by Katrina Cope
Asgard meets Berk
Vanished: Valkyrie Academy Dragon Alliance #2 continues with the youthful adventure with Kara and her friends Hildr and Eir. In the second installment, it begins to feel a lot like How to Train Your Dragon meets Asgard. Still jammin’ on the vibes this series puts off.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — on the MG to YA lit scale.
This expands the Norse gods a little more by the intro of a deal Loki made back in the day with the dragons. Classic!
No romance yet, but there’s one more hint. We’ll see what happens with Harut.
Plot & Characters
In book 2, Kara’s dragon, Elan, is taken and she must rescue her. Along the way, her friends get involved in the story and gain their own dragons. Really starting to feel like the young gang in Berk.
Favorite Quote(s)
“Loki can shapeshift into a dragon?” Hildr blurts.Hildr, p. 86 (Katrina Cope)
“You rascal! You scared the soul out of my friends.”Kara, p. 93 (Katrina Cope)
I find myself loving a few very simple quotes in stories. They either draw out a feeling of familiarity or emphasize a character trait.
Romance Elements
Swoonworthiness
Only one more hint with Harut.
C’mon… I’m shipping them pretty hard.
Heat
Zilch.
Fantasy Elements
Worldbuilding
Asgard meets Berk sums it up.
Magic & Magic Systems
Cool dragon-y goodness here. There’s also a hierarchy, and one class has a special gift that’s really fun in this story. I’ll leave it off because … spoilers.
Writing & Narration
Perfect for the audience. Simple and straightforward writing style. Each character had a distinct voice, and the divide between adults and teens is nicely drawn. Really hits the expectations of YA.
Synopsis
After everything that Kara has done for Asgard, she thinks they will let her participate in the honorable jobs of the winged Valkyries. She is wrong. Instead, Odin is determined to take Elan away and make her dragon his. Whether he’s a god or not, she isn’t going to let that happen. And of course, Elan can defend herself. But then Elan disappears.
After several searches, Kara grows worried. She hopes that Elan is visiting her mother, not somewhere more sinister.
My Ratings
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About the Author
Visit her website, www.katrinacopebooks.com, to get books of Katrina’s for FREE!
Katrina is an author of several Young Adult and Preteen/Middle Grade novels. Each of her released books reaching the top 100 in certain categories on the Amazon’s Best Sellers Rank – a few even as high as number one.
She resides in Queensland Australia. Her three teen/preteen boys and husband of over fifteen years treat her like a princess. Unfortunately though, this princess still has to do domestic chores.
From birth, she has been a very creative person and has spent many years travelling the world and observing many different personalities and cultures. Her favourite personalities have been the strange ones, yet the ones under the radar also hold a place in her heart.
During her last extensive travels, she spent 16 nights in a bomb shelter on a Kibbutz 8 kilometers off the Lebanese border. It was to avoid Katyusha bombs that the resident volunteers decided to name her after (she is still trying to work out why).
Final notes…
If you’re looking for an epic dragon fantasy for an audience slightly older than this book, check out Susan’s complete 5-book series: The Serpentine Throne