The Dragon With The Chocolate Heart - Book Review

The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart - Book review

Stephanie Burgis

MG Fantasy

UK Publisher: Bloomsbury 

UK Release: 9th February 2017

Synopsis:

Aventurine is the fiercest, bravest dragon there is. And she’s ready to prove it to her family by leaving the safety of their mountain cave and capturing the most dangerous prey of all: a human. But when the human she finds tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate, Aventurine is transformed into a puny human girl with tiny blunt teeth, no fire, and not one single claw.

But she’s still the fiercest creature in the mountains — and now she’s found her true passion: Chocolate! All she has to do is get herself an apprenticeship (whatever that is) in a chocolate house (which sounds delicious), and she’ll be conquering new territory in no time… won’t she? 

Review:

A truly delicious read! I loved this book from beginning to end. The Dragon With A Chocolate Heart will capture the imagination of both children and adults alike. Words cannot express how much I enjoyed this book!

Aventurine considers herself the bravest and most fearsome dragon on the mountain. In her haste to prove herself to her family, she sets off on her own to capture the most dangerous and tricky prey of all. A human being. But the human she finds has something very valuable in his possession. Hot chocolate.

With one sip, Aventurine is insnared by its taste, but after one swallow, she finds herself changed forever into a mere human girl. Now with her fangs and claws gone, but her fiery spirit intact, she sets out in search of her new passion: Chocolate, and ends up at one of the cities famous chocolate houses. Because as long as she has chocolate, life can’t be so bad, can it? But getting her weak human hands on the heavenly food will prove harder than she ever imagines…

I adored Aventurine. She is a spunky, hot-tempered character who - thanks to her dragon upbringing - has a very unique view on the world. Blunt in her opinions, flamboyant in her dress and dedicated to her chocolatey passion, her narrative is both relatable and humorous. I laughed out loud on several occasions - and if I wasn't laughing, then it was because I was drooling at the chocolatey descriptions.

The secondary characters were wondrous. So many strong personalities with colourful words and descriptions of their own. My one and only nit-pick however was the villain, the mayor. Since most of his misdeeds were carried out by his lackeys, we didn't really get to see the man who was causing all the trouble for Aventurine. Also he was more a petty villain than an evil one, however he still caused Aventurine plenty of heartache, and his absence didn't impact at all upon my enjoyment of the story.

Unfolding at a fast pace, the plot is packed with action, triumphs and downfalls. As I mentioned, the descriptions were truly amazing, particularly the chocolate heart house (I seriously wish such a place existed so I could visit!) and some of the concoctions sounded so mouth-watering that I had to pause in my reading to go root through my cupboards for a chocolatey treat of my own.

The ending had its own surprises and wrapped everything up beautifully. Overall this was such a feel good book. Stephanie Burgis remains my favourite middle grade author. I really didn't think anything could top her Kat Incorrigible series, but A Dragon with a Chocolate Heart may just have nudged into first place.

A delicious, gooey mass of magic and mayhem, A Dragon With A Chocolate Heart has been my favourite read this year. 5 stars!

:)