Privileged to have reviewed his Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency books I was honoured to be asked to review the first book in his new series an excerpt of which can be read here.
THE DRAGON OF THE MONTH CLUB (Volume 1) by IAIN READING (Click on Kitty Hawk link above for link to the author bio).BACK COVER BLURB: The Dragon Of The Month Club is the exciting first installment in a new book series that tells the story of Ayana Fall and Tyler Travers, two best friends who stumble across an extraordinarily magical book and soon find themselves enrolled as members of a very special and exclusive club - The Dragon Of The Month Club.
On the thirteenth of every month a new dragon conjuring spell is revealed and the two friends attempt to summon the latest Dragon of the Month. The varieties are almost endless: Air Dragons, Paper Dragons, Fog Dragons, Waterfall Dragons, Rock Dragons, Tree Dragons - not to mention special bonus dragons for all major holidays, including a particularly prickly Holly Dragon for Christmas.
But one day when a conjuring spell somehow goes wrong Ayana and Tyler find themselves unexpectedly drawn into a fantastical world of adventure based on the various books scattered all across Tyler's messy bedroom. Travelling from one book-inspired world to the next with nothing to rely on but their wits and a cast of strange and exotic dragons at their disposal they must try to somehow find their way home again.
Drawing inspiration from some of literature's most memorable stories - from 19th century German folktales to the streets of Sherlock Holme's London - the adventures of Ayana and Tyler bring these classic stories to life in delightfully strange and unexpected ways.
FIRST SENTENCE {Chapter One: A Very Unlikely Friendship}: The very unlikely friendship of Ayana Fall and Tyler Travers began on a Tuesday afternoon in the maze of bookshelves at the back of the old library.
MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 26}: The tiny dragon stared at her for a moment then slowly craned its neck forward to sniff her hand, blowing minuscule droplets of water out of its nostrils as it did so
SOURCE: Received for review. My thanks to Kelsey McBride of Book Publicity Services.
MY THOUGHTS: A secret club, strange lands, shark infested waters, action, adventure, just the right amount of peril to make it exciting without being too scary and super cute dragons. The Dragon Of The Month is one of those rare books in that it is a perfect choice for both boys and girls. Its references to folktales and literary characters such as Holmes and Watson I should imagine also making it a popular choice with grown-ups looking to share a book with younger readers.
Whilst I loved the idea of such magical lands as found in the various books lying around a boy's bedroom coming to life, applauded the author for his not stereotyping characters - I can't tell you how much I admire a girl who can throw a coconut with such accuracy - and was fascinated by the inclusion of such well known and loved literary characters - I'm afraid neither Ayana nor Tyler particularly connected with me. Still, early days. This is a series with the potential to prove a big hit.
Check out the Dragon Of The Month/Submit Your Dragon here.
11 comments:
Well what do you know? This one's on my to read list as well. Sounds enchanting and I totally get the disconnect part; some series it takes a book or two to work up to things. Thanks for the share!
It's good to have conflict without being too scary for the kids. Sounds like a good series.
As fun as this one sounds, I think the Kitty Hawk books appeal to me more. Maybe that's because this is more fantasy and they are more like historical fiction.
Good review, though. I enjoyed learning about this new series.
Great to hear about diverse characters, I also love the sound of a main character who can throw a coconut with accuracy.
This sounds cuter than it looks. Plus, I agree... I like a girl that can accurately throw a coconut. LOL Brilly review!
Hi Tracy,
I love the cover art for this book, although it probably isn't something I would read myself.
It was interesting that you caommented ..
"Drawing inspiration from some of literature's most memorable stories - from 19th century German folktales to the streets of Sherlock Holme's London - the adventures of Ayana and Tyler bring these classic stories to life in delightfully strange and unexpected ways." ....
As I came across another series of childrens books, in Kathy's mailbox, which also takes the classics as a basis for a young child's bedtime reading story.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/895119.Jennifer_Adams
I didn't realise that Kelsey also dealt with the promotion of children's books, although there is no good reason why she shouldn't :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this book,
Yvonne
Although I am not terribly interested in dragons, this book sounds clever, and I do like the idea of an unlikely friendship beginning in a library. Thank you for another wonderfully written review, Tracy.
The premise of this one sounds so creative and fun. I think that an imaginative young person would love a book like this. In fact, I would not mind getting my hands on the spell book myself...
Awww this book sounds so fun! I love it, will definitely have to try and get a hold of this for my cousin, possibly even myself! - Tasha
I haven't heard of this series- but it is one I plan to check out. I love MG books and it could be a series for my students in the library. Sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review the dragon of the month club! We'll be sure to send you the next book in the series once it's released. If anyone else would like a complimentary review copy, just email us at bookpublicityservices@gmail.com and let us know.
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