The Dragon's Apprentice

The Dragon’s Apprentice is an engaging start to a new series by James Riley. We start by meeting Bianca of Skael, a starving street orphan, who meets Tia, the Dragon Mage, who summons dragons to teach 5 young people magic so they can pass it on to the world. While that would be a great story, and I was ready to hear about her adventures as a dragon apprentice, the author switches it up and turns out we are reading her 1,000-year old diary, and the true story is Ciara and her discovery of the diary and her accidental summoning of the last dragon, Scorch. Both stories are interesting starts, and now I hope we learn more about Bianca and her fate as we learn about Ciara’s path to righting wrongs with magic.
I listened to an audiobook of this story, and the narrator did a fantastic job bringing life, heart, and magic to the characters. Her accent added the ethereal quality that was perfect for a book about dragons, magic, and royal corruption.
Scorch and Ciara have a lot to learn about working together, and their emerging understanding is at the heart of the story. Scorch is a big old softie and Ciara is headstrong and determined to find justice. I thoroughly enjoyed this first book and look forward to the sequel that is out now.

What worked:
The story opens with a prologue that presents an enticing hook. It’s a journal entry by a homeless girl named Bianca on the day she meets the Dragon Mage. Bianca is recruited along with five other children to become apprentices to six dragons. The Dragon Mage’s hope is for all humans to eventually have magic and Bianca assumes readers must have the ability years later. However, Ciara, the main character, finds only one journal entry, and only royals are allowed to practice magic today. This will lead readers to wonder what happened to Bianca and the other apprentices and why the royals forbid anyone from ever speaking Bianca’s name. Each chapter begins with a short sentence or two from Bianca that adds anticipation or a touch of humor.
Ciara finds the journal in the Dragon Mage’s rundown, neglected tower but chooses not to hand it over to the new Warden. She summons a dragon called Scorch and readers will enjoy their unusual relationship. Scorch doesn’t think much of human intelligence and doesn’t miss many opportunities to point that out to Ciara. He explains the importance of tracing draconic symbols precisely and laughs hysterically when Ciara’s spell results in a horde of rats instead of a sumptuous meal. Scorch becomes cranky when Ciara wants to use the term spell instead of dragon magic. He refuses to call Bianca’s journal a spell book! Maybe he’s still testy since Ciara changed him into a horse.
Ciara’s sole motive is to cure her mother of the deadly Skael Cough that’s already taken her father. The Warden says he has enough medicine to save the whole village but people must pay everything they own to receive it. The Warden isn’t an honorable man as he often fails to follow through with his promises and deals. This makes him a ruthless antagonist who’s easy to hate. Scorch agrees to help Ciara save her mother but his motivation is to discover what happened to his original apprentice, Bianca, and the Dragon Mage. Ciara and Scorch make an unlikely pair and their sarcastic, playful relationship still makes a formidable team against a clear-defined bully.
What didn’t work as well:
The book leaves unanswered questions that readers must assume will be dealt with as the series progresses. What happened to the Dragon Mage and is her dream of universal magic a mistake? What kind of person is the emperor? Most of what readers know comes from the Warden who is a dishonest man. The characters of Ciara and Scorch could have been more developed.
The final verdict:
The amusing interactions between Ciara and Scorch make the book an entertaining adventure. The story has minimal violence and has a wholesomeness to it. I recommend you give it a shot!