This urban fantasy was similar to Harry Potter in some ways due to the hidden world of dragons living underneath our own. I loved the world-building (like charcoal-filled dragon cuisine and a ball game played in a cave deep underground, flying) and the memorable characters (my favourite was the elderly mantra maker, Gee Tee). I also enjoyed the protagonist; rather than being the cliche awkward hero type who manages to unrealistically save the day, much of his heroics depended on luck and the help of friends. What I didn't like was the slow start at the beginning. There was too much unnecessary detail that made it drag on. Plus all-caps and multiple exclamation points were used sometimes, which was a little distracting. The second half was more exciting and had better flow, and I'm going to continue on to read the sequels.