REVIEW: DRAGON SPEAKER by Elana A. Mugdan

Title: Dragon Speaker
Author: Elana A. Mugdan
Series: The Shadow War Saga #1
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Pen Works Media
Release: July 15th, 2016
Source: E-book
Pages: 366

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BLURB: Everyone knows this story: an unlikely young hero is chosen by divine providence to save the world from a terrible evil.

Except Keriya Nameless is crippled, without the ability to wield magic—in fact, she's the only person who doesn't have powers of her own. The god who chose her is a mysterious dragon with a knack for exploiting loopholes in rules. Oh, and that terrible evil the world needs to be saved from? Maybe it’s not quite as evil as everyone says.

As Keriya ventures into the magical realm of Allentria, she learns things aren't black-and-white, and not everything is what it appears to be. Her quest would test the courage of even the bravest hero, and as the chosen Dragon Speaker, she quickly learns she's at the center of an age-old war . . .

A war that will decide the fate of everything.

EXPECTATIONS: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Elana!

THE WORLD: It's a complex fantasy world based on different kingdoms and species. And by species I mean there are humans, dragons, half-dragon gods, demons, etc. In this world, called Allentria, magic exists and humans have access to it, basically everyone can wield magic but there are some limitations as in some people can control water, others earth, others fire... it's like benders in Avatar. Also, there is good magic and bad magic that must coexist in equilibrium and if it's not met then the world is chaos and war erupts. The book places us after one of those terrible wars where "the bad" was stopped but not definitely defeated.

CHARACTERS: The main character is Keriya Nameless, a 14 year old orphan girl who can't wield magic. Which is very rare, she's the only one who can't wield any magic in Aeria (her village) and she's mocked/despised for it. Her best friend is a boy named Fletcher Earengale who's not very powerful either, he can only do very weak magic thus he also had it tough growing up. In the goddess' ceremony Keriya has a vision where the dragon-goddess Shivnath chooses her as the hero, the one who will save them all from Necrovar, the evil magical creature who almost destroyed them in the last war. Keriya is granted magical powers and must find the only dragon left in their world, Thorion Sveltorious. Along the way we encounter other characters such as Maxton Windharte, Roxanne Fleuridae, and Effrax Nameless. There are many characters, be prepared.

ROMANCE: Hints to a future romance perhaps.

GOOD: Even though the world is a complex fantasy one it was surprisingly easy to understand. I didn't have any problems to understand the intrinsic politics, the situation of the world, or the various creatures that exist there. It was well explained + we also have a glossary at the end which always helps! The characters' dynamics were messy but in a good way, they were realistic. They weren't ideal and the characters were very selfish which is realistic for 14 year olds. I liked that very much.

I was also enchanted by the dragons, the dragon-gods, and their battles. It reminded me of one of my favorite fantasy series, The Inheritance Cycle.

BAD: The characters are very immature and specially Keriya is pretty annoying. She's very entitled and has delusions of grandeur... since she's always been ridiculed she wants to prove herself and be the hero everyone will love. It's an understandable wish. However, she doesn't appreciate those who stuck by her side and who helped her at all. She has a long way and has to mature a notch which I hope to see in the next books. Development is always appreciated.

Other than that I hope to see more background too and overall learn about the epic war, the land laws, the politics... 

OVERALL: 4 stars. It was definitely an enjoyable read, with a world-building which was complex but surprisingly easy to pick up. A bit introductory with immature main characters but this is the first book of a saga and the main characters are barely 14 year old kids so nothing shocking there. If you're up for an Eragon meets Lord of the Rings YA read this is your book!

What do you think about DRAGON SPEAKER?