Book Review: "Dragon's Keep" By Janet Lee Carey

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

Rosie is a princess with a secret, one finger is scaled and taloned. She has kept it her whole life. She has also lived under a six hundred year old prophecy by Merlin saying that she will end the war between dragons and people. Rosie struggles to be who her mother wants her to be, all the while she wonders if any man could ever love her knowing the secret she holds. She has more things to worry about when a dragon kidnaps her.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Rosie is constantly aware of her secret and is lonely. Although she is close to her mom, she desperately wants a friend. She eventually grows to be friends with Kit and shows kindness towards the girl. Her time with the dragon pushes her to the limit but she raises to the challenge, showing bravery and cleverness.

Kit becomes Rosie's only friend and her lady in waiting. She is mute but Rosie works hard to be friends. The two become close and have ties that at first Rosie does not know of.

Lord Faul is the dragon who kidnaps Rosie. He seems heartless at first, and although he is very tough on her, eventually he grows to respect her. But he cares nothing for humans, in fact, he harbors deep hatred towards them all.

Kye is the young man who helped kill a dragon. He is the only one sickened by the horrible treatment of the dead beast's corpse other than Rosie. The two get to know each other and spend time together before her kidnapping.

PACING

The pacing is decent, even though Rosie is not taken by the dragon after more than half of the book. The time is spent learning about Rosie's life and troubles, and many mysteries are set up. How was Rosie really born? How did certain characters really die?

STRUCTURE

The book is split into three parts. Rosie is taken by the dragon near the end of Part 2. Most of part 3 is spent with Lord Faul. This is surprising because the title is called Dragon's Keep.

Although we do learn a lot about Rosie and her life during the first section. We see her relationship with her mother, as well as her loneliness for friendship and her desire to be loved. Carey does a good job entertaining us and informing us about Rosie's life, her desires and her troubles so when she is taken we know who she is and what she wants.

FORESHADOWING

We learn about Merlin's prophecy and have most of the book to ponder how it will connect to Rosie. It references a dragon's talon, automatically making the reader think of her and leaving us to wonder how it will play out.

CHARACTER DRIVEN

Once again, I think this story is character driven, rather then plot driven. Although the last half of the book is where Rosie is trapped with the dragon, before that, it's her own choices that push the story forward.

Her wanting to take Kit with her, and her effort to form a friendship. Her desire to see the dragons' egg saved, even though she doesn't know why. Also, she pushes hard to learn the truth about the circumstances behind her birth which moves the story onward and even cause something terrible to happen.

THEME

Victim-hood is a theme throughout the book. Rosie is a victim to her curse, her mother's expectations for her, as well as a victim of the dragon. Lord Faul is also a victim of past crimes against his kind. But Rosie doesn't sit around whining about things, which is why she is a likable heroine. She see's the victim-hood that the dragon has claimed and feels confused about it.

Indeed, Rosie eventually lets go of her hatred of Lord Faul and realizes she is a part of his family. It was one of the most moving parts of the book.

Deception is another theme, as Rosie learns secrets of her family and humanity's past with dragons.

CLIMAX-SPOILERS

When Rosie comes back home she has to prove who she is and is put on trial. I was kind of disappointed by how it ended. I am not against men saving women at all, but when Kye appears with the Scepter to prove her lineage, it would have been nice if there had been some hints about what he had done or was going to do. It came out of the blue and saved Rosie.

It felt kind of cheap. Perhaps if Kye had seen her once and had learned of the whereabouts of the scepter...we could have waited with baited breath for him to save Rosie.

EXPLICIT CONTENT-SPOILERS

Various people get killed and devoured by the dragon. This isn't played down or censored in anyway. Kit is revealed to be bastard child, being she was born out of wedlock.

CONCLUSION

Carey creates an original story about dragons and a curse, as well as a relatable, likable heroine in Rosie. I give “Dragon's Keep” four stars.

What do you think? Did you read this book? Agree or disagree with me on any points? Please let me know!