The GOOD: Dragons. And lots of them. There's nothing more disappointing than reading a book with the word "dragon" in the title and then finding that there are not enough dragons in the story. The character Lessa is amusing in a vicious sort of way, and it is pretty cool that a slave girl saves the world.
The BAD: The plot is sound but a little too convenient. Revelations didn't seem to strike me as revealing. My reaction to major reveals was "Oh, okay, that's convenient." The relationship between Lessa and F'Lar the dragonman is kinda disturbing because the overall characterization of Lessa makes her seem like a "girl" in the teenage sense of the word whereas descriptions of F'Lar are like "man" in the mid-30s sense of the word. I think technically they're noted as closer in age, but the characterization pulls them apart. F'Lar always feels more like an uncle or father figure to Lessa, but they're also involved, so it seems a bit jail-baity. Also, their "romance" generally just doesn't feel substantial. They supposedly can barely be apart near the end of the story, and Lessa gets jealous at one point, but it just wasn't enough or believable. I couldn't get invested in the romance and it just felt forced.
Bottom Lin: Great story for action, adventure, and dragons, but falls flat on the romance aspect.
