Missions and Matters of State

*Received from Hunt Press for Review

Must Love Dragons

This is one of those stories that I give a four tiara wearing bats and an extra tiara out of 5 bats.

I am always a sucker for a good misfit group of adventurers and boy does this book deliver. It may be a little bit slow at the start but once you get past the first chapter it just doesn't stop. Every character has their own little motivation (like Linus and his search for money to support his ever growing family, Bart’s older sister’s need of field credits for school, and Mort’s white dragon obsession) and it is fun to see how the pieces all seem to fit together.

I would have to say that there are two main characters who became favorites of mine. They keep killing Quincy, good thing it never seems to take because he quickly became a favorite of mine. I love Quincy because it's hard not to love the slightly simple seeming warrior with a heart of gold that just wants to help everyone and has more tricks up his sleeve then even he knows. Then there is Bart who ends up being the most effective member of the little adventuring group. Despite being a little kid he more than makes up for his sister's inadequacies. His skill with his knives and level of stealth is sure to push him to the top of his guild, once he gets to be more than a JR member that is.

Overall a great read. I will admit that I found myself smiling when I finally figured out the connection to the title and just how much Linus really does love dragons.


RUNS IN GOOD CONDITION

This would have to be a 3 tiara wearing bats out of 5 bats story.

This is the sequel to Must Love Dragons by Monica Marier. It follows Linus home to his family life and run for president of the rangers guild. It is a pretty good story. I like the elements brought in by getting to see his kids more. I was a bit disappointed that the only character from the main story of the first book that got to come back again really was Mort.

If you have an interest in politics this book is good but I do have to admit that the story nearly lost me on a few parts with how much it focuses on the political stuff. I loved the little comic relief side stories going throughout the book. Miles is interesting to me, I would love to see him pop in and out of some more stories in this world.

My favorite character that was new or at least mostly new in his case to this book (I had to go back and reread the end of the first one before I actually made the connection to who he was at first) would have to be Avery. I liked him from the start when he comes to the rescue crossbow in hand at the fancy banquet. He is one of those characters that when you first think about how they act, then find out their background you go what? I myself though do always like the good hearted black sheep of families.

Although I may have liked the first one better this is still a great midday read (I personally read it over lunch for 4 days). This world always seems to have more to give so I can't wait to see what happens next and I still want to know more about Quincy.