I'm not always confident enough to buy multiple books in a series until I finish the first one. I purchased both books currently available in this series together because I was sure I'd enjoy them. The first book was fun, and I was excited to keep going. The first book sets us up for the big bad and the second book ramps up the tension. The Dungeon Academy is set to host a tournament with their rival school, the Waterdeep Dragons. Both schools become obsessed with the competition but Zelli has more important things to think about. She remains uneasy after their recent victory and is sure that something big is coming. Could it possibly derail the tournament and cause even more chaos?

In terms of story, this takes a lot of elements from other popular fantasy books, so it didn't feel particularly original. I found the story quite predictable and disappointing. However, I'm an adult, so not really the intended reader. This is the kind of story that kids could get stuck into. There's puzzle-solving, excitement and battling bad guys. I can see why it goes down a familiar route. It's also not as though it's a bad story. It gets a bit complicated as we learn more about the history and there are some large passages of exposition to get your head around. There are quite a few long passages that some kids might not find it easy to follow but it's mostly fine.

The characters are just as much fun as they were. Zelli, the human disguised as a minotaur, is as tenacious and brave as ever. She cares about her friends and wants to stop the bad buys. It's very inspiring to see her band of outcasts prove that they shouldn't be overlooked. This is an ode to friendship and lifting each other up. The friends all have their own skills and help make up for each other's weaknesses. The new addition to the group, a red dragon called Tavian, was another interesting and I can't wait to see more of him in the next book. This is a book that really highlights the theme of a found family and the importance of finding people who value you. It's got a great message.

As much as I enjoyed this book, there was one slight issue that was carried over from the first one. I'm still quite new to D&D, so I'm not as familiar with all of the monsters and figures that we meet in these books. I thought the first one didn't do an amazing job of introducing readers to this world and the second one is very similar. I think there was a bit more of an effort to explain what certain creatures looked like but it doesn't spend much time on it. I guess it assumes people who are reading it will have an idea of what everything is but it doesn't necessarily make it easy to visualise everything. The illustrations do help obviously and at least bring the major characters to life. However, I think this is something that the books could do better.

Overall though, I think the second book is just as strong as the first one. It's a quick read that doesn't drag. It moves a bit too quickly for my liking but, again, it's intended for children. It didn't need to spend too long getting to the narrative points. It needs to keep children engaged and it does. The ending perfectly sets up the next book and is sure to keep readers coming back for more.