Blog Archives
Dominion – Dragon Guild Book 3
Dominion by P.T.L. Perrin is a fast-paced and emotionally rich continuation of the Dragon Guild Chronicles series. The story follows Gabri and her dragon Makani as they fight to protect Sanctum, a refuge for dragons and their riders, from the dark forces of Ozul and Katzir. Alongside her family and bonded companions, including her precocious younger brother Alex and his fire-breathing dragon Tito, Gabri grapples with the loss of her powers, the heavy burden of leadership, and a growing resistance effort. With chapters jumping between key characters, the book explores themes of love, sacrifice, memory, and what it means to belong.
What struck me right away was how deeply personal and warm this story feels, despite the stakes being planetary in scale. Perrin writes with a tenderness that makes each character matter. The family ties between Gabri, her mother Sequoia, and little Alex feel raw and real, even as they navigate telepathy and dragon flights. I found myself smiling at Alex’s innocent boldness and tearing up during scenes that touched on grief and trust. The dragons, with their distinct personalities and emotional depth, never feel like accessories, they’re family too. Perrin’s writing style leans into heart and clarity over flair, and it works.
The first half of the book builds emotional connections and explores internal struggles, but some key plot advancements come in short bursts later on, especially involving the enemy forces and their brutal plans. I wished there had been more tension built around these conflicts earlier. There are moments when I wanted more grit, more danger, to match the fear the characters carried. Still, the ideas underlying them, such as the weaponization of refugees or dragons with cloaking devices, are clever and layered. And honestly, I didn’t mind slowing down if it meant more time in this world with these characters. The author makes you care, and that’s half the battle.
Dominion left me hopeful. It’s a story that holds on tight to light in the face of darkness. I’d recommend it to readers who love dragon tales but want something more rooted in family and empathy than just epic fights. It’s especially great for young adult readers, fans of character-driven sci-fi/fantasy, and anyone who enjoys stories where relationships matter more than spectacle.
Pages: 430 | ASIN : B0FK2WR96M
Personal Growth
Aerie is a continuation of the Dragon Guild saga, where Gabri and her dragon Makani seek peace in a mountaintop refuge, only to be swept into a cross-realm rescue mission that tests the bonds of love, loyalty, and identity. What were some new ideas you wanted to explore in book two?
Thank you for your interest in Arie and in me.
At the end of SANCTUM, Gabri was a 16-year-old who had lost all her enhanced abilities when she’d been abducted. Her family on Terra was doing all they could to find her and bring her home. She had bonded with her dragon, Makani, and her Aracai, Ting.
After chapter 1 of AERIE, Gabri’s story continues at age 18. While people flee to Sanctum in droves to escape the evil ruler of Umbra, Gabri and Elio join with other dragons and riders to protect their home and everyone on the planet. This book explores Gabri’s relationships with Elio, who is in love with her, and with Donny, the one she was sure she would build a life with. Donny is still searching for her. New challenges, far more complex than before, test her and the ones she loves. Will Gabri survive and overcome them? Who will she choose to be her life partner?
Gabri’s emotional journey is so raw and personal. Was there a specific experience or inspiration that shaped her arc in Aerie?
Personally, I grew up as an Army brat, moving from one environment to another, sometimes with little warning. Leaving friends behind, or seeing them leave, broke my heart. Changing schools was daunting, especially when we moved during the school year, which often happened. More so, moving from one country to another, from a familiar culture and language to one completely different, left me feeling temporarily powerless. Personal growth occurred as I learned to overcome every obstacle (such as learning another language) and as my broken heart mended after each move. In many ways, I identify with Gabri.
As for Gabri’s character arc, two experiences come to mind. One happens when Gabri is captured by Ozul and discovers he is not the one who abducted her from Terra. She encounters Katzir, the being behind her abduction and the one controlling the planet. She shows great courage, despite being separated from her bondmates and Elio. Before she can reunite with Makani and Elio, Ozul wipes her memory.
The second occurs as she slowly recovers her memories. Donny re-enters her life, and she must make a decision. Elio or Donny? Aerie or Terra?
The dragons feel uniquely alive and soulful. How did you develop Makani’s personality and her bond with Gabri?
Although intertwined with Gabri’s thoughts and emotions through their bond, Makani is very much herself, a being with reason and opinions all her own. She’s highly intelligent, strongly emotive, and, in some ways, a bit clingy. She loves to play during flight but can be serious and intuitive when necessary. Her relationship with Gabri developed as I wrote. It became organic, and I knew how she would interact in any given circumstance. Makani is the dragon I wish I had.
Time shifts and interdimensional travel play a big role. How did you keep the pacing balanced between high action and emotional depth?
It wasn’t easy. As I wrote, I used a spreadsheet, with Terran time in one column and the corresponding Aerie time in another. The spreadsheet kept me sane. After the first draft, I separated the chapters into Terra and Aerie, then wove them together in a way that made sense according to the parallel timelines. The pacing balance seemed natural to me. The story needed to breathe. Picture the high action as an inhale and emotional depth as the exhale. One wouldn’t work without the other. As life ebbs and flows through our seasons, a story should do the same.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
A young warrior in the Dragon Guild, Gabri and her beloved dragon, Makani, fly patrol through the inner world of Sanctum with Elio and his golden dragon, Kealohi. While investigating an abandoned enemy outpost, Gabri is captured and isolated from Makani and everyone she loves. Imprisoned and implanted with a mind control device, can Gabri break free, unite with Makani, and reclaim her lost memories?
Together with Elio and his dragon, Gabri and Makani embark on a quest to reclaim their world from a sinister enemy. As they face formidable foes and uncover hidden truths, their bonds of friendship and courage will be tested like never before. Will they succeed in their mission?
With themes of courage, friendship, and the power of love, Aerie invites readers into an enchanting adventure filled with danger, hope, and the unbreakable bonds between humans and dragons.
Aerie: Dragon Guild Book 2
After reading Aerie by P.T.L. Perrin, I can confidently say it’s a thrilling and emotionally charged continuation of the Dragon Guild saga. The story follows Gabri and her dragon Makani as they settle into Aerie, a refuge in the sky, after surviving intense battles. But peace is short-lived. The looming threat of Ozul, a power-hungry villain, continues to grow, and Gabri’s past still haunts her, particularly the people she left behind on Terra. Meanwhile, her friends, including Donny, engineer a rescue mission, navigating bizarre time shifts and dangerous new worlds to bring her home. Across realms, dragons, telepathic links, and sinister plots collide as allies and enemies take flight.
What stood out to me most was the sheer heart behind the writing. Perrin writes with deep affection for her characters, and it shows. The dragons feel real, not just as majestic creatures, but as personalities with quirks, wisdom, and loyalty. Gabri’s bond with Makani is beautifully rendered, and her struggles with love, identity, and loyalty tugged at my emotions more than once. The writing shines brightest in quieter moments, like a dragon’s gaze or a simple sunrise over Sanctum. It’s those little details that made me slow down, take a breath, and feel like I was there. That said, some scenes leaned heavily on exposition or explanation, which pulled me out a bit. Still, the world-building is immersive, and the stakes always feel personal.
The villains, especially Ozul and Kierra, bring a classic, almost mythic energy to the story. Their presence is dark, chilling, and undeniably larger-than-life, which adds a strong contrast to the warmth and heart of the heroes. While their mysterious nature leaves some questions unanswered, it actually enhances the sense of dread that surrounds them. They feel like shadows lurking just beyond the light, and that uncertainty keeps the tension high. The pacing during the interdimensional travel scenes allows time to breathe and reflect, offering space between high-stakes encounters. And just when things seem quiet, Perrin delivers a gut punch, a dragonet in chains, a telepathic cry for help, and suddenly the heart is racing again. There’s a rhythm to the book, a kind of dance between fear and hope, and when it clicks, it really sings.
Aerie is a warm, fierce, and imaginative tale that blends fantasy, science fiction, and deep emotion with a confident hand. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves dragon stories with heart, or readers who enjoy found-family themes and interplanetary adventures. It’s especially good for teens and adults who crave character-driven fantasy.
Gabri Is The Inspiration
Sanctum launches the Dragon Guild series with a powerful blend of Indigenous lore, futuristic tech, and raw emotional stakes as a Cherokee teen battles her destiny to reclaim her identity and save the world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Although a latecomer in a previous series, Gabri had been a key character. I had introduced her as a baby in the final book, and when the story ended, she insisted her story had only begun. The Dragon Guild series is her story, and Gabri is the inspiration.
In Sanctum, the story quickly moves from a familiar scene born in an earlier book to a whole new world with a host of challenges my character must face.
Since reading Anne McAffery’s Dragonriders of Pern many years ago, I have been fascinated with intelligent dragons who form bonds with humans. Sentient, mobile plants, the Aracai, came to me in visions and had a strong role to play. As the scenes unfolded, new scenarios came up, drawing me deeper into Gabri’s world and the people, dragons, Aracai, and evil creatures inhabiting it.
Gabri is an intriguing and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
As a teen, Gabri takes her extraordinary powers for granted. She deeply loves her family and Donny, her self-proclaimed, older protector. She’s easily annoyed and has no qualms about using her abilities to get her way, but she isn’t mean. When she loses everything, all she has left are her core values. I wanted her to be relatable, with an ingrained respect for the Creator and for her parents’ beliefs and ideals. Throughout the story, she makes them her own while adding to them.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I believe obstacles to interacting with people and cultures different from our own can be overcome. We all face challenges like neediness, fear, danger, and difficult relationships. What does it mean to bond with others through love, kindness, and understanding? How should we react to evil? Those themes weave through Gabri’s story organically. They may not come to mind, but through the characters, the reader will experience them.
How did you approach blending Indigenous spirituality with sci-fi elements like aliens and frequency manipulation?
Research has taken me down rabbit holes leading to amazing discoveries. I learned everything–color, sound, motion, objects–has its own frequency. Every object in the universe, Earth included, produces its unique sound. I’ve always believed aliens have interacted with Earth for millennia, leaving plenty of evidence. And I believe in God, my Creator, and in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Indigenous people have their own deeply held beliefs, many of which are not at odds with mine. The Creator is infinitely creative, and nothing exists without him. We couldn’t imagine it if it weren’t already in existence somewhere. For me, it’s only logical that aliens exist, science is the discovery of what is already true, and God has made it all.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
When a nightmarish vision rips Gabri O’Connell from her home and family, she wakes up powerless in a freezing tower on a hostile planet.
Saved by a dragon and brought to Sanctum inside the planet, her rescuers don’t want her there.
Will a baby dragon be the key to her survival? Will Gabri ever see her family again?
Get your copy of SANCTUM today.
TEEN-YA FANTASY ADVENTURE
Sanctum – Dragon Guild Book 1
P.T.L. Perrin’s Sanctum kicks off the Dragon Guild series with a thrilling and heartfelt plunge into a world where ancient gifts, alien allies, and shadowy enemies intertwine. At its center is Gabriella, a Cherokee teen with the power to manipulate frequencies, a gift she’s barely begun to understand. After a terrifying vision and a sudden abduction, Gabri finds herself trapped in a bleak realm by a creature calling her “world-destroyer.” With the help of her fiercely protective friend Donny, a dragon rider, and mysterious allies from other worlds, she fights to reclaim her identity, her abilities, and her future.
I didn’t expect to get so emotionally invested in this story. Perrin has a gift for character depth. Gabri isn’t just some overpowered chosen one; she’s vulnerable, angry, stubborn, and relatable. I felt her fear in that cold, silent tower. I cheered when she found strength in the smallest sprout of hope—literally, a baby Aracai plant. And Donny? He’s the kind of quiet hero who sticks with you—protective but not controlling, smart but still deeply unsure. Their bond felt real, messy, and tender. The writing flows well, with immersive sensory detail. The pacing dips a little in the middle, but the emotional undercurrent keeps it alive.
What I loved most were the ideas behind the story. There’s a deep respect for Indigenous cultures, for the natural world, and for spiritual connection—things too often tokenized in sci-fi/fantasy. But here, they’re essential, woven in with care. Perrin also explores the weight of identity: What does it mean to be called “destroyer” when you’ve only ever tried to protect? Gabri’s inner conflict hit home. The whole narrative dances on this line between ancient tradition and futuristic tech, and somehow, it all works. There’s telepathy, dragons, dimension-hopping, alien races, and yet, it never loses its soul.
Sanctum isn’t just a sci-fi fantasy adventure. It’s about finding power in who you are, even when the world (or some monster in another dimension) tells you you’re something else. I’d recommend this book to readers who love rich world-building, strong female leads, and a story that hits both the heart and the imagination. Fans of Percy Jackson, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or A Wrinkle in Time will probably feel right at home. I know I did.
Pages: 281 | ASIN: B0F8FVQ9HX
LITERARY TITAN 