Ava Richardson never disappoints and this is another book I could not put down.
The characters are well crafted and the story moves along at a fair pace.
A smashing start to a series.

This was a fantastic book. It has everything it promises. Dragons, a girl on a quest to become a Dragon-rider, a young mage trying to get our MC to follow her rightful path as pertained by a prophecy. And no annoying shoe-horned romance. That is one of my most favorite things about this book, no romance. Not even a flirtation or budding attraction. Danu mentions once that Lila is beautiful, but more in the context of her character, and her status of being a lost princess than it is being attracted to her.

Lila is a wonderful character, she is stubborn, smart, and resourceful. She is such a well -rounded character. There isn't really anything that comes to mind that I didn't like about her character. Lila is basically a pirate, though I think they do more just theft than murder. It was pretty unclear. She has a lot of compassion, that's what leads me to believe that they just loot ships and coastal villages.

Danu was also a really likable character. He's quite different than Lila, he was raised on a fairly secluded island of Witches from a young age, kind of a monk's life. Lila is basically a pirate, though I think they do more just theft than murder. It was pretty unclear. She has a lot of compassion, that's what leads me to believe that they just loot ships and coastal villages.

Crux, for a dragon, has quite the personality. He's a little snarky at times, very noble. Again these main characters are fantastic, the plot and the world are all fantastic.

I have a couple smallish complaints. The side characters were a little forgettable in my opinion. I don't remember most of their names, or what they might look like, or really much of a personality. And some of the vocabulary used seemed out of place for a middle ages setting.

Example, a character, I think it was Lila, responds with a "whatever" The way it's used more commonly. And it just didn't fit. I don't know much about middle ages vocabulary, but I am fairly certain that word didn't exist in that context back then. I'm also not very clear when it comes to what any of the characts to look like, other than Danu who is often described as being "stocky" and Lila is mentioned to have blue eyes. Everybody else though, I have no idea what anybody looks like.

Those complaints are so small and might be something that I missed because I fell into the world so much that appearances just fell to the back of my mind as something that wasn't very important.

I highly recommend this book. It is a great read.

"Dragon Raider" is a young adult fantasy novel. The heroine is a young woman who was adopted as an orphaned baby by the leaders of the Sea Raiders, a group of people reminiscent of the Vikings. She wants to bond with a dragon and create a Dragon Raider group because the Sea Raiders' ships are getting destroyed by an evil, neighboring, usurper King. But the heroine no longer quite fits in with the Sea Raiders once she tries to forge a new path, even if it's one that will save them.

Danu is a young man with the ability to do magic and speak with dragons. He was training with the witches when the leader of the witches had a dream prophecy. Now Danu is committed to finding the rightful heir to the throne of Roskilde, who will stand against the returning darkening. However, convincing the heroine that he is trustworthy and that she is the princess is the least of his problems. Not everyone is convinced that a Sea Raider heir can ever be on the right side of a war.

The characters were interesting and acted realistically. The world building was woven into the story. There was a lot of action and suspense, including several battles. There was no sex. There was a very minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting and exciting fantasy.

As most adventure stories this one starts off with a prophecy. Together Lila, Danu and Crux start their journey. Fast paced, fun and kinda light hearted. Fell into the story right away, I really liked Danu’s character and his relationship with Lila. Crux is my favourite, can’t tell if he’s a friend or babysitter. Good plot and ending to the first book.

This was such a great read! I was pulled in the entire time.

A very well flowing and written story, keeps your interest the whole way story.

This is a wonderful start to a series. It's intriguing for the very first page. Prophecy, Pirates, and Dragons; a perfect combination. The characters are interesting, combine this with an action packed plot, keeps you turning pages. I'm looking forward to the next book to see what trouble our heroes get into as they continue their quest.

A terrific start to the new series that builds off the last series "Upon Dragon's Breath". In the same universe, it picks up 20 years after. A great book for all lovers of dragons.

I received this novel from net galley and the publisher for an honest review. Thank you!!
I have read Ms.Richardson's dragon series "Upon Dragon's Breath", which I enjoyed. This start into a new dragon series in the same universe did not disappoint!! It is set 20 years after the "Upon Dragon's Breath" series and it mentions Saffron and Bower and a bit of their legacy.
Lila is the adopted daughter of a sea raider, but wants to use dragons in their quests and give up the life of raiding other ships. She wants people to pay for their services of protection by being dragon riders. She find dragon eggs but is chased away by a dragon and meets Danu, a mage in training and has a natural ability to speak with dragons. Danu has been searching for Lila, for she is the one the prophecy speaks about. Lila is the true heir to Roskilde, but is currently ruled by a tyrant who destroyed the royal family 17 years ago. Lila and Danu return to where the dragon eggs are in hope for her to form a bond with one them. However, Lila ends up forming a bond with a rare Phoenix Dragon named Crux. Crux, Lila, and Danu begin a journey to stop the king of Roskilde. Danu is angry when he discovers some of the witches on the island he grew up on are siding with the king of Roskilde. The West Witches are not supposed to take sides and they are supposed to keepers of the prophecies, which one of the witches told the king, who now chases them. Lila, Danu, Crux, and the Sea Raiders will all have to work together if they want to stop Roskilde and the evil witches. I am looking forward to the next novel in the series!!