Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I loved the main story Dragon Actually (which started out as a short story originally epublished as To Challenge a Dragon). This dragonshifter tale had all of the trademark brashness, humor and steamy intensity you would expect from Aiken a Shelley Laurenston alto ego.
If you're a fan of any of the author's other books you'll be pleased to see how well Aiken's trademark uber-alpha female lead translates to the medieval time frame of the book. Annwyl the Bloody is fatally wounded and outnumbered but still fighting to take as many of her vile brother's warriors along with her through death's door. Just about the time the Annwyl is about to lose her head, literally, her foes' smug satisfaction at their looming victory turns to terror and flaming death courtesy of the horned black dragon on whose doorstep Annwyl is dying. Much to the dragon Fearghus' the surprise, the bloody woman meets his fierce dragon's gaze without fear and her bravery intrigues him enough than instead of making her a tasty snack, he brings her into his lair and sees to her healing. As time goes by the dour dragon hermit, who preferred a quiet solitary life, is amused and captivated by the bold, fearless woman. When Annwyl begins to heal, Fearghus provides an irritating but powerful Knight to help Annwyl hone the battle skills which will allow her to defeat her odious abusive sibling. Annwyl spends her days in bruising training with her helpful but annoying `adversary' and her nights talking with Fearghus, torn between the powerful lust she feels for the Knight and the comfort and friendship she feels for the dragon.
Annwyl's `two' relationships are what really make this story. Her relationship with the despised but oh so attractive Knight was combustible, laden with sexual tension and with verbal sparring (along with some physical sparring too), but where her relationship with the Knight burned hot and fast, with Fearghus it was a slowly building deeper connection, as the two let down their guards and shared themselves in a way that neither had allowed before. Adding even more fun to the story, Dragon Actually is chockfull of supporting dragon characters, many of Fearghus' fabulous siblings turn up to help or to stir up mischief, most all of them deserve stories of their own.
The second story Flames in Chains, also previously epublished, was the story of Fearghus' parents `courtship'. Fearghus' father Bercelek, a fearsome battle dragon, has always had a soft spot for the dragon Princess Rhiannon who loathes him. Fearghus was great, in his unrelenting campaign to win the mate who is now within his grasp and the advantage is finally his since she's stuck in human form and can't shift to dragon in order to flee him. This story had some great moments and Bercelek's odd ball dragon parents and siblings, like his children in the previous story, were a kick. But I didn't like Flames and Chains as well as the first story. If you are an erotic reader my nits with the story won't bother you, but an increase in the frequency and coarsenss of the language used, along with the chains and spanking, though both of these were very mild by erotica standards, knocked this one down a notch for me where Dragon Actually managed to toe, but not cross, the line for me.
Overall though I still will be checking out Aiken's next book About A Dragon (Dragon Kin, Book 2) (turns out this is a reissue of Laurenston's The Distressing Damsel: Book 2 of the Dragon Kin) in which the first - of hopefully many - of Fearghus' siblings get their turn in the spot light. If you like Dragon Actually be sure to check out Aiken's pride and pack stories written as Shelley Laurenston, they are also full of pushy alpha shifter males (lion/wolf) claiming their oh so dangerous mates and though not as violent, the stories share the same fast paced humorous tone as these two stories.
Here are a couple of her more recent books to check out:
The Mane Event (Pride, Book 1)
The Beast in Him (Pride, Book 2)
Laurenston's Dragon Kin
Dragon Actually ("To Challenge A Dragon" Ferghus & Annywl, plus "Flames and Chains" Ferghus' parents Rhiannon and Bercelek)
About A Dragon (Dragon Kin, Book 2) (Ferghus' brother Briec this is a reissue of The Distressing Damsel: Book 2 of the Dragon Kin)
Everlasting Bad Boys (Bercelek's parents Aidean and Shalin)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Dragon Actually (Dragon Kin, Book 1)
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 fill 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...
Click here for more information about Dragon Actually (Dragon Kin, Book 1)
0 comments:
Post a Comment