Audiobook Review: Eona, The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman

Title:  Eona, The Last Dragoneye
Author:  Alison Goodman
Series:  Eon
Publisher:  Brilliance Audio
Publication Date:  April 19, 2011
Links:  Audible | Goodreads
Rating: 

From Goodreads:

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 self-styled “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 surprises, is the conclusion to an epic only Alison Goodman could create.

Review:

The first Dragoneye novel ended with a whirlwind intensity and brought about so much change in the kingdom, one has to wonder how they’ll ever recover. The second book, and the conclusion to the series, explains just how that is to come about. Where EON built the story and world of the Dragoneyes, EONA serves to completely tear that world apart…and hopefully build something new and better with the pieces.

This story was so full of action and adventure; it was hard to make myself turn the audiobook off when it was necessary…like at bedtime. I was so invested in the book – which at 637 pages made the audio a whopping 18 hours and 41 minutes long (WORTH EVERY SECOND) – and, though the title gives you some idea of how this whole thing is going to go down, I never found the story predictable. In fact, I think EONA is even better than EON, which is saying a lot because I really liked EON.

One of the things that struck me about EON was the lack of a love interest for Eona. But I could understand the absence of one, considering the chaos already surrounding Eona. So, consider me pleasantly surprised to find Eona has not one but two potential love interests in the second book. Normally, I’m not a fan of the love triangle because it’s never done realistically and because it’s overdone. But I ate up the romance in Eona. Hungrily. Greedily. Especially one particular scene that heated up rather unexpectedly. Because the emotions are realistic and the reactions are human.

A great writer can take any scenario and make it work…make it real. Alison Goodman has taken this story and made it hers. She made every situation thrilling, and I was left breathless for the majority of the book.

Nancy Wu, the narrator, has yet again done a beautiful job of bringing this novel to life. Her portrayal of each character was awe-inspiring; so much power and emotion obviously went into her narration. I hope I have the opportunity to hear her narrate more novels in the future.