Dragon King's Bane: An Epic Fantasy Adventure

Mountainfall Academy #1

by A.J. Jontz

In Aidan’s world, magic means power.

Indebted to a cruel duke, Aidan and his older brother make ends meet by tending sheep out in the country. It’s a bit boring, and the sheep can get really stinky, but Aidan wouldn’t have it any other way. His brother is the only family he has left.

When his brother is taken, Aidan refuses to sit by and do nothing. He enrolls in Mountainfall Academy to become a powerful Mage or Adventurer.

From the moment he enters the academy, it’s clear the deck is stacked against him. He’s an outcast with little knowledge of magic and a rival who’ll stop at nothing to get him expelled. With the help of some new friends, he might survive his first year, but only if he can learn to control his unique magic.

If you love coming of age magic academy stories with found families, dragons, and other mythical creatures, Mountainfall Academy is for you. A clean teen high fantasy novel that adults will enjoy as well, this adventure is perfect for fans of Robyn Wideman, Pedro Urvi, and DK Holmberg.

Genres: Fantasy

559 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 27, 2025

Reviews

[Michael Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Great book I can't wait to read the next book in the series I would recommend this author to anyone

[Delibes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragon King’s Bane by A.J. Jontz
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)

In Dragon King’s Bane, A.J. Jontz delivers a compelling coming-of-age fantasy filled with magic, mystery, and a surprisingly emotional depth. Set in a world where magic equals power, we follow Aidan, a sheep herder whose quiet life is upended when his older brother—the only family he has—is taken from him. What begins as a personal quest quickly escalates into something far greater as Aidan enrolls in Mountainfall Academy to learn the ways of magic and adventuring.

From the first chapter, the stakes feel real. Aidan is not your typical fantasy prodigy—he’s an underdog with very little knowledge of magic and a target on his back. This makes his journey through the academy all the more gripping, especially as he’s forced to navigate rivalries, social isolation, and the burden of a unique magical gift he doesn’t fully understand.

One of the standout elements of the novel is the worldbuilding. Jontz crafts a vivid magical society with its own hierarchies, rules, and secrets. The school setting, while familiar in the genre, feels fresh due to the author’s attention to detail and well-paced exposition. But what truly kept the pages turning was the layered mystery surrounding Aidan’s heritage. Hints are dropped masterfully throughout the story, leading to a resolution that, while somewhat predictable, is satisfying and beautifully executed. Even if you start to suspect the truth, Jontz makes the journey rewarding with rich character development and emotional moments.

While the novel earns high marks for its writing and immersive world, a few areas—such as some side characters and pacing in the middle—could have benefited from further development. Nonetheless, Dragon King’s Bane stands as a strong start to what promises to be an engaging series.

A.J. Jontz’s Dragon King’s Bane is a rewarding fantasy adventure, especially for readers who enjoy underdog protagonists, magical academies, and family-driven stakes. With vivid worldbuilding and a well-handled central mystery, this is a debut that makes a mark—and leaves you eager for the next installment.

#netgalley #dragonkingsbane

[Priya | fablesandstarlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, AJ Jontz, and BooksGoSocial for the eARC of this book! Dragon King's Bane is a solid YA fantasy that took me by surprise! The story follows Aidan who lives out in the countryside with his older brother as they struggle to earn money to pay their debt to the Duke back. Both Aidan and Damian have elemental magic, however, Damian has forbidden Aidan from using his magic (though he is very secretive as to why they need to hide their abilities). Unfortunately, when the Duke comes and takes Damian away, Aidan has no choice but to enroll in a magical academy with hopes of eventually earning enough money after he graduates to pay back the debt to the Duke and get his brother back. There was good worldbuilding, and I love that most MCs were around 15-17 and acted their age (and didn't come across as immature at all!). I adore a magical academy setting, and while this concept has been done many a time before, I feel this story was very well executed and still felt like a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed the concept of mages, rangers, and adventurers. The found family elements between the first years was very enjoyable as well and it was nice to see Aidan (who grew up relying on himself and his brother) to open himself up to trusting and relying on others as well. The Multi POV chapters really added to the story and allowed me to appreciate and connect with the characters on a deeper level (I really like Rika as a character!). If you like magical academies, elemental magic, secret bloodlines, found family, Multi POV... I suggest adding this to your TBR! Also I suspect dragons may play a big role in the next book and I'm ready for it.

[Richard Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love discovering new writers, and this one, I think, will go far.

The story begins with a pair of orphans who lost their parents in a mysterious magical mishap. Aidan and Damian have nothing left but each other—until the older brother is taken away by the duke they're indentured to. With nothing left to lose, Aidan enrolls in an ultra-competitive magic academy where failure means slavery, and a bitter rival would love to see Aidan in chains.

This novel is right up there with the best in YA fantasy. It reminded me of Pedro Urvi's "The Traitor's Son," which I read and loved. I'd even go so far as to compare it favorably with "The Name of the Wind," though this is more clean high fantasy and less grimdark.

Bring on the next one! I'm along for the ride.

[Trey richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly Common

The story is very simplistic. It’s entertaining to a degree but unfortunately the author took too long (till the end of the book) to show any relevant progress of the main character. I mean that from a magical and knowledgeable stand point. Magically the MC literally didn’t get any real usage out of it until the final scene meaning you spend 99% with a fairly inept character. To make matters worse worst he was around people that could have given answers to some of the mysteries and they decided not to share for fairly asinine reasons. Even when answers came there was no curveball or surprise and so that further contributed to the anti climatic reveal. Overall not a horrible read, it’s just a very basic novel.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good wild ride!

I really liked the mystery angle, the world development, each of the friends, the different kinds of magic. I already so liked to hate the many, varied antagonists. I enjoyed how the chapters switched to his brother occasionally. It was nice to catch up on perils he went through. I highly recommend.

[Jacqueline Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

my mountain fall experience

It was a good book with a lot of well written characters and a great friendship dynamic in the main group. I would suggest it to anyone looking for a good fantasy read.

[Bbarkerwi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like it, but it’s SO slow

Unfortunately there was really nothing about the story that grabbed my interest in the first 35% of the book and it was honestly tedious to read.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

enticing story from multiple angles

Love the story telling and the world built around the main characters. This page turner took my attention for a whole day that was well spent burning through the pages. Can’t wait to read book two

[Alishia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the read

This book was well written, an excellent example of slow immersion into the world the characters live in. Great sense of characters, and set up for the next book. A good read for sure!

[Heidi Karriker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book one

This is clearly a book one so if you like things wrapped up by the end this is not for you.
If you like coming of age stories, magic academies and epic YA fantasies then I would recommend you give this a try.

[Kate - Lekxareads · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️
Format: 🎧

Story has great potential but the repetition of the word “said” was really distracting.
Sometimes it’s just a writing style mismatch, and unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you PodiumEntertainment for the ARC.

[Kathy Brickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting new adventure series! It does end, but definitely leaves you wanting more and waiting for the next book in the series! Amazing world to read about!

[Jim Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice epilogue

Started slow but got better... Then it got worse... Then it got better and ended well. Ended with an excellent epilogue.

[Karoline Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon King

Well written. Good character development. Story flows evenly. Looking forward to the next book. Looking forward to reading to my grandkids.

[Jeff Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Harry Potterish kind of story with a few twists.

This was a good story line with intriguing plot twists. I can’t wait to see the next spine tingling step in the adventure.

[Johnie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression types of books with lots of action.

[Roger H. Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

This is starting to be a great series. The story is well put together and well written. Well done A J.

[Julie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!

I really liked this book. Lots of adventures. I liked all of the characters and the pranks that were pulled.

[John R. Acton · Rating 5 out of 5]

surprisingly captivating

I picked this book up on a whim and just couldn’t put it down.
Fast paced lots of sub plots. A fun read

[Cynde S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a great start to a series.

I have lived reading this first book in a new series. I am now going g to look for the second one. Happy reading.

[RCDinsmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good

A little Harry Potter, a little Eragon, a little something new... one thing is for sure it's a good read and a lot of fun.

[H.S. Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read!

Love this story! Great characters and setting. Ohh! Can I please, please, pretty please have one of the lizards?! Great job!