Reviewed by Taylor
TITLE: Reawakening
SERIES: Reawakening #1
AUTHOR: Amy Rae Durreson
LENGTH: 260 pages
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
BLURB:
For a thousand years, since their defeat of the Shadow at Eyr, the dragons have slept under the mountains. Now their king, Tarnamell, has woken. Driven mad by loneliness, he hurls himself south until he finds and tries to claim the Alagard Desert. Unfortunately, the desert already has a guardian spirit, and he doesn’t want to share. Amused by the cocky little desert spirit, Tarn retreats, planning to return in human form.
When his caravan enters the desert, however, Alagard is missing. Rumors fly of a dark power, and soon Tarn’s caravan encounters the living dead and an amnesiac mage called Gard.
Forced to take refuge in the Court of the Shells, a legendary fortress in the heart of the desert, Tarn, Gard, and their allies decide to seek out the Shadow before it destroys the desert. But to confront the Shadow, Tarn needs to gather his strength. A dragon’s power depends on the love and loyalty of his human hoard, but Tarn’s original hoard has been dead for centuries. Before he can face his most ancient enemy, he must win the trust of new followers and the heart of a cynical desert spirit.
REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this fantasy novel in the way that The Neverending Story always makes me smile with nostalgia or that I really enjoy Stardust from Neil Gaiman. Fun but not too dark or angsty. I’d even normally probably round this up to a 4 because the world-building is great, the cast of characters interesting, and I’d never in a million years think of pairing a dragon and a desert spirit together, but it worked beautifully. But this took me days to finish because the pace dragged in spots for me and I just couldn’t get into it enough to read straight through, so for that a 3.5.
The king of the Dragons, Tarnamell, awakens after sleeping for a thousand years. His hoard is long gone, and Tarn finds himself flying away from his mountains seeking love, seeking to protect that love and make it his hoard. When he enters Alagard desert, he finds its spirit, a spirit not happy to have an intruder on his land. Tarn leaves but knows he will find his way back to that beloved land and make it and its occupants his hoard. Tarn shifts to human form and returns to his mountain home and makes the journey back to the desert, along with a cast of characters he meets along the way. But the desert is not like he left it last. Instead the evil Shadow, Tarn and the world’s enemy, has overtaken the land and the desert is anguished. A battle ensues and a man named Gard is left with no memory of who he is and why he is there. Tarn swears to defeat Shadow, protect the desert and the rest of his hoard, and maybe convince Gard that love is possible between the two.
So that’s kind of a simplistic summary of the book, but what I enjoyed most about this novel is Tarn’s POV. He’s courageous, arrogant without being irritating, curious, and the interactions between him and Gard amusing. I particularly enjoyed a scene where Gard climbed up that “dumb lizard” to antagonize him while Tarn pouted. Gard got a bit too snippy and flighty at times, but overall I really enjoyed the two of them together. Tarn’s quest for love, and a love that won’t end, was touching and he was easily the most fascinating character thus far in the series.
I thought it started off really strong, but the second half kind of lost me and my interest waned. The end battle felt a little tied up too nicely, but it did set up the next book in the series in a way that intrigued me.
But all the good stuff is here: good versus evil, mages, spirits, dragons, magic, the walking dead, battle of power and greed, strong female characters, and a long, winding adventure.
If you are a fan of fantasy books, this is a great one to grab.
RATING: 
(more like 3.75 stars)
BUY LINKS: