The Last of the Firedrakes by Farah Oomerbhoy

16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.

Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms—including killing anyone who stands in her way.

Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.

With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever. 

~

3 stars

~

"How will you ever know the magnitude of courage you are capable of if you have never experienced the hopelessness of fear?"

I received this book from LovingDemBooks Booktube Tours in exchange for an honest review.

The Last of the Firedrakes was a fun, fantasy read with many quirky fantasy aspects people who love this genre would enjoy. But, I did have a lot problems with individual aspects of this novel, even though I thought it was okay all together.

First, the main character. I didn't really like the main character that much. Aurora played the role of a naive, selfish teenage girl who didn't think at all before acting. I was constantly getting frustrated with her because not only did she get herself in situations she wouldn't be in if she had listened to others, but she also constantly dragged other people with her. She would never fullt accept the blame of her actions, instead forcing others to go along with her in these idiotic quests. Also, I felt like she was constantly havign to be saved by someone/something else. YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO BE SAVED IF YOU HAD JUST LISTENED GAH. But, I did love her work ethic and though she was a very overpowered MC, I appreciated the fact that she did have to somewhat learn. 

There were also a bunch of cliches mixed throughout the novel. We had the abused orphan, insta-love, lost royalty, and almost every steretypical story device ever. This aspect caused the book to be very unsurprising when it came to "big plot twists." Nothing was truly "foreshadowed," but more "thrown at you with a brick."

The other characters and the world were very fun and likeable. I think a big reason why I read parts of this book so fast were because I was just so interested in learning about the world. Though it wasn't the most original of kingdoms, there were still super cool magic systems and unique aspects. The other characters did follow a few stereotypes, but it wasn't nearly as bad at the MC. I enjoyed reading about all of the others' different personalities and their specialties.

The romance was the strongest dose of insta-love I've experienced in a long time and that's saying something since I've been reading a lot of contemporaries recently. I was fairly aggrivated with it because it was like all over insta-loves, I felt that these characters didn't truly know each other before they were falling for the other. And the problem was, this romance played a huge part in the novel. Aurora's decisions and thoughts were constantly based on this insta-love, which made it even more prevalent and irritating.

The writing felt fairly juvenile which I feel weird talking about, but it was a big part of reading for me. I felt that some of the words characters would say would feel unnatural (imagine Star Wars) and awkward. I am aware that the author was attempting a medieval/olden-times vibe, but it just still felt very weird to me. It wasn't only the dialogue, but also the fact that there were tons of cliches in the writing that I just... ARGHH

"He's the most popular boy in school!"

I rest my case.

I wanted to address this more specifically, but the many cliches that this book had irked me. First, we had the fact that they were always eavesdropping? Is there no other way to get information? Really? Then, we have the fact that Aurora would literally butt her head into everyone else's business and get herself into a bunch of unnecessary trouble. Honestly, I just wanted to yell, "STAY IN YOUR LANE!!" throughout the entire novel. Also, even when in the midst of a super serious and important situation, the MC would STILL be thinking about the person she "loves" which made me want to legitimately shake her shoulders and yell at her to listen.

Okay but honestly, I feel like I would've enjoyed this book a lot more if tHE MAIN CHARACTER DIDN'T IRK ME SO