Candy Bunny Reader

  What a unique fantasy book! A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan is the first of several books set in a world similar to ours; in a time period and place that heavily mirrors the 19th century in Europe. In this world, dragons are real. The main character is a woman named Isabella who is a scientist that studies dragons. She tells us her story in a memoir format.  In this first book Isabella tells us how she first got interested in dragons. Then how she met her husband Jacob, who was also a dragon-loving scientist. The bulk of the story is about a trip Isabella, Jacob, and some of their friends take to another country called Vystrana (that seems to resemble Russia) to study rock-wyrms, a type of dragon. The main characters are from Scirland, which seems to resemble England. But while they are there, they end up getting caught in the web of a conspiracy that is tied to the dragons that they are studying. Isabella ends up having an unforgettable (and scary!) adventure...

I actually read a book illustrated by the author of this book back in 2022, titled Mooncakes! You can read the review for that book here .  Tidesong   by Wendy Xu is about Sophie, who wants to enter a prestigious academy of magic, but first needs to refine her magic skill to pass the auditions. She gets sent to live and train with her great aunt and cousin. All they seem to do is make her do a bunch of chores, and she feels her magic still isn't good enough. One day she tries out a spell of her own and almost drowns, but is saved by a shapeshifting dragon prince named Lir. Sophie and Lir end up getting their magic powers tangled up, but when they start practicing together, Sophie finds her magic getting better! But eventually Lir has to return home or his father, the Dragon King, will be furious and probably cause a destructive storm... This was so sweet and whimsical! I loved the magic system and the mythology sprinkled throughout. I also love the way Sophie's mental health ...

  My third Kay O'Neill book for this year! Princess Princess Ever After follows a rebellious princess named Amira who befriends another princess named Sadie and a prince named Vladric after rescuing them from a tower and the top of a tree, respectively. Being royalty is not as easy as they all thought it would be! But the biggest danger of all is a sorceress who really seems to have something against Sadie... It's a very short and quick book, but it was a lot of fun! It has the typical things you would find in any Kay O'Neill book: a magical setting, magical creatures, lessons about loving yourself, and queer representation (Amira and Sadie become a sapphic couple)!  I did give it 4.5 stars . Sadie does experience some fatphobia in the book, but luckily it is all handled well at the end.  I will gladly pick up anything else Kay O'Neill writes!

  I can't delve too deep into them since they are the 2nd and 3rd book of the series, but I will tell you right now that I loved them and I gave them both 5 stars! They are just as heartwarming, whimsical, magical, and sweet as the first one, and have both great LGBT and disability rep. I will tell you the 2nd book is a prequel to the first one. And in the third book the characters from both the 1st and 2nd book all come together for a perfect conclusion.  The Tea Dragon Society series is now an all-time favorite graphic novel series for me. It literally had everything I love in fictional storytelling. Thank you Kay O'Neill for your creation!

🎵I am so happy because I finally got around to reading this book!🎵 It took me so long to find this book be available at my local library and when I did see it, I snagged it as quickly as I could.  The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill is about Greta, a girl who works at her parent's blacksmith shop, but it hasn't been doing so well since the tools that they make are less in demand. One day while walking outside, she rescues a little dragon, which happens to be a tea dragon owned by a family friend named Hesekiel. Tea dragons are special dragons that sprout leaves on their backs that can be used to make all kinds of tea, depending on what herb the dragon grows. When Greta returns the tea dragon to Hesekiel, she meets another girl about her age there who doesn't speak much and has memory loss. Her name is Minette, and she used to be a prophetess in training. Greta and Minette decide to hang out and become friends, and then they both learn more about raising tea dragons...