Siobhan lives in Canada, a Canada in an alternate world where dragons and people compete for living space, food and fuel. The fossil fuels people depend on are the food that sustains the dragons. Owen, a dragon-slayer-in-training, and his family of dragon slayers move to Siobhan’s small town and life changes for everyone. Siobhan is musically talented but not very outgoing. When Owen’s family asks her to become his bard, she is thrown into a world about which she knows much less than she thought.

The world building in this debut novel was detailed but not intrusive; you don’t have to keep track of intricate worlds and maps and politics to follow the story. But it is the relationships that make this story. Siobhan and Owen become friends; there is no deep romance here. Family relationships are strong realistic. Even the secondary characters are well-drawn. Owen, Siobhan, their parents and friends all have to decide what they are willing to sacrifice to keep their land free and safe; their actions and decisions make for powerful reading. Readers who love the Brotherband Chronicles and the newer United States of Asgard series will enjoy this book.