The Dragon's Apprentice

3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Ciara, slowly starving in a mining town distant from the capital of the empire, has found an old journal. She keeps it to herself even when the Emperor sends troops to find it, and even when her father and then her mother are forced to work in the mines and contract disease. But then one day, when the troops finally find the book, it somehow summons a dragon.
Review
The Dragon's Apprentice takes a while to get it's feet on the ground. It's so intent on being cute (“STOP. Don't read any further. There are magic spells in this book...”) that the story itself has to fight to make its way through. After the first few chapters, though, it finds its stride.

While competently put together, there are few surprises here, beyond what seemed to me a mismatch between a simple plot and somewhat more sophisticated vocabulary that left me unsure of the intended audience. Given a premise of a spellbook, a young girl, and a dragon, the plot is largely what you'd expect. There are villains and very little violence, which fits the mostly young seeming tone. More disappointing is a very intentional cliffhanger ending. There's some mystery here to explore, but it all felt a little too manufactured for me.

I wish I'd been able to engage with the characters more. The viewpoints are split between girl and dragon, but I didn't find either one appealing or well developed enough to really draw me in, and the pace of the book felt rushed. Overall, it's inoffensive, and a quick read, but unlikely to stay with me for long.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.