Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman

I got my wish after that last review. Lots more magic in this one – equal parts mental power and physical skill.

Title:  Eona: The Last Dragoneye
Author:  Alison Goodman
Series: Eon Book 02
Publish Date:  April 19, 2011
Genre:  YA Fantasy
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon’s army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona’s power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled “Emperor” Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power – and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .

Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic story only Alison Goodman can create…

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

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Kat Mandu says…

Now that Eona has stopped pretending to be a man, communion with her dragon is much easier. I liked the description of Hua and the fight scenes that often came with the use of magic. And mind control (or will control, whatever floats your boat)! I could only imagine how manipulated the characters under Eona’s thrall felt.

Everybody plays some interesting gender bending roles here. Poor Dela, unable to be a woman. And I figured they’d continue to use “Eon” a lot more but I guess we really get to see how Eona thinks. And boy, do we. Eona is not the scared, determined boy she played in the first one. She is now large and in-charge and ready to play the cards the way she wants. Manipulative and fiery, though she rarely admits to her flaws.

I liked the romantic plot within the route to save the dragons. Lord Ido presents a man who can give Eona the ultimate gift – unlimited power. Kygo is the deceptively handsome emperor who craves vengeance and power. It’s interesting to know that Lord Ido is only twenty-four after seeing all the other older Dragoneyes. But he brings Eona ill-fortune with his desperate need for godlike power.

I was a little confused when the scene between Eona and Ido played out to prevent a cyclone from hitting the ship they were travelling on. I couldn’t tell if they were just kissing very intimately or if they had sex. The author seemed to leave it up to the reader but I found myself wishing to know which one for better understanding.

The action scenes! Man, I tore through the breakout of Lord Ido from prison. That was probably my favorite scene in the whole book. Eona gets to be all girly and badass and there was just a lot of intrigue that drew me in. The ending scene was pretty good too, though I wished Eona would have fought off the control of Sethon a lot faster.

Good duology for fans of Asian culture and fantasy. This two-book series is great when it comes to sword-wielding soldiers and magical scenes. It delves into sexism, romance, and sacrifice.

Our reviews in this series…

• Eon

Other reviews…

• The Book Smugglers
• Fantasy Book Cafe
• Respiring Thoughts

If you like this book…

… you might try Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon, Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, or The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima.