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The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood
High schooler Crispin Haugen already has so many identities to sort through―Asian, Scandinavian, not to mention gay. Then a messenger from another world arrives to tell him he also carries the blood of dragons in his veins.
Transported to the Realm of Fire, where dragons and humans live in harmony, Crispin falls for Davix, a brooding, nerdy scholar. But dark mysteries threaten the peace of Crispin’s new world. Without warning, dragons from the Realm of Air unleash a bloody war.
With everything he cares about on the line, Crispin must find the courage to fight...for justice and for love.
The writing of this book was supported by the Toronto Arts Council with funding from the City of Toronto.
Transported to the Realm of Fire, where dragons and humans live in harmony, Crispin falls for Davix, a brooding, nerdy scholar. But dark mysteries threaten the peace of Crispin’s new world. Without warning, dragons from the Realm of Air unleash a bloody war.
With everything he cares about on the line, Crispin must find the courage to fight...for justice and for love.
The writing of this book was supported by the Toronto Arts Council with funding from the City of Toronto.
- GenresLGBT
332 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2020
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63 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 16, 2021
This book... This book has me befuddled. The saying is true folks. Never judge a book by its cover. Or its snappy title.
As always, I went into it having no clue what it was about so judging from the YA contemporary cliches I was subjected to in the first couple of chapters, I thought I'd be getting a low fantasy about an awkward teenage boy navigating a magical heritage and high school. That's not what it was.
Soon after, Crispin discovers that his blood is special. "Yer a dragon Crispin". Additionally, this couldn't have come at a more opportune moment since Crispin had just been outed at school and he didn't want to deal with the fallout from the dramatic way it happened. It involved dirty poetry. Having gotten the chance to get away from it all, Crispin runs off to the dragon world chaperons where he has to layabout in a hotel instead of delving into his new heritage because again, that's not what this was.
Because this book suffers from an identity crisis, not one but two murders happen at the hands on an intruder. With chapters inspired from Agatha Christie practice stories, this intruder too got his own pov chapters as he contemplated and carried out his dastardly crimes. So I then wondered whether, along with Crispin figuring out what his dragon blood is supposed to do, a murder mystery is afoot. But that's not what this was.
Crispin, in his new world, still reeling from the events that had unfolded back home locks eyes with teenage zealot Davix and so I again wondered if this was a YA gay fantasy. Nope. Because there are prophecies, fog, religion, heresy, meteorology and a dragon, yes this time a real dragon, who only spoke fluent poem.
Seriously, it's even stylized like this:
This book was a mix of sci fi, fantasy, young adult contemporary. I wish it had the guts to pick a genre and run with it. The story was also poorly paced and couldn't figure out what the most important thing about it was.
They could just call it How to Bang A Dragon and Do War.
Did I hate it? I don't know. Did I love it? I most certainly didn't.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
As always, I went into it having no clue what it was about so judging from the YA contemporary cliches I was subjected to in the first couple of chapters, I thought I'd be getting a low fantasy about an awkward teenage boy navigating a magical heritage and high school. That's not what it was.
Soon after, Crispin discovers that his blood is special. "Yer a dragon Crispin". Additionally, this couldn't have come at a more opportune moment since Crispin had just been outed at school and he didn't want to deal with the fallout from the dramatic way it happened. It involved dirty poetry. Having gotten the chance to get away from it all, Crispin runs off to the dragon world chaperons where he has to layabout in a hotel instead of delving into his new heritage because again, that's not what this was.
Because this book suffers from an identity crisis, not one but two murders happen at the hands on an intruder. With chapters inspired from Agatha Christie practice stories, this intruder too got his own pov chapters as he contemplated and carried out his dastardly crimes. So I then wondered whether, along with Crispin figuring out what his dragon blood is supposed to do, a murder mystery is afoot. But that's not what this was.
Crispin, in his new world, still reeling from the events that had unfolded back home locks eyes with teenage zealot Davix and so I again wondered if this was a YA gay fantasy. Nope. Because there are prophecies, fog, religion, heresy, meteorology and a dragon, yes this time a real dragon, who only spoke fluent poem.
Seriously, it's even stylized like this:
LIKE LIFE ITSELF/THE FOXES LOVE TO BE LOVED/UNTIL THEY DON'T/AND YOU TUMBLE INTO THE BLACK EMBRACE/OF INCONSOLABLE ETERNITY.That got old fast. And no don't expect this to be poetry because that's not what this book was.
This book was a mix of sci fi, fantasy, young adult contemporary. I wish it had the guts to pick a genre and run with it. The story was also poorly paced and couldn't figure out what the most important thing about it was.
They could just call it How to Bang A Dragon and Do War.
Did I hate it? I don't know. Did I love it? I most certainly didn't.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
December 28, 2020
[CW: nsfw, violence, blood, death, mentions of suicide, swearing, grief, bullying, bruises, homophobia, homicide, mentions of murder]
This is a good book. Not a perfect one, but surely entertaining and fun to read. Crispin was an interesting main character, though my favorite character in the book was Davix: he was often afraid and impulsive, and would say things as they happened, without romanticizing them, characteriswtics which I’m not used to seeing in protagonists. He also made several pop culture references and used ‘internet slangs’ (such as ‘OMG’ and ‘DILF’) throughout the book and that can be positive, but at least to me, it felt excessive and a bit unnatural in this book.
As to the pacing, it felt... messy. The first 60% of the book had a rhythm while the rest had another, both making me feel like I was reading two different books: the first was more lighthearted, while the latter felt more dramatic and sad. I didn’t notice a clear transition between those two parts, so that could’ve been smoother. Plus, it would’ve been beneficial to have more drama and sadness in the first part so they’d match and actually feel like two parts of the same work. At times, I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of lore, as if that was being thrown at me, and maybe that was done deliberately, since that was probably what Crispin himself felt while being thrown in a whole new realm, but it did feel weird.
I like some of the plot twists, I can say that: the death of a dragon wasn’t what I’d previously expected and the concept of an attack by the Realm of Air was good, though I felt like the build up to that was poorly developed. A mention about social aspects of and how were the dragons of the other Realms would’ve been a nice touch. While plot twists should be unexpected, what makes them good is that they could be noticed if the reader looked at the right places at the right times. Thus, the thing about plot twists isn’t how unexpected it is, but the ability of the author to manipulate the reader’s attention at will, to specific points and scenarios.
Most characters were multifaceted, which I very much liked, and I’ll dedicate this paragraph to Davix, because... well, as I said before, I love him. His was my favorite character development in the whole book: he starts as serious and grumpy nerd who’s very responsible and strict. I instantly liked him, because I’m predictable and enjoy this character type. Throughout the story, he softened to Crispin. His vulnerabilities started to show: his grief towards one of his friends who died by the beginning of the book, the start of his defiance towards authority blossoming, with him questioning the law more and more, but also the guilt to do so, because that meant betraying the entities and codes he’d always admired and worshipped. Despite being a scholar and not a soldier, he’s a true warrior, wielding his intelligence to make up strategies, which is shown near the end of the book. And also through him, it becomes clear that the dragons and others in power can be corrupt and are flawed, an interesting aspect: the dragons are human in their core (not literally, but an interpretation).
So, I’ll end this review with my usual ‘read this book if...’: if you enjoy pop culture references in books, multifaceted, honest and morally gray characters, as well as seeking a whole lot of lore, then... well, this book is for you!
This is a good book. Not a perfect one, but surely entertaining and fun to read. Crispin was an interesting main character, though my favorite character in the book was Davix: he was often afraid and impulsive, and would say things as they happened, without romanticizing them, characteriswtics which I’m not used to seeing in protagonists. He also made several pop culture references and used ‘internet slangs’ (such as ‘OMG’ and ‘DILF’) throughout the book and that can be positive, but at least to me, it felt excessive and a bit unnatural in this book.
As to the pacing, it felt... messy. The first 60% of the book had a rhythm while the rest had another, both making me feel like I was reading two different books: the first was more lighthearted, while the latter felt more dramatic and sad. I didn’t notice a clear transition between those two parts, so that could’ve been smoother. Plus, it would’ve been beneficial to have more drama and sadness in the first part so they’d match and actually feel like two parts of the same work. At times, I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of lore, as if that was being thrown at me, and maybe that was done deliberately, since that was probably what Crispin himself felt while being thrown in a whole new realm, but it did feel weird.
I like some of the plot twists, I can say that: the death of a dragon wasn’t what I’d previously expected and the concept of an attack by the Realm of Air was good, though I felt like the build up to that was poorly developed. A mention about social aspects of and how were the dragons of the other Realms would’ve been a nice touch. While plot twists should be unexpected, what makes them good is that they could be noticed if the reader looked at the right places at the right times. Thus, the thing about plot twists isn’t how unexpected it is, but the ability of the author to manipulate the reader’s attention at will, to specific points and scenarios.
Most characters were multifaceted, which I very much liked, and I’ll dedicate this paragraph to Davix, because... well, as I said before, I love him. His was my favorite character development in the whole book: he starts as serious and grumpy nerd who’s very responsible and strict. I instantly liked him, because I’m predictable and enjoy this character type. Throughout the story, he softened to Crispin. His vulnerabilities started to show: his grief towards one of his friends who died by the beginning of the book, the start of his defiance towards authority blossoming, with him questioning the law more and more, but also the guilt to do so, because that meant betraying the entities and codes he’d always admired and worshipped. Despite being a scholar and not a soldier, he’s a true warrior, wielding his intelligence to make up strategies, which is shown near the end of the book. And also through him, it becomes clear that the dragons and others in power can be corrupt and are flawed, an interesting aspect: the dragons are human in their core (not literally, but an interpretation).
So, I’ll end this review with my usual ‘read this book if...’: if you enjoy pop culture references in books, multifaceted, honest and morally gray characters, as well as seeking a whole lot of lore, then... well, this book is for you!
July 6, 2021
This book is astonishingly great. Like, can’t-wait-to-continue but also can’t-read-too-much-at-a-time-because-then-it-will-be-over-and-I-won’t-have-any-more great.
The world building, the language, the poetry-spouting dragon. The way each character has a separate and distinct voice. The way humor is sprinkled in perfect places, making the heartbreak and growing pains pierce even more sharply. The way every character has their own version of Crispin’s name. (I (metaphorically) flung my ebook across the room at the genius of that. If there’s a better way to write about coming of age/coming of identity, I don’t know what it is.)
I’m not sure if he’s planning a sequel to Dubious but J. Marshall Freeman is a one-click author for me, no question, based on this work, and I cannot wait for more of whatever he’d like to give.
The world building, the language, the poetry-spouting dragon. The way each character has a separate and distinct voice. The way humor is sprinkled in perfect places, making the heartbreak and growing pains pierce even more sharply. The way every character has their own version of Crispin’s name. (I (metaphorically) flung my ebook across the room at the genius of that. If there’s a better way to write about coming of age/coming of identity, I don’t know what it is.)
I’m not sure if he’s planning a sequel to Dubious but J. Marshall Freeman is a one-click author for me, no question, based on this work, and I cannot wait for more of whatever he’d like to give.
January 20, 2021
3.5 Stars
Crispin is a high school senior and out to his friends, but not his parents, and he's secretly hooking up with his long-time friend, who happens to be dating the coolest girl in school. Crispin thinks he's falling hard for his buddy, but he's clearly not comfortable or interested in coming out--or even reciprocating.
Crispin is stunned to learn that he is one of 20 beings on Earth who hold the sacred Copper blood of dragons. That there are realms of beings beyond Earth where dragons and magic exists. It's overwhelming, but it's also and unexpected escape hatch when his personal life explodes in spectacularly embarrassing fashion.
The Realm of Fire is a very different experience filled with pomp and etiquette that is unfamiliar. The People of this realm had been hand-picked and curated by the Five dragons that remain in the Realm. There are also dragons in the Realm of Air and the Realm of Water, but there are few connections between the Realms--especially on account of battles between these realms. In the Realm of Fire, Crispin is meant to be the stud to the Queen of the dragons, and he's not sure how he will be able to do this...being an avowed gay person. And, he's definitely interested in males. He's so into Davix, an Atmospherics apprentice who is linked into some intrigue that might reveal a significant threat to the Dragons and life in the Realm.
This is a carefully constructed fantasy, with intense world building and unique situations and language creation. Crispin's adventure truly schools him into maturity, taking on the mantle of pseudo-power that stems from his position as the Dragon Groom, fighting the tyranny of zealots in the Realm who eschew any growth in their religion. There is interesting technology, and the sense that the dragons serve as somewhat disconnected god-custodians who have interesting and unique gifts and roles. The People are not allowed to copulate to produce more offspring than their world can sustain, and it's very common for same-sex "fleshmates" to provide comfort and sexual release for their friends who are not currently paired. There is community rearing of the young People, which allows for allegiance to be built to the Dragons rather than family groups, which was really interesting to me--and Crispin.
It's a bit of an epic, with battles and intrigue and love growing between Crispin and Davix, even while each is struggling to NOT be banished from the Realm. Davis loves the dragons of the Fire Realm, but in order to save them he makes an unforgivable choice, one that could cost his life. And Crispin's solution is immediate, but less well thought out than it needed to be. Be ready to tuck into this one over the course of some days as it's long. And, though the story resolves it's not the end of the mayhem. Expect all sorts of magical and fantastical beasts, battles, unexpected double-crosses, chimeric beasts and prophesy that put both Crispin and Davix in the crosshairs of fate for their respective Realms. I liked it, and would recommend this book for readers who enjoy high fantasy, YA with super LGBTQ-friendly themes and representation, and a plethora of hyphens, because this book might could have the World's Record on those.
Crispin is a high school senior and out to his friends, but not his parents, and he's secretly hooking up with his long-time friend, who happens to be dating the coolest girl in school. Crispin thinks he's falling hard for his buddy, but he's clearly not comfortable or interested in coming out--or even reciprocating.
Crispin is stunned to learn that he is one of 20 beings on Earth who hold the sacred Copper blood of dragons. That there are realms of beings beyond Earth where dragons and magic exists. It's overwhelming, but it's also and unexpected escape hatch when his personal life explodes in spectacularly embarrassing fashion.
The Realm of Fire is a very different experience filled with pomp and etiquette that is unfamiliar. The People of this realm had been hand-picked and curated by the Five dragons that remain in the Realm. There are also dragons in the Realm of Air and the Realm of Water, but there are few connections between the Realms--especially on account of battles between these realms. In the Realm of Fire, Crispin is meant to be the stud to the Queen of the dragons, and he's not sure how he will be able to do this...being an avowed gay person. And, he's definitely interested in males. He's so into Davix, an Atmospherics apprentice who is linked into some intrigue that might reveal a significant threat to the Dragons and life in the Realm.
This is a carefully constructed fantasy, with intense world building and unique situations and language creation. Crispin's adventure truly schools him into maturity, taking on the mantle of pseudo-power that stems from his position as the Dragon Groom, fighting the tyranny of zealots in the Realm who eschew any growth in their religion. There is interesting technology, and the sense that the dragons serve as somewhat disconnected god-custodians who have interesting and unique gifts and roles. The People are not allowed to copulate to produce more offspring than their world can sustain, and it's very common for same-sex "fleshmates" to provide comfort and sexual release for their friends who are not currently paired. There is community rearing of the young People, which allows for allegiance to be built to the Dragons rather than family groups, which was really interesting to me--and Crispin.
It's a bit of an epic, with battles and intrigue and love growing between Crispin and Davix, even while each is struggling to NOT be banished from the Realm. Davis loves the dragons of the Fire Realm, but in order to save them he makes an unforgivable choice, one that could cost his life. And Crispin's solution is immediate, but less well thought out than it needed to be. Be ready to tuck into this one over the course of some days as it's long. And, though the story resolves it's not the end of the mayhem. Expect all sorts of magical and fantastical beasts, battles, unexpected double-crosses, chimeric beasts and prophesy that put both Crispin and Davix in the crosshairs of fate for their respective Realms. I liked it, and would recommend this book for readers who enjoy high fantasy, YA with super LGBTQ-friendly themes and representation, and a plethora of hyphens, because this book might could have the World's Record on those.
September 22, 2023
I hate to give this book 3 stars, but after completing the last third, I have to round that 3.5 down instead of up.
Let's start with the positives. The worldbuilding of the Realm of Fire is solid, and the dragons are fantastic. Renrit and Sur are inspirations (OK, mainly Sur) - I too wish to speak in poetry, have fluffy foxes to accompany me, and be incredibly badass. The culture and way of life of the Realm is thoroughly explored, and its handling made for a fantastic setting.
Now, the issues. There are generally two main problems - character, and plot.
Crispin is a gay teenager who ends up in the Realm of Fire, where he meets Davix, and a whole cast of other characters. Unfortunately, Crispin is incredibly culturally insensitive, occasionally very rude (in a way that feels authentic as a teenager but makes him unbearable as a protagonist), and keeps on being irritating into the end of part four. I could not get myself to like him, even though there *is* a lot to relate to and it is just overshadowed by him spouting lies and mocking people in public.
Davix on the other hand is a great character who goes sorely underdeveloped and is thrown into a very ambiguous situation at the end of the book where some of his perspective would have been nice. While his role in the story is not as important as Crispin's, the biggest changes of his entire life happen with basically no warning, and it feels like his feelings are shoved aside by the writer in favor of Crispin's perspective during a time when his feelings should matter the most.
Beyond this, the way they come to like one another feels quite contrived.
Thankfully, the remainder of the supporting cast is much more balanced and is mostly handled excellently (with one exception in the ).
The other issue is the plot. While overall, it works well, the invasion described in the blurb on the back cover and is a chaotic, messy series of events that don't entirely make sense and which come with multiple back to back deus-ex-machinas that ruin much of it. The main antagonist's reckoning coupled with Davix's role do help balance this out, but not enough to make up for how uncomfortable the pacing is and how contrived it feels at times. The falling action is also a rushed, messy wreck and the book ends with what seems to be a dozen unresolved plot threads.
Overall though, this wasn't a bad journey. The exploration of the Realm of Fire's society is legitimately interesting, and I completed the work quite fond of quite a few characters.
Alas, the protagonist was not one of them.
Let's start with the positives. The worldbuilding of the Realm of Fire is solid, and the dragons are fantastic. Renrit and Sur are inspirations (OK, mainly Sur) - I too wish to speak in poetry, have fluffy foxes to accompany me, and be incredibly badass. The culture and way of life of the Realm is thoroughly explored, and its handling made for a fantastic setting.
Now, the issues. There are generally two main problems - character, and plot.
Crispin is a gay teenager who ends up in the Realm of Fire, where he meets Davix, and a whole cast of other characters. Unfortunately, Crispin is incredibly culturally insensitive, occasionally very rude (in a way that feels authentic as a teenager but makes him unbearable as a protagonist), and keeps on being irritating into the end of part four. I could not get myself to like him, even though there *is* a lot to relate to and it is just overshadowed by him spouting lies and mocking people in public.
Davix on the other hand is a great character who goes sorely underdeveloped and is thrown into a very ambiguous situation at the end of the book where some of his perspective would have been nice. While his role in the story is not as important as Crispin's, the biggest changes of his entire life happen with basically no warning, and it feels like his feelings are shoved aside by the writer in favor of Crispin's perspective during a time when his feelings should matter the most.
Beyond this, the way they come to like one another feels quite contrived.
Thankfully, the remainder of the supporting cast is much more balanced and is mostly handled excellently (with one exception in the ).
The other issue is the plot. While overall, it works well, the invasion described in the blurb on the back cover and is a chaotic, messy series of events that don't entirely make sense and which come with multiple back to back deus-ex-machinas that ruin much of it. The main antagonist's reckoning coupled with Davix's role do help balance this out, but not enough to make up for how uncomfortable the pacing is and how contrived it feels at times. The falling action is also a rushed, messy wreck and the book ends with what seems to be a dozen unresolved plot threads.
Overall though, this wasn't a bad journey. The exploration of the Realm of Fire's society is legitimately interesting, and I completed the work quite fond of quite a few characters.
Alas, the protagonist was not one of them.
April 3, 2021
Full disclosure, I didn't finish reading this book so it's possible that it picked up.
I wish there was something between "did not like" and "it was okay." The first book in a series is always going to be challenging because you have a lot of world building to do while also advancing story and plot but I found there were too many scenes that were almost exclusively dedicated to world building that could have been cut for scenes that advanced the story or plot (e.g. there's a scene where the protagonist goes to learn dinner etiquette which felt superfluous to me). I also found it odd that the protagonist Crispin found himself transported to a new world and spent more time (literally almost all of his time) mooning over a cute boy he'd met than thinking about his parents and how his sudden disappearance might be affecting them. It seemed odd to me. Weirdly, I also thought the story Crispin had going before he left earth was way more interesting than the one he ended up in. He'd had a disastrous day at school and I was way more engaged in finding out what happened after that.
The other thing that I found a bit... well, dubious, is Crispin's racial background. He's biracial (Scandinavian (?) and Filipino I believe but I might not be remembering that correctly). Freeman has some great observations about what it's like to be a young gay man but he himself is not Asian so he can't speak to what it's like to be a gay POC which makes me wonder what the thought process behind that decision to make Crispin biracial was. I hope I'm missing some information and it's not a cynical attempt to make the book more marketable.
I wish there was something between "did not like" and "it was okay." The first book in a series is always going to be challenging because you have a lot of world building to do while also advancing story and plot but I found there were too many scenes that were almost exclusively dedicated to world building that could have been cut for scenes that advanced the story or plot (e.g. there's a scene where the protagonist goes to learn dinner etiquette which felt superfluous to me). I also found it odd that the protagonist Crispin found himself transported to a new world and spent more time (literally almost all of his time) mooning over a cute boy he'd met than thinking about his parents and how his sudden disappearance might be affecting them. It seemed odd to me. Weirdly, I also thought the story Crispin had going before he left earth was way more interesting than the one he ended up in. He'd had a disastrous day at school and I was way more engaged in finding out what happened after that.
The other thing that I found a bit... well, dubious, is Crispin's racial background. He's biracial (Scandinavian (?) and Filipino I believe but I might not be remembering that correctly). Freeman has some great observations about what it's like to be a young gay man but he himself is not Asian so he can't speak to what it's like to be a gay POC which makes me wonder what the thought process behind that decision to make Crispin biracial was. I hope I'm missing some information and it's not a cynical attempt to make the book more marketable.
September 16, 2023
"All of a sudden, I'd had enough of weird names with magical histories and the rest of the fantasy crap. I was done and ready to be back in the world of Wi-Fi."
That quote sums up my feelings on the book. Hey, how do we show we're in a fantasy world? Oh gosh, give everyone names with way too many letters and random apostrophes! Yeah, but the main character has a normal name! That's fine, have the other characters repeatedly mispronounce it (at least four different ways!) and add lots of those letters and apostrophes!
I'm not even joking, at one point someone namedrops a character called Kaaarhh-als-sssssiiii with absolutely no irony.
The plot itself was okay- Earth teenager finds out he's important in a fantasy land, gets whisked away, falls completely and totally in love with a boy in a few days. But then the supposed happy ending is actually kinda horrifying: fantasy boy gets stuck back on Earth with MC, completely unable to understand any Earth languages and with no knowledge of Earth customs, education, culture, behaviors, or technology, and is dumped on the MC's parents, who make it very clear they don't want to have to take care of this new essentially special needs teenager. Yikes.
That quote sums up my feelings on the book. Hey, how do we show we're in a fantasy world? Oh gosh, give everyone names with way too many letters and random apostrophes! Yeah, but the main character has a normal name! That's fine, have the other characters repeatedly mispronounce it (at least four different ways!) and add lots of those letters and apostrophes!
I'm not even joking, at one point someone namedrops a character called Kaaarhh-als-sssssiiii with absolutely no irony.
The plot itself was okay- Earth teenager finds out he's important in a fantasy land, gets whisked away, falls completely and totally in love with a boy in a few days. But then the supposed happy ending is actually kinda horrifying: fantasy boy gets stuck back on Earth with MC, completely unable to understand any Earth languages and with no knowledge of Earth customs, education, culture, behaviors, or technology, and is dumped on the MC's parents, who make it very clear they don't want to have to take care of this new essentially special needs teenager. Yikes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2020
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood in exchange for an honest review.
I read an ecopy of this so I'm not sure how long the actual page count is going to be, but this book felt way longer than it had to be and it made it really hard to stay focused on the story. This is really your standard "high schooler who feels like an outsider finds a new purpose in a secret magical world" (although that purpose is slightly more mature considering Crispin's chosen one destiny is to mate with a dragon), but it spends so much time exploring the world before introducing the main intrigue in its final section that I got really bored. You'd think that time was being used to build up Crispin's relationship with Davix since the description makes it sound like the romance is a huge aspect of this and while I guess technically it is plotwise, it also manages to be incredibly instalove-y despite the amount of time Crispin and Davix spend talking about pretty much nothing.
Were this more concise and fast-paced, I think this may have been a very fun read but as is, I didn't really enjoy this one.
I read an ecopy of this so I'm not sure how long the actual page count is going to be, but this book felt way longer than it had to be and it made it really hard to stay focused on the story. This is really your standard "high schooler who feels like an outsider finds a new purpose in a secret magical world" (although that purpose is slightly more mature considering Crispin's chosen one destiny is to mate with a dragon), but it spends so much time exploring the world before introducing the main intrigue in its final section that I got really bored. You'd think that time was being used to build up Crispin's relationship with Davix since the description makes it sound like the romance is a huge aspect of this and while I guess technically it is plotwise, it also manages to be incredibly instalove-y despite the amount of time Crispin and Davix spend talking about pretty much nothing.
Were this more concise and fast-paced, I think this may have been a very fun read but as is, I didn't really enjoy this one.
September 5, 2022
Disclosure: I was a beta-reader for the novel.
That doesn't mean I give all books I read as ARCs 5 stars (I actually tend to dislike most of them). With this one, I can honestly say: I loved this book! I loved the genre mixing, I loved the dragons (especially the fact that the dragons for each realm look differently), and I loved the poet-dragon Sur . And while the book functions well as a stand-alone, the author hinted at a larger world (we only visited 3 realms, and only seen two types of dragons. That's right, there are Earth Dragons, but we haven't seen them yet.) I'm genuinely worried we won't get to read the sequel, and I'm dying to know: how are the water-dragons, and the earth-dragons like? Will the displaced characters return to their realm of origin?
I only had one minor complaint about the book: this is a cast-driven novel and I wished Crispin was more involved in the conflict at the end. Otherwise: 4.5 stars and please give us a sequel!
That doesn't mean I give all books I read as ARCs 5 stars (I actually tend to dislike most of them). With this one, I can honestly say: I loved this book! I loved the genre mixing, I loved the dragons (especially the fact that the dragons for each realm look differently), and I loved the poet-dragon Sur . And while the book functions well as a stand-alone, the author hinted at a larger world (we only visited 3 realms, and only seen two types of dragons. That's right, there are Earth Dragons, but we haven't seen them yet.) I'm genuinely worried we won't get to read the sequel, and I'm dying to know: how are the water-dragons, and the earth-dragons like? Will the displaced characters return to their realm of origin?
I only had one minor complaint about the book: this is a cast-driven novel and I wished Crispin was more involved in the conflict at the end. Otherwise: 4.5 stars and please give us a sequel!
December 20, 2020
This book stars slow, it feels like forever until we go to the point. first we get a look at Crispin life, his "friends" his family, his crush, everything in the most annoying way. The author triest to give us a sad version of Crispin, but there is nothing of the sort. He has a good family, friends who help him and he is a dick.
Thats pretty much what we learn about him in those frist chapters.
Then we get to the interesting part Crispin has dragon blood and he is destiny to mate with an important dragon, and we go to met his other half because some drama at his school (Kids can be mean) This part in the dragon realm is really sweet with Davix.
but in general it wasnt for me, I did't like Crispin so everything wasnt as good as it was Intendeed
The story was poorly paced and you could get bored easily.
Did I love it? No. Did I Like it? Meh.
thanks to netgalley for allowing me to review The book and giving me the eARC to read.
Thats pretty much what we learn about him in those frist chapters.
Then we get to the interesting part Crispin has dragon blood and he is destiny to mate with an important dragon, and we go to met his other half because some drama at his school (Kids can be mean) This part in the dragon realm is really sweet with Davix.
but in general it wasnt for me, I did't like Crispin so everything wasnt as good as it was Intendeed
The story was poorly paced and you could get bored easily.
Did I love it? No. Did I Like it? Meh.
thanks to netgalley for allowing me to review The book and giving me the eARC to read.
December 13, 2020
The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood is a YA fantasy. There's a little bit of everything between its pages as far as themes and tropes go.
Crispin had a strong voice and was a likable character. While it was fun following his journey of self-discovery, intermingled with a mystery thread in this fantasy world, the pace was a little slow going at times.
There's some sweetness to the romance and some thought-provoking moments, just like there are moments of action and interesting developed subplots.
An entertaining read once you're able to navigate through the abundance of subgenres and themes at play.
Crispin had a strong voice and was a likable character. While it was fun following his journey of self-discovery, intermingled with a mystery thread in this fantasy world, the pace was a little slow going at times.
There's some sweetness to the romance and some thought-provoking moments, just like there are moments of action and interesting developed subplots.
An entertaining read once you're able to navigate through the abundance of subgenres and themes at play.
December 15, 2020
Just Wanted to thank netgalley for allowing me to review The book and giving me the eARC to read.
It was an interesting adventure follow crispin in his self discovery he is a very likeable and relatable character i did feel for him seeing how his relationships with different characters were.
It was interesting to watch it all develop through out the book i did however feel like the book was rushed and a lot of the pacing was thrown off, I do feel the book could of been a lot better and benefit from a slower pace.
I enjoyed the world building and I felt that it was and amazing, very well thought out and executed.
It was an interesting adventure follow crispin in his self discovery he is a very likeable and relatable character i did feel for him seeing how his relationships with different characters were.
It was interesting to watch it all develop through out the book i did however feel like the book was rushed and a lot of the pacing was thrown off, I do feel the book could of been a lot better and benefit from a slower pace.
I enjoyed the world building and I felt that it was and amazing, very well thought out and executed.
December 28, 2020
Here be dragons! I may not be the YA target reader but I thoroughly enjoyed following teenager Crispin’s adventures in the Realm of Fire. Fantasy, mystery, and otherworldly clashes keep the story moving. But it’s the engaging voice of teen Crispin, at turns funny and vulnerable, that drew me in. Not to mention the sparks that fly upon meeting handsome young Davix. A skillful mixing of genres. And did I mention dragons?
March 1, 2021
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really tried to get into this but I just couldn't. I was intrigued by the magic system, but I just never got sucked into the story or the characters. This started off strong, and I was interested more in Crispin's earth life than that of the dragon world. Although this wasn't for me, this isn't to say that you might not enjoy it, just that I couldn't get into the story.
I really tried to get into this but I just couldn't. I was intrigued by the magic system, but I just never got sucked into the story or the characters. This started off strong, and I was interested more in Crispin's earth life than that of the dragon world. Although this wasn't for me, this isn't to say that you might not enjoy it, just that I couldn't get into the story.
February 9, 2022
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! So engaging, so surprising, and so genre-bending!
The story was nothing like I expected it to be, based on the title and the blurb. There was so much more to this world and the plot than I ever expected, and the characters are fresh and engaging!
I hope this turns into a multi-volume series because this world offers so much scope for the imagination! I keep revisiting it in my daydreams, and I SO want to explore more of it!
The story was nothing like I expected it to be, based on the title and the blurb. There was so much more to this world and the plot than I ever expected, and the characters are fresh and engaging!
I hope this turns into a multi-volume series because this world offers so much scope for the imagination! I keep revisiting it in my daydreams, and I SO want to explore more of it!
May 17, 2024
This book was so good it was more sexual than I expected but it was written so that my aversion to such content was minimally bothered. Every time I picked up this I didn't want to put it down Im excited to be immersed in more of the authors books.
March 12, 2021
Crispin was one of the most fully realized characters I've ever read in YA
April 3, 2026
So darn good. I love the different ways each dragon interact with the humans. I love forward to more books with each realm.
February 5, 2021
[CW: nsfw, violence, blood, death, mentions of suicide, swearing, grief, bullying, bruises, homophobia, homicide, mentions of murder]
This is a good book. Not a perfect one, but surely entertaining and fun to read. Crispin was an interesting main character, though my favorite character in the book was Davix: he was often afraid and impulsive, and would say things as they happened, without romanticizing them, characteriswtics which I’m not used to seeing in protagonists. He also made several pop culture references and used ‘internet slangs’ (such as ‘OMG’ and ‘DILF’) throughout the book and that can be positive, but at least to me, it felt excessive and a bit unnatural in this book.
As to the pacing, it felt... messy. The first 60% of the book had a rhythm while the rest had another, both making me feel like I was reading two different books: the first was more lighthearted, while the latter felt more dramatic and sad. I didn’t notice a clear transition between those two parts, so that could’ve been smoother. Plus, it would’ve been beneficial to have more drama and sadness in the first part so they’d match and actually feel like two parts of the same work. At times, I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of lore, as if that was being thrown at me, and maybe that was done deliberately, since that was probably what Crispin himself felt while being thrown in a whole new realm, but it did feel weird.
I like some of the plot twists, I can say that: the death of a dragon wasn’t what I’d previously expected and the concept of an attack by the Realm of Air was good, though I felt like the build up to that was poorly developed. A mention about social aspects of and how were the dragons of the other Realms would’ve been a nice touch. While plot twists should be unexpected, what makes them good is that they could be noticed if the reader looked at the right places at the right times. Thus, the thing about plot twists isn’t how unexpected it is, but the ability of the author to manipulate the reader’s attention at will, to specific points and scenarios.
Most characters were multifaceted, which I very much liked, and I’ll dedicate this paragraph to Davix, because... well, as I said before, I love him. His was my favorite character development in the whole book: he starts as serious and grumpy nerd who’s very responsible and strict. I instantly liked him, because I’m predictable and enjoy this character type. Throughout the story, he softened to Crispin. His vulnerabilities started to show: his grief towards one of his friends who died by the beginning of the book, the start of his defiance towards authority blossoming, with him questioning the law more and more, but also the guilt to do so, because that meant betraying the entities and codes he’d always admired and worshipped. Despite being a scholar and not a soldier, he’s a true warrior, wielding his intelligence to make up strategies, which is shown near the end of the book. And also through him, it becomes clear that the dragons and others in power can be corrupt and are flawed, an interesting aspect: the dragons are human in their core (not literally, but an interpretation).
So, I’ll end this review with my usual ‘read this book if...’: if you enjoy pop culture references in books, multifaceted, honest and morally gray characters, as well as seeking a whole lot of lore, then... well, this book is for you!
This is a good book. Not a perfect one, but surely entertaining and fun to read. Crispin was an interesting main character, though my favorite character in the book was Davix: he was often afraid and impulsive, and would say things as they happened, without romanticizing them, characteriswtics which I’m not used to seeing in protagonists. He also made several pop culture references and used ‘internet slangs’ (such as ‘OMG’ and ‘DILF’) throughout the book and that can be positive, but at least to me, it felt excessive and a bit unnatural in this book.
As to the pacing, it felt... messy. The first 60% of the book had a rhythm while the rest had another, both making me feel like I was reading two different books: the first was more lighthearted, while the latter felt more dramatic and sad. I didn’t notice a clear transition between those two parts, so that could’ve been smoother. Plus, it would’ve been beneficial to have more drama and sadness in the first part so they’d match and actually feel like two parts of the same work. At times, I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of lore, as if that was being thrown at me, and maybe that was done deliberately, since that was probably what Crispin himself felt while being thrown in a whole new realm, but it did feel weird.
I like some of the plot twists, I can say that: the death of a dragon wasn’t what I’d previously expected and the concept of an attack by the Realm of Air was good, though I felt like the build up to that was poorly developed. A mention about social aspects of and how were the dragons of the other Realms would’ve been a nice touch. While plot twists should be unexpected, what makes them good is that they could be noticed if the reader looked at the right places at the right times. Thus, the thing about plot twists isn’t how unexpected it is, but the ability of the author to manipulate the reader’s attention at will, to specific points and scenarios.
Most characters were multifaceted, which I very much liked, and I’ll dedicate this paragraph to Davix, because... well, as I said before, I love him. His was my favorite character development in the whole book: he starts as serious and grumpy nerd who’s very responsible and strict. I instantly liked him, because I’m predictable and enjoy this character type. Throughout the story, he softened to Crispin. His vulnerabilities started to show: his grief towards one of his friends who died by the beginning of the book, the start of his defiance towards authority blossoming, with him questioning the law more and more, but also the guilt to do so, because that meant betraying the entities and codes he’d always admired and worshipped. Despite being a scholar and not a soldier, he’s a true warrior, wielding his intelligence to make up strategies, which is shown near the end of the book. And also through him, it becomes clear that the dragons and others in power can be corrupt and are flawed, an interesting aspect: the dragons are human in their core (not literally, but an interpretation).
So, I’ll end this review with my usual ‘read this book if...’: if you enjoy pop culture references in books, multifaceted, honest and morally gray characters, as well as seeking a whole lot of lore, then... well, this book is for you!
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