*Gizmos Book Reviews* Scorched (Scorched #1) by Mari Mancusi

*My Thoughts*

"Sacrifice one to save the world."

Sixteen year old Trinity Foxx's life is about to get a whole lot more exciting and dangerous than her obsession with her role playing game, or working at her Grandfathers struggling Fossil museum. She doesn't know it yet but her Grandfather's newest scheme, finding the apparent last Dragon egg in Antarctica, will have serious implications for future generations of the entire world.

It will take the arrival of two very different brothers from 200 years into the future to open Trinity's eyes to what is coming in a very short period of time and that she may be responsible for either a future that is filled with Dragons that decimate the surface of the world, or one in which she saves it from itself and dragons live in harmony with humans.

Struggling since her mother ended her own life two years ago, Trinity knows that she has to be the adult in the family in order to prevent her from returning to the foster homes she's been in and out of for years. When her grandfather's scheme becomes a reality that changes everything she's ever known, Trinity learns that she is something special with her ability to bond with and speak to dragons, and that people are divided into two camps. One camp wants her and the dragon dead to change the course of history, while the other wants to use Trinity and the dragon inside the egg to "save the world."

Brothers Connor and Caleb are on two very different paths, but with the same mission: find Trinity and the dragon egg. Who is right? Who is the villain? Is there another party driving the train, and will it reach its final destination, or be it derailed by Trinity and her dragon Emmy?

Connor knows that the only way to stop the Scorch (the year the dragons destroy the world), is to eliminate the dragon egg, and if necessary, Trinity herself. Connor believes that the history books are correct in saying that Trinity is the person most responsible for unleashing the Dragons into the world and causing the apocalypse. He also carries a heavy burden in feeling the responsibility for his own fathers death by a Dragon which has lead to his hatred of all dragons and becoming the dreaded Dragon Hunter.

Caleb, on the other hand, has fallen in with a group of dragon sympathizers known as the Dracken led by Darius who gave Caleb a reason for living, and sent him back in time for Trinity and the egg. The group was supposedly started by Trinity in the near future to save dragons from the government and those who wish them dead. He believes that it is his mission to find Trinity and the last dragon egg and bring it back to the group where it can be used to raise more dragons that will be able to save the world from itself.

I love that Mari Mancusi went from a quirky human desperately hoping to become a vampire, to dragons! I think that there should be more dragons. In fact, I hereby demand that all authors start now by coming up with unique and different stories that feature awesome dragons. I think Scorched has a similair feel to Talker 25 which was filled with dragons, but left me more questions that answers.

Knowing that Scorched is the first book in the new series, I am truly hoping for a broader look into the future and how humans ended up living underground in order to survive. I would also hope that Mancusi settles on either one or the other brother for Trinity's love interest, and doesn't drag it on forever. I get that both brothers have their negatives and positives, but dragging on this triangle will just drive me to drink an entire bottle of Sambuca.

Author - Mari Mancusi
Title - Scorched (Scorched # 1)
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Released: September 3, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Library Book 352 pages