keira anne with an e

Finngavin Ivarsson was born into the lowly House of Sheep, and all he wants on his sixteenth birthday is to hear the song the sheep sing, to live the peaceful and quiet life of a shepherd. But a birthmark on his leg makes his fellow villagers wonder if he’s cursed, and they question if the lad will face exile. More than exile—the consequence for not hearing the song of his House—Finn fears being separated from his best friend by the social hierarchy of the other three Houses. With everything at stake, Finn must face the dawn of his coming of age. Nothing can prepare him for what comes next.

Synopsis from Amazon

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate, and earn from qualifying purchases. Find the book here.

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5 stars)

PLEASE NOTE: I received a free copy of this book prior to its release. I was not required to leave a positive review, and all thoughts expressed are my own. Thanks to the author for letting me read it! ❤

Christian fantasy. Dragons. Baby dragons.

Need I say more?

This book was such a fun ride! It really did remind me so much of the first How To Train Your Dragon movie in the aesthetic and the way things played out (which is a total compliment, because that’s one of my favorite movies), but it also was definitely an original idea, and not a copycat, for the record. I was so intrigued by this story, and it did not disappoint! A truly fun YA fantasy that I would happily recommend to anyone looking for a dragon read.

I felt like the characters had a lot more depth than I was anticipating. While YA books usually have fairly standard characters, this one defied that stereotype. I was instantly intrigued with the way we introduced them, and wow, I was so glad to get to know these fun characters! I cannot wait to spend more time with them in book 2!

Finn was a unique main character with very real fears. He didn’t have a lightbulb moment where ‘oh, great, now I’m not scared of anything!’, and I was so grateful for that. Instead, it was a gradual journey of growth that felt so fleshed out, and just made the entire story seem so much more realistic.

The side characters were delightful (especially Ember, let’s be honest), and I really grew to like all of them– except for the ones we weren’t supposed to like, obviously, haha! Our friend group was really great, and I really enjoyed them and their interactions. I also liked how they were introduced in a way that made it easier to keep them separate.

While this was very clean YA, so there wasn’t much true ‘romance’ going on, there was a bit of a love triangle, and I had very strong feelings about which way that should go. Let me just say that I’m a fan of the enemies-to-more trope, and the forced proximity trope, and both of those kind of came into play with one of the characters, so that was the one I was rooting for, and I really hope that we see a romance come about between them in future books. #teamtoril

The Christian faith element was very powerful, and I loved how each house had their own song that was based off Bible verses, which just made my heart so happy. A lot of great allegories that just really shone in this story. I was so happy to read that!

All in all, though, this whole book was just so delightful! I really enjoyed the fantasy elements, and we didn’t cross any lines I felt uncomfortable with (if you follow me, you know how sensitive I am to certain ‘magic’ in my fantasy). The characters were entertaining, there was enough of a mystery thread to keep me captivated, and I really enjoyed the baby dragon, and kind of want one now. While this book definitely doesn’t wrap everything up and the story is still going, it wasn’t a painful cliffhanger for me, which I really appreciated!

Content-wise, I would say this one was quite clean. There are a couple of mentions of making sure that young people are chaperoned, but nothing more. Not a ton of fighting, although there is peril, because it’s a fantasy. The main character is said to be ‘cursed’ (but he isn’t really), and there is a creature called a ‘forest demon’, although I don’t think that was literal, and I certainly didn’t notice anything demonic going on, but I did want to include that for parents to know, since it’s a YA book. Anyway, I did think it was really clean, and I would recommend it to young adult readers.

So, yes, I really enjoyed this one, and can’t wait for the sequel. I might have to go back and read some of this author’s other books, because this one was delightful. Thanks again, so much, Kathryn for giving me a copy of this story! It certainly brightened my reading, and also made me want to watch How To Train Your Dragon again. 🤣

EMOJI REVIEW!

• 🐉 dragons!!!
• 😨 MC who is terrified of dragons
• 🥚 baby dragon egg starting to hatch
• 🏡 found family trope
• 🔎 mysteries and research
• ⛪ faith content and allegories
• 📜 ancient prophecy
• 🏰 great world building

Thanks so much for reading this review! I would definitely recommend checking this book out, and personally can’t wait for the sequel! What’s your favorite dragon story?