Slayers by C. J. Hill

Slayers
By: C. J. Hill (pseudonym)
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Pages: 373
Format: Hardback
Source: Gift

★★★★

4/5 


Goodreads Synopsis:


Dragons exist. They’re ferocious. And they’re smart: Before they were killed off by slayer-knights, they rendered a select group of eggs dormant, so their offspring would survive. Only a handful of people know about this, let alone believe it – these “Slayers” are descended from the original knights, and are now a diverse group of teens that includes Tori, a smart but spoiled senator’s daughter who didn’t sign up to save the world.

The dragon eggs have fallen into the wrong hands. The Slayers must work together to stop the eggs from hatching. They will fight; they will fall in love. But will they survive?


My Review:

“The Dragons are here.”

 That line is just chilling! That is the blurb on the back of the book and it only took those 4 words to drag me into this. Dragons, guns, bow and arrows, Kevlar, superpowers?….yeah, all the makings for a great read.

   Tori, a spoiled rich girl, has always had an inner geek. She secretly loves dragons and because of this she decides to attend Dragon camp. Little does she know that she’s about to get the surprise of her life!

  I actually ended up liking Tori. While I can’t say I could relate to the ritzy part of her life, I could definitely understand her feelings toward finding out who she was. She goes from having all the shoes and clothes she could ever want, to learning how to use guns and her powers to kill dragons. Talk about a 180! She wasn’t all “omg that’s soooooo cool!” but more along the lines of “what?!?!? Um…no!”. She was terrified! Just as she should be. However, I both liked and disliked that. While that attitude was more realistic, I don’t like my MC’s to be wussy! I want them to be able to kick butt!!! I can be wussy, but the MC must not! But she grew on me because I could understand why and she redeems herself. She learns to have strength and courage and learns about sacrifice. In the end, I found her growth to my liking.

   I did enjoy the secondary characters, but I didn’t love them. Dr. B was pretty darn awesome though! He was such a kind fatherly figure and so wise and really cared about them but also taught em how to fight. He definitely had to be my favorite of the secondary characters. Though I do have an honorable mention for my fellow southerner Kody! As for the love interests….I’m not quite sure. I didn’t fall in love with either of them. Yeah, they were alright but nothing exceptional. However, I think this is due to the fact that this story focuses more heavily on Tori’s growth and because it is in 3rd person.

 But you want to know what was fan-freaking-tastic! The story! DRAGONS!!!! Honestly, need I say more? It’s like Percy Jackson, but for dragon slayers! Woot! Pretty cool huh? I looooved the dragon mythology! It was so fun and interesting! This was by far the best part of the story. And who is Ryker! I looooved that mystery part of the book! And the last chapter? It definitely makes me want the next book now!

However, the first half of the story definitely could have been shorted. I will say that I was disappointed that the dragon doesn’t even come in till the very end. This was the part that I didn’t like. From the blurb, I thought it would be dragons galore! Sadly no. This first book is more of a set-up. Tori has to learn who she is and how to work with her newfound abilities so I understand its pacing, but that doesn't mean I like it. However, some of it definitely could have been taken out. I mean, the whole book takes place over 3 days! 3 days!! That’s it!

However, I do love the action scenes!! Camp would be pretty freakin awesome! If your not shooting guns, your horse-back riding, driving motorcycles or fighting a mechanical dragon! Yeah, totally my kind of camp!

Overall, I really liked this book! While it definitely could have been shorter and I didn’t fall in love with the characters, the action, mystery, and dragon mythology more than make up for it. I suggest this for those going through a bit of Percy Jackson withdrawal (your not alone!).