annieb123's Review of Heroes of Havensong: Dragonboy (Heroes of Havensong, #1)

by Megan Reyes

This timeless fantasy debut follows four unlikely heroes—a boy-turned-dragon, his reluctant dragon rider, a runaway witch, and a young soldier—bound by the Fates to save their world, and magic itself, from being destroyed.

Blue, River, Wren, and Shenli grew up on different sides of a war they didn’t start. Their land has been torn apart over centuries of conflict, with humans taught to fear all things magical, dragons driven to near extinction, and magic under attack. But an ancient prophecy has put the four them on a collision course with destiny—and with each other—in a mission to heal the fractured realm once known as Haven.

All of them must follow the threads of Fate, leaving behind the lives and homes they know to discover the truth about the seemingly endless war—and the truth about themselves. As the barriers between them begin to crumble, can they unravel the lies they’ve been taught to believe in order to restore the balance between humans, dragons, and magic before it’s too late?

“A powerful cast of characters in an epic tale of dragons and magic.” —Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of The Unwanteds and Map of Flames

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Dragonboy is the first book in a new middle grade epic adventure fantasy series by Megan Reyes. Released 24th Jan 2023 by Random House on their Children's imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out 3rd quarter 2023 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a beautifully written and engaging fantasy for middle grade readers (Lexile 690L). The young protagonists have to learn to work together to overcome prejudice and challenges to save their way of life and their world. The plot is quite complex for a middle grade book and the first third of the book, developing the world, magic, and characters, seemed to take a long time (for a kids' book).

It's a charmingly written book and the author is quite adept at descriptive prose and plotting.

Four stars. It would be a great choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or family reading.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

19 April, 2023: Started reading

19 April, 2023: Finished reading

19 April, 2023: Reviewed