3.5- Five are compelled to answer the call- which one will be the next emperor? With a ruthless champion, shy academic, dragon handler, thief who thinks he’s hilarious, and fighter who won’t pick up a weapon- what could go wrong? As all attempt to prove they have what it takes, the group bonds and works together to unravel a mystery surrounding the process of choosing the next emperor. Intrigue, betrayal, and most importantly dragons ensue.

My favorite part of this book was the characters. They were well-crafted, interesting, with great dialogue. I also found them all to be distinct players in the game, with unique motivations and goals- which can be tricky with a five POV story. I also loved the dragons!! The plot was engaging, but ran into a little deus ex machina at the end. I’ll be interested to see how things work out for the characters in the sequel!