Rise of the Dragons by Morgan RiceMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book! The characters are well-balanced and the plot moves quite quickly. The main focus of the book is on Kyra, daughter of Commander Duncan. However, she isn't like all the other girls as she'd rather be training with weapons rather than learning domestic skills. When she slays a boar who was going to kill her brothers on Winter Moon, she changes her destiny forever.
This book also follows the story of Merk, a mercenary who is unsure of what to do now that the king surrendered and Alec, a boy who took his lame brother's place to be sent to the Flames, the purpose of which is to keep the trolls out of the country. At the same time, you also meet the Troll King, who is much more cunning and cruel than any who has come before.
I've never read anything by this particular author before, but I would suggest it to people who like their fantasy a little bit gritty as the writing style is similar to George R. R. Martin.
