The Gift of Charms (Julia Suzuki)

Title: The Gift of Charms

Series: The Land of Dragor

Author: Julia Suzuki

Released: 2014

Rating: 4/6

Basic Plot: Here Be Dragons...Hidden in a mist-filled valley, far away from the habitation of man, live the last of the world's dragons. Divided by clan but united by the need to conceal themselves from humankind, these creatures, supposedly of myth and fairy tale, live ordinary lives, while ever aware that discovery will almost certainly be their undoing. Centuries ago, a great war spelled the end of their slavery to mankind. But in separating themselves from the rest of the world, the dragon clans have paid a heavy price. There is an emptiness in the Land of Dragor that did not exist before, and all the elders feel it. Disharmony runs rife. The dragons have vowed never to leave Dragor, but the youngest of them grow restless and superstitions abound. So when a strange egg is laid, all fear what will come of it. Could Dragor be about to meet its saviour? Or its destroyer?
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The Take on the Dragon Mythos
I like that the dragons are intelligent. Hell, they have personalities like you and me. Their society is hidden away from the rest of the world so that they can live. This has the benefit of having the book take place in something other than the middle ages. It can be modern but yet medieval too. The human world is not touched on too much in this book so the exact time frame can't be told for certain.

Exclamation Marks and Rapid Pacing
There are points in the novel where exclamation marks are used in odd places. A character may merely be saying a sentence and there's an exclamation mark for no good reason. You don't need to use the exclamation mark to denote someone speaking loudly or trying to point out that something is important. It can be used to indicate surprise or excitement, though. But it's one of those things that shouldn't be overused. These odd exclamation marks become less annoying as the novel goes on. The pacing for the most part is good, having mystery and getting to know the characters. However, in a few instances, rapid changes seemed to have been made. Such as when Yoshiko, the protagonist of the story, gets a personal trainer.

Igorr
Igorr is shown to be a bully in the beginning and he is. You quickly find out that he's this way because he wants to impress his father. He wants to make his father proud even though his father is very abusive towards him. So while him starting off as a bully is annoying, at least it's explained. It isn't just 'oh, he's an asshole and you're supposed to hate him but we won't give you any reason he's that way'. As this is the first in a series, maybe Igorr will go through some growth.

Final Thoughts
This was a fun and light read. It was a nice cool down from Gone Girl and The Maze Runner which were both intense books. I do wonder what a sequel would do. Everything seems so nicely wrapped up by the end that I don't know what other things could be done. Of course there still is the fact that not all of Dragor knows about Yoshiko's egg that he came from. Possibly Igorr could play more of a role next book. Whatever the case, I'll be waiting for it.