[TQE]⋙ [PDF] Free The Priestess and the Dragon Dragon Saga Volume 1 Nicolette Andrews Books

The Priestess and the Dragon Dragon Saga Volume 1 Nicolette Andrews Books

Download As PDF : The Priestess and the Dragon Dragon Saga Volume 1 Nicolette Andrews Books

The Priestess and the Dragon Dragon Saga Volume 1 Nicolette Andrews Books

The actual rating is more like and a half stars out of five. The Priestess and The Dragon was an entertaining, fast paced read that reminded quite a bit of the anime/manga known as InuYasha.

To start, I'd like to talk about the protagonist, Suzme. She's a spoiled brat, that much is clear and she whines often. However, I loved that aspect, because no one ever pretended she was anything but what she was, not the Dragon, not Rin, not Tsuki or any other supporting character nor Suzme herself. I loved how honest they all were about her negative points. On the flipside, Suzme was smart, knew what she wanted and didn't apologize for wanting it. There was an honesty about her character and how other characters viewed her that I loved and it was a complete breath of fresh air in YA novels.

Kaito, or the Dragon was an interesting character for me. I liked the aspects where we got to be in his head, see what he was thinking, feel what he was feeling and gain a better understanding of who he was and why he did the things he did. I maintain he had his flaws, as did Suzme and just like Suzme, no one pretended that Kaito was perfection incarnate. People viewed him honestly and his painful past (which gained him my sympathy as well) was not used to explain away some of his poorer actions. Another bout of honesty that I really enjoyed.

I also loved Andrews and her incorporation of Chinese and Japanese mythology and culture into her novel. It made for a refreshing take on fantasy worlds as the market is dominate by worlds based on Europe. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it was nice to get a change of scenery. With this aspect, however, it was weak. Yoaki, Oni and other creatures showed up in the story and though I was able to use context clues to figure out what that all was, it was confusing at first while reading. Andrews, in some places, failed to explain to her readers what these creatures were. I think Andrews would have benefitted from expanding more in the beginning, alluding to the Yokai stories Suzme had heard to give the reader more of a base of those creatures as she encountered them.

The reincarnation aspect, I think, is what reminded me the most of InuYasha. Suzme the reincarnation of a powerful priestess breaks the seal set by her past life on a powerful creature many years after it was set and gets dragged along by the creature on a quest to take revenge for what happened to them. (Kagome is the reincarnation of a powerful priestess and breaks the seal on InuYasha 50 years after it was set and goes on a quest.) However, despite the similarities, the storyline took a drastic turn from what I was expecting and I give Andrews props for that, it's not often that I'm surprised. However, I felt the twists sometimes lacked foreshadowing, nothing was really alluded to in regards to that twist at the end and that for me, was a bit of a let down. I would have liked to start questioning certain things sooner, wondering about and then having my theories confirmed or denied depending on what they were.

Ending was good, explained things, tied up loose ends, set up a sequel and at the end we did see that Suzme had grown from the spoiled and selfish princess she was at the start. She grew up a little during the course of the story and I look forward to seeing how she will grow in the coming volumes. However, the ending battle scene let me let down, it lacked the suspense, the heart-pounding, cold-sweat omigosh are they going to die? feeling that I wanted to get and expected to get out of the final climax of the story.

Overall though, I would recommend this book to people, it was entertaining, easy to read and looks great on a bookshelf with that amazing cover!


Tags : Amazon.com: The Priestess and the Dragon (Dragon Saga) (Volume 1) (9781517361839): Nicolette Andrews: Books,Nicolette Andrews,The Priestess and the Dragon (Dragon Saga) (Volume 1),CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1517361834,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Epic

The Priestess and the Dragon Dragon Saga Volume 1 Nicolette Andrews Books Reviews

A quick and entertaining read but the story line is lacking and I really dislike the main character.

Suzume is a disgraced princess, a spoiled and shallow individual who’s pride gets in the way of being a functional person. She thinks that she is better than her companions but still recognizes that their abilities are far superior to hers, and yet continuously forgets what they are? Seriously, she is traveling with a dragon, a kitsune and a brother sister pair sharing the same body. How can she forget what they are?

I am curious to see how this tale ends since the dragon loves a piece of Suzume’s soul. But then, shouldn’t he be endeared to his own son following that logic? Ultimately Suzume wants to be loved, but her own pride and vanity won’t allow it.
I love how in this book some of the characters from Kitsune return to be part of the story. Suzume is a very headstrong princess who was exiled along with her mother and siblings because her mother supposedly cheated on her father the Emperor. Of course throughout the story it's alluded to that something besides adultery is the real reason that she was exiled. Suzume is very spoiled and throughout the book she starts to lose her spoiledness but still retains some of it by the end of it.

Kaito is the Dragon from the book Kitsune and after he is set free from his seal he vows to find and kill the reincarnation of his former lover. Of course most people in the book that the two interact with are convinced that Suzume is Kazue's reincarnation but she is very adamant that she is not.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning and I'm looking forward to reading book two in the series. It's worth picking up and reading.

Rating 4½ stars out 5
I got this book via pre-order on because it sounded like my favorite genre. I also highly liked the idea, when I came across it in this book, of a soul being fractured and portions being reborn in other people, as that too is a theme meant to be in all three of my interlinked series. It was really refreshing to see another author working with themes similar to ones I like to play with.

Besides... Priestesses and Dragons. How can you go wrong with that? I don't think you can. There is a reason dragons like virgins.

Now that we've covered the why of why I chose to read this book, let's talk about mechanics. I was really impressed with the pace of this tale, so I'll definitely be watching for when book two is ready. I was hooked quickly by how I was plunged into Suzume's head, especially with how itchy ancient Japanese bridal makeup was described as being, when having to wear for a long time. The interplay between the fallen daughter of the Emperor, the shrine's Head Priestess and the second was wonderful and revealed a lot about each character quickly. So too the dragon when Suzume accidentally woke him up... by the worst and possibly most mortifying case of gastrointestinal distress ever (which didn't stink, I just found it hilarious). Having been hooked you don't really get the chance to get bored. No, you get dragged through swamps, poor Suzume has crap happen left and right... No downtime. She does have opportunity to complain about that as well.

Character growth was well paced and believable. I was prepared for a romance and extremely satisfied to see Mr Arrogant become less arrogant (somewhat, he is a dragon... dragons have egos). The love triangles in the book were not overdone either, which I find to be a rare thing. Extra points in my mind for that. Suzume also goes from a snotty, annoying, strong-willed girl into a determined woman actually finding that the things she thought she once wanted no longer had the same appeal after her adventure. Very well done there.

People I think would like this one are those that enjoyed "Inuyasha" or "Red as Blood, White as Bone" which both share Japanese priestess characters. I also think that those liking straight up adventure would enjoy this, since even though to me it is primarily supernatural romance, the romance is not the only pillar. The adventure component in some ways is even stronger than the romance. This is also one that I think would make for a great audiobook.
The actual rating is more like and a half stars out of five. The Priestess and The Dragon was an entertaining, fast paced read that reminded quite a bit of the anime/manga known as InuYasha.

To start, I'd like to talk about the protagonist, Suzme. She's a spoiled brat, that much is clear and she whines often. However, I loved that aspect, because no one ever pretended she was anything but what she was, not the Dragon, not Rin, not Tsuki or any other supporting character nor Suzme herself. I loved how honest they all were about her negative points. On the flipside, Suzme was smart, knew what she wanted and didn't apologize for wanting it. There was an honesty about her character and how other characters viewed her that I loved and it was a complete breath of fresh air in YA novels.

Kaito, or the Dragon was an interesting character for me. I liked the aspects where we got to be in his head, see what he was thinking, feel what he was feeling and gain a better understanding of who he was and why he did the things he did. I maintain he had his flaws, as did Suzme and just like Suzme, no one pretended that Kaito was perfection incarnate. People viewed him honestly and his painful past (which gained him my sympathy as well) was not used to explain away some of his poorer actions. Another bout of honesty that I really enjoyed.

I also loved Andrews and her incorporation of Chinese and Japanese mythology and culture into her novel. It made for a refreshing take on fantasy worlds as the market is dominate by worlds based on Europe. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it was nice to get a change of scenery. With this aspect, however, it was weak. Yoaki, Oni and other creatures showed up in the story and though I was able to use context clues to figure out what that all was, it was confusing at first while reading. Andrews, in some places, failed to explain to her readers what these creatures were. I think Andrews would have benefitted from expanding more in the beginning, alluding to the Yokai stories Suzme had heard to give the reader more of a base of those creatures as she encountered them.

The reincarnation aspect, I think, is what reminded me the most of InuYasha. Suzme the reincarnation of a powerful priestess breaks the seal set by her past life on a powerful creature many years after it was set and gets dragged along by the creature on a quest to take revenge for what happened to them. (Kagome is the reincarnation of a powerful priestess and breaks the seal on InuYasha 50 years after it was set and goes on a quest.) However, despite the similarities, the storyline took a drastic turn from what I was expecting and I give Andrews props for that, it's not often that I'm surprised. However, I felt the twists sometimes lacked foreshadowing, nothing was really alluded to in regards to that twist at the end and that for me, was a bit of a let down. I would have liked to start questioning certain things sooner, wondering about and then having my theories confirmed or denied depending on what they were.

Ending was good, explained things, tied up loose ends, set up a sequel and at the end we did see that Suzme had grown from the spoiled and selfish princess she was at the start. She grew up a little during the course of the story and I look forward to seeing how she will grow in the coming volumes. However, the ending battle scene let me let down, it lacked the suspense, the heart-pounding, cold-sweat omigosh are they going to die? feeling that I wanted to get and expected to get out of the final climax of the story.

Overall though, I would recommend this book to people, it was entertaining, easy to read and looks great on a bookshelf with that amazing cover!