Review: FLYING BLIND by Deborah Cooke & Giveaway!

FLYING BLIND

Deborah Cooke

pub: June 7

genre: Teen Fiction/Dragons

Amazon/Website

(Thanks to The Teen Book Scene Blog Tours)

Zoë Sorensson is perfectly normal, except she's been told she's destined for great things. Zoë's the one female dragon shapeshifter of her kind. But Zoë is at the bottom of the class when it comes to being Pyr and her powers are AWOL, so she's sent to a Pyr boot camp.

Zoë quickly realizes that she has to master her powers yesterday, because the Pyr are in danger and boot camp is a trap. The Mages want to eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line-unless Zoë and her friends can work together and save their own kind.

Zoe's voice jumps off the page! 


I loved this feisty heroine struggling to live up to the famous destiny fate has thrust upon her. At times she's clueless, frustrated, jealous, angry, whiny - but she toughs it out and shows exceptional loyalty, strength and smarts when it counts. 


Her guy buddies at boot camp are great. The dads are refreshingly active, positive parents. This is a spin-off of Cooke's adult series and I'm sure those familiar with the adult characters will find their presence a special treat. Cooke's dragon lore is fun stuff - a dragon-lovers heaven! 


The characters are multi-dimensional and I loved the almost non-stop action at the end. Yay! While I figured out who the 'bad guy' was, I remained very intrigued because I hadn't a clue as to his true self, his motives, or how he was manipulating the key players. 


The love interest, Jared, is equal parts hot and adorable. I'm a little iffy on the age difference between Zoe, 15, and Jared, 20, especially since Zoe often comes off as a young 15, however the romance isn't a big part of the plot so I'll see how that plays out in the future. But I'm dying for more Jared!


There's lots of shape-shifting and magic and spells and fighting and secrets and lies and  - oooooo! Just so much fun! 

FLYING BLIND is a great coming of age story with a high-spirited, memorable heroine and key messages of self-belief, love, friendship, and loyalty. And the fact that it's bursting with oodles of sensational dragon excitement only adds to it's entertainment factor! 

(Check below for a chance to win an ARC!)

And FYI...
I read the first chapter of the sequel, WINGING IT (Dec 2011) and look forward for more!

Zoë Sorensson yearns to come into her powers as the only female dragon shifter. But being part of two worlds is more complicated than she expected. It’s bad enough that she’s the target of the Mages’ plan to eliminate all shifters—she also has to hide her true nature from her best friend Meagan, a human. For her sixteenth birthday, all Zoë wants is one normal day, including a tattoo and a chance to see hot rocker Jared.
Instead, the Pyr throw her a birthday party but ban Meagan from attendance, putting Zoë in a tight spot. Things get even worse when Zoë is invited to the popular kids’ Halloween party and Meagan’s left out. Zoë knows the party is a trap laid by the host, an apprentice Mage. When Meagan gets a last-minute invite, Zoë must save the day—and her best friend—without revealing her fire-breathing secrets…

 Deborah makes her home in Canada with her husband. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing or hunting for vintage patterns. Deborah Cooke has always been fascinated with dragons, although she has never understood why they have to be the bad guys. She has an honors degree in history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels, and has written over thirty romance novels under the names Claire Cross and Claire Delacroix.

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