Nov 3, 2025 - Just Mainly a Lot of Dragons
Last time I posted, I expressed my surprise at how many books I'd managed to finish in a week. This week, I'm surprised at how few I've finished in the past two weeks.
To be fair to me, the past two weeks have involved midterms and several other factors that resulted in a highly disrupted schedule (which is why I also didn't post anything the last two weeks...). Now things are starting to settle again, and hopefully I can slip back into a regular reading rhythm. In the meantime, here's a catch-up post of all the books I missed the last two weeks while I was dealing with other things.
As a heads-up, the formatting gets funky on this post. For some reason Blogger wouldn't let me do what I've been doing for no apparent reason and I got fed up fighting it. I'll just try to do my normal formatting again next week...
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Author: Cressida Cowell
Genres: fantasy, middle grade
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Review Type: Recommended to Me
Place in Series: Books 2-3
Series Type: Finished
Now that I'm in the world and understand it better, I'm finding the characters truly delightful and I kept getting captivated by the plot. I can see now why this series was so highly recommended, and I'm excited to continue reading it!
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Dragonfruit
Every wish demands a price.
Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.
Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time - hope.
But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.
One of the things that I've complained about YA fantasy in the past is that at a certain point it all starts feeling the same. I come to the book expecting something new and exciting and instead find a lot of the same tropes, characters, and setting elements. Now, I know that part of what makes a genre are the conventions, tropes, and types of characters you find within that genre. It's just that sometimes it feels like YA fantasy uses genre conventions as the backbone of the plot instead of devices that help move a plot along. It was largely because I've gotten a bit tired with YA fantasy that I was hesitant to start Dragonfruit. As much I was craving a light fantasy fix, I didn't want to end up in a spot where I was disappointed in a read that felt just like every other book.
Fortunately, Dragonfruit delivered. I've not read much Pacific Island fiction, so the world felt fresh and new to me. While the story retained many of the hallmarks of YA fantasy, the new setting and magic system provided me with a perspective I hadn't heard before and an opportunity to explore a world and setting that's unfamiliar to me. To make things even better, I found the characters to be realistic and engaging, and there were plenty of moments that were sweet or sad all without the book being too heavy or emotionally draining. In other words, it was exactly what I needed, and for that I'm very thankful.
I'd recommend this book for: People who looking for a fun YA fantasy with an imaginative world.
Find this book on StoryGraph and GoodReads!
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A Practical Primer on Theological Method: Table Manners for Discussing God, His Works, and His Ways
Authors: Michael J. Svigel and Glen R. Kreider
Genre: Nonfiction, Christian Theology
Star Rating: 4 Stars
My Tags: nonfiction
Synopsis
Around a table sit men and women with distinct The Interpreter, the Theologian, the Virtuous, the Philosopher, the Scientist, the Artist, the Minister, and the Historian. Each is ready to engage in a passionate discussion centered on God, his works, and his ways. Regardless of which role you play at the same table, you're invited. You simply need to pull up a chair and join the conversation. But how? What do you say when you take your seat? Where do you start? What are the "rules" of the dialogue? A Practical Primer on Theological Method will help you answer these questions. This primer is not only a "how-to" manual for doing theology, but a handbook of etiquette for doctrinal discussions with other believers. This popular-level introductory text presents the proper manner, mode, and means of engaging fruitfully in theology.
My Review
I'll admit I was hesitant to start this book because I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with systematic theology. Mainly, I get frustrated when people use systematic theology to put God into nice, neat, tidy boxes that don't leave room for people to wrestle with the complexity and nuance that the Bible shows that God has. My fear was that this book would fall prey to that same error. Much to my relief, it did not. I appreciated this book's perspective on how to approach theology as well as the way it intentionally included people that I wouldn't normally think of as necessary to good theology. Rather than removing the need to wrestle from the conversation, this book encouraged people of all backgrounds and strengths to wrestle together and arrive at conclusions based on an understanding of how God reveals Himself and each person's distinct ability to see different aspects of who God is through the work they do and the strengths God has given them. I'm now excited to see all the ways God will teach me about Himself using people and situations I don't expect, and I'm encouraged at the thought of all of God's people working together to understand better the God we serve.
I'd recommend this book for: People who are interested in thinking through how to start doing theology well and how to use their individual strengths and gifts to help the broader Christian community do theology better.
Find this book on StoryGraph and GoodReads!
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