A Review for Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

Posted by Donna
Published Date: January 5th, 2012
Finished Date: December 29th, 2011
Publishers: Penguin Young Readers Group
Source: For Review from Author
Format: Paperback
Pages: 416
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The Blurb from Goodreads: Wilde Island is in an uproar after the recent death of its king. The uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is fraying, and a bloodthirsty witch hunter with a hidden agenda whips villages into frenzies with wild accusations. Tess, a blacksmith’s daughter from a tiny hamlet near the mysterious Dragonswood, finds herself caught in the crosshairs of fate when she is accused of witchery and has to flee for her life along with her two best friends. Not even Tess’s power to see the future can help the girls as they set off on their desperate journey, but she keeps having visions of a man wielding a sword. And when she finally meets him, Tess has no idea how to handle the magnetic attraction she feels for him, or the elusive call she hears from the heart of the Dragonswood. In this epic romance, an ancient prophecy comes true in a way neither dragon, fairy, nor human would have predicted.
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The Review:  3.5 out of 5: Dragonswood is a medieval fantasy that will captivate you from start to finish. With fascinating characters, an awesome ancient prophecy and a love story that will leave you completely satisfied, its not one you want to miss out on in 2012.

The story follows Tess, a young girl who is accused of witchery along with her two best friends. When they escape Wilde Island they are taken in by a mysterious man.  However, Tess has had visions of this man before but they slowly get to know on another and she can not fight the attraction between them. When Tess hears calls from Dragonswood; a mysterious and forbidden land, she has no choice but to follow it. Tess is then thrown into a magical and dangerous world that surrounds dragons, fairies and her.

I really enjoyed Dragonswood, I have to admit I didn’t realise it was in medieval times but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. I loved finding out how everything worked back then and it was a shame how quickly people were put to their deaths once they were accused of witchery. I did however find the story slow at times, I felt as though things were dragged out in parts and I really wish we had got to see more of Tess and Bash as a couple. 

Tess was a very likable character, who has had horrible things done to her and you can’t help but want to protect her. However with Tess being such a strong character, she knows how to look after herself. She tries to do the best with her friends and tries to keep them safe and right her wrongs. The secondary characters were second to none. Bash was absolutely amazing with his mysteriousness and his brooding. You know he’s hiding something from the start so as the story started to unfold, it was pretty easy to work it out but nonetheless, the story was still great with it. It was a nice twist on his story and I really enjoyed how it all fit into the world of the dragon’s and faeries.

Overall, Janet Lee Carey has created an imaginable and fascinating world with Dragonswood and even though this book was tied up nicely, I still see room for a sequel and I’ll look forward to it if there is.

A huge thank you Janet Lee Carey for providing me with a copy of this book for review.