Series ✦ Penny’s Take
The Color of Dragons
R. A. Salvatore · 2021
71/100
👍 Worth It
Salvatore's action instincts and Lewis's world-building create a pre-Arthurian YA fantasy with a genuinely compelling female lead in Maggie and a dual POV structure that earns its split attention. Parents should know the second half turns blood-soaked and the court dynamics include references to sexual harassment and implied assault — this is upper-YA territory, not middle grade. For readers ready for that, it is a strong standalone fantasy with real momentum.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Substantial battle violence in second half; references to sexual harassment and implied assault; recommended for upper YA (15+) despite 13+ publisher designation. We still scored it 71; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety62
substance72
craft74
originality70
accuracy75
hype68
age-fit65
human-eye72
Penny’s verdict71
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