The Guardians of the Valley

Rating: 2 out of 5

Returning from his travels Kittal, Nejus of Keytel, has reluctantly ended up with a new wife. After visiting his brother to reclaim his leadership he finds that his younger brother won't give up the regency. As if this wasn't enough, he also needs to mount a rescue mission for some enslaved dragons, given his title makes him protector of dragons.

This book was not what I expected to be honest. I think the premise was a good idea and I can see the potential for it to be an amazing story. But, it just fell flat. A lot of the plot felt very rushed. I spent a lot of time confused about what was taking place. Events didn't seem very cohesive sometimes and plot points were brought up that almost came out of nowhere. I really wanted to like this book because the concept of dragons, dragon riders and magic all seemed amazing. But, it was just such a disconnect for me. I think the potential for something amazing existed but it just got lost somewhere. I think it just needed a bit more focus on the story and a little less focus on describing people and places.

A lot of the plot seemed almost random and thrown together. I struggled on occasion with following what was happening because things came out of the blue. It really didn't help me that the grammar was all over the place. You either got really short sentences or very long ones that were super repetitive. A number of plot points should have been used for more books or even for a longer book. I think the number of things like saving the dragons and a battle with his brother required more exploring but instead they were crammed into this novel. I really am disappointed with this one.