Dragons, Action, and Romance (oh my)
925380
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book picks up with Carol and the events that take place immediately after chaos really exploded at the hotel.  There's a few good chapters of catch up, so even though it's been a while since I read the last book, I was okay with hitting the ground running (literally for Carol).  Sadly, she has managed to miss the fact that Richard and her are on the run due to a pesky coma that occupied a lot of her time.  Lucky for her, after waking, she finds herself confronted by a hottie that she assumes is her doctor.  Shockingly, he's not actually her doctor, but he does set off a chain of events that throws Carol into even more trouble (if that's possible).

The setting for these books is a sort of dystopian future, which breaks one of my genre rules for reading.  However, I freely ignore my previous preferences for this series.  It's fun and light hearted but still has some serious action and adventure elements.  There's oodles of sizzle (Daniel and Carol really know how to heat up a scene together), but it all fades to black (for those of you worried about that sort of stuff).  Dragons in these stories are really dragons (not slightly dragon-ized people) and sometimes they are big scary monster.  It's a really neat world that the author has created, with some really fun characters.  I hope it continues to get better and better.
4413225
I enjoyed this story.  Has lots of fun elements. I enjoyed the dragons but, hope for more world building in the sequels.
4788208
Thoughts:

Firelight sucked me in with its gorgeous cover, the promised Romeo and Juliet love story, and dragon shifters.  For those of you worried about it being a Twilight copy, get over that idea.  It really isn't and every book is going to have similarities to others, but this one is not a Twilight reincarnate with dragons.  (For those of you that are not fans of Twilight, breath easy!)

That said, this is a pretty cute romance, and a very conflicting intense one at that.  Where the hunter and the hunted meet and fall in love.  Truly you have to leave you skeptic at the door for this one, but then again you kind of have to for all romances.

This book is pretty fast past, no time is wasted allowing you to sink into the story swiftly.  Jordan gives us time to adjust to life as a dragon, and makes it easy to understand.  Her words are very simple--almost too simple at times--giving readers the brash and scary reality that Jacinda lives in.  Dragons are hunted, ripped apart and the pieces sold.  No one knows that dragons can shift into people and that is the one thing keeping them alive.  The dragons live in guarded communities that still rely on a King and elders to rule them.  Dragons are dieing out, whether from defunct children who can't shift, to hunters taking them out one by one.  Jacinda is the first fire breathing dragon to be born in ages, making her a prized possession in her Pride.  A Pride that has scary plans for there "property."

Jacinda heart ache is so sad to watch.  As her mother takes her away from her Pride to a desert where her dragon will slowly die out.  Then the sad realization that her Pride will do anything to use their prized possession as nothing more then a breeding mare.  This all accented by Jacinda's growing love for the hunter Will, who she knows she should not love.

The characters interact well in this book.  From Jacinda's mother who is not proud of her dragon heritage and let it die out.  To her defunct twin who finally gets to be normal in there new human life.  This is a different take on twins who have lost each other, but still love one another.  Sometimes Jacinda's mother and sisters willingness to let her dragon die is almost sickening.  Will's family life and his connections to them are also stark and some times a little scary.  Leading to the question are the monsters the ones with scales and fangs, or are the true monsters those who hunt them.

The love between Will and Jacinda has a magic pull that draws them together.  Jacinda needs Will because he's the only force keeping her dragon alive and he has clues to get her to other Prides.  In the end the romance builds up nice and slowly so that the reader feels like the two come together for more reasons then magic and necessity.  That's one of the main things I look for in a romance, I want the characters to realistically fall in love.

Bottom Line:

We get nice plot twists and turns, with a fun love triangle mixed in.  While the writing is a bit simplistic, it works for this story.  Go into this expecting a cute romance, because in the end that's what this is.  One of those grab you by the throat-teary-eye kind of things.

Rating: 4/5- Great! Really enjoyed
1333195
Great premise, fast action and interesting characters - I really enjoyed this book. Dragons are real and they're almost unstoppable killing machines. A group of teens find out they are descended from dragon slayers and must now train at a secret camp to develop their special talents to save people. But what if they don't want to fight dragons and would rather go back to their regular teen lives? The plot in this well-written and enjoyable book introduces interesting twists. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
3289321
I really enjoyed this book. The story wasn't a long one, but a peek I side the author's world leaves me wanting more. If you enjoy dragons, and a sexy love story, you will enjoy this read.
4091891
I was looking for something new and I'm fond of dragons, so I thought I would give this series a try. It did not disappoint. I like the characters and Ms. Hall's version of the supernaturals.  There's mystery and treasure hunting, with a budding romance. I'm looking forward to seeing the characters grow in the future books.
4764540
First off - this is a very short, quick read (25,000 words), so I didn't expect much characterization, etc. And yet, Ms. Lopez completely blew me away. Her world building as far as her dragons was great.

Cora is a bit of a twit in some ways (she made a couple of stupid mistakes), but she did own up to it and wanted to move beyond the problem. Her primary goal is to keep her bakery open, or at least feasible, despite having some rather nasty people after her. She's been attracted to Stig and knows he's a fighter thanks to his service with her brother, and so she turns to him for protection when the loan shark collectors come calling for her.

Stig's a warrior all right. A warrior who is also a dragon. And man, he was a heck of a sexy dragon. He's going through his heat phase when Cora shows up. During his heat, he's forced into his dragon form and will go bonkers if he doesn't have sex to procreate, so he chains himself in a cavern beneath his cabin in the woods.

They have a nice set of erotic dreams Cora's first night, but by the second, she goes exploring and finds the chained dragon/Stig.

There isn't a lot of room in this book for subplots or anything else, but it really REALLY didn't need it. There's clear connections to future books, and I loved how Cora and Stig found their way to be together. I hope we get to experience Cora, at least as a secondary character, as she gets used to her new role in her newly expanded world.

This book totally deserves a 4-star rating.
367941
This is where my review for Soulblade is supposed to go.  Instead of me racking my brain and trying to extricate my thoughts and emotions from my beleaguered brain and then wrestling with them to fit them into something half-way legible just pretend that I wrote an awesome review that expounds on the awesomeness that Soulblade was. Also pretend that I wrote a proper line about how Im sad to see the series go and that some parts of this book made me want to pick up the first book and read through the entire series again.
Otherwise my review could end up looking like:
Omfg that was so fing awesome
She writes such wtf whoa action scenes that I actually caught myself going squeee out loud in anticipation as I was reading it.
Oh em ef gee ... dragons... dragons ... dragons
I was happy to see them take a bigger role in the stories plot and see Fel and the other dragon who thought he was a god acted. I really liked that oneI cant spell his name right now, but it was the Bra ... something name.
Superb character development! The end seemed a bit rushed, but the book was already pretty long as it was and it didn't mess with my enjoyment of the book.
Just ... so ... many ... thoughts ... sorry!
191546
A quick read with fun, lusty dragons and fast paced adventure. I enjoyed the characters and thought the world the author built was interesting. I would've loved a bit more backstory. The book improved as it went along. The first section of the book had me thinking I might've picked up something that was going to turn into erotica (not that there's anything wrong with that, just not what I anticipated from the cover and book description), but then the action part of the plot started and the book never got super racy.
The book could've benefited from more editing. There were too many instances of vague words "stuff" and "things" that could've been tightened. However, the author's voice is charming and I enjoyed the character's romance. I wouldn't mind reading the author again in the future. I love dragons. A lot. I really enjoyed that the dragons could be large or small and the book made me want my own cat-sized dragon who turns into a hunky muscular man. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, give it a quick read.

*as a disclaimer I purchased the kindle version of the book when it was featured as a deal on Bookbubs
1567335
Maricara rules the Carpathian dragons and their mostly-human subjects with a strong hand. But when two dead men are found, their hearts ripped from their bodies and dragon-shaped signet rings still on their hands, she knows the dragons' ancient enemy, the sanf inimicus has found her castle. She flies to England, where another branch of the dragon family exists--living large as nobles in Georgian-era splendor.

The English dragons, led by their Earl, Kimber, had long-since decided to reunite the dragon families--even if that meant war and conquest. Maricara's arrival seems like a gift to them--she can wed their fortunately-single Earl and the unification will go easily. But Maricara is not the kind of woman who will let a group of old men decide her fate--she's already survived one abusive husband and doesn't intend lose control of her life again.

The sanf inimicus, though, have made their own way to England and all of the dragons are at risk. And Maricara's unusual abilities just might make all the difference between victory and destruction.

Meanwhile Kimber finds Maricara extremely attractive--partly as an instinctual response, alpha to alpha, and partly because of her unique dragon abilities. And Maricara can't fight the attraction she feels for Kimber, either.

Author Shana Abe continues her Drakon series where the last novel left off--exploring the beginning of the reunification of the long-separated dragon cousins. Abe's writing is compelling and evocative, setting a mood and filled with emotion. Still, I would have liked to understand a bit more of Maricara's reasoning for some of her decisions--and a bit more development of the relationship. Sure it's sexy to have Maricara so attractive that every dragon wants her, and for Kimber to know that they're destined for one another because they're both alpha, but what about the people side--do they even really like each other? A second problem, for me, was that Abe spent so much time building the mood that not a whole lot happened through much of the novel. We had a fast and compelling start, and an exciting conclusion, but the middle, well, sagged.

I enjoy Abe's writing. I love reading about dragons. QUEEN OF DRAGONS isn't a bad book and it held my interest. I would have liked to see a bit more explanation--even if it meant only setting a few less times.
132191
Crouching Tiger Horny Dragon

Lexxie Couper

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Australian Dragon Shifter Ryan Conley finds his Fire Mate when he least expects it and wants to ask her the most serious question in all of the world.  Did she prefer Marvel to DC.

Unfortunately, Deanne his Fire Mate, the one soul dedicated to meld with him and his dragon both, not only doesn't know she is is also a dragon but has been raised as a dragon hunter.  He runs into her in a bar, and the moment they come into contact he finds himself fighting the pull, and he fails.  They end up in the alley behind the bar where a Dragon Hunter makes an attempt on Ryan's life

And that's just the beginning of their adventures.  There isn't a lot of plot running around in between the hot, torrid sex scenes.  We are faced with her discovering her dragon-ness, fighting her father (the villain) and so on.

But the tension and the love growing between Ryan and Deanne is worth it.  The self discovery they both make is worth the lack of inner reflection.

Ryan is not quite an Alpha male, he refers to himself as an Omega.  Omega is term that seems to mean a lot of different things and varies by writers. In Ms. Couper's case it appears to mean a free soul with little to no interest in any kind of responsibility.  He also knows his strengths and is willing to accept those of Deanne as they are swiftly revealed in the final conflict.

Deanne is a wild child raised to believe only in slaying dragons, and that she is completely human.  Beyond all that, she must at all times please her father.  It takes a serious shock to her system to pry her heart and soul free.

This is a swift read full of fast action, flying dragons and hot love scenes.  A fun read for a rainy day at home or for the beach when it is just a little too cold to swim.  The third book of a trilogy, there is enough backstory strewn about that you don't need to read the previous books but once you finish this one you will want to do so!

I would like a little more plot to flesh out the sexy skeleton.  But it still gets a 4 out of 5
4571463
I was so surprised when I saw this, I didn't realize Hannah Walker had a new book coming out.  I have been addicted to her books since I came across Demons Don't Dream.  Since then I had read all of her books and added her to my auto buy list.

I didn't even read the blurb for this book.  I saw it and one clicked. And I am so glad I did.  Dragons and magic, two of my favorite things.  This has just become another series I will be following I can tell you that.

I loved the whole concept from start to finish.  This was something new and interesting.  The world Hannah has made is full and lush with a developed background.  But the history was all given without being an info dump as some authors do.  There was a reason things were revealed and told.

The characters whether they be either human or dragon had great well developed personalities.  There was so much going on and it invested me into the romance as well as the conflict going on.  I fell into the book and didn't stop until the end, and then I wanted more.

I can't wait to see where Hannah Walker takes this series.  Either way I will be there waiting to one click her next release.
1509357
Sarah is a character I can connect with.  A love of books!
She stumbles across an ancient book that the Knights of the Dragon want.  Yeah, the sound like the good guys but they're not what you think.  Sarah is drawn into a dark world and the only way she can survive is with working with Darius.

From the start I really liked Darius.  He is all alpha male yet not a jerk.  His dominant, sexy and older than sin.  Oh and let's not forget he is part dragon.

This book is pact full of adventure, bad guys, some very hot sexy time all within a world that will intrigue and sure to bring you back for more.
4254037
The Dragon of Legend series is one of the most original dragon stories that I have read in a long time! There is a lot of action, adventure, and even a little bit of romance involved. All of the characters in this book are so well developed that it seems as though I really know them! I would love to see more of these Dragons and their Riders!!
653380
Storyline: Jenka De Swasso wants nothing more than to be a King's Ranger and, as usual for someone with a destiny larger than themselves, his life takes a sudden and dramatic turn after an encounter with a young dragon named Jade.

The goblins have a new king, Gravelbone, and are organizing with the "mudged" dragons to drive man out of their lands. Gravelbone intends to destroy the king's huge defensive wall, poison the entire kingdom and make the survivors into his slaves.

Zah and Jenka are the only ones that can save the kingdom from the demon Gravelbone and his nightshade. Together, they must convince the king of the impending war, avoid being locked away for being dragon sympathizers and learn the true nature of their bonds with their pure blooded dragons, Jade and Crystal.

Grammar/Spelling:I noticed some inconsistencies with the spelling of a character named Rikky. Occasionally, it was spelled with only one "k". There were also some minor punctuation problems that another read through with a beta reader could definitely take care of.

Character Development: The characters range from a powerful Druida to a stubborn young King's Ranger in training to dragons, each with their own form of magic to help move the story along very nicely.

One of the standout characters for me was Rikky. He is barely a teenager and even at his young age, he shows a ferociousness and tenacity seldom seen even in men twice his age. Even after a debilitating attack from the goblins, he is determined to seek revenge on the Goblin King at nearly any cost.

Writing Style: Mr. Mathias has taken a tired old genre, reshaped and revamped it to start an entirely new saga with some surprising twists. The Royal Dragoneers have each bonded with a pureblooded dragon from the far northern reaches of the kingdom and the idea that not only can man fly with a dragon, but that he could literally bond with one is incredible.

His depictions of the battles between the pureblood dragons and the mudged (or tainted) dragons are both energizing and amazing. I can almost feel the wind whooshing by as the dragons barrel dive and spray fire (even ice!) on their enemies below.

The story does have some graphic scenes of violence and gore and a sprinkle of adult language, so I don't know that it is for everyone.

Continuity:  No issues noted with continuity.

Overall Rating: 4

Bravo, Mr. Mathias! Your Royal Dragoneers is truly a new spin on an old dragon tale. I really want my own Dragon Tear and my own dragon. So, if you see any flyin' about, send `em my way and I might be so inclined to come pick ya' up and we'll go for a ride!

Great job, sir! Not just another cookie cutter fantasy with terrible, made up names and a predictable story-line; but, the makings of a great series that could continue for a long, long time! I look forward to reading the rest of the saga and learning more about dragons and their amazing powers.
2219379
This is a spicy new adventure that Fantasy fans will not want to miss!
There are few creatures that capture the imagination quite like Dragons and Hailey Edwards uses it remarkably. The Dragons in this book are unique and full of life. I really enjoyed getting to know more about them.
Aside from the awesome mythical creatures there is a ton of action in this book that had me on the edge of my seat. Swordplay is one the coolest battles to see or read about in my opinion and this book had some great scenes with Swordplay. I could practically hear the whistle of steal slicing through the air.
Of course my favorite part is always the romance and the chemistry between Lourdes and Rhys is sizzling. These two really know how to heat things up! They also had a great connection that went beyond the physical and I could really believe that they were a perfect match. They complimented each other and seeing them fall in love was one of the best parts of this book!
For an action adventure and a hero with a bit of a biting fetish look no further than "A Hint of Frost".
3110827
Henchgirl is a fun and engaging adventure fantasy that meshes together some of what we thought we knew about dragons with a modern setting, and all the angst and joy of following your gut and doing what is right and best for you.

At first, when I first started reading the book, within the first few chapters it became obvious that this book was somewhat inspired by Pride and Prejudice. However, despite this sense of plot deja-vu, there was enough character and world building within the story - especially through side characters - that Henchgirl still felt like its own story and not just taking Austen's characters and putting them in a more modern and magical setting.

Dakota lives in a world where basically the descendants of dragons walk the earth and rule with a few places that are solely for humans. It's really interesting to see the dynamics between the humans and those that are considered non-human. At some points, I never knew if I was pro-human or pro-magic because there are extremists on both ends who are in positions of high power and influence. You have the dragons who either use humans or part humans solely for reproductive means and then you have humans who will kill their own children, whether or not they did something wrong if they are thought to be one of the "infected". There are just several levels of discrimination happening in this book, even amongst those on the same side that really adds depth to the character and the plot.

I did worry that Dakota would seem too much like a Mary Sue, or the "too perfect heroine" but I believe that Stradling did a decent job of either shifting the reader's focus to another character or was able to show Dakota as what she is - a 16 year old girl trying to balance a lot on her plate. The romance is somewhat admittedly cliche but honestly I would be lying if I said I wasn't waiting for more Dakota and Wyvern moments in the next book. Along with being interested in seeing where the romantic elements will be taken in the series, there are many moments where I sensed foreshadowing or future development of the certain parts (like who was behind the initial attack of Dakota's father) that get me really excited for the next book.

Overall, I really enjoyed Henchgirl and could not put it down because it was an entertaining read. I look forward to seeing how Rita Stradling develops not only Dakota and Wyvern in the next book but also the side characters like certain members of Dakota's family like her sister or her friend (don't want to say which one in cause it's kind of a spoiler) who goes through some pretty traumatic life changes. There's just a a lot of side characters that I would love to learn more about. Anyway, if you like fantasy young adult books, give Henchgirl a shot!

I received a copy of this book from the NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.