lostgirlsw's review against another edition
5.0
Henrietta has done much in her short 17 years. She has been in the army and earned her reputation as a dragon slayer. Now she is done with the killing and just wants to live a quiet life on her own. That is, until fate steps in and sends Henrietta on a quest. She learns that her old mentor, Master Chen, is dying and the only way to save him is to kill the dragon, Mimoto, and retrieve the Dracontias, a magical stone with the power to heal him.
Henrietta is the kind of badass heroine I love to read about. She's stubborn, irritable, and sarcastic but deep down she has a good heart. Despite her complaints, she gains a few travelling companions along the way. Jaxter the Jester was the comic relief. I think other than Henrietta he is my favorite. She is also joined by a witch in training, Paulette and Franc the Knight. For me, these characters made the story!
This was such an engaging and fantastic read! The whole story was so well paced and full of action and twists. There wasn't a single dull moment. Can't wait to get started on the next book, Henrietta and The Dragon Stone. Consider me a new fan of Beth Barany!
Henrietta is the kind of badass heroine I love to read about. She's stubborn, irritable, and sarcastic but deep down she has a good heart. Despite her complaints, she gains a few travelling companions along the way. Jaxter the Jester was the comic relief. I think other than Henrietta he is my favorite. She is also joined by a witch in training, Paulette and Franc the Knight. For me, these characters made the story!
This was such an engaging and fantastic read! The whole story was so well paced and full of action and twists. There wasn't a single dull moment. Can't wait to get started on the next book, Henrietta and The Dragon Stone. Consider me a new fan of Beth Barany!
tamitam55's review against another edition
4.0
Reading about Henrietta and her three unusual companions gave me pause for laugh and contemplation. Their bond went from unsure to friend so seamlessly I nearly missed it.
I truly enjoyed Henrietta learning who she was and how that fit into how people saw her now.
Franc became the hard headed male you love to love and you don't even know why.
Paulette truly scared me for a while. I didn’t know what to think of her and her fire-talent and rage.
Jaxter, always the glue that held the group together, was a joy to learn and get to know.
Beth Barany has made a world where unlikely friendships rule and being a friend means more than you can know.
I truly enjoyed Henrietta learning who she was and how that fit into how people saw her now.
Franc became the hard headed male you love to love and you don't even know why.
Paulette truly scared me for a while. I didn’t know what to think of her and her fire-talent and rage.
Jaxter, always the glue that held the group together, was a joy to learn and get to know.
Beth Barany has made a world where unlikely friendships rule and being a friend means more than you can know.
janpd24's review against another edition
2.0
One yearns for good female-led fantasy and world building that doesn't mirror the gender roles of our society, and to some extent Henrietta provides this. But a lot of the good work is undone by taking a character like Henrietta, a renowned warrior and dragon killer whose fame has spread to far-off lands, and subtracting the one thing that makes her legendary -- her ability to be that fearsome warrior. While a battle-hardened soldier who is tired of killing is refreshing, taking away a female warrior's stomach to wield her sword (at the end she chooses to run down a hill whooping with joy rather than her daily practice) did not make me happy.
The storytelling is fine, though I found it a little hard to believe that Henrietta, seasoned soldier and dragon-slayer, is only 17. There were hints of a dark and disturbed past, and why she resigned her commission in the king's army, but it wasn't made clear. Knowing that might have made it easier to sympathize with her. I enjoyed the fights, but was disquieted by her propensity to freeze. To reiterate the same point -- a female warrior who is suddenly repulsed by violence seems to play into a particular stereotype.
There were a lot of typos in the book. Also, why does a book with a story about a dragon-slayer have an unclothed woman on the cover?!
The storytelling is fine, though I found it a little hard to believe that Henrietta, seasoned soldier and dragon-slayer, is only 17. There were hints of a dark and disturbed past, and why she resigned her commission in the king's army, but it wasn't made clear. Knowing that might have made it easier to sympathize with her. I enjoyed the fights, but was disquieted by her propensity to freeze. To reiterate the same point -- a female warrior who is suddenly repulsed by violence seems to play into a particular stereotype.
There were a lot of typos in the book. Also, why does a book with a story about a dragon-slayer have an unclothed woman on the cover?!
hdbblog's review against another edition
4.0
I need to start this review by saying that I absolutely adore Henrietta's character! Thank you to Beth Barany for writing such a spitfire and strong female character. Henrietta isn't the type to back down from a fight, but she also won't go looking for them either. She's strong enough to know who she is. On top of that, despite her renown as a dragon slayer, Henrietta can't stomach the thought of another kill. All she wants is peace and quiet. That is, until she is swept off on another epic adventure! Henrietta was a breath of fresh air in a sea of whiny female characters. I'm smitten with her.
Along with Henrietta, we meet her motley crew of adventurers. From a knight with an acidic attitude, to a court jester who just wants to tag along for the stories to tell, they are an amazing group of people. I enjoyed that Barany allowed them to each be so different. The interactions between them are fun to read, and they each bring a little bit of their expertise in various areas to the story. Best of all, each character is explained enough to feel as though you know them, without being overly done. Perfection.
There were only a few things that kept this book from being on my list of absolute favorites. The first being that there wasn't very much dragon slaying action. From the title, I assumed (which you should never do I know) that there would be epic battles in this story. In fact, most of the battling of dragons is done in the stories that are told about Henrietta's past. I kind of understood why this was. Henrietta wasn't eager to dive into the battle at the beginning of the story, and so it does make sense that she wouldn't want to get into any trouble if she could avoid it later on.
The other thing I really missed was world building. Although this doesn't really take away from the overall story, which is fantastic, there wasn't very much said about where Henrietta's story was actually taking place. References are made to forests, plains, etc., but you never know much more than that. As a lover of fantasy I'm a stickler for good world building. I'm hoping that since this is the first in the series I'll get to know a bit more about Henrietta's world later on!
Honestly, Henrietta the Dragon Slayer is an excellent read! As I said it is the first in a series, so there will be more of stoic Henrietta and her adventures. I cannot wait! I look forward to seeing where the story takes her, and applaud Beth Barany for writing such a strong character.
Along with Henrietta, we meet her motley crew of adventurers. From a knight with an acidic attitude, to a court jester who just wants to tag along for the stories to tell, they are an amazing group of people. I enjoyed that Barany allowed them to each be so different. The interactions between them are fun to read, and they each bring a little bit of their expertise in various areas to the story. Best of all, each character is explained enough to feel as though you know them, without being overly done. Perfection.
There were only a few things that kept this book from being on my list of absolute favorites. The first being that there wasn't very much dragon slaying action. From the title, I assumed (which you should never do I know) that there would be epic battles in this story. In fact, most of the battling of dragons is done in the stories that are told about Henrietta's past. I kind of understood why this was. Henrietta wasn't eager to dive into the battle at the beginning of the story, and so it does make sense that she wouldn't want to get into any trouble if she could avoid it later on.
The other thing I really missed was world building. Although this doesn't really take away from the overall story, which is fantastic, there wasn't very much said about where Henrietta's story was actually taking place. References are made to forests, plains, etc., but you never know much more than that. As a lover of fantasy I'm a stickler for good world building. I'm hoping that since this is the first in the series I'll get to know a bit more about Henrietta's world later on!
Honestly, Henrietta the Dragon Slayer is an excellent read! As I said it is the first in a series, so there will be more of stoic Henrietta and her adventures. I cannot wait! I look forward to seeing where the story takes her, and applaud Beth Barany for writing such a strong character.
ltg584's review
3.0
This book was fun. No doubt about it. And I can definitely get behind a strong female lead, which Henrietta is. I'm just not sure if I like her much. Actually, none of the characters were overly likeable. They did begin to grow on me, but it took a long time to get there.
The book, to me, felt like it was half formed. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful vision. It just needed to go a little further. For example, I wanted to know more about why Henrietta was no longer slaying dragons. How did she get to this point?? Some terrible thing is hinted at a few times, but never developed. I WANT TO KNOW!
I may be nit picking a little, but Henrietta's stomach bothered me. She was constantly having indigestion, to the point that I wondered if someone was poisoning her. Was this an abandoned plot point or just a limited way of saying that she had anxiety issues?
On a plus side, I often have a hard time reading indie books when the copy editing has been skipped. I am pleased to announce that the typos in the book probably numbered less than 20. No, I wasn't counting, but it made for a much smoother flow to the book.
Overall, I would recommend this book. It should have been longer, to allow the characters the time they needed to develop, and the plot the time it needed to fill out. But in the end, it was a good teen read, and I can imagine many a young girl wishing they were Henrietta, the Dragon Slayer.
The book, to me, felt like it was half formed. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful vision. It just needed to go a little further. For example, I wanted to know more about why Henrietta was no longer slaying dragons. How did she get to this point?? Some terrible thing is hinted at a few times, but never developed. I WANT TO KNOW!
I may be nit picking a little, but Henrietta's stomach bothered me. She was constantly having indigestion, to the point that I wondered if someone was poisoning her. Was this an abandoned plot point or just a limited way of saying that she had anxiety issues?
On a plus side, I often have a hard time reading indie books when the copy editing has been skipped. I am pleased to announce that the typos in the book probably numbered less than 20. No, I wasn't counting, but it made for a much smoother flow to the book.
Overall, I would recommend this book. It should have been longer, to allow the characters the time they needed to develop, and the plot the time it needed to fill out. But in the end, it was a good teen read, and I can imagine many a young girl wishing they were Henrietta, the Dragon Slayer.
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