Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Aventurine is tired of being treated like a baby hatchling.The young dragon dreams of exploring the world, but her mother wants her safe at home reading books and finding her passion. When Aventurine flies away from the mountain to prove she's fierce enough to take care of herself, she picks up a tantalizingly sweet scent that leads her to the source of the wonderful smell: chocolate. There's a human, too, whom Aventurine plans to eat. He gives her a cup of hot melty chocolate, and Aventurine's life changes with one enchanted sip. The bad news: Aventurine is now a vulnerable 12-year-old human girl. The good news: she's found her passion—chocolate, of course—and she's going to apprentice herself to a chocolatier. With the help of Silke, a black girl in men's clothing, the unstoppable Aventurine, who still sees the world as a dragon does, finds her way to the Chocolate Heart and its proprietor, the golden-skinned Marina, a hot-tempered, uncompromising master chocolatier. As apprentice, Aventurine is launched on a new course, one on which she finds the strength to align her dragon and human selves while making chocolate that just might save the kingdom from some fiery enemies. Aventurine's human self is apparently white, but the cast of secondary characters is diverse: Marina's business partner is a black man, and the pink-skinned king has two brown-skinned daughters. A gloriously fresh story to be read with a steaming cup of chocolate at hand. (Fantasy. 8-14)

ALA Booklist (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Restless in her family's cavern and tired of disappointing the mother who urges her to follow her passion, whatever that might be, a young dragon named Aventurine runs away. She hasn't traveled far when a mage gives her a cup of hot chocolate that turns her into a human girl, an appalling turn of events. Still, she suddenly realizes her true passion: chocolate. She takes a position as a chocolatier's apprentice in nearby Drachenburg, but when the dragons take to the skies, and the king's ministers advise war against them, only Aventurine can save the townsfolk from her family's fiery wrath. Burgis creates a feisty protagonist with a temper that suits her dragon heritage, moderated only slightly by her desire to fit into human society. Actually, almost all of the female characters are strong and independent, though some are decidedly more sympathetic than others. Most of all, readers will be rooting for Aventurine throughout this well-paced, colorful narrative. An appealing chapter book for young fantasy fans.

Horn Book

Aventurine is a young dragon with a brave--and impulsive--spirit. She escapes her suffocating family cave only to drink magic hot chocolate that turns her human. As a girl, Aventurine finds her true passion apprenticing for a chocolatier. The sensory elements of this unique fantasy are well realized, from what it feels like to develop human muscles to the lush richness of hot chocolate.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Aventurine is tired of being treated like a baby hatchling.The young dragon dreams of exploring the world, but her mother wants her safe at home reading books and finding her passion. When Aventurine flies away from the mountain to prove she's fierce enough to take care of herself, she picks up a tantalizingly sweet scent that leads her to the source of the wonderful smell: chocolate. There's a human, too, whom Aventurine plans to eat. He gives her a cup of hot melty chocolate, and Aventurine's life changes with one enchanted sip. The bad news: Aventurine is now a vulnerable 12-year-old human girl. The good news: she's found her passion—chocolate, of course—and she's going to apprentice herself to a chocolatier. With the help of Silke, a black girl in men's clothing, the unstoppable Aventurine, who still sees the world as a dragon does, finds her way to the Chocolate Heart and its proprietor, the golden-skinned Marina, a hot-tempered, uncompromising master chocolatier. As apprentice, Aventurine is launched on a new course, one on which she finds the strength to align her dragon and human selves while making chocolate that just might save the kingdom from some fiery enemies. Aventurine's human self is apparently white, but the cast of secondary characters is diverse: Marina's business partner is a black man, and the pink-skinned king has two brown-skinned daughters. A gloriously fresh story to be read with a steaming cup of chocolate at hand. (Fantasy. 8-14)