One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Dragon Kin, Book 6
Rating: 3 Stars
Length: 470 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle




A lot can change in ten years. Éibhear the Blue is now Éibhear the Contemptible, Squad Leader for the loathed and feared Mì-runach, a band of warriors roughly akin to a Black Ops unit for Queen Rhiannon. For ten years the Mì-runach have battled the Ice Land dragons, but now that the force invading the Northland has been smacked down and rubbed out, Éibhear's got a bit of vacation time in front of him.

And a commander who insists he be a good son and visit his family.

Stopping off to see his sister Keita is a bit of a mixed bag, but it does present Éibhear with a unique opportunity. Keita's mate Ragnar lets slip...accidentally, of course...that Iseabail the Dangerous, also known as, well, so many other titles it's almost ridiculous, but most importantly the source of all Éibhear's past idiocy, is needed back home. Ragnar and Keita were planning to pick her up and accompany her there.

Well that just wouldn't do for Éibhear. Not when he's perfectly capable of seeing Izzy home. He's got a few things to say to the woman, things he's left far too long unsaid. Like a sincere apology for their regrettable past. So he'll go. And apologize. Sincerely. To the one woman in all the known universes least likely to accept an apology without making him pay very dearly first. Possibly in blood and body parts.

Good thing he's spent ten years as a mighty and feared Mì-runach or that might actually send the monstrously large Éibhear into a panic.


I have to admit, I'm loathe to write this review. I had quite a few problems with this book, but this is one of my all time favorite series and Aiken (aka Shelly Laurenston) is one of my favorite authors. I usually love and adore everything she's ever written. I didn't adore this.

There were parts I enjoyed. Elements of the book I loved just as much as every other book in this series. Unfortunately, they weren't in the majority. And I had some big issues that I don't want to belabor...mostly because it's just too damn painful to do so...but I do want to mention.

Too much of the first half of the book, especially the events prior to Izzy and Éibhear returning to Garbhán Isle, seemed almost like meandering filler and failed to hold my interest. It dragged down the pace of the story for me and overwhelmed any potential for insight into Izzy's or Éibhear's matured characters. I enjoyed Éibhear's Mì-runach squad, and I didn't mind getting a glimpse of where everyone is ten years after we last saw them, but it plodded on too long before the plot started to feel like it had a definitive direction. And there was far too little that featured progress in the relationship between the alleged main characters.

I say alleged because though this book is touted as Éibhear's and Izzy's show, it felt like they were only in about half of it. Considering there were several significant plot threads that soaked up a large amount of page time and a couple of them didn't even include Éibhear or Izzy, I suppose I should be glad they were in that much of it.

There were plenty of other characters in it, though. So very many, in fact, that it seemed like everyone ever mentioned in the previous books (with the exception of Ren), as well as several new characters introduced here, were included in what was one of the most populous casts of secondary and ancillary characters I've ever seen in a book. Football stadiums don't hold as many people as were in this book.

For all of those characters, and for all of the many, many things going on in this book, some of which were truly wonderful and some simply overkill, the one thing that wasn't included was anything resembling a romance. Given Izzy's and Éibhear's rocky and painful past, then suffering through all the waiting and dealing with all the buildup, that one point of contention was especially hard for me to forgive.

That's what drove me absolutely crazy about this book. That's what pushed me over the edge. Nothing - not one single issue from their past was hashed out or resolved in any satisfying manner, even the ones I felt truly deserved to be addressed. At best, a couple of things became punchlines, when they were brought up at all.

Éibhear apologizes to Izzy early in the book, an apology for which Izzy does most of the talking. They get groiny about halfway through as if it's some sort of cosmic inevitability (in an odd scene that didn't feel all that natural to the storyline in either setting or character to me). Then they get together late in the book. It was, without a doubt, the most underwhelming long-awaited relationship pairing I've read in a book in recent...and not so recent memory.

If I hadn't been so hopeful, or so intent on reading how they finally clear the slate on their past while they acknowledge long-held feelings, maybe my overall impression of the book would have been more positive. I did think there were several interesting developments in the second half of the book. For a transitional novel, which this book clearly is, there is a huge amount of depth in the multi-leveled storyline in that latter half.

I wish I could have appreciated it more.

I wish the first half had been severely edited, the second half expanded, and more room made for Éibhear and Izzy to have a relationship that evolves throughout the book. That didn't happen for me this time. From all appearances, however, there are big things brewing for the characters I've grown to love in this series. There is certainly no shortage of story potential. I just hope that in the future more of the plot is focused on the main characters and their romance.

Quotables:

"You are a callous cow, Branwen the Awful. A cruel, callous cow...and I adore you like the suns."
Branwen shrugged, black eyes twinkling, "And I you, cousin, for together we are a true blood-filled nightmare - which I find nothing but entertaining!"

"I'm still not talking to you."
"Still? When did you start? The not talking, I mean, because usually I can't get you to shut up."

"I thought I told you to wait."
Izzy gave a light, carefree laugh. "I simply adore how you think I'd take your orders at any time or for any reason in this known universe. That just amuses me so much. Such a sense of humor you've gotten."

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Dragon Kin, Book 5
Rating: 5 Stars
Length: 383 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle





The Fearless and The Abhorrent

For five long years the war has been waged against the Irons of the west, the alliance between the Southland Fire Breathers, the Northland Lightnings, and the Mad Queen Annwyl the Bloody holding strong against a force of almost unimaginable numbers. For five years mates have been apart, children have grown, life has slogged on. And everyone, frankly, is tired of it.

Ragnar the Cunning is the master strategist of the dragon forces, and he's got a plan underway to finally bring an end to the war, but not before some choice intelligence drops in his lap (courtesy of his love's...skill...at torturing) that could change the course of battle and break this vicious stalemate. The safety of Annwyl and Fearghus' twins and Briec and Talaith's youngest daughter are at stake, and the choice of whom to trust with that information, who to send to secure them, is one that could affect not just the war, but the lives of everyone in two different kingdoms.

The plan starts simple, Keita and Ren will travel to the childrens' sides and secure them, their safety across a war-torn land assured by Rhona the Fearless, a highly skilled Cadwaladr dragoness soldier in the Queen's army, and Vigholf the Abhorrent, brother to Ragnar and second of the Olgeirsson Horde of Northern Lightnings, who is determined...in that totally chauvanistic and not the least oblivious way he has...to protect the weak female warrior on her cute little trek.

Rhona calls him Commander Pest. Vigholf calls her The Babysitter. She hates him. He watches her. And their epic journey starts here.

"I'm a dragon, my lady. Dragons don't become martyrs. We create them."

There are books that I adore, authors that I follow rabidly, series that I love, and a myriad combinations of all three. Then there is G.A. Aiken. Or Shelly Laurenston, as she is otherwise known. Regardless of the name on the book jacket, over the course of all her published works Aiken/Laurenston has - hands down - given me the most entertaining reading of my long, long experience.

In short, her books make me happy.

I'm not talking about whether or not I liked, loved, or was ambivalent about an individual book's content or characters, I'm talking an overall feeling of general happiness when I read them. It goes beyond appreciating technical writing skill or how creative and imaginative the world. It's not just about how well a series is fleshed out or how lovable the characters are that inhabit that world. It's even more than the fact that every one of the featured female characters in her books are all brutally strong (physically, mentally, or both), independent women who are more than capable of taking care of themselves - something I'm known to favor. Of course that all plays a significant part. How could it not? But it's also in large part the way Aiken/Laurenston thinks and relates those thoughts in her books; the humor - the bawdy, rowdy, bloody fun of it all, and yes, even the moments of drama and angst, that combines with the rest to put her books head and shoulders above other reads.

There's just something about the Dragon Kin series...and the series/books she writes as Laurenston...that intrinsically appeal on every level, even if (as in the most recent book in the Pride series), the stories or characters aren't always my favorites in their respective series. I just think of these books differently than others I've read, feel differently about them. Bluntly put, I'm a fan. A huge, huge fan.

That being said, The Dragon Who Loved Me is one of my favorites in the Dragon Kin series. Not because of Rhona and Vigholf, really, though they are adorable, perfectly matched, and a lot of fun as individuals and as a couple. In truth, their relationship evolution was one of the more peaceful and easy I've read by Aiken/Laurenston, and the characters themselves are a bit more low-key than the royal dragon contingent so the romance story arc lacked a little of the intensity of the other pairings. In this book, though, it's the scope, the depth, and breadth of the surrounding story, as well as the feeling of seamless reconnection to previously featured/introduced characters who I've long since loved that worked so well for me here.

Everyone's back, and I applaud the attention to detail and continuity that Aiken/Laurenston maintains as the war plods on, battles get fought, lives are saved...and lost, and characters and relationships tested. It's fairly amazing, actually, just how huge and complex this book is as far as plot and pacing and characters. Definitely the most dynamic and multi-layered I've seen in the series so far, though perhaps not the most emotionally powerful. It certainly didn't turn me into the blubbering mess I was during What A Dragon Should Know, the third book of the series (and I thank hell for that, because I'm quite happy never to go through that again). It is the mark of an accomplished author that so very many characters and such divergent plot threads were woven together into such a rich and satisfying tapestry of reading entertainment. I loved it.

Maybe the humor that Aiken/Laurenston brings to the table isn't for everyone. It's certainly bawdy and crass and no-holds-barred. So is the sexuality in her books. Hell, so are the lives of her characters and many of the characters themselves. The books also tend to be bloody with the occasional pillage and plunder and more than occasionally a dismemberment...or ten. I can't fault those for whom that may not appeal. Maybe it says something about me that I find it so very appealing. Don't really care, actually, because there's no other author I've ever been able to come close to saying this about (though I for sure wouldn't mind a legion of them): Whether it's G.A. Aiken's Dragon Kin series or Shelly Laurenston's various series/books, her books make me happy.

And I like being happy. A lot.

Quotables:

"Right now she hates me. That is a form of caring, which could easily, with some skill, turn to love and eventually adoration."
"My mum was right. You are thick as two planks."

"The beauty of Mum is that she never gets bored. She can kill and kill for days at a time without ever feeling boredom. I think that's a foreign word to her. Like rational. Or caring."

"So what are you going to do? Wander around all evening bleeding like a stuck cow until you pass out and die and we're forced to quickly burn your remains so the stink of your corpse won't bother the children?"
"Your concern for my well-being overwhelms me, Sergeant." 

"You are, however, surprisingly light of touch."
"Pardon?"
"The way you're holding my hand. I always thought you'd be more of a mauler. Like a diseased wolf chewing the knuckles off me fist."
"That's very nice."
"Not really."
"I was being sarcastic." 

"I'm irresistible."
"I've been resisting you for five years."
"Because you're stubborn and unreasonable. I thought we already established that." 

"Your cold, inflexible heart makes me burn to be inside you."
"Charmer." 

Dragon Kin Series:

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Dragon Kin, Book 4
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 352 Pages, 7932 Locations
Formats: Paperback, Kindle


When I pick up a G.A. Aiken or Shelly Laurenston book, I know a few things about it even before I start to read. It'll make me laugh and it'll provide a decent story while doing so. If the book is under Laurenston's name, it'll be crass, bawdy fun...with some dismemberment tossed in for kicks. If it's Aiken, outlandish and hysterical familial one-upmanship that takes sibling rivalry and family squabbles to a whole other universe...with some dismemberment tossed in for kicks. There's a whole dismemberment theme, really. I know something else before I even start reading, too: I'm going to love it.

In Last Dragon Standing we return to Aiken's land of dragons and warrior queens and spend time with the Lightning dragon Ragnar the Cunning. He's been summoned by Queen Rhiannon after their two year alliance and though he's not happy about it, conscripted to bring her son Eibhear - the baby of the family - home for a visit after spending two years with the Lightnings during Ragnar's war to unite his people's clans. She's also commanded him to bring with them her suspected traitor of a sister from her home in self-imposed exile for a face to face. Little could please Ragnar less than that, for sure.

Well...there's one thing that could. One dragoness, in fact. Keita the Viper. Two years ago the queen's daughter...and a princessly bundle of vain, vapid insipidness...with a nasty streak a mile long...had left her mark in his chest and he hasn't had relief since, so when he comes upon her while making a dramatic execution speech before the law in the town executes her for killing their Lord, Ragnar realizes his life just went from complicated but manageable to...absolutely out of control.

He hates her, she hates him. He wants her, she wants autonomous freedom. He's Cunning and she's...something else entirely. Soon truths reveal a new danger threatening the Southland dragons and Queen Annwyl's Dark Plains both - an unbeatable foe and a terrifying invasion that threaten the lives of them all and perch both kingdoms on a teetering precipice of survival. Ragnar and Keita have to work together to protect throne and country, and with the help of family and friends, prevent an impending war. Or start one.

Now, if they can just keep from killing each other...

There's so much to like about Last Dragon Standing that I don't honestly know where to begin. I was thrilled with the intricate, layered plot and complex characters - in fact, Keita and Ragnar may be the most complicated individual characters that Aiken/Laurenston have penned. They're no more simple than their relationship, and it works for this book, which almost had a feel of a transitional piece in the series.

Back are all the characters we've met and grown to love in the previous three books, and a new and mysterious threat to Annwyl and Fearghus' two children add an additional layer of tension and delicious plot to the story. So, too, the growing conflict between Eibhear and Izzy, which provided several poignant and interesting scenes. The family moments will always be my favorite parts of each of the books in this series - I just can't get enough of the characters and family dynamic. In part because each of the characters are so brilliantly unique and flagrantly individual, and in part because Aiken excels at maintaining character definition through each book, falling into a new book in the series is as decadently satisfying as a healthy supply of Godiva...and far less fattening.

I wasn't totally thrilled with the journey from the north to the south with Ragnar and his brother and cousin, along with Eibhear and Keita and her companion Ren once they joined them. Keita hasn't been my favorite of Rhiannon's hatchlings, and while I was of course looking forward to her story, I was a little disappointed in that journey. It had humor and much dischord between Keita and Ragnar, but it lacked some of the interpersonal relationship zing of similar travels in other books and the pacing seemed a little slow. That was resolved for me when Keita and Ragnar met with Queen Rhiannon. From that point to the end it was a roller coaster of humor, intrigue, mystery, danger, and intensity that I adored.

I have to admit, though, this book doesn't provide the sweeping and incendiary romance that was so prevalent in previous books. There's a relationship between Keita and Ragnar, but that relationship is far more subtle and less encapsulated in this novel than those in the others. I can understand where that may bother some readers, but after I thought about it for awhile, I can't say I was disappointed. In fact, quite the opposite. I actually commend Aiken/Laurenston for keeping tight reign on the relationship between Ragnar and Keita and staying true to something more in keeping with both the characters' nature and the goings on around them. Because of who Keita is in particular, and what she does, anything more than what was offered between these pages would have seemed forced and inorganic, and nothing kills my appreciation of romance faster than that.

There's also less of a conclusion to this book than in the others and that was a bit of a surprise. Not a cliffhanger, by any means - I loathe those - but definitely a more open-ended conclusion than I was expecting. I didn't find that unpleasant or tedious, as I took that to mean that the series is not done. My sincerest hope is that it won't be done for quite some time, because I'm nowhere near tired of the ribald and rambunctious antics of the dragon kin and their human and not-so-human mates, friends, cohorts, and adversaries. Nothing makes me laugh like a Laurenston/Aiken book...and I'm not ready to stop laughing.

Dragon Kin Series:

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Dragon Kin, Book 3
Formats: Paperback, Kindle

4.5 Stars
What YOU Should Know: The Dragon Kin Series ROCKS!

G.A. Aiken (the nom de plume of Shelly Laurenston) has risen to my "Favorite Authors/Read Immediately" list of late, and it's an exceptionally small list. In fact, she's only one of two authors who I will read no matter which incarnation of author's name is used. I just can't say enough how much I enjoy her books, especially, though not limited to, What a Dragon Should Know.

There have been exceedingly well-written reviews that have included synopses of the plots of the three books of the Dragon Kin series, so I won't attempt to do so again. What I will say is that with this book in particular, Aiken/Laurenston has really stepped it up a notch and included several layers of plot and different threads of story that include Gwenvael's always hysterical...in a bruising, squabbling, nearly life-threatening sort of way...family that we've met and spent time with in her previous books, as well as introducing characters and threads that don't come off feeling shiny new, but just as detailed and significantly back-storied as those of which we'd already been familiar. Introducing Ragnar and weaving his back story in with Dagmar's life, as an example, is a small part of What a Dragon Should Know but felt integral to the story and was quite a little gem. Should Aiken/Laurenston continue the Dragon Kin series (and I'm willing to beg - no...seriously...begging and pleading are not beneath me) we've been given a wealth (dragon's treasure-sized) of opportunity for future development of story lines that could support a series for a long, long time. (Beg. Plead. There may even be tears.)

I will say that while I applaud and adore the direction and depth of What a Dragon Should Know, the romance of Gwenvael and Dagmar isn't a central focus of the book in the same way that the romance was a focus of the other two books. I appreciated the depth and complexity of the book as it was written, but would've liked to have also spent a little bit more time reading about Gwenvael and Dagmar as their relationship changed and deepened into what it became. There was perhaps so much going on - and this is a book where a lot happens - that the pairing suffers just a little bit on detail. For that reason alone, I'd rate the book 4.5 stars...yet still consider it one of my favorites for the year. All in all, an excellent series, but don't start the series here - it will not work well as a stand alone. Treat yourself to the whole series and start at the beginning with Dragon Actually, then About A Dragon. It's well worth it.

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Dragon Kin, Book 1
Formats: Paperback, Kindle

4 Stars
Charming and Sexy - Annwyl and Fearghus Shine

As a recent fan of Shelly Laurenston, I felt compelled to pick up the first of the Dragon Kin series written by G.A. Aiken, aka Laurenston. I'm so glad I did! Dragon Actually is the story of Annwyl the Bloody (but she hates when they call her that) and Fearghus the Destroyer (he's actually sort of fond of that). Annwyl's on a quest to kill the tyrannical leader of her people. He just happens to be her half-brother. And she's really good at fighting...just not quite good enough. Fearghus the dragon saves her from a brutal death, then trains her - in his human form. He has every intention of telling Annwyl the truth of who he is, but she wants no part of hearing it. And when he falls for her, when he wants her as a mate forever, he no longer feels he can tell her...because she's told him while in his dragon form that the man who's been training her drives her nuts...and even though she loves getting groiny with the knight, it's not a love match.

So what's a two-formed dragon to do?

I really enjoyed Dragon Actually, and very much enjoyed the powerful and compelling yet also oddly vulnerable Annwyl. She's a delightful heroine. Fearghus is just to die for. I love him as both the supportive dragon friend and the sexier than hell knight. And his family is a riot. I can't wait to read more of them.

I will say this, though...I had a problem with a decision Fearghus made late in the book. It was such an odd choice, and seemed so out of character, that it really made the book as a whole stumble out of a five star rating for me. And in truth, I wish Dragon Actually had been a bit more fleshed out during the final conflict. I think the ending could've benefited from more development.

Also, Dragon Actually contains the short story of Fearghus' parents, Bercelak and Rhiannon, and I wasn't as fond of that story, Flames in Chains. It was okay, and written fine, but there are aspects of that story that are not in line with my personal preferences for reading, so I would rate it 3 stars. That does not affect my rating or review of Dragon Actually, because I don't think of this book as an anthology. That said, I am looking forward to continuing the Dragon Kin series. I just can't get enough of those dragons!