The Dragon's Price

The Dragon's Price
by Bethany Wiggins

This book is a good choice for anyone out there who are fans of Julie Kagawa and her novels. This book starts off sounding like your typical, every-day "I don't want to be forced into marriage so I'm going to do whatever I can to save my individuality" quest-type story. The main character comes from royal blood (also a common book character trait) and has a long-standing peace treaty with another kingdom (again, as per usual). This, however, is where the similarities end. For one, this novel has DRAGONS. I love dragons (as I suspect some of you do as well). Dragons are something that has an allure to readers- if a book is about dragons, I will pick it up. If there is a dragon on the cover, I will pick it up. There is some kind of special draw to the magic of them, to their mystery and mythology. However, in The Dragon's Price, the first book in the new Transference trilogy, there is a bit of a twist. When you kill a dragon, you gain its treasure. Sure, normally this would mean gold or money. However, in this novel, "treasure" is shown to mean a whole lot more.

The Dragon's Price is a great read for fans like me of the dragon stories, but it also holds an appeal for multiple other genres of readers- romance is another biggie. If you like romance novels; doomed ones, prince/princess ones, and pretty much any other kind of romance, this is the book for you. Sorrow, the main character, goes into her unsure future trying to avoid a loveless (and disturbing) marriage arrangement. What she would least expect to do is fall in love, right? Well, gear up- this romance is one that will keep you enthralled in the characters and their story, and will keep you on your toes wondering and hoping about what will happen.


What? You say?
What will happen?
Well, I guess you'll just have to read it to find out! (Hint: the end had me surprised, slightly flabbergasted, and ready and eager for a sequel!)

If I have to give this book a traditional, "what would you rate it on a scale of 1-5" rating, I would probably give it somewhere between a 3 and a 4. The plot had DRAGONS (that is two automatic stars) and it had great twists- to the dragon mythology, to the character and her story, and to the romantic plot. However, it could use some improvement. It felt more like a trial-run for the author- like this was a test run at writing, but that she has a LOT of potential to improve. I look forwards to reading her work in the future!

This book is a lot like bread. If you eat (read) too much, it makes you feel kinda sick. On the other hand, there are so many kinds of bread that it appeals to so many people- some people like sourdough just as some people like romance. Some people like fantasies, just like some people like whole wheat. This book is like bread for that reason- it suits many people because it has many genres in it. Then, once you think that you've had so much and you've eaten all sorts of bread that it can never surprise you anymore, you discover a new type of bread that you love- and then you start eating breads all over again. This book is a lot like that- something happens that outrages you or annoys you and then makes you more invested in the story. Personally, I would say that this book is whole wheat- grainy with some rough patches that need smoothing out and with little bits of everything so that anyone can find something they like about it.

Enjoy reading, everyone! This one is a fun read, even if it is not quite a five-star novel, so give it a try! Chances are there is something you will like about it! If you are . interested in this author, you can check her out at http://bethanywiggins.com/.

    ~Lucy