#trars

If merch existed, what kind would you want to see?

Stickers, plushies, what kind of stuff?

Suggestions so far:

Dragon plushes

Figurines

Bookmarks

Stickers

Patches

Enamel pins

Academy Logo stuff

To Ride a Rising Storm

"Book two" is tricky. It has to draw you further into a now-familiar world without retreading old ground, has to offer satisfaction without conclusion. For every "Two Towers," there are dozens of "So What" Book Twos out there. To Ride a Rising Storm was everything I was hoping it would be, and I'm more excited than ever to return to this world. Like the first book, To Ride a Rising Storm's worldbuilding is thorough and rich, heavy on elements of academia and science, its magic system reminiscent of Fullmetal Alchemist's. A well-rounded and genuinely interesting cast of find themselves in a tangle of political intrigue and rising fascism, drawn lines are tested, and theory is put to practice - a rising tension that, just now, feels all too familiar. Also like the first book, the dragons are just plain cool. There are lots of them in different conformations, sprinkled with enough little moments that let their personalities shine - especially Kasaqua, and her relationship with Anequs. Not everybody can write a "girl-and-her-dog" book where the human and animal protagonists both feel like realized characters, but I'd read an entire book about the two of them doing not much of anything. Their relationship feels real and their milestones earned - that's what I want to see in an animal companion in any medium. There are so many reasons to fall in love with the series. It's beautifully written and briskly paced, compulsively readable and occasionally infuriating, set in a world so close to ours it feels within arm's reach. If you like dragons that don't need slaying, or those at the fringes finding the power to push back, slow burn polyamory, intricate magic systems that feel natural but still scary, or any good fantasy at all - just go get To Shape a Dragon's Breath. If you've already read book one, this is a worthy successor. Just like in my actual classes, I may have checked out a little during the chemistry lecture, but it's been a long time since I loved a magic school. -Nessa Halls, Auntie’s Books