e-Audio, 08:12:04
Narrated by: Mapuana Makia
Release Date: April 9, 2024
Published by: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Read from: April 12-22, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Audible
TW: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Racism
For Readers Interested In: Fantasy, Romance, (Sea) Dragons, YAFrom acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.
In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt … gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.
Every wish demands a price.
Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.
Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time – hope.
But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was ok, but I think I built it up more in my head than it was. I wanted more world building and lore. It felt really telly vs showy. Especially for it to be an audiobook. I think I wanted it to be more immersive. But even still, I thought it was still good. I even mentioned it to my library for our tournament.
Ok so the plot for this was steady and I enjoyed learning about the different islands and things. But I can’t lie, I wanted LESS people and more sea dragons. I wanted to know if there were more. How they got there, etc. It seemed like the cool part about this book was barely in it, and when they were, it was mostly them being killed and their babies stolen from them. Idk it felt weird.
But on the other hand, I think I finished it because it was fantasy light? I’m not actually a huge fan of fantasy because it’s a little harder for me to be able to listen to at such a fast pace if I have the audio, but this one was easy. It seemed to be set in a real world, just with fantastical elements like the sea dragons. But even this one seemed to be missing something. I really do think I just wanted more sea dragon myth and folklore. Well more than just the bad stuff we learned about them.
The characters were good tho. I didn’t really have any complaints about them. The Captain was a grade a asshole tho. I HATED him. He didn’t seem to have any remorse and cared about no one. I know that makes a good villain, but damn. He was ruthless lol The FMC was bad ass, but the MC seemed like oblivious to everything that was happening. It was weird.
This book came up a little short for me, but again, that’s me as someone who isn’t a usual fan of fantasy. A lot of times I think my imagination gets too big because I want to know every single detail of a world without making it like 3000 pages lol But this one was good enough for me to recommend to my ToB group and that’s good enough for me.
Overall, I give this
