Dragonswood

Dragonswood is a solid teen fantasy that lacks just a little bit of that special something that makes you want to treasure and read a book over and over again. The story is set in 12th century Wilde Island (England?) The narrator, 17-year old Tess, is a daughter of an abusive blacksmith. Tess dreams of being free of her father and living alone somewhere alone and supporting herself. But those are not the right times for such dreams. Single women are open for abuse and accusations of witchery. Fo [...]

I read this book until about 3:30 in morning. I could have stopped, I wanted to stop but I felt compelled to see where this trainwreck was going to ultimately end up. Before I went to bed, I gave it two stars but when I woke up this morning and immediately thought of this book (ergh) I realized that rather than it "being okay," to me, I just didn't like it. Stick with me till the end and I shall explain to you the reasons why.I have read the first book in what I would loosely term a series thoug [...]

Dragonswood is a dark alluring powerfully epic high fantasy filled with wonderfully delicious hidden secrets, intrigue, and enchanting mystical realms that will leave readers breathless. From the start, it is deeply compelling and masterfully written, filled with wonderfully developed characters and dangerous action-packed trials facing them. Carey exudes stunning world building skills and introduces a unique spin on fulfilled prophecies. It is a lively mystical tale unlike any other that has co [...]

More like 3.5 stars.I want to start by commenting on how weird it is that I find 3-star, slightly-critical reviews easier to write than 5-star ones. I read this 5-star book last week and I still am not entirely sure what to say.So like many other novels, Dragonswood ended up being different than what I expected. It's not that there's anything particularly wrong with the novel; it's more that I just didn't find it very enjoyable. For one thing, Dragonswood is very oddly paced and plotted. What is [...]

Dragonswood is a strange little novel that starts out well enough, then splinters off into various fragments of stories. As it keeps going, it suffers under its own weight as it tries to reconcile the many different plot threads running through it. Any one of these different threads would make for a decent novel alone, but when they’re all crammed together, none of them have enough weight to actually be interestingE GOODRoughly the first half of this book is decent, if meandering. The focus re [...]

Fearsome dragonsA fairy palaceA lost princeAn epic romanceFearsome dragons (Check)A fairy palace (Check)A lost prince (Check though really obvious)An epic romancet so muchIn the action department Janet Lee Carley hasn't left me disappointed so far after also reading the prequel Dragon's Keep . I think her storytelling style for action and adventure is exciting and unique and I must say I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.My only probleme romance was less than epic, in fact it was almost non [...]

EnchantingBewitchingCaptivating.The beautiful cover definitely and undeniably matches the story. It has that certain pull that compels and draws readers into the heart of Dragonswood. Fey folks, mighty dragons and humans all together in one magical tale." In the enchanted woodland wild,The Prince shall wed a Fairy child.Dragon, Human and Fairy,Their union will be bound by three.And when these lovers intertwine,Three races in one child combine.Dragon, Fey and Humankind,Bound in one bloodline."On [...]

You know when a book has all the things that would theoretically make it the best book ever, but then it justflops? yeah, that was this book for me. I love dragons, medieval tales, the fae folk, witches, and female main characters too! Yet a book with all these things disappointed me so horribly that it near brought me to tears once I realized it was supposed to be a companion novel to one of my childhood favorites "Dragonskeep." So what made it bad?1. The characters were inconsistent. 2. The di [...]

Actual Rating: 3.5Overall it was a good read! It was a simple, pleasant fairytale that had all the characteristics of a classic story. I liked it.

Look. At. That. Cover.Bloody gorgeous.& I loved the inside too <3 Review coming soon!Looking for something sweet with a strong heroin? This is the book you want to read. I must admit that I fell in love with the cover, but the inside is just as pretty!“Even if he was a thief, he was my thief. I could not push him away anymore.”Summary.This story is all about Tess, a daughter from a blacksmith and a woman with no backbone. Her father is abusive, but Tess still remains strong, determine [...]

This review is also available on my blog, QwertyWell, this review had to be short otherwise I run a risk of not finishing my assignment (Boo meeee!!!)I wish I'd take shorter time to finish this book because it is truly a very charming book. It is that kind of story I would tell my nieces and nephews (as I'm still riding solo ::forever alone::) as bedtime stories. I never thought I'd long for this but yeah, I wish there was more romance because the love story was very sweet, I felt like I want to [...]

THE FAERYS VIEWDragonswood by Janet Lee Carey was an absolute delight to read. I spent the entire day reading it and then late into the night until I sighed in contentment at the last page. This doesn’t mean that I don’t foresee a sequel in the future, though! I absolutely Loved this novel!Tess lives with her mother and blacksmith father in the small village of Harrowton on Wilde Island, the year is 1192. Tess’s life is one of physical & emotional abuse by her drunken father. The only [...]

I got an advanced reading copy of this book to review through the Librarything Early Reviewer's program. This was an absolutely stunning book. I loved it from page one and couldn't put it down, I was sad when I finished it because I wanted to read more. This is the second book written by Carey that takes place in this world, but the story is a separate story from the first book (Dragon's Keep) and stand very well on it's own. I never read the first book but now I really want to.Tess is a blacksm [...]

This is a story about Tess – a blacksmith’s daughter who has suffered through most of her life in the hands of her father. And through the nights when the bruises and broken bones were the most painful, she would escape to Dragonswood – a forbidden place inhabited by dragons and faes. Suspected of witchcraft, she was taken by hunters led by Lady Adela to be tortured into submission. She was left with no choice but to give up the names of her friends, who then were forced to escape and hide [...]

First off, you should know, this book is a standalone. Yes! A standalone! With a conclusion and a brief glimpse into the future and the only waiting you have to deal with is the amount of time it takes you to get to the last page. Standalones make me happy. Don’t get me wrong; I love the series books too, but sometimes you want to sit down to read a book and then when it ends, you can think back on it fondly without stressing about what’s going to happen next. You can have that peace of mind [...]

Drag­onswood is about a girl named Tess who sees vision of the future when look­ing into the fires. After her baby brother’s death, accu­sa­tions cause Tess to be accused as a witch. Tor­tured, and with her death immi­nent, Tess is forced to flee her home. Along with Tess are her two best friends, whom have no choice but to come with her on the jour­ney. The girls are forced to hide, and even­tu­ally stum­ble upon the Drag­onswood guardian Garth. Garth is the man Tess has seen in he [...]

I've read several of the other reviews on here, including the three-stars. Several of them speak of the pace "slowing down" too much in the middle. I have to say--I'm SO tired of books having to feel like ohmygoddangerdanger from cover to cover. Intensity is great, it really is. But what happened to story? What happened to having time to actually enjoy a setting? Why does "pace" have to be "fast" all the time?I loved the world-building. I loved the dragons. I loved the voice of the writing. (< [...]

I love when a book has a setting that becomes an essential character that somehow touches every last bit of the story. The mysterious Dragonswood is key in this book. While it serves as a sanctuary to dragons and fey, others are warned to keep their distance. The wood is heavily guarded and danger lurks within. There’s an uneasiness surrounding Dragonswood, and it creeps into everyone and everything on Wilde Island.With that backdrop in place, there is unbelievable tension when Tess finds hers [...]

InDragonswood , a young girl named Tess lives with an abusive father and, after being accused of witchcraft, must flee her hometown with her two friends, Poppy and Meg. Despite this, however, Tess is a bit of an outsider. Poppy is unnaturally alluring, and Meg is married to a nice, loving man. However, she feels a strong pull towards a forbidden forest known as "Dragonswood" and to a woodsman that they meet who calls himself Garth. However, both Garth and the Dragonswood harbour secrets that, wh [...]

Looking for a strong female main character? Tess is a wonderful character to get to know. She is strong, determined, and intelligent; all of the qualities a reader could imagine that would make her the exact antithesis of that "needs a prince to save her" female main character. Tess needs to utilize her natural intellect in order to get herself out of quite a few sticky situations. Tess has always been drawn to the woods; the woods are not the safest place to be, it is rumored that fairies, drag [...]

I wish now that I had not waited so long to read this. I really enjoyed reading this author and have added a few other books by her to read. Dragonswood is a nice, cozy YA fantasy that even though predictable, kept me turning the pages late into the night. There was a touch of romance that I enjoyed and was clean enough to let my young teenage daughter read. My only complaint there is that I wish we could have felt more of what Garth was feeling. I was left guessing too much about his feelings. [...]

Interestingly, this is a sequel to a book that I picked up a while ago but didn't really get into. Dragonswood, though, was phenomenal. It had excellent world-building, one of the best romances I've read in a while, and weaved itself into "normal" medieval times. The writing was quite good, too.If you want some tips on how to write amazing, healthy, romance, read this.The only draw-back was that I guessed at one of the key plot points about 100 pages in, and wasn't shocked at the "big reveal."

I really enjoyed this book. Fairies and dragons and enchanted woods and witch hunts. Betrayal and love and hurt and it all being better again against all odds. A lovely read.

Originally reviewed on The Book SmugglersFor all seventeen years of her young life, Tess has been certain of just a few things: that her father is a brute that takes out his rage on his wife and daughter with his fists, that she would rather grow old alone or run away to the confines of the forbidden Dragonswood rather than be married off to any man, and that she must never ever reveal her secret ability to see the future in fire. Beyond the beatings, fear and hate Tess has for her father, the b [...]

Review originally posted at mycutebookshelf/2012/0Score: 3.5 starsI had been waiting for this book so long. I dreamed about it, no lie. Just the blurb contained every single thing I could ever hope for in a book, but, sadly, Dragonswood failed to deliver in many ways. I do not regret reading this book at all, in fact, I liked it, it just failed to meet my expectations in a big way.The book is a little slow-paced. All the events in the story take a while to happen and the actual, central plot of [...]

In the enchanted woodland wild,The Prince shall wed a Fairy child.Dragon, Human, and Fairy,Their union will be bound by three.Seventeen-year-old Tess has lived a life of secrecy, fighting to survive a hard life as a blacksmith's daughter while hiding her secret power: seeing the future in flames.So when she is accused of being a witch, her escape from death comes as a mixed blessing. Together with her two friends, she flees into a new life - never guessing that there is more to herself (and the [...]

I am a girl who has known mostly the back of a man’s hand, and not the front of it.I quite enjoyed this book. Not so much in the beginningMe: "their is no way I am going to enjoy this, ugh why do I even bother"Me 40 pages in: "you go Tess. Yeah! you go girl"I cannot deny that this book wasn't something I usually read. What came over to me to even pick it up? I will never know. It is quite boring in the beginning, but it picks up about eh 30 pages in? Also, the writing is quite different as wel [...]

Originally posted on The Authoress: Book Review and More.Dragonswood is distinguishable to me for being (basically) the first book for me to buy on pure impulse rather than a desire nurtured and built up over several months to read it. My attraction was instantaneous and my instincts won out. Dragonswood had me captivated in the first few pages on 's Quick Look. Elegantly written from the point of view of a tortured soul, I was drawn into the world with dragonlords, stolen treasure, and witch hu [...]

Dragonswood is an excellent fantasy story that is sure to captivate fantasy and YA fans alike. Tess is a strong protagonist, who has been through a lot but still has a good heart. There were brief moments during which I was slightly annoyed with her, but those were few and far between. There were some mostly happy surprising plot twists that kept me guessing, and some not-so-surprising that left me no less pleased. It’s a fun adventure that mixes fairies, dragons, and humans in a uniquely refr [...]

I was very excited to read a fantasy YA that had dragons and witches and perhaps some old time charm but it sort of fell flat and didn’t completely deliver its gleaming mythical promise with Dragonswood. The cover is intriguing, yes, pretty even but that’s more of a facade than a promise of a solid read, I saw the skeleton of the story but I felt no soul. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed many aspects of this tale; the setting and even some of the characters but they felt so flat and unrealist [...]