If you are new to the series you should definitely pick up book 1 as there is some great character development to help you get to know all the characters but Deborah does a really good job of recapping in the first chapter of WINGING IT so you wont be to lost if you decide to jump right it. The recap was helpful to catch me back up on the series.

The book moves along at a nice speed and never leaves you feeling like something needs to happen. I enjoyed the action and conflict in FLYING BLIND but WINGING IT brought a more grown up Zoe with to go along with the action, conflict and fun supporting cast characters to liven up every situation.

Megan, Zoe's Best friend plays a much bigger role in book 2. We get to know her better and watch as Zoe tries to hide the truth that she so desperately wants to let out. We meet a new guy and I really liked him. We got to know Jared in FLYING BLIND I have so many questions about him and still so little answers. He is never there for Zoe when she needs him in WINGING IT and Derek was able to squeeze right into the spot that he should have been in. I still feel like Jared has a huge chance but unless he jumps in to the mix in a big way I think he will be done for in Zoe's world. I enjoyed watching the young dragons continue as a team to get past the major conflict in book 2. I'm hoping book 3 brings them all back together again.

The Dragon Diaries was planned as a trilogy with the final book BLAZING THE TRAIL set to release in June of 2012 and I hope I am able to snag it as soon as its off the press so I don't have to wait that long. Great series for any Paranormal YA lover. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Deborah Cooke knows how to write a lighting fast story that flies along from beginning to end without ever once stopping to land. Even when the plot overshadowed the characters towards the end, the pacing in WINGING IT kept everything moving quickly enough to keep me turning pages to see what happened next.

One thing I absolutely loved about the beginning of WINGING IT was the seamless recap and character refresher that was woven into the first chapter. New readers to the series will be able to jump right in to book two and fans from the first book will be immediately caught right back up into the excitement from FLYING BLIND. When there are this many characters, a mythology that is constantly expanding as Zoe learns more about her Wyvern abilities, and relationships that evolve from one book to the next, the reminder was invaluable.

I had a few issues with Zoe’s immaturity in FLYING BLIND, but the Zoe in WINGING IT is stronger, smarter, and more courageous. She’s still a very realistic sixteen year old so her maturity is appropriately balanced with impetuousness, recklessness, and some questionable romantic decisions. But Zoe is an extremely likeable protagonist and even when I wanted shake her, I was constantly rooting for her.

Whether you found this spin-off series from Cooke’s adult paranormal romance Dragonfire series or this is your first introduction to this dragon shifter world, WINGING IT is a fast, fun read that will be sure to leave you waiting for the final book in the Dragon Diaries trilogy entitled BLAZING THE TRAIL, when it hits shelves on June 5th 2012

Sexual Content:
Kissing ( )

Zoe Sorenson has the problems of any other almost 16yr old girl, her friends, her parents, boys, but there’s much more to her than just that. Zoe is one of the elusive dragon shape-shifters known as the PYR, she’s also the rare Wyvern to her race, the prophetess the one who has all the answers for her kind. But she doesn’t, and that causes more problems almost then she can handle, caught in the middle of both PYR and human situations. Especially now that the Mages have surfaced again and knowing that what they want is the eradication of all shape-shifting species her concern is valid, it’s not knowing how to fix it that is the problem, that and the fact that the adult PYR one being her father don’t think the Mages will break their treaty with the PYR, but Zoe knows different. And therein lies the problem, how to go about proving this without breaking the “Covenant” that says that PYR should never reveal themselves in their dragon forms to humans and also because Zoe’s best friend Meagan, just happens to be human and the lies are getting to be a bitter barrier between them especially when the Mages seem to be targeting Meagan, it gives a whole new meaning to conflict.

Deborah Cooke is the brilliant author of the Adult paranormal romance Dragonfire series, which happen to star the parents of the stars of this series. The most amazing thing I find between the two, both of which I’m fans of, is the seamless way she narrates them. In this series she has me totally convinced she’s a 16 year old by her actions, her dialogue and her antics and most importantly the innocence I feel from these characters who are far less worldly then their older counterparts from the adult series. Her plots are unbelievably believable as she convinces her readers of all kinds of fantasy come to life. Her characters are enigmatic (as dragons should be) with a healthy dose of enchanting vs enraging (which normal red blooded teens will do). Her main protagonist Zoe is a mix herself as we watch her try to fit into both her worlds, interact with all the species that we’ll meet and do the right things by her parents and her friends. Along with this she shows us her romantic teen side as well, bewitched, bothered and bewildered by a male. But this is not just for female readers as there is a good dose of dragon fights and bloodshed that will appeal to teen and adult male readers as well.

So if you’re looking for something a bit out of the ordinary, action, adventure and danger you can definitely find it between the pages of these novels. If you like the family drama or teenaged angst, this too can be found here. If you like me are always on the lookout for a read that will enrapture and keep your interest throughout the whole read, this is also true here.
Thank you Ms. Cooke for another enjoyable dose of the fantasy fiction I’ve come to expect from you, you never disappoint me.
If this is your first read by this author, please try her other novels and her other pseudonyms of Claire Delacroix or Claire Cross and be sure to visit her Dragon Diaries webpage.
The novel is part of a series but makes a good stand-a-lone. ( )