Using the Arts is forbidden. And I just got caught. Now I have three options: death, the Marriage Market…or the Dragon Duels.I’m going to take my chances against the dragons. If I survive, I’ll become be pardoned for my crimes and become a Dragon Defender. If I lose, death will seem like the easy option. Hundreds of people go into the Duels, but only a tenth come out. And this year, I’m going … And this year, I’m going to be one of them.
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Stoking the Embers is book one in the Dragon Duels series, an urban fantasy adventure with a dystopian flare and a slow burn romance.
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An exciting new concept for a series! I liked the flow of the storyline as well as the depth of the MC. I am looking forward to the second book because I really want to find out what happens next for Raine!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Good fantasy story with well done characters and a setting that keeps you interested wondering how the story will unfold.
An Exciting Beginning
“Stroking the Embers” is the first installment in “The Dragon Duels” series and it works. This dystopian tale takes place in a world where dragons rule. Humans are divided between the privileged and the working poor. The poor are harassed by the dragons, while the privileged have protectors to keep them safe. The protectors are selected from the winners of the dragon duels. The only way out for the poor is the marriage market or the dragon duels. Raine, the main character is forced to participate in the Dragon Duels. This intense and exciting tale has danger, action, fear and betrayal, new friends, allies, and love. The scenes are vivid and intense, the characters are realistic and intriguing. This installment is an exciting beginning to this series. I highly recommend this tale.
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review
I thought this was a very good book. The premise was a bit different and there were dragons.. I liked the characters. They had very realistic thoughts and feelings. There was danger, employer betrayal, love and friendship in this book. I felt the world building was very good. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The society the author tells us of in this novel makes North American ghettos look good. Bad enough that it is hard to just find food day to day, but what kind of society allows an employer to fill out paperwork “volunteering” you to enter a life-or-death competition without your knowledge or consent? That and being treated like a “mushroom” ; (being kept in the dark and being fed [you fill in the blank]) makes this situation unfortunately challenging for Raine. The pace of the story started slowly, but once I warmed up to it, the story got better. I now need to see what happens next.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Really enjoyed this book and start of Raine’s journey, The unknown of the Dragon Duels as she try’s to survive. The unknown of what’s to come, looking forward to finding out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this book… started out a bit skeptical but it picked up quickly and showed a grim life for Raine but she tries to keep her head high and clear. Cobalt sounds like a slow burn partner…. and circumstances make you wonder what happened to Raine’s sister Mila. The dragon duels are quite intensive and brutal!! Friendships forged and lost, strengths honed and new skills learned and while trying to stay alive and not get bbq’d! Looking forward to the next book and learning how things progress from the duels.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this story of fighting and hiding for your life in a game made up by a cruel system. Raine really doesn’t stand a chance, will she ever see her sister and why did this happen to her. Recommended original series.
Dystopia’s have always been a weak spot of me. Mostly because I’m really interested in politics, even though I’m not very vocal about my own opinions on issues and things. It’s mostly the dynamics that interest me, the reasons why people do something, the interesting character studies you can do while watching politicians post something and say something. I was therefore quite curious what Greenwood would do with this dystopia!
And even though this first book focusses mainly on the duels and the games, we do get a glimpse of the politics. We see how daily life is for our heroine in the city and we hear what life is like in the tower from our hero. We also briefly get an impression of what the Marriage Market truly is like. I think there is a lot more to explore when it comes to the politics, who pulls the strings and why. But somehow I feel Greenwood is gonna dive into that in the next books.
Compared to the prequel I also did happen to enjoy this edition of the Dragon Duels more. Yes, our characters are still mainly surviving, staying hidden and away from other people, but there are quite a few moments where they have to engage in the games and the cruelty and therefore we do get a much better impression of what it’s actually like, what dangers are out there and how the people in the duels actually do behave.
On top of that I also liked the characters in this book quite a lot! Our characters were brave and strong, but they were far from stupid. They know they have to survive a certain amount of days and they do everything they can to do so. There’s no need for too many stupid mistakes and there’s also, quite clearly proven by another character, no room for just impulsively acting without thinking, checking and double checking.
However, I think we will only really get to know our main characters when they’re free of the duels. And I can’t wait to see more of their inner personalities.
Raine is put into the dragon duels, while she didn’t volunteer for it, but she has no choice. Only the best ones survive and while she didn’t get how she did it, she killed a dragon.
But meeting Cobalt right after it saved her even more. Together they trying to survive the rest of the days till the end of this cruel games.
But even it is cruel and not a fun read the story does have something. Raine tries to see good in everyone and us sticking up for the people she cares for.
Looking forward to read more in this series.
The Hunger Games meet ravenous dragons in this action-packed novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first to the last page. I loved the characters and can’t wait for more of the romance to develop in the next book. Highly recommended!
“Stoking the Embers” is the first full-length installment (a prequel “Striking the Flint already exists) in “The Dragon Duels”, yet another fantasy action adventure series, by prolific author Laura Greenwood. As the title suggest this is fantasy adventure series featuring dragons, set in an urban fantasy dystopian world, with – as is already Greenwood’s signature – a pinch of romance, slow burn this time.
Raine (FMC) has just been caught using the Arts, in a world where every magic use is forbidden, and for that she will be punished by entering the Dragon Duels and fighting for survival, with only sixteen people coming out alive from the initial over two hundred contestants, the odds are not exactly in her side. Raine, however, is strong willed and resolute, and will do everything in her power to increase the odds, even it that ‘everything’ includes join forces with Cobalt, the White Towers guy who has inside information to win the duels. First survive, then escape, Raine has everything planned out, except…. Cobalt influence in her life.
As always Laura Greenwood give us relatable and credible characters, showing their struggle for survival against a fantasy background that acts as metaphor for human nature. The series is reminiscent of Collins’ “Hunger Games”, Charbonneau’s “The Testing” and Roth’s “Divergent”, with fantasy tropes (dragons) and an overall more adult undertone thrown in the mix.
A great read.