Dragonsdale

Dragonsdale by, Salamanda Drake. ISBN-13: 978-0439871730

This heartwarming story is a bit of a cross between the new fantasy dragon stories with the classic girl loves horses story. Except the horses are dragons. They live in fireproof stalls, get saddled and groomed, and fly through various obstacle courses with their riders. The story features a dragon riding school run by Huw, a gruff man whose wife died after falling of her dragon. Consequently, he has forbidden his daughter, and our hero, Clara, from ever riding a dragon. She cleans the muck from the stalls and takes time for her favorite dragon, Skydancer. Skydancer is a wild, untamed dragon who seems to love Clara as much as she loves him. Clara also must deal with the Lord Torin's horrible daughter Hortense, whose spiteful ways seems to cause much of the book's action. Hortense uses whips to beat the dragons, which the author has used to take her stand against animal cruelty.

The story is light, the characters are girly, and the relationships between people are a major focus of the story. The plot moves slowly and doesn't really do more than scratch the surface of the fantasy genre. While there are a variety of mythical creatures, they are all portrayed as parallel to other, more familiar ones. Drake claims to be 16 years old, and it shows in the depth of her story. It is a delightful book, but don't expect anything more than that.