About Going Down in Flames:
If her love life is going down in flames, she
might as well spark a revolution.
Finding
out on your sixteenth birthday you're a shape-shifting dragon is tough to
swallow. Being hauled off to an elite boarding school is enough to choke on.
Since
Bryn is the only crossbreed at the Institute for Excellence, all eyes are on
her, but it's a particular black dragon, Zavien, who catches her attention.
Zavien is
tired of the Directorate's rules. Segregated clans, being told who to love, and
close-minded leaders make freedom of choice almost impossible. The new girl
with the striped hair is a breath of fresh air, and with Bryn's help, they may
be able to change the rules.
At the
Institute, old grudges, new crushes, and death threats are all part of a normal
day for Bryn. She'll need to learn to control her dragon powers if she wants to
make it through her first year at school. But even focusing on staying alive is
difficult when you're falling for someone you can't have.
My Review:
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Current Rating on Goodreads: 4.25 of 5 stars
Pages: 407 pages
The first part of the book was exciting and all fast fast fast revelations!! And kinda like a sit-com XP But after that, there wasn't really that much happening for a while. The pace just slumped. And it became boring, honestly.
I kinda put the book down for a while :/ *guilty look* Took a while to convince myself to finish it.......which is part of the reason for this late review *holds up hands in surrender* I knowww, I knowwww, that's a terrible excuse (I also had a busy week full of math and daaance rehearsals–the comps have officially begun *crowd cheers*–like literally, lately it's been a house rule or sumfin that you're either doing schoolwork, doing chores, dancing, eating, or sleeping *scowls and hugs Cazza tightly* don't let it drag me into a dank dungeon with no GR and friendsss! *wails*) XD but I'm glad I did continue the book because it slugged itself out of the mud and started up again at a more modest pace, but this time it actually maintained it's pacing *sticks out tongue*
The beginning was the best XD Like, duuudeeee it was hilarioussssss ;P I kept bombarding Cazza with my cackling antics *grins*
Unfortunately it didn't last. It was like da author used up all her jokes early on and then......ran out o.O Poohhh *pouts* But still, the book wasn't half bad overall, especially for a debut crack at YA......
The concept was a little too generic. Young adult finds out she's a dragon and goes to a dragon school where she's one of a kind and everyone else looks at her like she's a serial killer or sumfin XD *mock glares at these peeps* come onnn don't be too harsh to Bryn sure she's different, but so are youuu.....or have you forgotten that you're all shape shifting dragons?? *snickers*
But back on topic, you remember what we want right?
...*crickets chirp*...
*rolls eyes* Fiiineee I'll spell it out for ya'll :P
#WeNeedDiverseBooks dun dunn duuunnnnnnn! xD
Yeaahhh Cannon must've missed the tweeting procession *sigh*
MC aka Bryn: I couldn't really connect to her that much :/ In fact, none of da characters seemed very believable to me, but whatevehhh. That's my opinion.
And one thing that annoyed me is that Cannon didn't express Bryn's looks......yaahh knoww......*slight laugh*.....if she's pwettyy or not? XD It always annoys me to no end when authors somehow manage to make their charries uncategorizable *unimpressed look*
Still, she was an entertaining charrie XP
Snarkyy? Check. Self–confident? Average. Kickass? Unconfirmed. Stubborn? Check. A dragon? Check. Can change appearance at will? Check. Smart? *shrugs* XD Calm? Nopeee *pops the p* Mature? Errr *coughs* Temper? Double check!
But whyyyyyyy? Whyyyyyy did she have to choose Zavien the spiky-haired malcontent??? *cracks up* Her grandfather's words, not miiinee XDD
Seriously tho -__- Me no likey spiky-haired, tattooed goth type guys!! >:/
Ooookayyy I may be exaggerating just a teensy bit :P *ducks head*.......but just sayin' *defensive look*
Valmont on the other hand......*nods approvingly* Why couldn't she like Valmont her handsome knight in shining armour.......literally? xD *whines* He's so much bettahhh XP *swoons* Short black hair, ice blue eyes, a dimpleee *leans head in palm and sighs dreamily*
Fight scenes.....meh. Honestly I was hoping for more in this department, but all we got was a tiiinnyyy bit of dispassionate fighting, and Bryn and a certain annoying charrie called Jaxon trading fireballs and snowballs at each other's heads XPP Not really 'trading' tho.....if you catch mah drift *evil laugh*
Ooohhhh and that reminds me! The coughing fireballs and snowballs thing o.O That's just weird. I mean, suuuree a dragon breathing fire.....even a dragon breathing snow is ookayyy on the weird scale, but humans exhaling fire and snow.......not so much XDD
Also, I think there was a bit of misinformation in the tagline *frowns* I kept waiting for this professed revolution o.O
25% way through: *squints at pages*
50% way through: *taps pen on table*
75% way through: *bounces knee and sighs*
100% way through: o.O *facedesk*
Whaaat revolution??? *confuzzled look* Suuureee some peeps are against the Directorate's rule, but they were against the Directorate's rule long before she popped outta the woodwork, she hasn't become a symbol of rebellion or anythang like Katniss in THG, and she certainly hasn't organised a rebellion o.O All she's done in relation to the Directorate is manage to convince half the students not to hate on her.....and if you're wondering.....the other half still do XDD
Bookish Revelation: Is that Quintessence in her hair??? *squints at book cover* Hmmm ;D And if you're wondering what Quintessence is, here's a blurb from da book....
“Quintessence is the essence of all things. It’s the very stuff life is made of. Learn to manipulate it, and you will be able to do simple spells. Learn to control it, and you could do anything.”
Mmmm XDD So they're not just dragons, they're also magicians of sorts ;P *rubs hands together and smirks* And Bryn seems to be a naturale at controlling it *winks*
The ending seems open and hinting to the possibility of a sequel, tho like the last e-arc I read, Cinderella's Dress, there was no actual cliff-hanger, soooo yeaahhh. *shrugs* Maybe, maybe not.....XP
3 stars. Booyaahhh :P
—MissBloodsucker™ All Sucked Out!
Find Going Down in
Flames Online:
Author Bio:
Chris Cannon lives in Southern Illinois
with her husband and her three dogs, Pete the shih tzu who sleeps on her desk
while she writes, Molly the ever-shedding yellow lab, and Tyson the
sandwich-stealing German Shepherd Beagle. She believes coffee is the Elixir of
Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and
writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures. Going Down In Flames is the first
book in Chris Cannon's shape-shifting dragon series.
Find Chris Cannon Online:
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