Book Stats:
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Reading level: Adult
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Release date: September 1, 2008
Series: Dragon Kin #1
Source: Personal e-shelf
Reviewed by: Stéphanie
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
It’s not always easy being a female warrior with a nickname like Annwyl the Bloody. Men tend to either cower in fear-a lot-or else salute. It’s true that Annwyl has a knack for decapitating legions of her ruthless brother’s soldiers without pausing for breath. But just once it would be nice to be able to really talk to a man, the way she can talk to Fearghus the Destroyer.
Too bad that Fearghus is a dragon, of the large, scaly, and deadly type. With him, Annwyl feels safe-a far cry from the feelings aroused by the hard-bodied, arrogant knight Fearghus has arranged to help train her for battle. With her days spent fighting a man who fills her with fierce, heady desire, and her nights spent in the company of a magical creature who could smite a village just by exhaling, Annwyl is sure life couldn’t get any stranger.
She’s wrong…
And just wait until you meet the rest of the family…
Ever since reading Fury of Fire and Fury of Ice by Coreene Callahan, I’ve been intrigued by dragons. Ok, maybe I’m interested in the Alpha male dragon characters more than anything else but I when I stumbled onto this series by G.A Aiken, I knew I had to give it a try. Also writing as Shelly Laurenston, this author writes steamy and funny paranormal romance and the romance in this book does not disappoint.
In DRAGON ACTUALLY, you actually have two stories, the main one about Annwyl and Fearghus, and an extra short story at the end about Fearghus’ parents. Although I enjoyed both, this review will concentrate on the main story since it is the focus of the book. Annwyl and Fearghus were very enjoyable characters but compared to other characters of the genre, these two seemed kind of flat and not quite as developed as I would like. The sexual chemistry was definitively there and their witty banter was noteworthy. What saved the story is the humour and the hilarious conversations between the characters. The author did an amazing job with the character interactions but I wish there would been more depth to the characters, and more to the actual story. I have to hand it to G.A. Aiken— she does know how to write a good love scene and her steamy and sexy love scenes were definitively present in this book.
Annwyl is a strong female human warrior that leads the rebel army again the tyrannical human King—her brother. Obsessed with killing her brother, she has thought of nothing else since he tried to kill her when they were both children. When she’s outnumbered in battle and about to be killed by her brother’s men, she miraculously stumbles upon a dragon’s cave and is saved by a dragon named Fearghus. Unable to leave the cave because of her battle wounds, Fearghus enlists the help of others to heal and train Annwyl in order to help her face her brother in battle. Together they try to overthrow her brother harsh reign but things might not necessarily go as planned as Fearghus isn’t truthful about his identity (or maybe I should say identities…). The plot is obviously very basic but I still enjoyed reading about the romance between Annwyl and Fearghus. Fearghus is absolutely Alpha male enough to live up to my dragon character expectations.
More dragons characters are introduced in this story and they all have their individual quirks and character traits. I think the author does a great job in introducing the main characters of her future novels. I have a soft spot for Fearghus’ brother, Éibhear the Blue, and I can’t wait to read his story.
Like I said before, I wish there would have been more to the story. I will definitively give the rest of the series a try, hoping the storyline will improve. This type of humour is exactly what I’m looking for whenever I’m in a reading slump, and hopefully the next books of the series have more world and character building. Personally, I find when you combine great humour to paranormal elements, you’re always in for a nice treat.
I really liked the first story in the book but for some reason, I just couldn't get into the second story about Fearghus' parents. I wish, instead, we would've gotten more Annwyl and Fearghus.
ReplyDeleteBook Sniffers Anonymous
I always love to have some humor in the books I read, and a lot of time it saves them. I also have to take care when reading the start of a series. I can never rely on them to properly judge the series as a whole because there is so much world building that sometimes it overrules the actual story of that book. I'd like to hear what you think after you read the second.
ReplyDeleteTanya@Reading Addicted
I think I may have to check this series out. I've really taken a liking to dragons lately :). I also like a bit of humor in my reads.
ReplyDeleteIf you like Dragons, try the Dragon series by Allyson James (Jennifer Ashley), or Deborah Cooke. And if you don't mind fantasy, the best ever, the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey.
ReplyDelete