A review by ccpprrjj
Dragon Captives by Lisa McMann

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So, this book definitely isn't as good as the original series, but it's still an enjoyable read.  There's something about returning to Artime that's so nostalgic and comforting for me.  There were parts of this book that I truly enjoyed, and parts that dragged. So here's a list.
Things I disliked

• Writing:  Parts of the book felt a little forced and heavy-handed.  More-so than in the original series, that's for sure.  There just wasn't as much subtext and some of the charm of the writing from the originals was missing.  That's not to say the writing style was bad overall, there were just some parts that made me cringe a little.
• Leaving the Seven Islands:  I just don't care about Grimere as much as I do about Artime and the other islands.  I understand why we had to leave them for the plot, but I wish there were more chapters later in the books about what's going on in Artime and how Alex was dealing with everything.  And I just miss spending time in Artime.
• Fifer:  I just don't find Fifer to be a very compelling character.  And (having read the series before) I know that she doesn't get much better.  In this book especially she just felt very flat and one-dimensional for a main character.  And she really didn't do much.

Things I liked

• Old Characters: It was so much fun to see characters from the original series as adults, even if it was mostly at the beginning.  It made me happy to see Aaron being so soft and happy.  It made me less happy to see how much Alex is hurting.  It makes sense with his character, though.  The way all the older characters aged really works.  They still feel like the same people, just ten years older.  And I loved it.
• Thisbe and Seth:  Compared to previous reads, I found myself enjoying Thisbe and Seth's characters more than I have in the past.  Seth is just such a sweetheart and so used to being in the twins shadow that seeing him get a chance to shine makes me happy.  And Thisbe is probably the most fleshed out of the younger/new characters (but still not as robust as the older characters).  She's an interesting mix of scared and bold, confident and unsure.  It makes her very enjoyable to read about.
• The ending:  Despite being a bit of a tragic ending, it was emotional and satisfying.  It does a good job of opening up the conflict and setting up the rest of the series.  And makes me want to come back to the next book.

And those are my thoughts.