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.