Hardcover, 400 pagesExpected publication: October 28th 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Author: Julie Kagawa
ARC Provided by Publisher in Exchange for an Honest Review
Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.
Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.
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Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time (okay, at least the illustrations did), but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get areal job.
To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dog trainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full time.
Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, an obnoxious cat, an Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and a hyper-active Papillion...
OBSERVE.
ASSIMILATE.
BLEND IN.
"Observe and blend in," he stated in his cool, unruffled voice. "Learn how to engage with humans, how to be human. Assimilate into their social structure and make them believe we are one of them."
Dragons and Julie Kagawa....Let me repeat...Dragons...and Julie Kagawa..that is the only thing that I had to see in order to know that I HAD to read this book!!! and let me tell you that I was not disappointed. I loved every aspect of this book from the intense action scenes to the beautiful young romance.
When I read the synopsis I immediately knew that I was going to be reading a young adult book about teen dragons and their journey as they learn to live among humans. I knew there would be plenty of fighting, suspense and of course romance. I have read so many young adult books lately that I couldn't wait to read something different and this was perfect. I loved the power and beauty that the dragons portray and I couldn't wait to see how Julie Kagawa would bring them to life.....
The main character, Ember, is a young female dragon who has to learn to adapt with human teenagers while training to become an elite member of Talon. Ember has a twin brother, Dante as well and this is very extraordinary because female dragons only lay one egg at a time. Ember and Dante have trained all their lives in order to be able to live among humans without being detected by their sworn enemies, The Order of St. George. The Order of St George are dragon hunters who are determined to force dragons into extinction.
Garrett and Tristan have been trained all their lives to be members of The Order of St. George and help defeat dragons. They have always been told that dragons are evil creatures and should be exterminated.
Ember and Garrett meet by chance one night while Ember and her girlfriends are in an bad situation with a group of tourist boys.. Garrett defends the girls and when he and Ember meet they have an instant connection. Garrett and Ember begin to get closer from then on and Garrett suspects that she might be a dragon but he doesn't want to believe it.
Riley is a rogue dragon who doesn't believe in Talon and fights to survive in the human world without being brought back into the fold. Riley and Ember meet and he brings out the wild side in her. He talks her into shedding her human form and flying with him in her dragon form. Ember breaks all the rules when she is with Riley and this could cause her to be sent back into training if she is caught.
"Because you're exactly like me- you don't want your whole life planned out. You're tired of following Talon's rules, of not having any say in your future. You want to know who Talon really is, but it's even more than that, isn't it? You want to be free." His eyes gleamed, golden and brilliant in the shadows. "And I can show you how."
Ember is such a confused character. She wants to be both human and dragon and she has feelings for both Garrett and Riley. This is such an amazing love triangle because the boys are complete opposites of each other and Ember just has to go with her heart.
"My insides fluttered, sending curls of heat through my stomach and shivers all the way down my spine. So, this was what it was like to kiss someone.....and mean it."
I was literally glued to the pages and couldn't wait to see what happened next. There are parts that are fantasy and parts that are reality. I loved getting to see the action scenes from both aspects. I just loved this book.... period. Julie Kagawa really knows how to grab the attention of young adult readers and creates a story that is just fascinating.
**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**
**I want to say Thank You to Harlequin Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**
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