I picked up an audiobook copy of Amelia Shaw‘s Taken by the Dragon King on Google Play Books. (As it happens, I also have an e-copy. But when it came down to it, I went with the audio.)
Stavrok won’t let anything stand between him and his mate.
There’s a beast inside of me, and there will be a time when I can’t control him.
That’s what my father told me happens when my dragon finds his mate. He will claim them. He will not be gentle. He will not be sweet.
My dragon will do whatever it takes to ensure his mate doesn’t leave, no matter the cost.
Lucy thinks soulmates are only for her dreams.
When a stranger breaks into my home and comes after me, I recognize his face. He’s the man from my dreams—the one I’m destined to fall in love with.
But I don’t believe in soulmates. That’s why I try to flee.
Stavrok takes Lucy to the snowy mountains, hellbent on proving she’s his mate.
But then his kingdom is attacked, and Lucy is stolen away from the Dragon King.
Now her only hope lies in knowing Stavrok will turn the world to ash and brimstone looking for her…and his dragon babies.
Meh, this was fine, if a little bland and predictable. I don’t have a lot to say on this one. It is exactly what the title describes—no more, no less. I liked that he falls first and that she has a backbone. The writing is readable, and the plot holds together. But it is simply made up of a series of tropes we’ve all read before, and nothing feels original or even combined in a new way. So, honestly, I was bored by it. But if you happen to particularly like the tropes used, I imagine you’ll be more invested than I was.
Lastly, I listened to the audio version. Catherine Bilson did a fine job with the narration. But I rather feel she wasn’t a good fit styalistically. She was a little too prim and polite, as if she should have been reading a cozy Ms. Marple-style mysteries or sweet historical romances instead of mildly spicy PNR.
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