This is the first book in the Dragonia series which tells the story of a world ruled by tyranny and a resistance fighting for a better world. But the tyrant rules by the power of his dragonriders, and the resistance eventually finds wyverns of their own.

The first half of the novel is the story of Devarius and his group of villagers wandering through the country searching for the resistance and evading the dragonriders. About halfway through the novel, their search is successful, and they begin training. Although the main characters train in swordfighting and archery, most of the training is not described, so this element of the story is not as satisfying as in Tamora Pierce's novels. But the details provided regarding archery and sparring are accurate.

Rise of the Wyverns is well written with an interesting plot, but it could use a few improvements. Although the resistance, in principle, upholds equality for people of all races and genders, the novel itself comes across as sexist. Devarius, who continues to act as the leader of his group even after they join the resistance, is in love with the only important female character; he therefore refuses to bring her along on missions because he couldn't handle loosing her. But that just makes him pathetic. She was already a skilled archer before joining the resistance, and her skills are needed. Since their romance is entirely in his head throughout the novel, this element of the book is only irritating. Again, Tamora Pierce's novels are better in their normalization of women warriors.

This was a fun story. It begins with Devarius and a small group of fellow survivors on the run after their village was destroyed by dragon riders. The Dragonia Empire was trying to make an example of a village that housed members of the resistance but didn't count on having anyone escape to tell the tale. It's even more problematic when we learn that no one in the village was actually a part of the resistance - the village was scapegoated as part of a much larger plan to strike fear in the hearts of anyone who dared consider resisting. Devarius and company decide to join the resistance because it is the only option left to them. Epic fail on the part of the empire. The first half of the book involves them constantly running and hiding and getting caught and almost getting caught and escaping and being betrayed. Fun! The second half of the book is all about training with the resistance and trying to find a way to beat the empire at it's own game. Along the way, they discover an as-yet-undiscovered island filled with wyverns. Can they be trained and help in the fight against the empire? (Yes, they can.)

I enjoyed the story and the pacing and most of the characters, however, there were a few issues. First, racism was acknowledged at the very beginning of the story, then it didn't impact the story in any way. So why was it brought up in the first place? Second, the treatment of women was annoying. Aquila sounded pretty awesome. She and Devarius had been best friends forever. They had been secretly in love with each other forever. But he wouldn't tell her because he thought she deserved better, then it turned out that she deserved better because he was going to leave to find her sister and this reflects badly on him and his character how? Also, he wouldn't allow her to fight alongside him because he would be too worried about her to focus. Dude, get over yourself! You are vastly outnumbered and need all the help you can get. I kept waiting for her to pull an Eowyn and join the battle anyway. Oh well, maybe next book. But yeah, I'm hooked. I'll keep reading.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from the author and have reviewed it willingly. The narration was superb. I'll listen to Reuben Corbett any time. ( )

Devarius is at the center of this tale. His family was devastated when he was just a kid and his new village ruined by the Dragon Riders. Now he leads a small group of ~30 people to possible safety with the Resistance. Along the way, he makes an amazing discovery: Wyverns! This might just well be the answer to how to defeat the Dragon Riders, in time.

It’s a cute, quick story that incorporates many fantasy tropes. It’s fun brain candy that doesn’t take much thought to enjoy it. The story moves along quickly with little pause for character development or development of the world or magic systems.

The ladies don’t do much in this story and that was a disappointment. In the first half of the story, Devarius and his little group are being hunted and trying to locate the Resistance. Once they do find help, Devarius and his friend Paedyn are informed that their society is all about equality. Men and women of any ethnicity will be given equal opportunities. Yes! I was excited because I felt this would be a good way to force your characters into some growth. Alas, that is not what happens. The ladies are underrepresented for the entire story. Aquila, our main female character, is simply a romantic interest and doesn’t add to the plot at all. There is one female guard who has a name and even gets a few lines, but they are all of a flirtatious nature…. and then, poof! She’s gone. I felt the few nods to the ladies were added as after thoughts and their characters were never fully incorporated into the story.

The wyverns are fun but I wish their magical abilities had a bit more depth. They come in different colors and each color corresponds to a different ability. Pretty straight forward and simplistic. I hope the story develops this further in the next book.

Devarius gets some sword training and he sets his heart on having a special sword made: a mashup of the straight Bastard sword and a Flamberge (which has wavy edges). A local blacksmith (named predictably Smithy) puts a lot of thought and trial & error into creating this blade. A lot of time was spent on this and I felt it could have been shortened up to give more time for the basics of the story.

Aquila has skills with a bow, or so we are told. Again, I felt this was tacked on after the fact. While on the run from the Dragon Riders, the group needed food yet Aquila’s hunting skills (which she learned from her dad) aren’t ever used. In fact, we only hear about these skills long after the fact. Towards the end, Aquila once again has the opportunity to show off her skills by joining a fight against the Dragon Riders. However, Devarius won’t let her join in because he’d be too distracted worrying about her.

Sigh…. Devarius, that sounds like a ‘you’ problem and not Aquila’s problem. Someone wasn’t paying attention at the Gender Equality training.

All together, it’s a fun little piece of fiction that moves at a swift clip. Nothing deep here but it is entertaining. 3/5 stars.

The Narration: Reuben Corbett gives a really good performance on this narration. All of his characters have distinct voices and his female voices are believable. He makes a really good Devarius and I loved his impish Paedyn. I could always tell Paedyn was up to something by his voice. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Craig A. Price Jr.. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. ( )

I received a free book and am providing an honest review. This book brings you into the world of humans, dragons and wyverns. Tyranny meets resistance. The emperor goes from a man who does not want to fight to one who terrorizes everyone into submission. You meet characters who are forced to become fighters and defend themselves and others. I love the scene when Devarius meets his wyvern Ayla and helps the resistance fight back. This series is going to be a good series to read. I would recommend it to all sci-if readers who love dragons. ( )

This book is very well written. The story brings you right in to where I found myself not wanting to stop reading to find out what happens next. This story follows 3 friends who along with a group of people escape the massacre of a village thought to contain resistance fighters against the Dragon empire. Devarius, Aquila and Paedyn are the main characters in this story as they lead a group on their search for the "Resistance". The dragon empire with their dragon riders are in constant pursuit. The story moves along very well to keep the interest of the reader as it follows these 3 characters. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. ( )