Review of The Novel Dragon Born by Ela Lourenco

Dragon Born by Ela Lourenco is the first book in a five book series about a young but strong female protagonist named Larissa but was popularly called Lara. The first part of the novel introduces the reader to what it is like to live in the world called Azmantium. It is a planet where many people lives but this people are all magical beings. Everything on this planet works with magic and everyone there was born with magic and powers, although some were more powerful than others. And of course, like on earth there was constant struggle between good and evil.

The Novel goes on to reveal more about Lara, she was a twelve-years old girl whose life have been predestined even before she was born. The prophecy had it that she will emerge with great strength and power and she will Lear the good to conquer evil. She was a dragon-born and the last of her kind. Lara did not know her true nature because her identity was hidden right from birth. The council of some witches, wizards, feys, etc. , who were for the good course thought it wise to protect Lara until she is of age and could have full control over her own powers and magics. Just like a tradition in Azmantium, every kid from the age of twelve and above were sent to Lantis school of magic. At this school, the kids were tested to know what kind of magical powers they possess and from the outcome of the test they are been divided and given different classes. During Lara's stay in the school, she made friends with Leyla, Sofia and Anna and these three characters played a significant role in Lara's life, they also had strong magics too except that Lara possessed more stronger and powerful magics than they do. I believe that in subsequent series the author will bring into limelight their main role in seeing to the success of Lara's predestined mission.

I must confess, the novel had a wonderful storyline and I enjoyed every bit of the stories. My most appreciative part of this novel is where the author introduced a little romance. Xan, the third son of King Merrick, the king of Azmantium fell in love with Lara after her first encounter with Jayla, a girl bully who was so proud and arrogant. Although Xan's family was already rated to be one of the evils in the planet as both King Merrick and Xan's two elder brothers were evil and power crazy but Xan seemed to be a total opposite of what his brothers were. Xan was gentle, friendly but was not power crazy. I really enjoyed every scene where both of them were together either in class or outside the class and I anticipate to see more lovable scenes displaying their romance in other series.

I also enjoyed how the author strongly developed each character especially that of the main character, Lara. The author presented her in such a way that she appeared so real to me. There were also characters whom in my own view, I would say that they spiced up the novel with their lovable roles. Characters such as Talia and Yelena. Talia was a six-years old girl and a resident of the Lantis home for orphans. Talia was a lively, happy and friendly kid, and she loved Lara so much that she becomes sad anytime Lara was going to leave for the School of magic. Yelena was their foster mother, and she took care of the orphans in Lantis home and she treated the girls as if they were her own biological children and of course, the kids reciprocated her love.

In conclusion, I would say that the novel is an interesting one. It is a blend of action, mystery and fantasy. Even some of the characters were lost in the fantasy of their environment. In chapter two, the author wrote that, ". . . not even in her wildest dreams had she imagined this, and it was like something out of a book. " This is just to give you a clue of the fantastic structure the author used for the novel. I fancy the way the author emphasized on the themes of magic and the supernatural, imaginary worlds and creatures. My only dislike about this interesting novel is that it was not properly edited, there were few grammatical and spelling errors. I would recommend this book for young adults especially those who enjoy being surprised, tantalized and all things magical. The book is easy to read, fast paced and full of action. The author's style of writing is descriptive and self-explanatory. But because of the few grammatical errors which I could not overlook, I cannot give Dragon Born the highest rate! I rate it 3 out of 4 stars.