This is a self-published book, and I don't read many of these, but the author's social media postings in the main character's POV caught my attention. I bought it, as my public library would not purchase it for its collection.
It's definitely a young adult book, as the main character, Hooper, is 16. He works in the dragon stables, slinging dragon poo and tending to Golden Wind's sprogs, or chicks. Hooper hates dragons -- with a passion. A dragon flamed and killed his family and left him scarred all over his back, part of his face, and on the back of a leg, so it hurts to move and do things an ordinary boy his age would be able to do. He resents dragons horribly for forcing him to eek by in the stables, wrangling with his hatred of that which ruined his life and now, miraculously, may offer redemption as well.
An old emerald dragon is led by the stables to be slaughtered by drogs, sort of trollish creatures, and the green dragon looks at Hooper, senses something in him, and gifts him an incredibly powerful and rare jewel -- a dragon's tear.
Golden Wind senses the gem, and knows the time has come to trust Hooper.
Hooper himself isn't sure what to make of the gem, as it gives him dreams of an evil elven woman, a witch or sorceress, who's coming to get him and it.
Men posing as Wilders, or bandits, but really from a rival house, try to steal Golden Wind from her rightful owner, Dracon Haus. Hooper teams up with Cara, whose father, Lord Lorell, owns Golden Wind and is a dragon rider in her own right, Master Phigby, a sorcerer who's befriended Hooper (sorta) and loans him books, and Helmar, the dragon stable master, to sneak Golden Wind out of the stable before she's caught and stolen. Hooper rescues the four chicks, as well.
When Hooper can't keep up, "running away from death is hard work," he says, Golden Wind lets him ride her, so they can all escape and run head long into a quest to find out who was really behind the attempt to steal Golden Wind and wipe out Dragon Haus.
This is a first book in a series, which has many, many sequels, so if you enjoy this one, drop me a line about the subsequent books! I'd be interested to hear what you think of them and what else happens to Hooper, as the book of course doesn't wrap up all the plots, and since I can't get them through my public library.
Set in a desert with a vast aquifer and river running under the sand, this book features a young woman, Silver Batal, who thinks she knows all there is to know about water dragon racing: the breeds, the riders, the races they've won and lost and attributes of each dragon.
But when the famous Sagittaria Wonder, the winningest water dragon racer in Calidia, comes to Silver's little desert town of Jaspaton, Silver discovers there's a lot she doesn't know. Like how mean and callous Sagittaria can be and how focused the racer is on winning -- at any cost.
That cost includes stealing a rare mother dragon from her bonded rider, the old seamstress Nebekker. Sagittaria doesn't know the dragon she's stolen has a fledgling, Hiyyan, who bonds with Silver as soon as they meet.
Sagittaria cares not one whit for the "bond" between rider and dragon. All she cares about is winning the next race on the back of an ancient, rarely-seen breed of dragon, and because breaking the bond really only adversely affects the human involved, she keeps the dragon in her racing stables.
Silver's determined to race Hiyyan and thus claim ownership of him under Calidian law, and rescue his mother, as Nebekker gets sicker the longer she's separated from her dragon.
But once Silver and Hiyyan, with help from her cousin Brajon, set out on this quest, she violates her family's trust and becomes an outlaw in her own town. She may never be able to return home -- much less race -- again.
