Oh, boy here we go again! I hope you missed me, even a little, because I certainly missed the sweetness of a roasting meal. Dear Reader, buckle up your seatbelts, because this review is going to be a long one. Exactly like the book which is being reviewed today... The Dragon Rider by @rellish, a book with stunning 95K views and almost 7K votes, as well as many loving comments and fans. Let's get right to it.

The cover is actually sweet with a style similar to a comic book. It's one of those "love it or hate it" covers, I personally loved it. The blurb is dangerously close to being enormous, which I generally dislike, no matter the genre. It is decent, but gives away a little bit too much for my liking (f.e the MCs complete background story). Either way, it picked my interest and I decided to give it a chance. Was I rewarded? .....Unfortunately, I can't say that I did.

Plot & Characters

Evan, our male lead, is a 26 year old guy who can turn into a dragon, an experience that left him blind (but not really, more like Daredevil, sensing everything around him) and gave him a dragon spirit called Nemeth, which is often uncontrollable. Because of that, Evan's only friend is our female lead Hannah, with whom he has a very unique and amazing friendship (something that is subtly mentioned 2-3 times PER chapter).

Hannah drags Evan into a bar unwillingly because Saturday night, and Evan mysteriously senses two friendly auras. Seth, an introvert MIT student and Dima, an ex-Marine. After some comic scenes, some dragon transformation scenes, a lot of dialogue and some bad-guy chasing, we find out that the biggest part of the USA is ruled by the Dragon King and Evan is said rightful King, who was given away as a child since his evil cousin Eric (also a Dragon) killed Evan's parents. Hannah and Dima are siblings and also the protectors of the Dragon King, and Seth is the Dragon Rider..... Oh, they also control one element each... Ev is fire, Han is air, Dima is water and Seth is earth because originality.

Unfortunately, the witch who explained all this backstory betrays them, because she is in love with evil Eric (cringe). The rest is just a number of chapters where Hannah gets captured, the guys try to rescue her while bonding, they fail and get captured. Evan's spirit is crushed only to be restored again, and Eric is killed in a last battle. The end leaves us with a few more questions and a new threat for the second book in the trilogy to follow.

So what is actually the problem here, Fany? someone might ask. A short and nice, if a tiny bit unoriginal plot here. Let me tell you exactly what my problem is here. This story is 49 chapters long. Almost every chapter is a 20min-30 min worth of reading. With a few calculations this book has a stunning number of approximately 220.000 words! I know this may not sound as bad, but this number of words is an equivalent of a 750 page paperback book! George R.R. Martin's Game of thrones is a 850 page book and has a dozen MCs and many intriguate plot/subplots. I summarized the Dragon Rider in three paragraphs! Do you see the actual problem now?

This book has so many unneseccary and repetitive staff. SO. FREAKING. MANY. I can't even beginning to describe how oft Evan says that Hannah is more than a simple friend, a soulmate, family to him. Even in the last chapters, where the reader just wants the plot to move forward so they can have an epic dragon battle, we get treated with how much our MCs love each other, how happy they are that they have found each other, and, of course, become a couple! Because that's better than friendship, I guess?

So many tedious lines too, secondary characters that offer practically nothing new to the story except a few dialogues and comic relief, like Nic, Dima's best friend who is also a panther (because people can swift in other animals, too.) Or scenes that repeat themselves, like chasings, transformations, Evan's mood changes and the constant reminder of a prophecy for the upcoming Dragon King which takes almost a whole chapter just to explain, line by freaking line.

Don't get me wrong. There were elements I enjoyed in this book. The fact that this is Urban fantasy, in our own universe, that has Dragons and Shifters was a huge plus. Seth and Dima are actually cool characters, some fighting in the ending is well written and they were some good puns/dialogues. But it has so many cliches and snores as well. Evan, who had the potential of being such a good MC, is being a constant whiny chicken, unable to decide if being a Dragon is a good or a bad trait or if he can handle the responsibility. Being a total bitch to other people in the process, too.

So many things don't make sense as well f.e the fact that everyone, even people who are non-magical, see a real fucking Dragon in front of their eyes and just accept the fact because, a) we see it, so it must be true and b) AMAZING. A DRAGON! The real reaction would be to run straight to a psychologist and check if someone injected you with fucking LSD! Everyone is just so passive to the fact that magic exists in our world.  Our characters are so calm, accepting and cool, even though there is a prophecy about a final battle and a freaking PSYCOPATH that hunts them.

The leads are also 50-50% interesting, or should I better say: 70-30%. I already mentioned how Evan is a whiner who likes to unessecary show off in a number of occasions, and can't decide if he is strong or just a coward. Hannah is actually my worst character in this book, my dislike magnified by the fact that she is described as cute, strong, dynamic and overall amazing ALL THE TIME. When in fact she acts like an obsessive bitch, bursting into Evan's house when he is tired and wanting to sleep, to drag him into a bar because she has a feeling. Throughout the book she tries to tell Evan what to do continuously, and this is considered as help and a good thing. Dear Writers, people FORCING other people to do stuff is inexcusable. It's not cute, it's not strong, it's unhealthy behavior. The end.

Seth and Dima were actually pretty cool characters and I liked them. They were a good contrast to one other, and other than the contrived repetion of a lot of their dialogues, like Seth's "I am so happy I finally have friends" thing, they were trully redeeming MCs. The main villain though.... oh, boy. Eric is a true sadistic psychopath with serious bloodlust (for no apparent reason, mind you), but instead of being this truly intimidating villain who whispers and smiles and then suddenly stabs you at the throat, he is that "Jared-Leto-Joker" kind of evil, with lines such as: EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!! or I am the KING!! This way of drama-queen screaming and presentation, just takes all the intimidation and throws it in the trash. There are also a bunch of secondary characters, some more important/interesting than others, as well as your usual good guys pretending to be bad and bad witch in love with the villain who pretends to be good.

Overall, this could and would have been a pleasant experience if not for the impossible lenghty and tedious script. The idea and the possibility of something good is there, but when a reader can actually binge-read the last fifteen chapters of a book, reach the ending scene and understand everything that is happening, means that something has gone wrong.

Grammar & Writing Style

Grammar was very decent on this book, considering it is a first draft. A few missing words here and there, but the reader can easily figure out what is going on in the story.

The writing style is actually a pretty good idea, which unfortunately suffers on its execution. The writer treats us with the character's first person POVs, which is a nice way to get into the story, theoretically. But the repetition is constant, f.e a character thinks of something and then proceeds to say it out loud in a piece of dialogue. Why? There are also many parts where information which we already know is being mentioned, again. I realise the writer went for a realistic-style of writing, but this is not needed.

Some huge chunks of exposition are also present, most notably Evan's introductory chapter where almost all of his life is introduced. Beware, not only some major significant events, but also stuff which could easily be left out and presented later in dialogue (like the abuse he took in his school because of his blindness.) A little mystery is needed, in order to connect with the characters later on. 

Advice to the writer

1) Look out and erase any repetitions. Quite self-explanatory, and something you probably already know yourself. There are so many scenes which repeat themselves and don't allow the actual plot to proceed, which is irritating. Take a good look at your work and ask yourself: What is really needed? What is not? Haven't this part of the story been mentioned before in another character arc? Less is more. 

2) Try and make your characters/situations more believable. I understand this is a fantasy book, but this is no excuse for the characters/actions to be unbelievable. I get that Evan's dragon form is magnificent, but there is absolutely no possibility a simple farmer woman like Dima's mother looks at it and says"So, you are a dragon, ha?" WTF? Also, in the forest scene, Dima already knows they are being watched even as they are walking towards the cottage, and instead of turning around and comfronting the stalkers or running away, the MCs just continue their way like nothing is happening? Think of your character's actions a little bit more.

3) Decide what your style is going to be. I realised, that throughout this book, you try to break the fourth wall by having the characters talking directly to the camera/audience, as well as many attempts of comic relieves in dire situations. While the last chapters were, more or less, dark and gritty. What sort of a book do you want to have? A more light-hearted one or a serious, epic one? It's your decision, but it needs to be clear to the audience.

Final rating: 6/10. Because this book was a drag for me after a certain point. I wish this was not the case, but unfortunately, a lot of work is needed for it to reach a level of greatness.