Title: When Dealing with Dragons
Author: Dana Swift
Genre: YA
Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Copper-crafter Farren Walsh is set on following in her father’s footsteps to become a dragon veterinarian. The only thing more powerful than her love for these magnificent creatures is her hate for those who exploit them for their precious metal. That includes her classmate, an arrogant dragon racer named James Murphy, whose silver-crafting family represents the worst of human greed and dragon abuse―plus, he’s the biggest competition for the college scholarship she desperately needs.
When James strongarms his way into interning at her family’s dragon sanctuary for the summer, it puts everything at risk. Farren isn’t just the plain copper-crafter she seems. She’s hiding a secret that could not only change her life, but their society as a whole. And James, trying to find refuge from his controlling father, harbors his own secret, years-long crush on Farren. Hating James might be harder than she thought, but Farren can’t risk getting too close: the fate of an endangered species is at stake.
This was a cool world/culture. A little dark—the descaling and the class hierarchy—but I really enjoyed the world. The history of the different types of dragons, the way they made metal, the characters, all this combine to make a unique read, and one I really enjoyed. I liked both James and Farren (and Farren’s family) and enjoyed getting to know them more and watching them change. I’d love to read more in this world.
Dana Swift studied English and Advertising. When Dealing with Dragons is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 