Monday, March 20, 2017

Book Review: Dragonwatch


I was thrilled when I found out Brandon Mull would be releasing a sequel to his Fablehaven series. Fablehaven is a huge favorite in our house and we were all excited to go back to Seth and Kendra's adventures with magical creatures in Dragonwatch.

The author sets up the Dragonwatch adventure by perfectly bridging the events from the last Fablehaven to this one. Seth returns to the Singing Sisters to give them back the storied sword Vasilis and bring them a wraith. While there, however, the Sisters tell him that a storm with the dragons is coming and he won't be bored for much longer. Still protected at Fablehaven, Kendra is out on a run and overhears a mysterious conversation with a hooded figure and her grandpa that concerns her brother. Just like that, the reader is pulled into the mystery of what's going to happen next with these two! This time, though, it's an unexpected rebellion with the dragons. The dragons are tired of being in sanctuaries and are looking for a way out---no matter what the cost. In order to keep the peace, Seth and Kendra are asked to be co-caretakers of Wyrmroost, but even with their new position, things don't go as planned and we're all sucked into the coming showdown.

I think the thing I like most about the characters in Fablehaven and Dragonwatch is how relatable and realistic they are. My children can easily imagine being friends with Seth and Kendra and the mistakes they make that further the story are realistic for the age group---and provide a lot of discussion material! Where Mull really stands out, however, is the magical creatures and their settings. It is like a web that draws the reader in until you can't put the book down! "One more chapter" was the constant plea I got every night while we were reading this book. It is definitely a story your entire family will love!

You can download your Kindle copy here

Here's the back copy:

In the long-awaited sequel to Fablehaven, the dragons who have been kept at the dragon sanctuaries no longer consider them safe havens, but prisons and they want their freedom. The dragons are no longer our allies....

In the hidden dragon sanctuary of Wyrmroost, Celebrant the Just, King of the Dragons, plots his revenge. He has long seen the sanctuaries as prisons, and he wants nothing more than to overthrow his captors and return the world to the Age of Dragons, when he and his kind ruled and reigned without borders. The time has come to break free and reclaim his power.

No one person is capable of stopping Celebrant and his dragon horde. It will take the ancient order of Dragonwatch to gather again if there is any chance of saving the world from destruction. In ancient times, Dragonwatch was a group of wizards, enchantresses, dragon slayers, and others who originally confined the majority of dragons into sanctuaries. But nearly all of the original Dragonwatch members are gone, and so the wizard Agad reaches out to Grandpa Sorenson for help.

As Kendra and Seth confront this new danger, they must draw upon all their skills, talents, and knowledge as only they have the ability to function together as a powerful dragon tamer. Together they must battle against forces with superior supernatural powers and breathtaking magical abilities.

How will the epic dragon showdown end? Will dragons overthrow humans and change the world as we know it?

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