Enchanted by lies, abducted for truth In Mandar, humans and mythics have learnt to work together, but sometimes a magical creature goes rogue. As a Tracker for the government, Seraphina’s job is to locate rogues, gather intel and report back to the Hunters. Everything changes when she’s captured… by a dragon.
Imprisoned in his cave, Sera discovers the unique ability to share minds with the dragon. Together they explore the limits of her newly discovered power, and he reveals the lies fed to her by the Mandar Government. But can she trust the word of a dragon?
While she fights for her freedom, her magic thrusts her into the midst of a hidden conflict. The threat of a new war between humans and mythics looms and Sera must decide where her loyalties lie.
A Dragon's Mind contains some coarse language and adult themes and is not intended for under 18-year-olds.
A. L. Tippett seamlessly blends technology with mythical creatures in her debut novel A Dragon’s Mind, the first of The MINATH Chronicles.
An unputdownable little read that's unlike anything I've ever read before. The kind that has you read it in one sitting and leaves you itching for the sequel. Sassy, fun and utterly delightful.
"Sometimes it's more important to follow your heart then your head."
In Mandar, humans and mythics have learnt to work together. But sometimes a magical creature or another goes rogue and the government sends Trackers on their tails. As a Tracker for the government, Seraphina’s job is to locate rogues, gather intel and report back to the Hunters.
But everything changes when she’s captured… by a dragon. 'There weren't supposed to be any dragons left. The Trackers and Hunters of old had hunted them to extinction during the Mythic War.' And yet, not only was Seraphina abducted by a dragon but that dragon could speak! Imprisoned in his cave, Sera discovers not only that she has a unique ability to share minds with the dragon but also that her people have been living a lie. Or so the dragon claims. That the Government Sera works for has a special dark agenda. But can she trust the word of a dragon?
'On the one hand, he had taken her against her will and called down a horde of dragons to decide whether she lived or dies. On the other hand he had helped her learn about her powers and had been exceedingly kind to her, for a dragon at least.' And 'as much as she didn't want to, she understood his point of view.'
While Sera fights for her freedom, her magic thrusts her into the midst of a hidden conflict she'll need all her wits and strength to wiggle out of. With a threat of a new war between humans and mythics looming, Sera must decide where her loyalties lie. With the dragon who abducted her and his side of the tale, or with the Trackers and Government back home.
'The path to peace lies in trust. There will never be true peace if one of us doesn't take the first step.'
And trust is what the tale of Sera and Arius starts with. A reluctantly granted trust that slowly evolves into respect and, before any of them realises, friendship, care and perhaps even more. They weren't supposed to feel that way about each other. He is a dragon after all, and it's not like Sera can grow wings and a tail to meet his standards. And yet... 'love is love, no matter what form it takes.'
And theirs is one you're bound to root for!
Now, as far as the plot is concerned, if Sera will meet the dragons' approval or survive a certain attack only to get her throat slit by 'an overgrown chicken that did it with a horse'.... 'That's for me to know and you to find out'. By reading the book! :D
But I'll tell you this: 'That. Was, Epic.'
All in all, A Dragon's mind is a delightful little read that beautifully blends technology and mythical creatures into a tale full of adventure, mystery and just the right amount of drama. One peppered with cheeky humour and loaded with feeling, while written in such a way that you'll find yourself practically pulled into the pages.
I couldn't help smiling at the old-fashioned antics of a certain unicorn who's 'practically the stuff of every little girl's dreams.' I found myself chuckling and wanting to give a big hug to a certain dragon who 'bared his teeth in a terrifying grin and loosed a joyful roar' while leaping into emptiness and dropping like a stone. And I practically laughed out loud at a certain 'friendly friend' who 'likes being in one's personal space' and set Sera in quite a predicament that left her unsure 'whether to laugh or smack him.'
But don't think it's all smiles and laughter. It has quite a few adult themes embedded within that will make you consider the line between good and evil and occasionally have you biting your nails at the edge of your seat.
'Sometimes you have to do evil things for good reasons.'
And then that end.... I want book 2 RIGHT NOW!!!
If you're in a mood for a sassy, fun and utterly delightful read with dragons, that's both unique and unputdownable, give this one a try. You might end up loving it just as much as I did.
A Dragon's Mind by A.L.Tippett tells the story of Sera, who works as a tracker for the equivalent of the government in a land where Humans work alongside Magical Creatures. Sera is out hunting when she inadvertently enters a dragon's mind, which shouldn't be possible, not least because Dragon's are extinct. Or at least that's what Sera's been taught to believe.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Dragon's Mind. It's a quick and easy read that's hard to put down. It's full of fantastical creatures, adventure galore and a little hint of something more. Thankfully for me, book 2 in the series is already available. If you're looking for a fast-paced, fantasy adventure that includes elements of romance then A Dragon's Mind is the book for you!
This almost ended up with 2 stars, but - I liked the originality of the world. Dystopian Fantasy, and well thought out.
I wish the author would've left out the prophecy. Now we know what will happen, and the delay of everything becomes annoying. If the prophecy wasn't added, I would've devoured this series. But it's there, which means I already know the ending, so why bother.
The book starts off very clunky with some quick sentences that seem to not link the paragraph together.
Also the character doesn't seem to really have a great opening as you don't really get introduced to the character but more dropped into her life.
The first bit seems to be a telling point that this is more political fantasy since it seems like they are talking about the relations between the mythical creatures and between humans.
Sera to me seems very naive and while she is part of the world she also feels more cutoff from it as well. She just feels slightly hollow in the first little bit of the book. Though she does get better.
Balthazar the Unicorn seems a bit off for me. The name reminds me more of a demon and not a powerful mythical creature of light. He also seems very arrogant and annoyed me but that is the sign of a good character in that they make you feel something strongly.
The timing seems to jump a bit and in a non logical fashion with nothing to show differences in the timeline. This makes it much harder to follow and should be shown as either a flashback or show the time periods we are dealing with for each chapter. It takes away some enjoyment with the book as it takes you out of the story.
There are a lot of cliche types in here where it seems that they talk about the Achilles Heel as well as naming of your weapons. To me this is overdone as it seems that a lot use names for weapons and to me it always seemed silly to name something that could be lost or destroyed.
The book premise seems very good I just found the execution to be lacking to a point. The writing seems to be okay the further along I go but the story suffers as it seems like when they out together the book the first few chapters don't link with the next ones. Design is very important for a book.
Arius the dragon was quite well thought up. I also like how they don't just have the single name but out other information son of which to me indicates a venerable society and honours the family of the creature.
Arius seems personable and friendly even just his attitude towards humans while not unsurprising what he did doesn't seem to match with his character that seems to be on the nice side.
Tyler drove me nuts and seems to be not a type of character that should be put in. He is arrogant as well as he likes to sexually harass people or so it seems. This character really made the story feel worse as I don't really want to read of a character who abuses his role and talks down to his people. It just seems out of place and could have been done differently without making him be the person you want to hate. There is so much more that could have been done including having there been a rivalry at the place they were trained which makes them antagonistic to each other.
What I felt about this book was it could have been so good but I felt that there was too much that just pushed me out of the story. I don't think that this really is for me as when reading it I wanted to chuck my kindle across the room at a lot of points in the story out of disgust. I don't think I would read the second book as it just wasn't hitting the right buttons however I can see this actually going over well with some circles.
This is the first book by this author and it has a few editorial issues but nothing major that bothered me. The characters and world are strong and sucked me in.
Serafina is an independent woman. Her job is to track mythical creatures and ensure they follow the laws. But she gets abducted by a dragon when she accidentally melds minds with him.
She is kept prisoner in the dragons cave as he tries to determine if she is dangerous to dragon kind.
Sera is brave and fearless, so when she starts falling in love with the creature who captured her so quickly, it was slightly strange from her prior personality. She has a big heart. Nothing wrong with that, except you can be manipulated. We will have to see where her loyalty gets her in the next book.
As for Arius... he is my favorite. He is a majestic copper dragon. He lives in exile from the other dragons. He finds Sera fascinating and decides to trust her with his secret. He is a shifter with a human form.
My favorite part of the story is when the two of them confront the dragon council. The epic dragon battle that follows between Arius and Desamor got me wanting to know more about the dragons and how they all have different magical abilities. Not to mention Torvold and the other mythics that are full of personality. And who knows what the government is truely hiding.
This is the first book in the Minath Chronicles, which is good news because it means I’ll be able to jump back in for more.
The story is full of fantastical creatures, some of which are rogue following a war between humans and the so-called mythics. Seraphina – the lead character – is a tracker who finds these rogues so they can be caught, re-educated and the peace maintained. To her surprise she discovers she has additional skills other than being a good tracker: she can read minds, specifically that of a dragon. Perceived as a threat by the dragon, she is captured to discover the extent of this magic and ends up embroiled in a conflict that forces her to re-evaluate her whole perception of what is right and wrong about the government she works for.
A Dragon’s Mind got me hooked in early on and held me in the story right to the end. The relationship between Seraphina and the dragon is developed nicely, and is intertwined with some enthralling action scenes. The author has developed an intriguing place where human thought and technology dominate, living side-by-side with an amazing world of magical creatures. This is a great start to a series which I’ll have to finish off.
I'm tardy writing this review, because I had no access to Goodreads after I read it at the beginning of a long, busy international vacation. What I can tell you is that I finished it on an airplane at about 4am St. Louis time, and I never read that late. This speaks to the quality and accessibility of the writing.
This story, the first of many in the series, introduces us to a world following a war between humans and "mythics", a war the humans apparently won. Mythics, and interaction with them, are strictly regulated. The main character, Seraphina, was raised to fear and despise mythics and works to track down rogues. Everything she knows and believes is turned upside-down after she is captured by a dragon and finds, to her astonishment and horror, that they can understand each others' minds. Soon, she discovers a new purpose, one that threatens both their lives.
I have some reservations about the ease with which Sera's allegiances change, and the story uses several familiar tropes. However, I liked the portrayal of a complex world where both sides have their prejudices, and where personal relationships strive against expectations. Loyalty can be a double-edged sword, after all. I found myself rooting for Sera and hope that you will too.
This story takes off very quickly and seems as though it will be pretty straightforward. Sera, the MC, is a young and dedicated tracker, following in her fathers footsteps. She us employed by the government which immediately tells you things are going to go wonky. She is very idealistic, yet again, all the spider senses tell you her world is going to get rocked. And of course it does. Absolutely got sucked into all the plot twists and deception! To be honest, I am pretty sure I don’t have it figured out yet, and of course, the end of this book one confirmed I don’t know the half of it yet. Loved the vivid descriptions throughout this tale. From sand surfing to personality traits of the mythic creatures, everything makes you question why dragons are still the infamous bad guys. There is an element of romance in this tale, but even that may not be as it seems. A dive into book two is necessary. All my reviews are always voluntarily written.
A Dragon’s Mind (The MINATH Chronicles Book 1 of 3) by A. L. Tippett
Mindar, a land with humans and mythics. Seraphim’s is a human Tracker, so hunts rogue magical creatures for the government.
While on a few days off, Seraphina is camping alone and hunting deer. As she sleeps one night, she has weird dreams and is talking to someone in her dream. She is awakened when she is found by a dragon accusing her of breaking through his mental block and accessing his mind. The dragon takes Seraphina back to his cave and imprisons her, thinking she is a danger to him and all dragons.
Due to the dragon’s fear that Seraphina is able to control dragons, he contacts his family who will test Seraphina to see if she will live or die.
Meanwhile, Seraphina draws closer to the dragon as they begin working on her ability. All while she fears meeting the council of dragons coming to test her.
A great dragon story with some tense moments and unexpected occurrences.
Ahh, conflicted review. I actually really enjoyed this book. I thought the world was very interesting, I love me urban fantasy, and then add a dragon to the mix. *Chef's kiss* I also did like the characters a lot as well. The starsong stuff, super cute.
However... It reads clunky. There's a lot of instances where you just have massive blocks of dialogue, a lot of telling and not showing, and little to no characterization. Fast romances don't bother me, but the shift from "I hate you" to "I love you" was.. weird because nothing happened to change that ? The later half of the book felt disjointed, and it read more like a very rough first draft. I think it needed just a bit more cooking.
I found the plot engaging, and I'll definitely read the other two, but part of me feels like it could've been so much better than the end result.
For a newbie writer, this is a pretty good story. The characters and world building are solid, the dialogue is good. Transitions are a big rough, and switching the POV from just one character to more of an omniscient POV so far into the story was a little jarring.
But with that said, it was worth sticking with it to the end. I’m at a point in my life where I won’t keep reading a story if I don’t find myself invested in the characters right from the start, or if the writing (or editing) is awful enough to disrupt my reading experience. I’m happy to say that there was no point in this story where I was even remotely tempted to stop reading.
I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. I’m confident that this newbie writer is going to hit her stride and be unstoppable in no time!
I stopped at 17% of the trilogy, not yet done with the first book. I can't tell how much more there is to read of this book. I didn't like the tension with the obvious bad guys in power/government/her official partner. It's too close to being inside the mind of a despicable villain, which always turns me off. Same with post-apocalypses, which this might have been. It's been a while since I set it down and gave up on it. She's psychically connected to a dragon, which is weird in her world. The dragons are allegedly extinct after being on the losing end of a war with humans. Even saying out loud that you believe dragons still exist gets you thrown into a reeducation camp/prison. But they most definitely are still real - and he's not the only one.
A fantastic start to a beautiful and intriguing fantasy world, A Dragon's Mind introduces the read directly into the action, choosing to fill out the world more with flashbacks while the main narrative unfolds. Though there are a few slower points early on where multuple chapters conclude with the heroine going to sleep, the story quickly progresses and introduces new characters and twists on a regular basis. Many of these are fantasy creatures and indeed their are more of these than human characters, which isn't a bad thing at all. An enjoyable read that I would reccomend and continue with the series.
This didn’t work for me. It was an incongruous mis of naive, simplistic characters, and darker story content. The development between the main two, was too fast, too easy, and not entirely believable. The FMC just let things go too easily. Logic alone is not a good enough explanation. The MMC was so reasonable, so blasé also. Perhaps you could pass it off on being a dragon, but not after you meet the others.
This obviously worked for other readers, but missed me.
This debut fantasy novel is captivating and is truly a unique story. Fantasy is a genre that I tend to steer clear of as I find many authors have a hard time establishing a world while simultaneously telling a captivating story. However A.L. Tippett has succeeded in creating a well thought out universe filled with diverse and interesting creatures as well as successfully telling a tale that has intrigue, conflict and even a little romance. This novel ended leaving me wanting more, craving answers and needing to know what happens to Sera and Arius! Can't wait for the next instalment April!
Pretty good read. Especially for an author's first book. I'm not a huge fan of cliffhangers so that's one reason for the 4 stars instead of 5. Something else is a little lacking for me, although I can't put my finger on it. While I'm definitely interested in continuing on to the 2nd book, this one just didn't quite have me "loving it" enough for 5 stars. But I look forward to seeing where the story goes and would recommend it to any fantasy/urban fantasy fans.
Wow. The beginning. The middle. The ending!!! Fun characters. War between mythical creatures and humans has past. Humans have created an agency to “protect “ both parties, and we know how that always turns out. 🙄 Sera has an unknown power that puts her life in danger. This power brings huge changes to her world. Love? Good vs Evil? Cliffhanger at the end? Definitely a fun read for me and on to the next. Now it’s your turn. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
DNF 50% It’s just a hard book to read. There’s this weird mix of technology and modern slang/phrases with old world speak. One minute they are using the world whilst and the next it’s “if wishes were fishes” pick a lane. The plot felt clunky. Sometimes paragraph after paragraph of description and then rushing throw what’s happening. The back and forth of the time line is really what got me. It just didn’t flow well
Definitely not a stand alone, so I was disappointed I didn't ha e books 2 and 3 . I was So wrapped up in the story I couldn't believe it ended. A passionate book full of magical creatures and love, it will th at your heartstrings. Well worth reading.
Urban fantasy is not usually my cup of tea, but the author captured my attention with all the magical creatures, intrigue, secrets and plots. The ending is a cliffhanger but I believe it was in a good spot. It has you wanting to grab book 2 straight away. While I felt confused by characters feelings all was answered and it added to the experience.
I truly liked this book, but as so many authors seem to need to do, it has a cliffhanger ending. That is my ONLY gripe! Otherwise, the characters are fascinating, the plot is straightforward and easily followed, and the premise seems to be finding a way to getting the humans and dragons as allies again. I highly recommend this book.
A really solid read for those that love dragon/human romance, forbidden love, fated mates, and a humans vs. magical beings urban fantasy world. Consistent pacing, good relationship development, and fun worldbuilding had me finishing this within a few days. And the cliffhanger! You’ll definitely want to read book 2 ASAP.
I am thrilled and way too attached to these characters and am not sure how I’m going to cope waiting so long for book two :) amazingly written and kept me hooked
New to the scene A.L. Tippett has delivered a great debut book full of adventure and intrigue! I am not a person to finish a book if I am not enjoying it, but I couldn't put this one down. I can't wait for the next instalment! Thank goodness it is a series...I need to know what happens!
Interesting read and storyline with twists and turns as the tale describes the lives of dragons and their riders intertwined with the other mythic trying to survive from the past war and what to prevent the next war from coming.
NO, NO, NO, you can’t leave us hanging like that!! What an absolute bonzer of a storyline. Brilliant mfc, mystery and mythical creatures sucked me in. Can’t wait to see what happens next!
I liked the storyline and the characters with the exception of Tyler. I don't see how he fits in. A few twists through the story. I need to read book 2 now, not just because of the cliffhanger, but because there are quite a few questions about the characters I need answered. Recommend.
Dnf at 40% it was ok, but I found the story kind of slow and boring. Sera seemed naive and then very quick to develop feelings for Aruis without the reader knowing why. Just wasn’t interested enough to continue.