The Dragon Guard by Emily Drake

2025 Reread

I honestly don't think I've read a more frustrating book in a while. I really pushed myself through this one, which I can only hope gets paid off in the next one... which was the entire reason I kept reading. the Dragon Guard is severely choppy, the characters make the most frustrating decisions, and it didn't really come together until the second half and even then it's still really choppy.

I honestly don't think the strategy of switching up POVs worked well. There were just too many characters to get away with doing so. There's one point, before Jason's big soccer game, where we check in with Ting... a nothing-burger of a check in. Made me want to throw the book across the bathroom I've been reading it in. It just felt severely unfocused.

The issue of the adult characters also rears its head again. I have a whole list on my phone haranguing Gavan's really bad planning in terms of teaching the 7 Magicker children... one of whom (Danno) is barely mentioned and apparently just fine off wherever he ended up. Tomaz just fucks off for most of the book on his own project, Eleanora is knocked out because of the whole Jennifer thing, and Aunt Freya is doing something secretive that makes her unhelpful. That's not even mentioning Khalil and Isabella... one of which has a very spoiler-ific reveal so I won't be talking about it, but it's still... ugh. So frustrating. Anyway, the main issue is Gavan wanting to do this Academy thing and not having the resources to even teach 7 kids or get the results he wants out of Jason in particular... just... what the hell, man.

Which then brings me to Jon and Brennard. Yeah... Brennard's supposed to be giving this "Dark Lord" energy and he's just not. Jon's largely usurping that, but also isn't at the same time. They really don't do a whole heck of a lot except loom in the background, being very, very vaguely menacing. I just... my head's smacking a wall with how much I, as a reader, do not care about the "villains" of the piece.

I do care a lot more about Jason. Jason is a good POV character. He's the main character we should be following the entire time, but, as I said to begin with, The Dragon Guard is just so choppy. It's like Drake was unsure as to whether or not Jason could hold the story on his own and so had to keep switching POVs because Jason couldn't be everywhere... which is fair, but also, as I'm typing this, I'm thinking about the "runtime" of the book. I think having Jason be the main POV character would have made the book shorter as well. I don't personally think that would have been a bad thing, but... yeah. It's just too much.

I am really, really hoping The Bone Gate is better. I truly don't remember, just like I only remembered, like, two details from The Dragon Guard. It's been a long while. 

 

Reasons I'm Annoyed At Gavan In Particular

1. Gavan really should have thought out his Academy project a lot better before even trying to start Ravenwyng. That whole thing was severely bungled.

2. Bailey's Dad discovered she's doing Magick because she got scared and of course she was gonna teleport out of the situation. She's got no backup or anyone helpful to talk to about the situation.

3. Basically the entirety of The Curse of Arkady... which we also actually learn about a damn book later.

4. Jason inadvertently pissing off his dragon friend, because, again with the scared kids who can teleport using that as a resource mainly due to not having anything else to lean on.

5. Basically everything Jason yells at Gavan about. Their training is crapola and basically non-existent in these books. 

6. Gavan's so-called allies are basically doing nothing to help... at all.

7. Shit that's happening to Henry because of Jonnard.

8. Jason got more training in, like, 2 days with Ting's grandmother than he did in any of his time with Gavan or the other Magickers. She's not even a "proper" Magicker!