Language: R (16 swears, 3 “f”); Mature Content: PG (some kissing, no underage drinking or drug use); Violence: PG-13 (repeated intense scenes with peril, some fantasy violence, some on-page blood but no dismemberment)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY
16yo Ellinore the Brave is a fraud. She is the best quester in all the land of Avoury, however, every quest she has been on hasn’t been quite as glorious, like the bards sing about. The lies keep piling up and it’s stressing her out, so she announces her retirement. However, she is called back into service when her twin brother Zig makes an ill-informed magical wager with two shady mages, based on her inflated reputation. Now it is literally life or death with Zig’s heart on the line and it is up to Ellinore to do the impossible (for real), one last time.
I liked watching Ellinore grow into her real identity, instead of her glorified reputation. She has a merry crew that she reluctantly acquires, and the romance with Princet Aven (they/them, nonbinary) was just the icing on top of the story. Some reviews said it was a young-adult romantasy, which I think is a stretch. This is really an adventure story that has flavors of Dungeons and Dragons, but a little more silly. I couldn’t get over the fact that the dragon’s name was Dave. I mean Dave the Dragon, really? I was disappointed that there were a couple of F words, because it made the book rated R, when the mature content and violence weren’t as graphic.
Reviewer: K. Beddes, ELA teacher
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