Dragon Trials

Return of the Darkening, Book 1

By: Ava Richardson

Narrated by: Tiffany Williams

Soar above the skies in this dragon rider epic...

Eighteen-year-old Sebastian Smith never expected to be chosen as a Dragon Rider. Coming from the lowest ranks of Torvald society, his future seemed bleak—until he’s selected to train at the prestigious Dragon Academy. Thrust into a world where he doesn’t belong, Seb finds the connection with his dragon more powerful than he ever imagined.

High-born Agathea Flamma intends to bring honor to her family by following in her brothers’ footsteps and taking her rightful place as a Dragon Rider. Failure means a life of arranged marriage—something Thea refuses to accept. She’s not thrilled with her awkward, non-noble riding partner, Seb, but their dragon has chosen, and now the unlikely duo must learn to work as a team.

When Seb uncovers rumors that an ancient danger is reemerging, he and Thea are drawn into a dangerous mystery. Armed only with their determination and the dragon they both ride together, they may be the only defence against the Darkening that threatens to sweep the land.

Seb and Thea must unite to save their kingdom… or see both their futures shattered.

Expanded and republished in November 2024, Dragon Trials returns with even more danger, magic, and adventure.

©2015 Relay Publishing (P)2016 Relay Publishing

A medium sized portion of mediocraity

Perhaps, I would have enjoyed it more if i was in the target audience of the book. (pre-teen).
I wish that audible would indicate the intended audience as a part of the books description.
The story was predictable, There is about a 50 / 50 chance that i I will continue the series

Fantastic dragon rider

Dragon Trails by Ava Richardson is an amazing dragon adventure series. Tiffany Williams did an absolute amazing job with the narration, and bringing the story to life. Dragon Trails is the first story in the series Return of the Darkening. The story is entertaining, interesting, engaging, enjoyable, and more. Dragon riders can come from any walk of life from the nobles to the lowest rank. They all must protect the kingdom and its people. But when darkness falls upon the kingdom they must fight together and figure out what is going on. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.would recommend

A new dragonrider series!

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
High-born Agathea Flamma intends to bring honor to her family by following in her brothers’ footsteps and taking her rightful place as a Dragon Rider. With her only other option being marriage, Thea will not accept failure. She’s not thrilled at her awkward, scruffy partner, Seb, but their dragon has chosen, and now the unlikely duo must learn to work as a team.

Seventeen-year-old Sebastian has long been ashamed of his drunken father and poor upbringing, but then he’s chosen to train as a Dragon Rider at the prestigious academy. Thrust into a world where he doesn’t fit in, Seb finds a connection with his dragon that is even more powerful than he imagined. Soon, he’s doing all he can to succeed and not embarrass his new partner, Thea.

When Seb hears rumors that an old danger is reemerging, he and Thea begin to investigate. Armed only with their determination and the dragon they both ride, Thea and Seb may be the only defense against the Darkening that threatens to sweep the land. Together, they will have to learn to work together to save their kingdom…or die trying.

MY TAKE
I found this audiobook through the narrator, Tiffany Williams, of whom I'm a fan. As always, she does a great with the storytelling and the characterizations.

As a huge fan of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, I was excited to read this story of dragonriders. Whereas McCaffrey's world (while appearing to be fantasy, it's not) is science based, Richardson's world definitely has magic in it.

The teen angst of both the main characters is true to the age. There's Thea who's got many issues to overcome, including living up to her family's reputation as dragonriders but she's also got an elitist attitude about the peasants. And poor Seb, her partner. He's a peasant who's had no experience with dragons before, but he's got a great heart. Thea's attitude toward him in the beginning and even into the middle of the story started to irk, but that's her character arc.

I'm looking forward to the next book, also narrated by Williams.

4 1/2 stars

Slow to start

Decent series launch, it's very YA so it's not very deep. I didn't find the characters all that likable, which makes it hard to enjoy the book. Still the writing and story was good. I'll probably follow up with future book and see if they get better.

The narrator gave a good performance.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wonderful tale of dragons

It was a nice story. The heroine had some growing up to do. I wish all stories could have a perfect start with the characters, but this story was more true to real life; at least that part of it anyway.

Life humbles us, and if we are lucky, it teaches us and changes us for the better.

The story was very well developed. I enjoyed reading it, even though I feel like the target audience is probably middle school to teens.

Fantasy Teen book that will thrill and delight!

Any additional comments?

Dragon Trials: Return of the Darkening, Volume 1
Written by: Ava Richardson
Narrated by: Tiffany Williams
This is a fun teen fantasy novel centered around dragons and hopeful teens. These teens want to be picked to be dragon riders. The choosing happens every 5 years. It follows a very rich girl and a poor boy. Very few of each are ever picked. They are teamed up and it is not only the story of how they learn to be dragon riders but the interaction with the dragon, bullying from other riders, getting to know each other, and more. A fun, fantasy, and every kids dream to ride a dragon! At least I always wanted a dragon and not a pony!
The narrator is perfect for this book. She is able to perform all the multitude of voices without fault. Wonderful job.

A very entertaining beginning!

Where does Dragon Trials rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a good idea for a story. A wonderful fantasy to be chosen to be a Dragon rider. The whole idea would be something wished for.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dragon Trials?

The book has some interesting concepts concerning Dragons and their relationships with their riders. Anne McCafferty Dragon riders of Pern were a favorite of mine and she has not been matched for many years for her ideas concerning Dragons.

Which character – as performed by Tiffany Williams – was your favorite?

With good Character development and story line.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Narrator did a fine job.

Any additional comments?

I received this book for free by the Author through Audiobook boom.com in exchange for a unbiased review. Thankyou!

Wow

Loved this story. Two unlikely people will help to save their world. Thea is determined to follow in her brothers footsteps and become a dragon rider. Seb is a young man who wants out of the poor upbringing that he has. Dragons are released every four years to choose their riders and these two are chosen by the same dragon. The three of them must work together to become a cohesive unit. Through guts, strong will and determination they become the best and are the only ones who believe the rumors that something terrible is about to happen. They use the same skill set they had in the academy to pursue and conquer this danger.
The narration added to the story. I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review via audiobook boom. This is worth a credit because it is so well written and engaging.

Continuity Issues

Enjoyable, but as the series continues the author struggles with continuity from book to book. Backstories for characters completely change, and lots of action appears to happen that isn't written about so that the story becomes confusing.

Took a while to get used to

The duel first person perspective was difficult to get used to. It was a pretty good story line after that a little reminiscent of the Eragon story line, but still different enough to have it's good points. Overt all I am planning on giving the rest of the books in the series a chance as well.