Reviewer: Tracy Light My Fire by GA Aiken
Series: Dragon Kin #7
Also in this series: Dragon on Top, Bring the Heat, Bring the Heat, Dragon Actually (Dragon Kin, #1)
Publisher: Zebra
Publication Date: November 25, 2014
Format: eARC
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating:
The trouble with humans is that they’re far too sensitive. Forget you put a woman in the local jail for a few months – and she takes it so personally! And yet she is the one trying to assassinate the queen. And now I’m trapped with Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight… gods! That endless name!
But what am I to do? I am Celyn the Charming with direct orders from my queen to protect this unforgiving female.
Even more shocking, this unforgiving female is completely unimpressed by me. How is that even possible? But I know what I want and, for the moment, I want her. And I’m sure that she, like all females, will learn to adore me. How could she not when I am just so damn charming?
Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Tribe of the Midnight Mountains of Despair in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outerplains, or Elina if you are one of those lazy Southlanders that can’t remember her full name, as always felt like she didn’t belong in her tribe. She has been beaten and ridiculed for being small and incapable of being the warrior that she should be. Her tribe leader, Glebovicha, has sent her to kill the Dragon Queen. She doesn’t get very far before Celyn the Charming finds her and takes her before the queen. The queen is very lenient and just asks Celyn to take care of her. He does that by putting her in the village jail and then promptly forgetting about her.
About 9 months later the queen asks Celyn to bring Elina to her which he does. Elina is pissed at Celyn for forgetting her. Despite that the rest of his family ends up liking Elina. She is asked to go back to her territory and try to get an alliance with the head of the tribes and Annwyl the Bloody. Unfortunately Elina needs to go through the head of HER tribe to get to the head of ALL tribes and since Glebovicha is the one who sent her off to kill the dragon queen, knowing she was sending Elina to her death, she’s pretty sure she’s not gonna get very far. But Elina is one tough woman and is determined to try. Celyn is elected to go with Elina and soon the disdain that Elina felt for Celyn is turning into lust and then more.
Celyn never expected to actually like Elina much less want her for a mate, but that’s exactly what ends up happening. He’s determined to protect her – even though she does a damned good job at protecting herself – when they head to meet Glebovicha as well as when everyone is attacked under the name of “the one true God.”
If you’ve read any of the dragonkin series you know that while Aiken writes love stories into it you know that they are by no means ordinary romances. You’re not gonna get softness and sweet sighs from these characters. You’re gonna get battle-ready characters that happen to fall in love. It’s rough and gritty and not like any other love story I’ve read – and I love it. Aiken’s characters have a realness to them that I love. You get no pretense with them and it makes for great reading.
This is a series and book that I definitely recommend. If you haven’t read the series you should start at book 1 because if you start here you will be greatly confused.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Reading Order:
Leave a Reply