The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart

Burgis, Stephanie. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart. 2017. 242p. ISBN 978-1-68119-343-4. Available at FIC BUR on the library shelves.

Life as a dragon can be very exasperating, especially when you have older siblings. Aventurine is tired of being hidden in the mountain by her parents. Her mother and grandfather have informed her on occasions too many to count that she can’t leave the mountain for it is dangerous out there, and humans could harm her. Only when her scales have thickened enough to protect her from most every bullet and magic will she be allowed out. But that’s in about a hundred more years, and she’s had enough playing with her older brother, who is more interested in reading human books anyway. Plus, Aventurine has an older sister who has left the mountain years ago, and she’s just so perfect that Aventurine can never compare in the eyes of her mother.

So when the opportunity presents itself, Aventurine sneaks out of the mountain to go hunting by herself. This task proves more complicated than she thought it would be, however, and she’s unable to catch prey. Until, that is, she smells a human sheltering in a cave. She follows the scent, only to discover that he’s cooking … hot chocolate. Entranced by the amazing smell, Aventurine agrees to spare the human’s life until the hot chocolate is ready. Unfortunately, he turns out to be a food mage, and as she drinks the hot chocolate, which is amazing and tastes nothing like she’s ever had, she is transformed into a puny human.

Unable to return home (grandfather tried to roast her when she approached the mountain), Aventurine makes her way to the capital of the kingdom in search of chocolate. She soons becomes an apprentice to the cantankerous Marina, whose uncompromising baking and cooking style and her infuriating personality fit perfectly with Adventurine’s own. Soon, she’s learning more about chocolate than she ever thought possible. But the dragons in the mountain have stirred, and they’ve been spotted as far as the outskirts of the capital. And when an entire flight of them bears down on the city, striking panic and fear in the inhabitants’ hearts, only Adventurine can save them all.