Princess Alba is facing a forced marriage she wants no part of. Her solution is drastic: she cuts her hair, takes on a false identity, and enrolls in a dragon academy that has never admitted a woman. It is not a safe plan. Discovery would mean expulsion or worse, and the academy itself is dangerous even for students who belong there.
Alba bonds telepathically with a dragon early in the series, and that connection becomes the core of who she is. The 13 books follow her through the academy, through battles over stolen dragon eggs and plagues threatening the kingdom, and into a larger story about power and what she is willing to risk for her freedom. The Dragon Breeder sub-series runs alongside the main storyline, filling in events happening beyond the academy walls.
Cordelia Castel set Dragon Mage Academy in the same world as The Seven Kingdoms, one generation later. Alba is stubborn, quick to act, and not always right about the situations she throws herself into. The disguise premise gives the early books their tension, but the series grows well beyond that setup as Alba’s real identity becomes less of a secret and more of a political problem.
Reading Order
See the complete Dragon Mage Academy reading order for all books in the series.