Rise of the Shadow Dragons Written by Liz Flanagan. Reviewed by Elsie, Age 11

I loved reading this story and I think Liz Flanagan has great imagination. The first book in the series ‘Dragon Daughter’ is excellent, but this one is even better. There is less fighting in it and even more mystery than in the first story, which I liked.

I think that this book can be enjoyed by everyone, even if they’ve not read the first story. Joe is the new main hero and there are lots of other new characters too.  For those who loved the dragon riders in the first book, they do appear again, but this story focuses on Joe and Winter.

I love Winter and think she is a very strong and stoical character. After losing her first dragon she is a ‘dragonless’ and the only dragon rider who did not flee from the island after her dragon died. So, she lives alone, in ‘the shadow strip’ and people think she is a ghost, but she is very kind when she welcomes the injured Joe into her home.

Although the landscapes the author described in detail were fantastic, I think Liz could have described some of the other locations a bit better.

The shadow dragons themselves are amazing, although I wish they were less like standard dragons and had different abilities. They can swim underwater, but otherwise they are like all dragons who fly and breathe fire. It would also have been nice to see them grow up, as they did in Dragon Daughter, but maybe Liz Flanagan is planning to include them in a third book in this series… I hope so!