.
For updates on new books, you can find her and subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.rowansilver.com. She can be emailed at books@rowansilver.com
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 3, 2025
Read the alpha version of this. The version that is going to be released is probably much more polished and refined so I won't get into the more mundane critiques that I might normally because that would be grossly unfair. In terms of characters, story and theme, this is a step up from its predecessor. Feathers of Gold had an incredible first act that in some ways might surpass a good portion of even this book, but the second half had some clunky pacing and a bit too much restraint that prevented it from being a five stars for me. Still, the world was intriguing, the characters memorable and likeable, and the story had potential.
Eyes of Silver picks up where Feathers of Gold left off and expands on the world and ideas of the story, and let me tell you it's an absolute delight. The action of Feathers' second half is mostly absent save a couple of scenes where it's really important, and this is almost entirely a story about sociopolitical tension and character interaction, and oh boy is it so good. Some new characters are introduced, such as Lillith, the best character that isn't Grith, and the Shadow Lord, an absolute camp king. Perhaps the most impressive character beat is Chris, a character who goes through a grueling personal journey from the most hateable character from book 1 to very nearly being one of the most likeable, and then falling back into villainy in a way that's delightfully agonizing to experience.
Perhaps the most interest aspect of this story is that it really explores the question of what would happen if, in a world like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson where the magical elements hide in plain sight, the magical world was forcibly revealed to the public. What would be the consequences, and how would our society react? Would there be any chance of coexistence, especially for the more "dangerous" elements of that world, like dragons?
Ultimately, the kid gloves are off, and Eyes of Silveris a fun, thrilling, and at times unbearably suspenseful ride that sets up for the thrilling conclusion of the trilogy in book 3, which is my favorite of the bunch.
Eyes of Silver picks up where Feathers of Gold left off and expands on the world and ideas of the story, and let me tell you it's an absolute delight. The action of Feathers' second half is mostly absent save a couple of scenes where it's really important, and this is almost entirely a story about sociopolitical tension and character interaction, and oh boy is it so good. Some new characters are introduced, such as Lillith, the best character that isn't Grith, and the Shadow Lord, an absolute camp king. Perhaps the most impressive character beat is Chris, a character who goes through a grueling personal journey from the most hateable character from book 1 to very nearly being one of the most likeable, and then falling back into villainy in a way that's delightfully agonizing to experience.
Perhaps the most interest aspect of this story is that it really explores the question of what would happen if, in a world like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson where the magical elements hide in plain sight, the magical world was forcibly revealed to the public. What would be the consequences, and how would our society react? Would there be any chance of coexistence, especially for the more "dangerous" elements of that world, like dragons?
Ultimately, the kid gloves are off, and Eyes of Silveris a fun, thrilling, and at times unbearably suspenseful ride that sets up for the thrilling conclusion of the trilogy in book 3, which is my favorite of the bunch.
December 21, 2023
This was so much darker than the first one, but I enjoyed it so so much. I really appreciated seeing from the 4 different perspectives from Grith, Pret, Chris, and Lilith, as I felt perspective was such an important point of the story. Seeing characters I loved going through change, giving up on hope and leaning towards war and violence towards the end of the novel felt so depressing, and really sets up the next book. Which I must read! As soon as possible! So excited.
Additional ponderings (basically my thought vomit):
I'm quite interested in the themes throughout this series. It seemed there were more themes of oppression in the first book than the second, with Grith being forced into another culture unwillingly, the misogyny, but after her experiences with the wizards came to understand what her boundaries were with her identity. I'm curious if her feelings would have been much different if she had been allowed to spend more time with mundane humans than the oppressive wizards. The bouncer and professor were both open to Grith being a dragon and weren't afraid of her, and it seemed maybe more interactions between her and mundane humans would have helped any future tensions between the two species.
The second book (this book), seemed to major themes in how different sides perceive things, with what knowledge they are given. Mundanes aren't given much of the full picture when it comes to dragons and are shown to be mostly fearful of them, in spite of Grith and Pret's efforts otherwise with being interviewed etc.., but Chris is probably one of the most knowledgable humans (besides the witches and mundane at the Key) about dragons and still ends up hateful towards them.
I wonder what the course of his perspective on dragons would have looked like had the Shadow Lord not tricked Lilith into eating Chris's father, as he had just changed his perspective on having sex with Lilith even in her dragon form (omg I'm still not sure how I feel about that lol) the night before. Ahh I'm so annoyed, he could have turned out somewhat alright :/ but I did feel that this book was also setting up how Chris ends up as the big bad for the dragons in the third book.
I really appreciated that, even though I think most would agree Grith and Pret are the side we're rooting for in terms of whose future the characters are striving for we'd want to happen the most, they still have different perspectives on it, with Pret being more pacifist and Grith starting to take more action in defending herself with violence if necessary. I did agree more with Grith. When it becomes an issue of morality, I don't believe fence-sitting is the way to go, but it was still sad to see Pret finally giving up on the optimistic peaceful route. It was also interesting seeing dragons that were totally more hostile and distrustful to humans as I felt it balanced it out after seeing so much of it from the human side to dragons.
Anyways, looking forwards to the next book!
Additional ponderings (basically my thought vomit):
I'm quite interested in the themes throughout this series. It seemed there were more themes of oppression in the first book than the second, with Grith being forced into another culture unwillingly, the misogyny, but after her experiences with the wizards came to understand what her boundaries were with her identity. I'm curious if her feelings would have been much different if she had been allowed to spend more time with mundane humans than the oppressive wizards. The bouncer and professor were both open to Grith being a dragon and weren't afraid of her, and it seemed maybe more interactions between her and mundane humans would have helped any future tensions between the two species.
The second book (this book), seemed to major themes in how different sides perceive things, with what knowledge they are given. Mundanes aren't given much of the full picture when it comes to dragons and are shown to be mostly fearful of them, in spite of Grith and Pret's efforts otherwise with being interviewed etc.., but Chris is probably one of the most knowledgable humans (besides the witches and mundane at the Key) about dragons and still ends up hateful towards them.
I wonder what the course of his perspective on dragons would have looked like had the Shadow Lord not tricked Lilith into eating Chris's father, as he had just changed his perspective on having sex with Lilith even in her dragon form (omg I'm still not sure how I feel about that lol) the night before. Ahh I'm so annoyed, he could have turned out somewhat alright :/ but I did feel that this book was also setting up how Chris ends up as the big bad for the dragons in the third book.
I really appreciated that, even though I think most would agree Grith and Pret are the side we're rooting for in terms of whose future the characters are striving for we'd want to happen the most, they still have different perspectives on it, with Pret being more pacifist and Grith starting to take more action in defending herself with violence if necessary. I did agree more with Grith. When it becomes an issue of morality, I don't believe fence-sitting is the way to go, but it was still sad to see Pret finally giving up on the optimistic peaceful route. It was also interesting seeing dragons that were totally more hostile and distrustful to humans as I felt it balanced it out after seeing so much of it from the human side to dragons.
Anyways, looking forwards to the next book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2023
Sequal to Feathers of Gold, Eyes of Silver cranks up the stakes to the maximum.
Unlike its predecessor, this book follows four main characters instead of one. Protagonist of the first book Grith is joined by her cousin Pret, the wizard Chris and a new face in Lilith, a human/dragon hybrid. The book develops all of their characters perfectly througout, none of them feel half baked or left behind.
All four characters have a different viewpoint on the central question of this book, which is: What to do about dragons in a modern world? Can they control their instincts and live harmoniously with humans or will all go wrong. While I agree with points that all four characters make, I also disagree with parts of each of them. This makes this ideological battle one of the most interesting and best aspects of the book for me.
And while the ideological battles are great, the real and bloody aspects of it are shown in detail. Let's get straight to the point. This book can get very dark and hopeless. Some scenes had me utterly schocked and while I personally adore these aspects of the book, I can imagine this would not go down well with younger kids or squeemish people.
The world is greatly expanded. While the first book takes place almost exclusively in LA, the entire United States is now involved. A lot of backstory and is divulged and questions the first book left unanswered are expanded upon, while still leaving the reader with many unknowns.
If I had to give some criticism it would have to be the way PoV is handled. The PoV switches every chapter to a different character. This in itself is not a problem and I found it sometimes even enhances the story by having some good cliffhangers. The problem is that sometimes while PoV characters are in the same scene, the PoV switches in the middle of a chapter, oftentimes without a clear cut. This caused me to be confused on whose PoV I was reading sometimes.
Overall this book is amazing. While I really liked Feathers of Gold, this book is more the style of book I like to read. This is definitely one of my favorite fantasy books in general. If anything in this or others review of this book or the previous one interest you even the slightest amount, I would highly recommend it.
Unlike its predecessor, this book follows four main characters instead of one. Protagonist of the first book Grith is joined by her cousin Pret, the wizard Chris and a new face in Lilith, a human/dragon hybrid. The book develops all of their characters perfectly througout, none of them feel half baked or left behind.
All four characters have a different viewpoint on the central question of this book, which is: What to do about dragons in a modern world? Can they control their instincts and live harmoniously with humans or will all go wrong. While I agree with points that all four characters make, I also disagree with parts of each of them. This makes this ideological battle one of the most interesting and best aspects of the book for me.
And while the ideological battles are great, the real and bloody aspects of it are shown in detail. Let's get straight to the point. This book can get very dark and hopeless. Some scenes had me utterly schocked and while I personally adore these aspects of the book, I can imagine this would not go down well with younger kids or squeemish people.
The world is greatly expanded. While the first book takes place almost exclusively in LA, the entire United States is now involved. A lot of backstory and is divulged and questions the first book left unanswered are expanded upon, while still leaving the reader with many unknowns.
If I had to give some criticism it would have to be the way PoV is handled. The PoV switches every chapter to a different character. This in itself is not a problem and I found it sometimes even enhances the story by having some good cliffhangers. The problem is that sometimes while PoV characters are in the same scene, the PoV switches in the middle of a chapter, oftentimes without a clear cut. This caused me to be confused on whose PoV I was reading sometimes.
Overall this book is amazing. While I really liked Feathers of Gold, this book is more the style of book I like to read. This is definitely one of my favorite fantasy books in general. If anything in this or others review of this book or the previous one interest you even the slightest amount, I would highly recommend it.
May 25, 2023
Continuing the tale of the world of dragons coming into contact with the world of humans, this book stars the kind, modern dragon Pret. Despite starring the least alien dragon in its cast, one of the themes of the book is having dragony dragons, and the book takes a deconstructive attitude towards "dragon shifter" tropes. These dragons don't fit into human skin and they really don't want to.
I loved reading about Pret, who struck me as so empathetic that he was in danger of becoming vegetarian. The worldbuilding continues solidly from book 1, with a memorable gem in how one of the dragon cultures refers to the species of dragons as "us", "wolf-us", "lizard-us", and "eel-us". I love reading about ideas of magic and this book leans on its magic without revealing incoherence.
A few scenes of this book were too brutal for me, with one in particular being the reason why the book isn't 5 stars for me. The level of violence and misery is greatly increased from book 1. There was a point in the book where it almost felt too depressing to continue. There was an odd POV shift or two. I also think some of the events towards the end of the book come on a little suddenly. Despite these complaints, overall I really liked it.
I highly recommend both books in the Dragons and Skylines series, and I look forward to collecting this series as it grows.
I loved reading about Pret, who struck me as so empathetic that he was in danger of becoming vegetarian. The worldbuilding continues solidly from book 1, with a memorable gem in how one of the dragon cultures refers to the species of dragons as "us", "wolf-us", "lizard-us", and "eel-us". I love reading about ideas of magic and this book leans on its magic without revealing incoherence.
A few scenes of this book were too brutal for me, with one in particular being the reason why the book isn't 5 stars for me. The level of violence and misery is greatly increased from book 1. There was a point in the book where it almost felt too depressing to continue. There was an odd POV shift or two. I also think some of the events towards the end of the book come on a little suddenly. Despite these complaints, overall I really liked it.
I highly recommend both books in the Dragons and Skylines series, and I look forward to collecting this series as it grows.
September 1, 2023
A really good continuation that expands a lot of the world and delves into the backstory with really interesting results.
Most of the characters were great to be with, especially the dragons.
The weakest character was definitely Chris, who I felt was a frustrating person to be in the head of - and not in a good way. While Pret and Grith made a lot of bad choices and decisions, theirs always felt justified based on their character. Chris made even more bad choices, and they always seemed flimsy in justification even for his own character. I didn't understand how he could so blindly make the wrong decision over and over again, so I definitely found myself looking forward to the end of his chapters.
All the other PoVs were great, though. The new cast were excellent. Overall a great read!
Most of the characters were great to be with, especially the dragons.
The weakest character was definitely Chris, who I felt was a frustrating person to be in the head of - and not in a good way. While Pret and Grith made a lot of bad choices and decisions, theirs always felt justified based on their character. Chris made even more bad choices, and they always seemed flimsy in justification even for his own character. I didn't understand how he could so blindly make the wrong decision over and over again, so I definitely found myself looking forward to the end of his chapters.
All the other PoVs were great, though. The new cast were excellent. Overall a great read!
June 23, 2024
i loved the story and the expansion on known characters and new characters! (there was one character i didn't particularly enjoy. i'm sure you know which one)
this books really kicks the story into full swing. the first book i read slowly as i juggled a few different books and life. this book... i just couldn't put it down after i got to the half way point.
my one critique was the shifts in character perspective within a chapter, sometimes between a few paragraphs. it was a bit confusing at first but i fortunately got used to it slowly, having to read it a little closer.
this books really kicks the story into full swing. the first book i read slowly as i juggled a few different books and life. this book... i just couldn't put it down after i got to the half way point.
my one critique was the shifts in character perspective within a chapter, sometimes between a few paragraphs. it was a bit confusing at first but i fortunately got used to it slowly, having to read it a little closer.
June 22, 2023
Note: I'm a alpha reader of this book.
As the blurb hinted, there will be two POV character in this book, and it will interchange POV between chapters. This choice of narrative technique slows down the pace of story, but the writing made it well worth it when everything explode in your face near the end of the story. The pay off is worth it.
The two POV characters in this book are Pret, the Silver dragon; brother to Grith. And Chris, son of a high ranking wizard. Some maybe bother than the books turned from 100% Dragon POV in the first book into 50/50 split with a human. But rest assure that During Chris' time, we'll have another dragon on his side almost all the time so it doesn't feel like dragon fans will be missing anything.
Naturally, in this 2nd book, the stakes were higher than the first. But what set this sequel entry better than other series is that this book evalate the theme and even more laser focus on the core philosophical issue that the first story wanted told. It went into brutal reality of "Can human and dragon co-exist" that shows the ugly, bloody battles from both sides, and the beauty of such cooperation.
The new characters cast that was introduce in this book was certainly greatly expanded and many of these character would probably make a mark in the readers' mind. But if all else fail, I'm sure there is one dragon would most certainly be remembered in this journey.
In the review of the first book, I have mention I like how the story revolved around dragons in the modern setting. And this expanded the setting to greater extend, not only to the larger places of the humans cities, but dragons too. This book will show you the familiar places of humans and the fantastical places of dragons that makes you wonder how much more things the author had up her sleeves while she writing this. I can assure you, there are more than meets the eyes.
All in all, I rate this higher than the first book in all aspect of the book. The story had evolved from a simple "A dragon fighting evil human conquering the world." to something greater. The setting was greatly expanded. Theme intimately explored. I'm sure a readers who are a fan of dragons, would most certainly able to bring home something once they finish this book.
December 20, 2025
meh. the novelty of the first book didn't carry over for me. The writing isn't good enough for the kind of big, serious story thats supposed to happen. every character acts without thinking (even though the reader is supposed to think of them as very clever) constantly. Sometimes, they just turn off their brains completely and decide that - oh no! the consequences of my actions! Now I will think before I act! - and then they immediately act without thinking again. At least two characters also act so whiny all the time.
June 18, 2023
As a sequel of FoG, Eyes of Silver brings a entire different approach for the writing, with split POV for each chapter, switch between Pret, Chris, Grith and Lilith.. Which for the most part is nice to see whats happening for each character, but sometimes it annoyed me because the break of climax that happens during a switch on the final POV of some character, i believe in certain occasions it could extended to next chapter the same POV just to not break the immersion in that moment. But thats the only downside i see on this book, and it gets overshadow by its qualities, with likable protagonists and good pacing on the story. As the only warning i can give is some scenes are bloody, and that you will fell in love with Pret and Lilith, presuming you already love Grith too.. Finishing the book already made me eager to read the next one. And for the final note is that as a non-english speaker this book is really easy to read and to visualize everything. So i strongly reccomend this book if you read the first, and if you didn't yet GO NOW.
June 16, 2023
The story Continues
Strong continuation of the story of the dragons from Feathers of Gold. After the existence of magical creatures was revealed to the world in the last book, this time everyone must deal with the consequences.
Unfortunately, these consequences are not peaceful. This time, we follow the perspectives of four main characters. Alongside the likable titular and modern silver Pret and the somewhat wild golden Grith, the most intriguing character is the hybrid dragon Lilith, who has been held captive her whole life by humans while simultaneously being hated by dragons.
You can't help but feel sorry for her. I rated the first book, which had an introductory character, 5/5. This time, the plot has advanced, and the story is much more suspenseful.
The plot has also become more serious, with fewer comedic moments than in the first book and instead more heartbreaking moments. That makes sense when the fate of entire races hangs in the balance.
Overall, I like this book even better than the first one and can't wait for the next book in the trilogy.
Strong continuation of the story of the dragons from Feathers of Gold. After the existence of magical creatures was revealed to the world in the last book, this time everyone must deal with the consequences.
Unfortunately, these consequences are not peaceful. This time, we follow the perspectives of four main characters. Alongside the likable titular and modern silver Pret and the somewhat wild golden Grith, the most intriguing character is the hybrid dragon Lilith, who has been held captive her whole life by humans while simultaneously being hated by dragons.
You can't help but feel sorry for her. I rated the first book, which had an introductory character, 5/5. This time, the plot has advanced, and the story is much more suspenseful.
The plot has also become more serious, with fewer comedic moments than in the first book and instead more heartbreaking moments. That makes sense when the fate of entire races hangs in the balance.
Overall, I like this book even better than the first one and can't wait for the next book in the trilogy.
October 25, 2024
Please note: The original version of my review was crude and crass. I've since edited it to be more thoughtful and helpful.
I unfortunately DNF at 49%. Don't take that as a condemnation of Eyes of Silver. I write this to give potential-future readers an idea of how book two differs from the first, which I enjoyed more, and to briefly explain a few quibbles. Spoilers ahead:
I'll cover the greatest difference first: while Feathers of Gold is, notably for its first two thirds, a very character-focused story, Eyes of Silver focuses much more on a larger plot and world, leaving less room for the characters to develop.
Characters Elements:
The interesting characters range from naive to narrow-minded to sheltered, which would be fine but for that, by the time I stopped, the deeper whys of their motivations and behaviours aren't shown or hinted at. Their observations rarely stray from the plot. The character humour is, however, genuinely good.
Pret's naivety is odd. Despite having internet access and using Twitter, he's seemingly never been exposed to veganism or vegetarianism before. At one point, he's taken off-guard by a comment from the 'angry council member' (who's in every fictional council). The angry dragon implies that the lives of non-human animals have the same moral weight as those of humans—and Pret is shook. Said council member doesn't explain why he thinks that, which makes it look like a paper-thin statement that few ethical systems would struggle to refute.
The antagonistic factors are mostly uncompelling. They felt like flat conservatives. Hateable, but also uninteresting. Too much screen time despite it. Chris is a dislikable character from the first book, yet after his pov chapters, I still knew little about him. Admittedly, I didn't want to get to know him better. He makes for an odd pov character because of it. I'm unsure if I can count Lilith as an antagonist (I expect not), but she is by far the most interesting character in that part of the world and is a good character in her own right too.
Plot and World Elements:
I don't understand why neither Ashley nor the mayor prepares Grith for the questions she'll inevitably be asked, especially since Ashley is aware of how hostile people can be to magical beings, and the mayor would be used to being asked hard questions. It seems an obvious thing to do. Shouldn't they know she'll need help?
There's an attack on a certain group whose exposed and dangerous meeting seems to have an unnecessarily high number of attendees in the first place. The attack itself is predictable for a reader and logically should be for the characters yet isn't for the latter.
The magic and worldbuilding is interesting, especially on the dragon side of things, with vividly detailed magic, and the character names have a rather subtle but tasteful logic to their forms. The human side did feel neglected, which is less than ideal because they take up good, integral chunks of the story.
Style Elements:
There are more grammatical errors than expected. Not all that important, as none of the errors make any part hard to understand. Might be irksome.
Names are repeated at times when pronouns could've been used. Pretty minor. May bother some readers.
As for the descriptions, they sometimes had a too visible structural pattern that made them read as somewhat list-like. Even so, Lilith's pov had a strong narrative voice, and the dragons are still both wild and mythical, with dragon culture being fleshed out.
Pacing:
I won't spoil the exacts, but a lot happens in a short timeframe. Because it runs from big plot point to big plot point, it rushes over smaller bumps on the way, not giving enough space for smaller character moments, nor to build tension or to build up to the story moments for impact. That said, it's still an impressively big story for the page count. It gets a lot done.
I hope that Eyes of Silver does get better and that I judged it too early.
I unfortunately DNF at 49%. Don't take that as a condemnation of Eyes of Silver. I write this to give potential-future readers an idea of how book two differs from the first, which I enjoyed more, and to briefly explain a few quibbles. Spoilers ahead:
I'll cover the greatest difference first: while Feathers of Gold is, notably for its first two thirds, a very character-focused story, Eyes of Silver focuses much more on a larger plot and world, leaving less room for the characters to develop.
Characters Elements:
The interesting characters range from naive to narrow-minded to sheltered, which would be fine but for that, by the time I stopped, the deeper whys of their motivations and behaviours aren't shown or hinted at. Their observations rarely stray from the plot. The character humour is, however, genuinely good.
Pret's naivety is odd. Despite having internet access and using Twitter, he's seemingly never been exposed to veganism or vegetarianism before. At one point, he's taken off-guard by a comment from the 'angry council member' (who's in every fictional council). The angry dragon implies that the lives of non-human animals have the same moral weight as those of humans—and Pret is shook. Said council member doesn't explain why he thinks that, which makes it look like a paper-thin statement that few ethical systems would struggle to refute.
The antagonistic factors are mostly uncompelling. They felt like flat conservatives. Hateable, but also uninteresting. Too much screen time despite it. Chris is a dislikable character from the first book, yet after his pov chapters, I still knew little about him. Admittedly, I didn't want to get to know him better. He makes for an odd pov character because of it. I'm unsure if I can count Lilith as an antagonist (I expect not), but she is by far the most interesting character in that part of the world and is a good character in her own right too.
Plot and World Elements:
I don't understand why neither Ashley nor the mayor prepares Grith for the questions she'll inevitably be asked, especially since Ashley is aware of how hostile people can be to magical beings, and the mayor would be used to being asked hard questions. It seems an obvious thing to do. Shouldn't they know she'll need help?
There's an attack on a certain group whose exposed and dangerous meeting seems to have an unnecessarily high number of attendees in the first place. The attack itself is predictable for a reader and logically should be for the characters yet isn't for the latter.
The magic and worldbuilding is interesting, especially on the dragon side of things, with vividly detailed magic, and the character names have a rather subtle but tasteful logic to their forms. The human side did feel neglected, which is less than ideal because they take up good, integral chunks of the story.
Style Elements:
There are more grammatical errors than expected. Not all that important, as none of the errors make any part hard to understand. Might be irksome.
Names are repeated at times when pronouns could've been used. Pretty minor. May bother some readers.
As for the descriptions, they sometimes had a too visible structural pattern that made them read as somewhat list-like. Even so, Lilith's pov had a strong narrative voice, and the dragons are still both wild and mythical, with dragon culture being fleshed out.
Pacing:
I won't spoil the exacts, but a lot happens in a short timeframe. Because it runs from big plot point to big plot point, it rushes over smaller bumps on the way, not giving enough space for smaller character moments, nor to build tension or to build up to the story moments for impact. That said, it's still an impressively big story for the page count. It gets a lot done.
I hope that Eyes of Silver does get better and that I judged it too early.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2023
Just let me collect my wits...
This was an intense read, not that the first book was dull, far from it, but this second volume cranks it up.
Alternating POV and plot lines give a good pace, there was no obvious point where I could feel it losing steam.
Expectations are laid and turned around in unexpected ways, and the characters development is quite good.
The front ones were gripping, with an emotional load that can be hard to sustain at times. As much as the Feathers of Gold would rather be ok for all audiences, Eyes of Silver is for adult readers. Not only because of some explicit language or graphic violence, but because of the psychological load it carries, the changes and ordeals thrown at the characters.
They may or may not have the recovery or redemption paths, whatever applies but if so, it won't be a straight path.
I'll hold my breath until the next book (maybe I'll take a breath or two when nobody's watching, to avoid suffocating, but hush).
This was an intense read, not that the first book was dull, far from it, but this second volume cranks it up.
Alternating POV and plot lines give a good pace, there was no obvious point where I could feel it losing steam.
Expectations are laid and turned around in unexpected ways, and the characters development is quite good.
The front ones were gripping, with an emotional load that can be hard to sustain at times. As much as the Feathers of Gold would rather be ok for all audiences, Eyes of Silver is for adult readers. Not only because of some explicit language or graphic violence, but because of the psychological load it carries, the changes and ordeals thrown at the characters.
They may or may not have the recovery or redemption paths, whatever applies but if so, it won't be a straight path.
I'll hold my breath until the next book (maybe I'll take a breath or two when nobody's watching, to avoid suffocating, but hush).
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