Reviewed: July 1st, 2021
Released: June 19th, 2016
Genre: YA/Teen Fantasy
Moody Dragons. Snarky Elves. Fierce Mermaids. And two unlikely heroes who are fated to save them all.
Cole’s life spirals into an uncontrollable battle of life and death on his 18th birthday when he discovers his dragon heritage and the prophecy that awaits.
As if being a normal teenager isn’t hard enough, Cole learns that he’s also royalty. His birth parents are the king and queen of dragons. That makes Cole the Prince of Ochana–and their future king.
With that legacy comes a special mystical calling–devoting an eternity to protecting all beings from creatures bent on bringing an end to all that is good. This makes Cole the newly-minted Keeper of Dragons. With no formal training or control of his mahier dragon-magic, his first task is to keep the nefarious farro-fallen fairies at bay.
The foreseen prophecy set his fate in stone. If Cole can’t embrace his destiny, then all beings will die–including his new dragon family.
Helen’s thoughts:
When I picked up this book, I didn’t realise it was targeted at young readers, which explains some of the simplistic, very explanatory prose. So be aware this YA fantasy is really aimed at 12-18 year olds.
In light of that this is a lovely fantasy story about Colton, who finds out on his eighteenth birthday that he is a Dragon, and has been living with adoptive parents for the last eighteen years. Mind blowing in itself. It is quite an emotional start, Culican makes you really feel the loss and confusion Cole experiences, no matter how much his adoptive parents try to ease it.
When his real parents turn up to tell him he is a dragon shifter, he is transported into a new life. He then finds out he is the son of the King and Queen of Ochanda, a dragon realm, and he is one of it’s protectors.
He never really gets the chance to absorb any of that before he has to save the dragon world, without much knowledge about the world he has been thrust into. His fear that he doesn’t know what he is doing is very real.
First book in a coming of age fantasy series. You sympathise with Cole as he struggles to come to terms with his new life and what he is expected to do. There is much more for him and us to learn about the world of Ochanda and the dragon shifters.
About the Author:
J.A. Culican is a USA Today and International Bestselling author of the young adult fantasy series Keeper of Dragons. Her first novel in the fictional series catapulted a trajectory of titles and awards, including top selling author on the USA Today bestsellers list and Amazon, and a rightfully earned spot as an international best seller. Additional accolades include Best Fantasy Book of 2016, Runner-up in Reality Bites Book Awards, and 1st place for Best Coming of Age Book from the Indie book Awards.
For more information about J.A. Culican visit her website at: jaculican.com and follow her on Facebook: @jaculican
You can find her on:
You can purchase Book One: Keeper of the Dragons: Return of the Prince
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback
Link book on Amazon Canada: eBook | Paperback
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my books which are available in eBook or paperback: Book One: Sentinals Awaken. Book Two: Sentinals Rising. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 