Fledgling (The Dragonrider Chronicles Book 1)

I enjoyed this intriguing book very much. Fantasy is one of my favourite genres and I'm partial to dragons too! It is original and held my interest right until the end. It is quite a short novel though and I realised when I came to the last page that it is only book 1 of a series and book 2 is not out yet which was disappointing. I do hope it won't be long before the second one appears as this one ends quite abruptly leaving the reader frustrated! Reasonably priced, the Kindle edition is only 77p and well worth the money if you are a fantasy fan.One of the themes it explores is how a child of mixed parentage grows up to struggle with non-acceptance from both sides. Here in this book the main character is half grey elf and half human. He is often addressed contemtuously as "half breed" and is treated badly by both humans and gray elves. He is beaten up by human bullies who are all much bigger than himself; which to say the least makes life very difficult at times for him. One last tiny niggle is the number of times the author has her characters "smirking" at each other. As this term really means smugness I think the more usual word "smile" would be more appropriate. It really began to irritate!

I'm not given to writing reviews, but I've made an exception in the case of this interesting new author. I'm a long-time fan of well-written fantasy tales (50 years or so...); it doesn't really concern me too much whether they are labelled "adult" or "young adult" so long as there is a good storyline and interesting characters presented through readable, flowing text. So why I am giving four stars to a book in which I thought the characters rather lacking in depth and which is narrated by a teenage boy in somewhat immature language? Eddings or Rothfuss it certainly isn't. What it is is an undemanding but enjoyable saga of a boy and his dragon - just right if you're not in the mood for something too heavyweight. I've also enjoyed Book 2 (Avian) and I now look forward to its sequel. Give it a go...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and my only criticism is that it was just too short - I read it in a few hours. As the next instalment in the series is not out, I now endure a frustrating wait. That said, I cannot complain about the length as for 77p, it took me into another world. The story: Jaevid is half-elf, half-human, despised by both communities. His mother dies and when he is 12, he goes to live with his father and father's family (who all despise him). Thankfully, this episode of our hero's life only lasts for a few pages before, for some reason - not made clear - a dragon rider takes him to an academy, he stumbles on a wild dragon in chains and threatened with maiming, and is accepted as that dragon's rider. At this point he gains strong champions and strong themes of integrity and courage begin to emerge in our hero along with some strange abilities. I enjoyed the description of Jaevid's development into someone who, despite being scared, pushes himself to step up. Strong characters and some interesting themes coming out. I look forward to the next instalment.

Got this book on a whim as it was free at the time and I have a love for dragons.I found Nicole writing to be very descriptive and engaging - it didn't take long to get immersed in the story. Despite the idea of reading a couple pages a day I ended up reading the book from cover to cover. The interplay between characters was well done and as a reader you were drip fed information as the story progressed leaving you wanting more. The plot only added to the atmosphere created by the novel. Nicole Conway is now on my watch list.

This was an impulse buy at christmas as i was off work and had just finished a hard scifi novel and wanted a breather and came across this novel and for 77p the price i paid and as of the time of the writing of this review it still is, well i couldn't pass that up whats not to like dragons, elves, heroic dragon riders and thats all in the first couple of chapters.i won't spoil the book as i dislike that in reviews, but i will say its probably the best 77p you will spend in 2014go get it now you won't regret it.... well thats not entirely true you will because when you get to the end of it you just want the next one in the series but this won't be out till july ish 2014 and is called AVIAN!

I would really like to give this novel 3.5 stars rather than 3 (or 7/10). I did actually rather enjoy it, but I'm harsh with the stars and will only give out 5 for those I think are exceptional.This book, though pretty light and definitely more of a YA, was well paced and contained an interesting story that did a good job of twisting and freshening up the fantasy clichés. It made them enjoyable to read (and let's face it, they exist for a reason, all fantasy books will have some!) plus the author managed a few new ideas of her own.I wish a few more of the characters had been better fleshed out, some of them felt like charicutures and there just to move the story along. Also I would like to have seen more of this land and it's people. We only touched the surface in what was happening here in what seems like a pretty harsh but refreshingly unapologetic world. Perhaps a slightly longer tale would have managed this? This book had a first novel feel to it as well, but still managed to avoid the more unforgivable errors and instead carried you along in the adventure - maybe the short length helped here!The main protagonist could have become annoying, but thankfully the author managed to keep him engageing (just, at times!).Yes, there were a few grammatical errors, but few compared to others I've read and they did not make me flinch and stop reading as others have (then again, I'm not particularly good myself at grammar!).All in all an enjoyable light fantasy adventure that I will be buying the sequel to and keeping an eye on this author for future books.

Still reading this book. Has me hooked though! Cannot put it down! As a sci-fi kind of book reading guy, I am really enjoying this story and cannot wait to continue the series!

From beginning to end this is an easy afternoon read. Seeing as this is a fantasy for adolescents to young adults I have to give it a five star rating for what it is. The fantasy does feel a little short but it also has an epic feel to it. The author does a great job in showing us the tip of the iceberg without going into a great deal of information dumping. It is easy to imagine world as it feels real and vibrant. I'm not sure how long the series actually is but again it is a perfect little book for adolescence to young adults looking for an easy and entertaining read. There is enough depth to the story to be entertaining to all ages.As to be expected for the target age of the story there is no foul language and while the action scenes are intense and they are a few graphic injuries and obvious death it is a pretty clean story.

Certainly NOT a book I liked to read !! All to flat and rushed. Too much of rightness from the hero. And he was just gaining powers just like that. Gaaah!

A really exciting book with a great plot and great character development. This is around my 5th time reading the series. I highly recommend this book

With its captivating storyline this book will not fail to inspire younger readers. A fifteen year old boy, half elf half men is despised by both races. One day he gets the chance of a lifetime and grabs it. He becomes a member of the elite Dragonrider Academy. His selfless nature wins him friendships he never thought possible and proves that true heroism can be found even in the weakest person.