Hi there! I’m here to finally talk about the last advanced copy I read in July. Hopefully, I can get back on a better schedule soon and won’t have my reviews be so long after I finished the book, but we’ll just have to see. **And as always, the work to support the Black community is not done, whether there is media coverage for it or not, so here is the link to click in order to support the Black Lives Matter movement in any way you can, and thank you to StarlahReads for compiling these resources.**
Today I’ll be discussing some of my thoughts about Blazewrath Games, a debut contemporary fantasy by Amparo Ortiz. One of the taglines for this book was “experience the World Cup with Dragons,” and honestly I didn’t need to hear much else. But after reading more of the synopsis and finding out we follow a girl who wants to represent Team Puerto Rico as their Runner in their first international appearance in these games, and I requested the heck out of it. What I loved about this book is that yes, we follow Lana and her teammates, and the games themselves, but there is another layer of intrigue that keeps you guessing throughout the entirety of the book. There are also so many conversations about heritage and identity, and struggling to determine whether or not you do belong in certain spaces, or are you “no enough.” Amparo Ortiz has also shared character art of main character, Lana, and main villain, the Sire, on her Twitter (with credit to the artist Cosmoquences), which is just making me even more excited for the book’s release.
Lana Torres dreams of nothing more than competing in the Blazewrath World Cup as a Runner for her native country, Puerto Rico. So when the opportunity presents itself, she is incredibly eager to sign her name on the dotted line, but both her parents seem skeptical of the circumstances. Nevertheless, Lana is whisked away to Dubai to train so that she can bring home the trophy for her teammates, herself, and her country. But while she’s there, Lana is roped into a game far more dangerous to play, and she begins to think there is more at stake to lose than just gold.
All I needed to know before going into this book was that it involved dragons and a worldwide competition, and it truly did not disappoint. Each represented country has its own dragon species, equipped with their own capabilities to give them an edge in the games, and there are plenty more species that are un-bonded and kept in sanctuaries under the watchful eyes of people like Lana’s father. Before each chapter there are snippets from history books or interviews with characters to give more insight into the world, which added a lot of depth to the story, in my opinion. I thought the concept of the game of Blazewrath was unique and interesting, and definitely wish we could’ve been better acquainted with all the positions (but since Lana’s perspective moved the story forward, it made logical sense to focus mainly on the Runner’s task during the game). Each player and coach (and even the Sol de Noche dragons) had their own unique personality and quirks that made their actions and responses believable, and it was great to see players who did not see eye to eye rise above their differences and reach an understanding towards the end of the novel. I appreciated how a romantic relationship did not develop between Lana and Andrew, as I thought their friendship raised the stakes of the climactic action. The twists revealed in the latter portion of the novel also took me by surprise (in a good way), and during a second read-through I was able to pick up on a few clues I had previously missed, which made piecing together the puzzle of the novel even more entertaining.
There were some aspects I would have liked to see more of, one in particular being the relationship between Lana and her mother, Leslie. At the beginning of the story, it’s understood that Leslie is not a fan of dragons, and Lana is convinced that she would not support her decision to tryout for the Runner position (which is confirmed when she eventually finds out about Lana’s plan to join team Puerto Rico). After she signs Lana’s contract, she asks to be transported away, and Lana does not see her mother or have a legitimate conversation with her until after the climactic action, when it’s revealed she’s had a change of heart. I wish we could have seen some of that growth on the page. I also didn’t fully understand the purpose of Todd, Lana’s cousin, as a character. I suppose it could be said he acted as the extreme opposition, and in that extremism helped Leslie to understand just how much she was misguided about dragons and Lana’s choice to play Blazewrath. His interview at the end of the novel slightly confused me – he is on a talk show, essentially calling for the highest wizard class (Gold Wands) to eradicate all dragons, bonded or otherwise, saying that people need to wake up and realize the truth. I mean, unless there’s going to be a sequel in which Todd becomes the villain (which I would read in a heartbeat, honestly), it felt a bit out of place.
*edit July 2021 – There will actually be a sequel to Blazewrath Games, titled Dragonblood Ring, releasing in October of 2021, so perhaps we will see more of Todd and understand his motivations a bit better. I’m excited to see what more of this series will bring*
Overall, I really enjoyed some of the messages sprinkled throughout Blazewrath Games – the book touches on realizing your worth is more than just the weight of your accomplishments, facing a reality where family members may not support what you do, and being unabashedly proud of your heritage. This contemporary fantasy, in all its dragon glory, stole a little piece of my heart, and I can’t wait to see what other people think. If you’re at all interested, I highly recommend picking up Blazewrath Games when it releases on October 6th, 2020 (or, if you’re able, preorder it from a local indie bookstore – find one here). **Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Page Street Kids, for the e-copy, all thoughts and feelings are my own.**
Places to find Blazewrath Games:
Amazon
Goodreads
Amparo Ortiz’s site
Thoughts About Things 