Review: The Hidden Will of the Dragon by Charlie Courtland
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2012
I recently read Dandelions in the Garden by Charlie Courtland, and became an instant fan of her storytelling. So, naturally I was very much looking forward to reading the book's sequel, The Hidden Will of the Dragon. Unfortunately, I was barely two chapters in when I realized this novel would be nothing like the first and was greatly disappointed as I continued to read.The main characters from Dandelions in the Garden, had stopped evolving with the ending of that book and instead digressed into hollow players in this drawn out and lackluster novel. The way the story was told had changed and by doing so, lost all appeal for me. There were also far too many errors throughout this book for me to over look. I had noticed some in the previous story but didn't pay much attention to them since the story itself provided a satisfying read, but Hidden Will of the Dragon was completely riddled with them! I understand this falls partly on the editor, or lack of one if that's the case, but either way it should have been picked through and polished before publishing.Hidden Will picks up where Dandelions left off but doesn't flow along with the original story quite right. I had grown fond of Amara, Elizabeth's lady in waiting, admiring her strong will and ability to keep her head when everything around her was falling to pieces. I had enjoyed reading about her romances and her troubles, about her marriage and the strong bond she and her husband had between them. In this book, there isn't a bit of that. Amara is weak, needy and someone I ended up not being able to stand. And then there's Elizabeth, who I no longer sympathized with and just like with Amara, couldn't tolerate. She was out of her mind, annoyingly self centered and her actions were pointless.I feel absolutely awful having to leave this review! I enjoyed the first book and had assumed the second would be an accurate follow up but it fell flat, very flat. The story was there, and could have been saved and written in a way where the reader still felt attached to the characters they had connected with before, instead of having to read far too many pages without being able to absorb it. I'm sure there are many readers out there who enjoyed this book, and I'm glad that they did! This is just my opinion and I know that doesn't mean others will share it, but I have to say that I do not recommend this read.