Review: Scorched

Scorched

By Mari Mancusi

Published: September 3, 2013

Trinity
Don’t leave me here... It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she’s going crazy. It wouldn’t be a big surprise—her grandpa firmly believes there’s a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it’s begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it...

Connor
He’s come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.

Caleb
He’s everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons. 

Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head—a dragon that won’t be tamed.

My review:

I thought this book started out really well and I actually enjoyed it until the last part. The idea of time travelers from the future arriving to try and stop a dragon apocalypse really appealed to me. I have also really enjoyed dragon fiction in the past and I was curious to see where the author would take the story.

Connor and Caleb come from a brutal time when people live below the surface of Earth for their own safety. Dragons have destroyed the world with their fire. Hunters brave the surface to bring down the dragons though there is a small group of people who are in favor of dragon rights. The world is sort of in the mess it is in because of one person who rescued a dragon centuries before: a young woman named Trinity.

Trinity works for her grandfather in his curiosity museum in Texas. She has had a rough life since the death of her mom and even before that living in foster homes. Now she has some stability but her grandfather isn't exactly good with money and Trinity struggles to keep the business afloat. I found Trinity to be a likable protagonist. She has strength and courage but she is not without flaws. 

The twins at first seemed to be flat characters but the author gives them interesting motivations and weaknesses that help to give them individuality. I did not care for the "love triangle" that seemed to be forming but by the end of the book it did look like Trinity knew which brother she cared for. It did bug me that she developed romantic feelings so quickly even when she wasn't sure whom to trust.

The story seems to have an animal rights vs. human rights kind of angle but nothing is black and white and neither side is completely right or without blame. The author presents both sides' viewpoints really well and in a way that enables the reader to sympathize with both Connor and Caleb and the groups they represent. I was however disappointed by the villain in Scorched and how the conclusion of the story played out. 

I really liked Emmy (except for her behavior in one scene) and the dragon lore that we were presented with. There are still many things to be explained about dragons and I hope we will find out more in the second book. 

Overall I think the positives outweighed any negatives. The book may have its flaws but I found it to be a page turner and I liked it enough to want to read the sequel. 

Note: I received an e-ARC for review purposes courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher