Customer Reviews

Awakening the Dragon--Book One of the Dragon Clan Trilogy

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I think that given the horrible typos and grammatical errors that the book seller should refund everyone's money. Whoever was responsible for proof reading the book or printing it should be responsible for reimbursing all the purchasers.

Though the story line was a good one, the typos and grammatical errors made a smooth reading impossible. What has happened to producing a quality product? Was the printing and proof reading outsourced to a third world country? I won't purchase another book from this publishing company.

[...]

I did enjoy the book, although I do agree with the reviewer who said that it needed polishing. It wasn't so bad that I didn't want to finish, and will read book 2 of the trilogy soon.

I think it was good story and couldn't wait to finish!

I thoroughly enjoyed the character development and the plot movement but found it very difficult to follow at times. The construction needs to be smoothed out and each instance of dialogue needs to be clearly attributable to a character. At times I had difficulty following the story as I couldn't discern who the speaker was. Overall I found this an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next one.

I read a piece of bio on this author that says she writes for soaps on TV. I say it shows. I did not like this book. It was as if I randomly walked into a episode of some sappy daytime drama. There was almost no introduction. It had a very weak plot. Definitely felt that there wasn't proper character development. It was as if the author just threw stuff in without thinking how it was going to flow. It wasn't written to drag you in and hold the reader. This book is a mess, aside from all of the typing errors, and there were a lot.

I wish I had read all of the reviews of this book before I bought it. There are so many grammatical errors and typos (almost every page) that it makes reading impossible. I agree that the publisher should refund the money of anyone who purchased this book.

I just finished this book, with much difficulty, as previously noted. It is a proof reader's huge failure. Too many misspelled or omitted words, almost on every page. If you can wade through the worst edited book in this century, the story does get interesting. I should have read the reviews before I bought both
books together. I already see mistakes in the next book. This will be my last book from this series. First time I've been displeased with Amazon.
C. Patton

I enjoyed the story and much of the symbolism. But the grammar errors were too distracting. I could not believe this book was published as is - no one must have proofed it at all. Some sentences were hard to understand or stated the opposite of what they probably meant. I would not read another in the series because of this. Also, the author had Rachael sucking her teeth too often - not good imagery for my mind. So, I enjoyed the story, but not the book.

By Wixa (Acworth, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews

When I started reading this book I didn't realized how quickly I would be caught up in the lives of the characters. I found myself feeling how the characters felt. Their anger and their joys. I laughed at how perfectly Theresa Chaze described the cats personalities. It is so obvious that she has furry children. I finished the book in two days and was disappointed when I realized I had reached the end of the book! I want more. Thank you for writing this book.


By Catherine J. St Amour "Kate St.Amour" (United States) - See all my reviews
'

Magic, Mystery, and Murder. The three M's! Ms. Chaze shows colorful, visual language that will even keep the romance novel buff obsessed in finishing this novel in one read! The pacing is excellent the main character strong and likeable, and the hint of romance to come in the final installments of the trilogy. I must say I'm already addicted to Ms. Chaze's writing style! A guaranteed page turner! Bring on the rest of the trilogy!

'The Conclusion Is Here!, July 31, 2006
By Cate Cavanagh (USA) - See all my reviews

Ms. Chaze sustains what is now a proven trademark of excellency in plot and story development. This taut final book will continue to hold readers within the grasp of danger as the finely realized characters fight to sustain themselves against the evil that would destroy them. A must read book by breakout author Theresa Chaze who continues to weave suspenseful storylines while developing authentic characters. No fluff here! As an author in the genre I attest to the truth in Ms. Chaze's writing as she writes of Witches, evil and spells! If you want truth in fiction, Ms. Chaze is a must read! Fans of the genre will not be disappointed and will experience hours of being drawn into the reality of Witchcraft as never before depicted.

Kudos, Ms. Chaze! Fine work!


Buy this book! I found myself smiling when I finished the last page of Awakening The Dragon--Book One of the Dragon Clan Trilogy (formally Dragon's New Home), by Theresa Chaze. I've read a pretty good number of books in my life, but none have given me quite the mix of emotions that this books has. Let me explain.
The Dragon Page reviews science fiction and fantasy from large publishing houses, small houses, and self-published authors. With few exceptions, a wide gulf separates the large houses' books from the others in terms of the quality of prose. Even when large publishers send me books I don't like, from a purely technical standpoint those books tend to be far better written than the small press stuff. Even the small press books that I like.
Now, Dragon's New Home isn't a well-crafted book. But the book has something that most small press books don't even have a sliver of. Potential. Dragon's New Home feels like a diamond in the rough. I think that given a few hundred thousand more words, Ms. Chaze will become one damn fine author. She's just not quite there yet with this book.
The Gist: Kevin Mitchellson's mother murdered his grandmother. His guilt for letting her get away with the crime is eating him alive, but he will not break his word to his father to protect her secret. So, one night, under the influence of potable spirits, he beckons spirits of another sort to take the problem out of his hands, and expose his mother in a way that cannot be denied. And damn if they didn't hear him.
Rachael Franklin, a Wiccan Priestess, has just won the lottery, and has an inclination to set up a New Age bookstore called Dragon's Den (great name.) She calls on the Goddess to send her to a new home where she can make a difference. She throws a dart at a map and eventually finds herself on the front step of Kevin's grandmother's abandoned house with the local agent from Century 21.
So, in one corner, wearing the red trunks, we have Rachael and her three cats: Merlin, Tara, and Ralph. In the other corner, wearing the blue, is Lady Katheryn, the murder, and the House of Christ, the local Christian cult that thinks that whole "live and let live" thing is for sissies.
And the bell rings.
The Good: Is it right to point out the good points of a novel by pointing out the mistakes the author could have made, but didn't? Forgive me if it's not kosher, but as I write this I can't stop making comparisons in my head between this book and other small press books I have reviewed.
For instance, most first time, small press authors try to tell big stories, and tell them too small (all life on earth my be destroyed by a world wide phenomenon. Let's tell the story of one family driving across country.) Ms. Chaze's story, on the other hand, has a simple, relatable plot, and doesn't skimp on the ensemble needed to tell the story.
Most genre books in general are plot based. This story is character driven, which I have firmly come to believe is the better route to take. Every plot-advancing decision Rachael Franklin makes comes from who she is as a person, not from what decision needs to be made to advance the plot in a certain direction. This gives the book a believability that many sci-fi and fantasy stories lack.
And, finally, it doesn't hurt that the reader might be learning something new. Not being knowledgeable about Wicca myself, I enjoyed reading a book told from the perspective of a philosophy I'm not accustomed to.
The Bad: The book suffers mostly from what most first time authors suffer from - amateur writing syndrome. The dialogue has no real spark. It's too on the nose. The story has no irony. In what could have been a very scary and engrossing story, there was only occasional suspense, and not very strong suspense at that.
Not only that, but the author tends to write too much about things that are obviously important to her, but are not important to the story. At all. Not even a little. It is not hard to see that Ms. Chaze loves animals, but why do why have to plod through pages and pages of Rachael feeding the cats, sleeping with the cats, potty training the dog, etc? Dragon's New Home is the first book of a trilogy. I have the sneaky suspicion that once the series is done, it will be apparent that instead of three short novels, the book could have been one moderately-long novel, if the writing were more focused on the story and less sidetracked by animals, visions, astral projection trips that don't really go anywhere, and the like.


By "gemstonedeva" (the Netherlands) - See all my reviews

Theresa Chaze has written the first part of a magickal tale. I could hardly put the book down once I had picked it up and am looking forward to the sequel to this intriguing tale of magick


"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Words the members of the House of Christ live by, and killed by.

Rachel Franklin knew from the first moment she laid eyes on it that the cottage was hers. She felt its pull, could sense the magic within its walls. She was home.
However, the members of the House of Christ church had different ideas. The cottage was evil, the home of a witch, and all good Christians know that witches are evil beings, consorts of the Devil; their houses are evil and should be destroyed.
But, the cottage's owner, Kevin Mitchellson would not allow that. He forbids any member of the church to set foot on the property left to him by his grandmother, Sarah, and the conflict rages, as Wicca and Christians team up, prepared to do battle with the bigotry and ignorance of the House of Christ fanatics.
Therese Chaze draws her readers in from the first page and refuses to release them until the last word of this fantastic tale of witches, magic, love and betrayal.
Set in the village of Coyote Springs, Dragon Domain is a book of lessons; lessons on love, forgiveness, and above all truth to oneself.
In the grand traditions of Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley, Therese Chaze captures the imagination as well as the heart of her readers.
Dragon Domain is an open door to a world of wonder, and from the first page to the last, you will be hard pressed to put it down.

Linda Rucker