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Exile #1
Stone Man
Tara has a contract with the dragons to maintain the safety of her kingdom, but it has to stay a secret from her uncle, the scheming Lord Ruben, or else she faces exile or worse.
Now, between her growing friendship with an untrustworthy foreign princess, secret meetings with the court alchemist, and the dragon she's been sneaking out to negotiate with, Tara's position has never been more precarious.
When the dragons ask for her help to discover what's happening at a remote mountainside, she discovers dark secrets about her friends, her family, and the mountain itself, secrets that put not only her own life in danger, but the future of the whole kingdom.
Now, between her growing friendship with an untrustworthy foreign princess, secret meetings with the court alchemist, and the dragon she's been sneaking out to negotiate with, Tara's position has never been more precarious.
When the dragons ask for her help to discover what's happening at a remote mountainside, she discovers dark secrets about her friends, her family, and the mountain itself, secrets that put not only her own life in danger, but the future of the whole kingdom.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 10, 2015
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 24, 2016
A great start to the beginning of a wonderful writing career! I've been slowly getting out of a reading slump lately and not a lot has been able to hold my attention as of late, but this book kept me reading. It's an intriguing story and I'm curious how it will progress! Now waiting for the next book in the series.
November 27, 2018
Although this is a book for children, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a substantial story, so it took me a while to read it. Told in the first person through the eyes of Lady Tara, a young woman who becomes the Lady in Waiting to the princess who has come to marry Prince Caleb, she is beset by doubts about the newcomer – is she an enemy of some kind and why does she keep following Tara? She is indeed a young woman with secrets. But Tara is herself a person with a secret – a big secret – that she doesn’t want her uncle and guardian, Lord Ruben, to know about.
Into this setting comes Bryn, a glorious golden dragon. Apart from the fact that he has the name of my ex-husband, I tried to ignore that fact because I rather like the creature that can turn into a beautiful human man and has an interesting personality. Incidentally, the name ‘Bryn’ is Welsh for ‘hill’, and we all know that dragons live in caves in hillsides or mountainsides. I wonder if the author knows that – although I expect she does. So, what is the connection between Tara and Bryn the dragon? Through the dragon, she learns of a dangerous situation and she is the only one who can save her kingdom from destruction – a terrifying thought for a young girl.
I found this story delightful and absorbing, with characters who really come to life. There are incidents of dry humour too – I was going to quote a line then realised it would be a spoiler. It made me giggle though – I could imagine my grandson Jacob giggling at it!
I’m really hoping to be able to get my hands on the next book. Five Stars from me.
Into this setting comes Bryn, a glorious golden dragon. Apart from the fact that he has the name of my ex-husband, I tried to ignore that fact because I rather like the creature that can turn into a beautiful human man and has an interesting personality. Incidentally, the name ‘Bryn’ is Welsh for ‘hill’, and we all know that dragons live in caves in hillsides or mountainsides. I wonder if the author knows that – although I expect she does. So, what is the connection between Tara and Bryn the dragon? Through the dragon, she learns of a dangerous situation and she is the only one who can save her kingdom from destruction – a terrifying thought for a young girl.
I found this story delightful and absorbing, with characters who really come to life. There are incidents of dry humour too – I was going to quote a line then realised it would be a spoiler. It made me giggle though – I could imagine my grandson Jacob giggling at it!
I’m really hoping to be able to get my hands on the next book. Five Stars from me.
April 12, 2015
This is a really fun book! I loved the characters in it. While details were intriguingly hidden from the reader at first (as they should be), this didn't make the book difficult to grasp. Things happened that were very funny as well as it being a solid adventurous book. **SPOILER** [A dragon flying into the middle of a castle at night while the other main characters are attempting to pick a lock to prevent said appearance is one of my favourite scenes.] But it's not all light-hearted fun - this book has its hair-raising, edge-of-your-seat moments where you hope you don't get interrupted reading before you get through it.
The interactions between the two main female characters (Tara and 'Sid') are wonderful, especially as there is some great character development, both individually and for their relationship. While this book is written from the first person perspective of a female character, it doesn't have the swooning, sickly, over-written love passages that far too often spoil this kind of format. There's also a healthy dose of brutal reality at times (injuries etc). This is a book that both male and female readers should enjoy.
The one thing I didn't like as much was the jarring difference between the world of the castle (most of the first half of the book) and the world of the mountain (most of the book's climax), which is partly because I enjoyed the castle story so much. I am looking forward to more of that world in the sequel(s)!
The interactions between the two main female characters (Tara and 'Sid') are wonderful, especially as there is some great character development, both individually and for their relationship. While this book is written from the first person perspective of a female character, it doesn't have the swooning, sickly, over-written love passages that far too often spoil this kind of format. There's also a healthy dose of brutal reality at times (injuries etc). This is a book that both male and female readers should enjoy.
The one thing I didn't like as much was the jarring difference between the world of the castle (most of the first half of the book) and the world of the mountain (most of the book's climax), which is partly because I enjoyed the castle story so much. I am looking forward to more of that world in the sequel(s)!
April 18, 2015
A fun fantasy adventure with a likeable heroine, a dragon, unreliable magic and a scheming uncle. Deserves a sequel.
The protagonist is Tara, who lives in a castle as ward of her uncle, the King’s right-hand man. Tara is secretly engaged to marry a dragon, which makes her life complicated. Then she’s assigned to look after a dazzlingly beautiful foreign princess who’s arrived to marry the heir to the throne. And something nasty is stirring in the magical forest…
The writing is well edited and very readable throughout. Though the setting features familiar fantasy ideas, it’s original and interesting. Refreshingly, Tara isn’t skilled with weapons or magic, yet is still likeable and pro-active. The story gets going quickly, doesn’t sag in the middle, and is funny.
There’s no romance to speak of, which I think is no bad thing. If that’s what you like you’ll need to use your imagination.
The protagonist is Tara, who lives in a castle as ward of her uncle, the King’s right-hand man. Tara is secretly engaged to marry a dragon, which makes her life complicated. Then she’s assigned to look after a dazzlingly beautiful foreign princess who’s arrived to marry the heir to the throne. And something nasty is stirring in the magical forest…
The writing is well edited and very readable throughout. Though the setting features familiar fantasy ideas, it’s original and interesting. Refreshingly, Tara isn’t skilled with weapons or magic, yet is still likeable and pro-active. The story gets going quickly, doesn’t sag in the middle, and is funny.
There’s no romance to speak of, which I think is no bad thing. If that’s what you like you’ll need to use your imagination.
April 12, 2015
I REALLY enjoyed this book! It was easy for me to get into the plot and the characters, and I often found myself unwilling to put the book down when I needed to go do other things! I am definitely excited to continue reading books in this series and find out what happens! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good YA fantasy for sure!!!
March 25, 2016
Loved it! Intriguing and exciting. Also, dragons. Can't wait for more from this former roommate of mine. :)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews