Dragonswoodby Janet Lee Carey

Wilde Island is not at peace. The kingdom mourns the dead Pendragon king and awaits the return of his heir; the uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is strained; and the regent is funding a bloodthirsty witch hunt, hoping to rid the island of half-fey maidens.Tess, daughter of a blacksmith, has visions of the future, but she still doesn't expect to be accused of witchcraft, forced to flee with her two best friends, or offered shelter by the handsome and enigmatic Garth Huntsman, a warden for Dragonswood. But Garth is the younger prince in disguise and Tess soon learns that her true father was fey, making them the center of an exciting, romantic adventure, and an ancient prophecy that will bring about peace between all three races - dragon, human, and fairy. (goodreads.com)

I'd better not be wrong about this, but I am fairly certain this was a stand-alone fantasy novel. STAND-ALONE! I hope it doesn't change. I really, truly hope there are no more books. I loved this one.I will get the negative out of the way first. And by negative, I mean two things that sort of bugged me personally, but didn't overwhelm me with negative. The first thing is this cover. I am rather disappointed that the publisher went with the "Girl in a dress" trend for this novel. It doesn't work for me, at all. Here's why: It has nothing to do with the story. Tess doesn't lunge out of the water in a flowing gown. The cover does not even hint that this is FANTASY, or even historical fantasy (because, really, I think that's how I'd classify it). I hadn't really given the book much thought because I figured it was just another, cookie-cutter paranormal romp with love-triangles and insta-love. I was so wrong. If it weren't for the fact that Anna from Anna Reads had listed this as one of her top YA fantasy reads, I'd have NEVER known it was fantasy. (And by the way, if you haven't ever checked out Anna's blog - DO IT NOW! Her blog is so bloody aesthetically pleasing to my eye and makes me wish I was creative enough to have thought up the way she artistically creates her review posts. Seriously. If I had crushes on inanimate things? I'd be crushing all over her blog and writing it love poems and stuff.) (Oh, and Anna is also the reason I bought Seraphina.) (Oh, wait, April gets a shout out for that one, too!) (Ok, I'm moving on now and out of parentheses...)My only other negative on this, was that I found it slightly predictable, but honestly that didn't distract me much from the story, Things just sort of turned out the way I figured they would, because, hey, it's a fantasy novel and that's just how they roll.And now on to the good... so, like, everything.First? WITCH TRIALS! OOOOOO!! I love me a good witch hunt and trial. I love all things witchy! This book takes place in 1192AD and people don't like women who can do things or who are single. Single ladies selling candles they made themselves? BURN THEM AT THE STAKE! Muahahahahaha! Oh! How I adore witches. And then there were faeries! And DRAGONS! And mention of the Pendragon family (clan?) and OH MY GOSH DID I LOVE IT ALL!Janet Lee Carey has an amazing storytelling talent. I was so caught up in this story I didn't even notice the time passing. This book just had all of the things I love about books. It has talking dragons! I love talking dragons! It has witchcraft and faeries.. Ok, I mentioned that already. I'm just so happy about it. =PI loved this fantastical take on history. How the woods are enchanted (and scary!) and how the Pendragon line is actually part dragon. I loved the tossed in references to King Richard the Lionheart and the Crusades. I mean, all that historical stuff is rather fantastical when you think about it and about how often fantasy stories are based on those times.And best of all... I am pretty darned sure that the entire story was told in ONE BOOK! Oh, I do hope that is the case, because I am so tired of series right now. HOWEVER, I would very much like to read more of her fantastical books with witches and whatnot in them. I loved her writing and her first-person narrative. It worked well for this book, when sometimes it can fall flat.Oh! For some reason I thought this was a 2012 Debut YA book, but it is so not. In fact, there's a companion novel to Dragonswood which was released in 2008 (I guess making Dragonswood the companion?). It's called Dragon's Keep and I do believe I have to get this book now. Ooo and there seem to be books like The Beast of Noor and The Dragons of Noor, that look right up my alley. WOOHOO!HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT JANET LEE CAREY BEFORE NOW?Guess I might have to have an accidental book depository shopping experience soon. @_@