Tag Archives: Dragons

Fire Rising

Book Review of Donna Grant’s Fire Rising, part one

Leave a reply

Fire RisingI got a copy of Donna Grant‘s Fire Rising from NetGalley. This doesn’t qualify for my Taking Care of My Own Challenge, but since it was short I decided to get it out of the way.

Description from Amazon:
Sammi’s world has been blown to bits—literally. With her pub up in flames, she escapes to Dreagan, the only place she will be safe. Her plan is to recover quickly and leave quietly. What she doesn’t count on is meeting the dangerously desirable and enigmatic Tristan…

Tristan is instantly drawn to the woman seeking refuge at the Manor. Dazzled by her stunning beauty and intrigued by her silence about her past, Tristan knows he will not be able to let this woman go, no matter what the cost. And when Sammi slips away from Dreagan, Tristan is compelled to follow…

 Review:
Ok, I have to admit to a foul up when requesting this book. I saw the big old number 1 on the cover and erroneously believed it to be the first in a series. I WAS WRONG! A) It’s part one of a four part serial (that’s what the number one refers to), so it’s not even a complete book. The complete book is due out in June 2014. B) It’s part of the Dark Kings series, which is a spin off the Dark Warriors series, and the Dark Warriors series is a continuation of the Dark Sword series. (Yea, that took a little investigating.) Sooooo, maybe I shouldn’t feel bad about the fact that I was so lost.

But even though the cover and write up probably could have been clearer about its placement within an extensive preexisting world (dozens of books), I can’t really blame it for my mistake. I’ll admit there were a lot of characters I obviously should have known and didn’t, as well as a whole society and species who’s specifics I also didn’t know. (Seriously, I never even got a description of a dragon out of the deal!) This effected my enjoyment, obviously. However, I decided to try and review it without consideration for this fact. Because, again, not the books fault.

The thing is, even if I allow for not knowing the history I still wasn’t particularly impressed. Everything moved incredibly fast. I mean so fast I never had time to develop a connection with ANY of the characters, or become invested in the outcomes of events, or basically care about anything. It almost felt more like an outline of a story than a truly fleshed out one.

Then there was the romance. It’s just as fast as everything else. It’s your basic PNR, ‘he laid eyes on her and lightning went through his body’ kind of thing with no depth of any sort. So, again, there was nothing there to make me care about it.

Now, I adore dragon shifters. They’re one of my favourites varieties. I liked that the characters had obvious Scottish brogues and the actual mechanical writing/editing was fine. But I feel like this book depends heavily on a readers familiarity with and love of PNR tropes to satisfy them, i.e. if readers always love insta-love, they’ll like it here too, no explanation therefore needed. Or readers always love a arrogant, protective man, so they’ll recognise those traits here and love Tristan for it without too much description. Well, while I recognise those tropes, I don’t love them and I don’t think their identifiability exonerates the author of the responsibly of providing clarifying information. All in all, I finished feeling pretty apathetic about the book. I didn’t hate it, but I’m not rushing out for the rest of the series either.

Touched By Venom

Book Review of Dragon Temple Saga (#1-2), by Janine Cross

Leave a reply

Touched by VenomI picked up all three of Janine Cross‘ Dragon Temple Saga books from my local library.

Description of Touched by Venom:
Like her half-breed mother, young Zarq Darquel can’t always hold her tongue. A peasant on a large dragon estate, she goes unnoticed by the Dragon Temple-until she captures the attention of a dragonmaster. Her clan is plunged into destitution, her sister Waivia sold into slavery, and her mother lost to madness. Desperate to find Waivia, Zarq and her delirious mother flee. Zarq then develops a taste for the highly addictive venom of the dragons she has been taught to revere-and with it, she imbibes their memories and a glimpse of a plot for social revolution. But to achieve it, she must defy not just sexual taboos and patriarchal society, but the Emperor who rules her nation.

Review:
Good lord, this one keeps you wanting. It’s beautifully written, seriously intense, harrowing, with amazing world-building and an admirable, strong heroine. But it moves at the speed of molasses. I mean, it’s slooooow.

Seriously, the first 50% of the book covers Zarq’s life as a 9-year-old. The next 40% is age 10-17 and a whole heck of a lot of hard living and sacrifice. The next 8% shows her coming to grips with her situation and in the last 2% something finally happens. Yep, all that social revolution stuff hinted at in the book blurb happens in the last pages…THE LAST PAGES…and then, and THEN holy hotcakes, Batman, it’s a big ol’, rage-inducing cliffhanger. Grrrr!!

I have all three books in this series and spent most of this book thinking I wouldn’t bother with the second and third. I mean, even though it really is an astonishing piece of writing, it’s also a major downer. As an example, at one point, the fallout of the actions of one 9-year-old boy destroys the lives and livelihoods of an entire village, with devastating, irreversible, long-lasting effects. Honestly, what do you do with that? This is not a book to pick up for the feel-good factor. There isn’t any.

But that last 10% gives me hope that the plot might FINALLY be picking up, and I’ll see where book two goes. Ms. Cross can string a tale, she can weave atmosphere, she can bring you to tears—laughter maybe not so much, but heart-rending agony, sure—and she can create a believable fantasy world. Worth reading.

shadowed by wings

Description of Shadowed by Wings:

The Dragon Temple Saga continues as Zarq Darquel embarks on a trial by fire, defying Dragon Temple scripture by undergoing the rigorous training of an apprentice dragonmaster, while desperately searching for the doctrine that allows women permission to participate in the battles at Arena.

Yet Zarq’s difficulties pale in comparison to her craving for the hallucinogenic dragon venom, and her desire to understand the dragons themselves-both of which make her a vessel to receive the ancestral memories of the great beasts. And now, eager for the knowledge only Zarq can uncover, Temple has her imprisoned and subjected to starvation and torture-all to make her reveal the dragons’ deepest secrets…

Review:

I wasn’t sure I was going to bother reviewing the second and third books in this series. I just wasn’t sure what I’d say. I liked the book? I hated the book? These books left me reeling, cringing, demoralised, and strangely vitalised at the same time? How does one express that?

In reading others’ reviews, I sense I’m not the only person struggling to find the appropriate balance. I see a lot of middling reviews, indicative of a lot of emotionally confused readers. I can completely relate. That’s where this book shoves its reader, right into the middle on ‘how should I feel about that?’ The problem is that while it’s occasionally obvious, a lot of time it isn’t. Not because the things that happen aren’t horrid and denounceable in the extreme, but because so many really, really bad things happen that some bad things just don’t seem to rise to the level of atrocity anymore (even though in isolation, that would definitely be). It’s rare for a book to transport a reader there.

A major theme of this book (these books) is the abuse of the powerless by the powerful and its amazing ability to remain socially invisible to otherwise good people. As an outsider, it’s hard to imagine how it’s rationalised, but it is… every day. Here, it’s just made a little more obvious. We deal with a strict caste system, a violent patriarchy that allows women NO influence in their own lives, slavery, the marginalization of a native populace by a conquering people and the resulting institutionalised racism, economic entrapment, social stigmatisation, a dangerous and far-reaching religious organisation, and a ruling class that can no longer understand their duty, blinded as they are by their perceived superiority. This leaves a lot of powerless people, many powerless on numerous fronts, and a myriad of ways for victims to be victimised…traumatised.

In the middle of all this is Zarq, a young, powerless woman who trips along and, by dint of simply surviving the MANY horrors of her own life and being the right person in the right place at the right time, manages to almost accidentally start a revolution. (Ah, the transformative power of even one person willing to sacrifice their all for the greater good!) And she does survive and witness horrors. Thus, the reader deals with them too. Beyond just the basic hardships of poverty and austerity (she spent ten years in a remote convent as a child), there are kidnappings, rapes, battles, betrayal, attempted assassinations, loss, and pitifully few moments of relief. It’s all hard on the readers’ psyche.

The book also treats sex as amazingly mutable. I actually really liked this about it, but we all know sex can tie people in knots faster than just about anything. We deal with consensual and non-consensual (a lot of the latter, though blessedly vague on details) sex of both the hetero- and homosexual (both M & F) variety (In fact, this is the clearest case of institutionalised rape I’ve ever seen in a book), incest, pedophilia, and even bestiality (though there’s no interspecies penis/vagina contact). I can readily imagine a whole host of readers being put off by any one of those, let alone all of them in one text.

So, in the end, I’m left wondering what I thought of Shadowed by Wings. I certainly didn’t enjoy reading it, but having finished it, I’m really glad to have read it. I recommend others do the same.

 

 

Book Review of Dragon Bound and Storm’s Heart (Elder Races #1 & 2), by Thea Harrison

Leave a reply

I borrowed Dragon Bound and Storm’s Heart, by Thea Harrison, from my local library.

Dragon BoundDescription from Goodreads:
Half-human and half-Wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the Wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful—and passionate—of the Elder Races.

As the most feared and respected of the Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in each other.

Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave—although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul.

Review:
I enjoyed this well enough. I liked Pia’s backbone and thought Dragos was fun. I especially liked the way some of his behaviours came across as dragon-like without it ever being directly described as so. However, there was a lot of head hopping that irritated me, the plot was really only a thin scaffold to hang the romance on and I thought that the writing was really repetitive. Things like the fact that on the first page, which is only really a half page because of the chapter heading, the word ‘so’ is used 7 times (it sucked so bad…, fifteen minutes or so…, she was so freaking dead…, he screwed her over so royally…, etc). Also Dragos is described as ‘aggressive’ about a thousand times and his eyes are raptor-like on every third page. I don’t really understand how or why the book has won so many awards. I wouldn’t call it great, but I did enjoy it in a light, fluffy kind of way.

Storm's HeartDescription from Goodreads:
During the rule of her murderous Dark Fae uncle, Thistle “Tricks” Periwinkle found sanctuary among the Wyr in New York. Her ethereal beauty and sparkling personality won the hearts of the public, but after her uncle’s death, there are those who don’t want to see her ascend to the throne.

Able to wield thunder and lightning, Wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the Wyr’s best weapons. And he’s sent to protect Tricks when she’s almost assassinated in Chicago.

Soon, both Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them—a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds.

Review:
We’ve all read this book a couple dozen (hundred?) times before, regardless of the character names, environments, species, etc. The big, bad, beastly alpha male is blindsided by his sudden passion for some surprising little slip of a thing, who he worships for her sexy body and what he sees as her amazing inner strength. He shows this beguilement by trying to control every aspect of her life. Meanwhile, she squawks a bit at his overbearing manner, but secretly loves letting him overpower her and spends a third of the book fantasising about how else the barely human man might dominate her. Sound familiar? Yeah, I know.

I’m afraid this was a serious case of ‘meh’ for me. I didn’t hate it, but it did little for me either. The issue is that it’s a bon-bon. I can’t even call it cotton candy, which a person will read for the simple ephemeral wisp of momentary enjoyment. No, this is something you go specifically to the store to buy, curl up on the couch with the box and purposefully indulge in. Indulge in what? Vicariously experiencing what it’s like to have some über-male make you the absolute centre of his universe. That’s what Tiago does to Tricks. He worships her with every ounce of his beastly self and it touches on some primal female desire apparently, because I realise a lot of people love this kind of thing. More power to you, but I need a little more. Yes, I think seeing the “holocaust of a male” go weak at the knees for his mate is sexy, but it’s pretty much all he (or anyone else) did in this book. It’s just page after page after page of him growling how sexy she is, or that she’s his, or what he’s going to do to her when they get to a bed, or how he’d do anything to protect her, or how he’d never leave her, etc. Redundant much? In return, Tricks drools over his muscled, dangerous body and scary, antisocial personality again and again and again. Yep, still redundant. None of this is helped by the tendency to use the same descriptives repeatedly. Tiago’s face is described as some version of hatchet hewn or knife bladed about a million times.

There is a thin thread of plot-line tying everything together, but it’s not much one. The world was essentially set out in book one and the characters were introduced (though by no means gotten to know) in the previous book. So apparently forgoing the character development was seen as acceptable. (There really isn’t any.) So, without much in the line of plot, world-building or character development what do you fill 300 pages with? Yep, you guessed it, internal emotions, declaration off love and sex. That’s about all you’ll get here. As fantasy fodder, it fits the bill, but if you’re looking for ANYTHING more substantial it’s a fail. There’s no substance to it and there isn’t meant to be. And while I can kind of see what people see it in, if it’s all there is to a book it just feels cheap.