I'm not sure what I thought this was going to be but it wasn't good. The characters were bland, the plot was mindless and the romance was a vague blur in the distance.

I could've like Alys but she was all over the place - she wanted revenge, she didn't want revenge - there was no burning need for vegeance or payback - she just kind of plodded along with whatever the dragon said. As for the dragon, who knows what the hell he wants - it's never explained why he does anything nor are we given any background or explanations about his magic or dragonness. Why can he change into a human when other dragons can't? Why can't he be out during the day? What kind of dragon is willing to give up his hoard? Etc, etc, etc. It was all just kind of a nothing story.

1.5 stars. Because the concept was good if nothing else. ( )

Wanted a quick read and choose this book. I read it in highschool and remember liking it ok, but dont think I enjoyed it as much on this read through. The set up for the story is interesting but not particularly well executed and I didnt really like the main character. While I have enjoyed how this author often does the unexpected in her genre stories the moral lessons from this book were no surprise.

If this book had been a little longer and better paced it might have worked for me, but as is I just wasnt feeling it. I also got really frustrated with what I saw as obviously solutions to problems that the characters just couldnt figure out (at one point yelling at the book "just cut off his thumb!"). A fun book to read, but more of a snack than a meal. ( )

A lot of the books I read when I was younger hold up to adult scrutiny, but I'm sad to say that this one doesn't quite make the grade. Velde weaves an intriguing story of green and betrayal, leading to subterfuge and revenge, but her characters are decidedly juvenile and the story lacks true depth. She has an interesting premise here, since the themes around women being falsely accused of witchcraft and their means of coping have infinite possibilities, but Velde limits her audience to teenage girls who are looking for fantasy-tinged tomance and fails to fully explore the possibilities. What does remain a positive in this story are her introduction to dragon lore; there are plenty of books about dragons and their interactions with humans, but Velde has barely begun to explore Selendrile's character in the larger scope before the story reaches its conclusion. More than anything I believe that readers will be intrigued by his back story (or lackthereof), his magical abilities, and his slightly inhuman behaviour that makes for such good plot points. Obviously the story was mean to conclude with Alice chooise her way in the world, but I would have liked to see what another 100 pages would have done to the story - either fleshing out the action and intrigue that are already there or to expand the story in a lengthier direction. ( )

Kind of...pointless? Girl has reason to want revenge; she dreams about it, but if it weren't for the dragon she'd never do anything about it. He abets her dreams while apparently scorning her. Then things go entirely wrong, he takes his own revenge (far less considered), and...everything works out, in odd ways. And apparently he loves her, or at least wants her around...I'd never have guessed from their interactions. It reads like a moral tale (revenge is less sweet than it appears), and like most moral tales, misses out on...oh, characterization, any point beyond the moral, interest... Not a winner. ( )

Really liked this but wished it were longer? Velde has a tendency to stop writing just when the two characters get together and I want to find out what happens next. Dragon’s Bait better than Companions for this. She’s forced out of town as being a witch because her neighbors want Dad’s land (he dies). She’s staked on a mountain for the Dragon to eat but he prefers to become acquainted. He agrees to help her get revenge and she of course learns that revenge isn’t all its cracked up to be. He can do pretty much anything and shape shift into any form as long as he returns to dragon form at least once every night. Bad wizard shackles him with iron which prevents Dragon from changing . . . can she save him? Does she want to? ( )