I hadn’t been reviewing books very long when I read the first title in this series, Dragon Mountain. Falling in love with its breathtaking action and the most exciting of adventures, I found myself hugely frustrated when it finished on an enormous cliffhanger and just had to read firstly its sequel, and then Books 3 and 4 in turn as they appeared. With this, the fifth and final book in the sequence due to be published on 29th September, when I was offered the chance of an advance read there was no way I could turn it down.

If you have not been following the adventures of Billy Chan and his friends, both human and dragon, then you need to address that oversight before that date as this is as tense and magical as the other titles which precede it and – while much of what has happened leading up to this point is covered – it would be much better read in its rightful place as the conclusion of the story, rather than as a standalone.

Our narrative picks up shortly after the conclusion of Book 4, with our brave group of friends trying to explain the sudden appearance of dragons around the world to the leaders of the UK, USA and China and reassure them that mankind can coexist with the new arrivals peacefully. Unfortunately, the leaders are more interested in how they can exploit the creatures – something which is demonstrated clearly when a captured dragon is brought in to the meeting. Billy and his horrified friends plead for the dragon to be freed but the leaders are only concerned about their own personal gain and when it manages to break free the children’s argument in favour of peace falls upon deaf ears.

Not only do the adults see the dragons as a threat but it soon becomes clear that the escaped dragon, Flame, is not prepared to live in peace either when he and his Dragons of Dawn threaten consequences against anyone who stands against them. As Billy and the others work to accommodate the ever increasing number of dragons who are coming though from the Dragon Realm, and try to avert tragedy they soon realise that their best hopes lie in trying to find somewhere new for the dragons to live.

Sharing a quiet meal together, Billy and his friends and their dragons start to discuss the Hidden Realm – a place so secret its location is only known to one dragon: Glorious Old, the first dragon and the first to be slain. With the threat of the Dragons of Dawn growing stronger and stronger, Billy and the others must use all of their skills and courage to try to find the dead dragon and the Hidden Realm before it becomes too late.

Although this story, obviously , relates back to what has happened so far, the writers continued to astonish me here with the inventiveness of the narrative – no mean feat with so many important characters. Having introduced two new humans and another dragon into the friendship group in Book 4, there is a glorious new enemy for the children to overcome here as well as a range of minor characters all of whom slot seamlessly into the action. With so much going on, it would be easy for a less skilled writer to blur the lines between the players but as has been the case the whole way through this series, each dragon and human is unique, with their own very distinct personality and talents, making this another very enjoyable and satisfying read.

Not only this, but the action is relentless from the start as Billy and the others try to promote harmony between humans and dragons and overcome one obstacle after another to do so. With new places to visit and new threats hidden within them, this is a fitting ending to what has been an incredible series – one which is surely destined to become a future classic.

There is a whole lot of love for these stories within schools and amongst those adults who choose to read kids’ books and I know there will be many pre-ordering this title in anticipation of its release on September 29th. Perfect for confident Year 4s upwards, my enormous thanks go to publisher Simon and Schuster and Net Galley for my virtual read ahead of that date.

Dragon Destiny is the final instalment of the Dragon Realm series. In the fifth book, we rejoin Billy Chan and his friends as they battle to save both humans and dragons while the worlds around them come crashing down.

I’ve followed this series eagerly from the first book to the last and found the finale a little disappointing. Whilst it’s certainly as action-packed as its predecessors, it feels a little rushed and not completely thought through. Huge parts of the plot are covered in a page or two, which means the peril never seems very real. New characters are introduced hastily and the characters move from one problem to the next with little development.

I liked how the story tied together and loved some of the ideas for locations within the Dragon Realm. I have no doubt fans of the series will enjoy this final book, but it fell a little short for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The final book of the first series of Dragon Realm! (Yes, there are going to be more books!!!! But this is the end of our time with Billy and the gang, noooo) I just love these books - they are a bright spark of colourful fun, a lovely treat to gulp down on a grey afternoon, and DRAGON DESTINY was no different.

The Dragon Realm continues its slow (but dangerous) collapse into the human realm, and now humans and dragons have to learn to live with one another (and deal with things falling from the sky, like mountains...) Unfortunately, not everyone wants to live together - and humans and dragons are trying to control the situation and each other.

That situation felt sadly realistic, but I loved the hope of the children and their dragons trying to work together against all the fear and prejudice and old grudges held by others, and working right in the face of the governments saying they knew best. (Spoiler alert: they really don't.)

We also see the children off on another quest - this time to find a new home for the dragons to ease tensions. Which means finding the first dragon ever to be betrayed by humans, and hoping she'll be amenable to helping. We get to see some very cool new locations on this quest (as someone who can get claustrophobic, that cave was awful!! really cool but *shudders.*)

While the ending certainly wraps up this "Season" of the story (as the first five books are being called) in a satisfying way that leaves the world and children altered, but their story done, there is definitely space for more (which will come!) and also an interesting new world for the next "season" to step into.

my gosh, what a ride. This is the next and final instalment in the first round… and what an interesting and satisfying ending (for now!). Was definitely worried about my faves for a sec… but all was well! I love these kids and their dragons: they’re so much fun! I think these books just continue to be brilliant. Here you’ve got a new, mystical dragon, kids finding their powers and the power of friendship and trust.