Eona by Alison Goodman (Eon #2)

Genres: Young Adult, High Fantasy, Mythology, Romance
Publication Date: April 19th 2011
POV: Female - First-person, Past tense
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power - and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans.

Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic story only Alison Goodman can create.

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This was as good as the first book and perhaps a little better. It had the mythology that I loved so much about the first book, but more adventure and romance, which were two things I mentioned in my review of Eon that I wished there had been more of. There was so much adventure, and absolutely no court intrigue in this one. Almost the entire book dealt with the dragons' power, Eona trying to understand it, and finding a way to use it to save the kingdom. Perhaps at times I thought there was too much magic and I wished it would stop. There was always a new force to deal with, but it was important to the story.

I feared that most of the book would be about finding Kygo and reuniting with the resistance, but Kygo found them within four chapters. I was very happy to have him back since I anticipated a romance starting. And we got not only romance, but a love-triangle. It was not a bad love-triangle, since its the last book in a short series, we knew it would be quickly resolved. And Ido never really had a chance anyway, even if the scene on the boat was super hot, he was the bad guy after all.

 

One thing that disappointed me about the first book was not resolved in the second. Eona never truly trusted anyone. I always felt so uneasy about the amount of secrets she kept. She couldn't tell Kygo because he could use it against her. She couldn't tell Dela because she was loyal to Ryko and Kygo. She couldn't tell Ido because he would use it for his own gain. It was not fun watching her struggle with it all, but at least she didn't make as many mistakes as she did in Eon.

I really wish more had been resolved in the end. As soon as the main conflict ended, the book ended. It finished with the words, "Balance has been restored to the heavens and earth, but we have work ahead of us to restore order to the empire." I wish we had seen some of the work, at least a glimpse of what became of the kingdom, how the people responded to their new emperor and the lack of his symbol of power, and where Eona's place would be in this new world. One more chapter or an epilogue would have been sufficient, although a whole third novel would have been even better. But I will hope for the best. Eona and Kygo will work hard to make it work, the kingdom as well as being together.

"The She of the dragon will return and ascend 

When the cycle of twelve draws to an end... 

The She of the Dragoneye will restore and defend 

When the Darkforce is mastered with Hua of All Men."