Dragonswood [Hardcover]

Janet Lee Carey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 5, 2012

On Wilde Island, there is no peace between dragons, fairies, and humans.

Wilde Island is in an uproar over the recent death of its king. As the uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans begins to fray, the royal witch hunter with a hidden agenda begins a vengeful quest to burn girls suspected of witchcraft before a new king is crowned..

Strong-willed Tess, a blacksmith’s daughter from a tiny hamlet, wants more for herself than a husband and a house to keep. But in times like these wanting more can be dangerous. Accused of witchery, Tess and her two friends are forced to flee the violent witch hunter. As their pursuer draws ever closer they find shelter with a huntsman in the outskirts of the forbidden Dragonswood sanctuary. But staying with the mysterious huntsman poses risks of its own: Tess does not know how to handle the attraction she feels for him—or resist the elusive call that draws her deeper onto the heart of Dragonswood.

*"Painful, cathartic and cautiously hopeful; a fairy tale for those who have given up on believing in them, but still yearn for happily ever after." -- Kirkus, starred review

*"Perfectly crafted combination of history, mythology, and fantasy . . . The political intrigue, mythology of Merlin, and romances that bloom . . . will have readers racing toward the end and then going back to savor the events more slowly." --School Library Journal, starred review.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Dragonswood is off-limits, but Tess, who sees visions in firelight, is inexorably drawn there. Wrongly accused as witches, she and two friends escape into the forbidden heart of Wilde Island. There, Tess meets an intriguing huntsman named Garth and discovers she is destined to be more than a blacksmith’s daughter. In a nod to Robin Hood, the island’s rightful heir is off fighting in the Crusades, while a regent is doing his best to take over the throne. Humans, fairies, and dragons coexist in the lush setting (first introduced in Dragon’s Keep, 2007), which is so well drawn it practically serves as another character. As Franny Billingsley did in Chime (2011), Carey uses gorgeous, lyrical prose to illustrate a world of authentic period detail combined with fantastical elements. Although the supporting characters, especially the dragons, are well drawn, a first-person point of view keeps the focus squarely on Tess and her journey. This novel, a cross between fantasy and historical fiction, also has a touch of romance and will likely appeal to fans of many genres. Grades 8-12. --Charli Osborne

Review

"Painful, cathartic and cautiously hopeful; a fairy tale for those who have given up on believing in them, but still yearn for happily ever after."

(Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )

"A perfectly crafted combination of history, mythology, and fantasy...The political intrigue, mythology of Merlin, and romances that bloom are all uncovered with precise timing and will have readers racing toward the end and then going back to savor the events more slowly."

(School Library Journal (starred review) )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Dial (January 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803735049
• ISBN-13: 978-0803735040
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

~Things are never what they seem. Find the lost inside the dream ~
Janet Lee Carey is the award-winning author of eight Children's and YA novels including DRAGONSWOOD (Kirkus and School Library Journal starred reviews). School Library Journal starred review says of Janet's work; "Verdict: This is quite simply fantasy at its best-original, beautiful, amazing, and deeply moving."
Janet links each new book with a charitable organization empowering readers to make a difference in the world. She tours in US and abroad presenting at schools, book festivals, and conferences for writers, teachers, and librarians. http://www.janetleecarey.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Almost- but not Quite April 30, 2012

By dayna

Format:Hardcover

I waited, for what seemed like forever, for my local library to get 'Dragonswood'. I am a huge fan of books such as 'Graceling', 'Fire', "Power of Touch', 'Eragon' and even 'Game of Thrones' and I particularly enjoy the history of merry olde England so I had high hopes for a book that centered on faries, dragons, humans and the myths surrounding magic on the island across the pond.

While I found the two main characters, Garth and Tess engaging, how the story unfolded was not so great. I enjoyed the fact that the author more or less jumped into the story, reader learns quickly why the island is in such a state of uncertanity. Wilde Island was a place that I would like to find myself lost in. I thought that it was clever how Carey (the author) divided the book into, what I would consider, development sequences, as opposed to authors who try (and usually fail) at connecting different elements of the story, With that said, I still feel that the story, the pace and the characters could and should have been flushed out more. I often find that with first person narratives this can be difficult, without switching between the two main character's point of views, but here in 'Dragonswood' it would have elevated the tale, with Garth and Tess being co-narrators.

As I finished the book I felt cheated. I spent a great deal of time reading about the witch hunters, the dragons, the lost Princes, and I felt the ending was rushed. The climax was weak at best and the romance, which I believe was the driving force of the story offered no deep impact at the end. To avoid spoliers, I will not say to much- but it left me wanting more in the romance departement. I usually do not mind if the romance is left out- it is nice when it is there, but here it was central to the plot and it was a disappointing conclusion for me. Do not get me wrong it was nice, but I wanted spectacular.

One more thing that bothered me, was the fact that I knew what was going on pretty early in the story. To me, an avid reader, it was easy to pick up on the clues that the author placed and the obvious path to which the characters were on. There we similarities here from previous books I have read, such as 'Fire', 'Eragon' and even 'Under the Never Sky', but I feel I could pull any story that I have read lately and found connections. I just liked it, but I wish it was better and there were a few things that could have made it so. I believe this is Carey's first adventure in writing and I hope that she does write more, because the ending does offer a little but of 'oh, the story could go on', but it was not a set-up book in which I was VERY happy about. I am so tired of reading new fictions- especially young adult- that are set stories for the next two books. I like that 'Dragonswood' is a complete story- in the end that is what saved it for me.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read for fans of fantasy! January 10, 2012

By Amanda Welling

Format:Hardcover

First Impressions: It has been a while since I have read a good book about dragons, and I was itching for something different to read. I was thrilled to see Dragonswood coming out soon and the author was super nice to send me a copy for review. I love a good historical novel mixed with elements of the paranormal so I was really excited to start to read this book. I think the cover art of Dragonswood is also quite gorgeous!

First 50 Pages: The beginning of this book was heartbreaking. I was introduced to most of the main characters and the pacing of the story felt good to me. The book starts off with a burning of an accused witch when Tess is a little girl. Fast forward to when Tess is older and we are now attending the funeral of Tess's baby brother. All of her siblings have perished and she is the only child in her family to survive. Tess's father is a very mean man who beats her and her mother, but that is not unusual in their village and it is quite rare to find a man who isn't a complete jerk. In order to save her own sanity, at night Tess flees into Dragonswood to be alone and spot the magical creatures that live there. The only problem with this is that is completely forbidden. Anyone caught in Dragonswood is considered a witch and must stand trial for witchcraft and consorting with the devil. Not only that, but Tess occasionally has the Fire Sight, which are visions she receives while gazing into fire. Her grandfather, who now lives far away, told Tess never to reveal that she has the sight, unless she wants to be accused of being a witch.

Unfortunately for Tess, a noblewoman who is a witch hunter comes to her village to rid the people of witches before a new King is crowned, and Tess is named as witch since all of her siblings have died. Tess is captured and tortured and is forced to name more women as witches. She tells the witch hunter that her two best friends have been to Dragonswood with her, just to pick berries. Tess is taken to her trial, which is a water trial. If she drowns, she is not a witch; but if she floats she is and must be burned at the stake. I've never understood how people could take this sort of thing seriously, but I guess people just weren't very smart back in the day.

As Tess tries to survive her trial, a huge old dragon comes to save her by dropping a big turtle into the water. The turtle takes her to safety near her two friends, while the dragon has distracted the rest of the townspeople. Tess tells her friends that while she was being tortured, she had named them as witches. Needless to say, they aren't very happy with her, but they decide they need to escape before they are discovered. They make their way on one heck of a crazy adventure, something none of them could have ever imagined.

Characters & Plot: What I just described takes up about half of the book. In the second half, the story has a more magical feel to it. There are more dragon appearances, but not as much as I would have liked. This book had an old-fashioned feeling about it which I really loved. It felt like one of those epic stories you could curl up with a big comfy blanket and sit by the fire and enjoy for hours on end. The author is very descriptive with her imagery and I felt all of her characters come to life off of the pages. It was very beautifully written!

As for the characters, I became completely invested in each of them. My favorite was Tess, who was a very strong-willed and outspoken character, and I thought her pairing with Garth was well done. Garth himself was a great character and I just thought the two characters together made for a great couple. Their relationship starts out very slowly and it progresses in a natural manner. There was no insta-love here, which I appreciated.

There are also Tess's friends, Meg and Poppy. I wasn't too crazy about either of them, but I did feel bad for them because of their situation. Poppy could be very annoying at times, but I suppose she had a pretty good reason to be. Meg makes for an interesting character that serves the story with a neat side plot.

Final Thoughts: This story is full of action, adventure and romance...and I loved it. It was unique in its own way and I was very impressed with the detail and imagery of the story. The author wraps up the book with a nice epilogue and I loved how the story ended. I would definitely recommend Dragonswood to fantasy lovers or to people who enjoy historical novels set in medieval times!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing fairy world but drags for far too long January 20, 2013

By Christina (Ensconced in YA) TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition

Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey has been on my TBR list for a while now. It's definitely a different tale, but I struggled to get a rating for it. It's somewhere between 3-3.5 stars.

Dragonswood stars Tess, a young village girl, who seems to have a power that she shouldn't have. That's not a good thing to have when there are witch hunts running rampant. She also has a longing for Dragonswood where the fey live. A witch hunter has noticed her going there, and she becomes sentenced as a witch. From there, she meets a ranger named Garth, and also takes with her some dear friends that are also in danger. The rest is a mixture of magic, containing fairies, dragons, and hidden treasures.

The writing is pretty good. The biggest issue I had with this book is that it really drags for the first 80% and that's really way too long for a book to drag. The last 20% is VERY good, and that made me feel sad I had to give it less than a 4 star rating. But there is way too much development going on. Add the fact that Tess is not a very likeable character for most of the book, and it led to me skimming until I hit the interesting parts. I liked the world building and the twists were wonderful (but again most of all the twists happened in the last 10% of the book). I also really liked the dragons-- they were probably my favorite part of the book. I noticed that this is the first book in a trilogy, and I wonder if the other two books have similar issues.

Overall, an interesting world mixed with fairies, dragons, and magic-- but the magic waits too long to happen.