For years, tales of DRAGONS from another world kidnapping and enslaving humans have been circulating in Jason Masters’ world, while for a slave girl named Koren, the stories of a human world seem pure myth. Together, these two teens will need to bridge two planets in order to overthrow the draconic threat and bring the lost slaves home. What if the Legends Are True? Jason Masters doubted the …
Jason Masters doubted the myths that told of people taken through a portal to another realm and enslaved by dragons. But when he receives a cryptic message from his missing brother, he must uncover the truth and find the portal before it’s too late. At the same time, Koren, a slave in the dragons’ realm, discovers she has a gift that could either save or help doom her people. As Jason and Koren work to rescue the enslaved humans, a mystic prophecy surrounding a black egg may make all their efforts futile.
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Originally read before my GRs account (pre-Dec 2012), and before I started reviewing books. My original review was just a brief thought added when I marked it as read and rated it along with several others I had read before joining. Review: (Rated 4 stars) An interesting story.
Re-read Updated Review:
I remember wanting to read the last in this series, but ended up getting caught up in life, and had stopped reading for a time when it released due to college and other demands. So, here I am 10+ years later, and still remembered the series, and as I’m trying to finish the series I had started, enjoyed, and left unfinished for whatever reason, I finally picked this one back up…
But I’m not sure I’ll make it all the way through to finish it, or just give up before that? Not a bad series per say, and I loved it as a teen, but perhaps one of the series I outgrew before finishing? Very possible…
I don’t know if this one didn’t age as well as hoped, or if it is more just my tastes have changed over the last decade (which I’m seeing more and more they have! but I still enjoy some of my other previous favorites, so thought I’d try this one) I noticed first off, and though much of the book that the pacing and overall writing style grated on my nerves at times. Not bad, but definitely has the feel of a middle-grade writing style in a book with YA aged characters and slightly darker themes.
The story deals with slavery, oppression, dragons/masters, death, mentions of dragons eating slaves, some mentions of violence and threats among other similar struggles, so that with the way the plot and story are set up, I would easily put this in the YA/teen genre without question…but with the more MG writing/narration feel, it’s a bit disconcerting…
So, while there were some slower moments, and a bit of a struggle at times to push past a few of the less interesting scenes, there are some highlights! I really enjoyed getting to meet (reacquaint myself) with a few of these characters! There are a couple, Koren and Arxed to start, that I enjoyed from the beginning, and others that I came to enjoy and look forward to possibly seeing again in the next book. (Still undecided if I want to press through and attempt the next book, but then I vaguely recall this being one of those series I liked more with each book, so maybe?)
I did really like the later parts, and as the whole story was headed there, I look forward to more of Starlight that I know we get in the next book. This one is an intro, so info dumpish worldbuilding, and a hurry-up-and-wait type pacing is how much of this one goes, so not a great first impression up until 3/4th though, but that last bit makes me consider continuing…
Also, I am likely judging this one more harshly anyway due to it being a more teen read, and me being a bit distant anyway with all that’s going in in the world, so many of the issues I had may have been more due to me as a reader, and less to the story quality. Again, the dragon world was interesting and fun to discover as Koren learns more of her purpose and the truth of the slave’s history and importance under the dragons’ control. I’d also like to see more of Jason’s brothers, and Koren’s friend in the mines.
Starlighter also ends on an open note, and is set-up to flow smoothly into Warrior (bk 2), so pacing and the action/storyline won’t have all the intros and world-building background details, and has potential to be a much smoother and more enjoyable read overall from the start.