Throwback Thursday Guest Review: Border Lair and The Ice Dragon by Bianca D’Arc

War has come to the Border Lair, but as enemies become allies… and lovers, hope springs anew for the dragons and their knights.

A young widow, Adora raised her daughter by herself, but her girl is married now. Can Adora find a love of her own in the crowded Border Lair? Dare she even try?
Lord Darian Vordekrais is about to turn traitor, giving up his title, his lands, and his home in order to warn the dragons and knights of his treacherous king’s evil plan. Will his life be forfeit, or is there some way he can make a new life in a foreign land?
Sir Jared lost his wife and child to treachery, but he knows Lord Darian and trusts him. Both men admire the lovely Adora, but Jared’s broken heart is frozen in solid ice. Or is it?
As war comes to the border, the knights and dragons of the Border Lair rise to the occasion. New allies rally to their side. Love blossoms and grows even as evil invades the land. The knights and dragons must stand fast against the onslaught, the beautiful woman of royal blood bringing them hope, healing and love.

This is Book 2 in the series. You can find/buy the first two stories as one print book called Ladies of the Lair. You can read my review of Maiden Flight (Book 1) here.

I am really enjoying this series. The books must be read in order because the story builds on each book. This book, as is the first one, is a menage. There are not enough ladies in the lair to go around and the knights must have a mate before their dragon can mate because of the effect of the dragons’ mating on their knights. So it usually ends up working out that a knight with a female dragon and a knight with a male dragon that are going to mate end up sharing a girl. But it is a serious marriage kind of mating, they do not change partners each time. So the dragons hold off until their knights find the right girl. Okay, that explained, on to the story.

I was excited to continue this series and continue Adora’s story from the first book. The story is easy to get into once you have the characters. The Jared has had a stink lot dealt to him dealing with the murder of his wife and daughter. He is scared to love again. Darian is all about getting together with Adora but does not want to intrude. It all works out in the end and the three are a nice couple and Jared learns lots about himself and about his family. Good story.

4 out of 5

This book is available from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here in eBook format.

Ice Dragon (Dragon Knights Book 3) by Bianca D’Arc

One of Adora’s lost twin daughters has been found in the far North. But Alania – or Lana, as she is called – is no ordinary girl. She has befriended a baby wild northern Ice Dragon and saved the life of a king. But that’s just the beginning of her story…

When a royal black dragon falls to enemy fire, only the wild Northern Ice Dragon and his unlikely female rider can save him. Half-wild like the baby Ice Dragon she calls friend, Lana is a rare and powerful dragon healer. She saves the life of the royal black, only to learn that this most sacred of dragons is half-man, able to shift from one form to the other at will.
Roland is king of all dragons and humans in his land, but he’s far from home, mortally wounded, and his only refuge is the incredible woman who has saved his life and her young wild dragon friend. Lana is the purest form of magic to him, heaven to his senses in both dragon and human form, and he knows almost from the first moment, that he wants her for his very own.
But a warlord plots in the north, seeking to kill the dragons that protect the northern border and overrun Roland’s peaceful kingdom. Lana and her incredibly skilled Ice Dragon friend are the only ray of hope for the knights and fighting dragons of the Northern Lair. Just as Lana is the only love Roland will ever know. He can reunite her with her lost family, but can he win her heart and make her his queen?

Before I read this I was wondering if this was going to be the same story next verse in a string of menage relationships, but this one was not a menage. They did not need a third because he is the dragon. This was a good addition to the story. It was fun to watch the relationship grow between Lana and Roland. I am really interested in his brothers, they seem like some fun and HOT men. Tor (the Ice Dragon) is so cute, he reminds me of my kids, always wanting to help but sometimes not ready for it. He was a sweet character. One thing that maybe bugged me was the fact that this girl had been basically raised in slavery from the time she was 10, but had a very sweet disposition. It is not something I thought about as I was reading but afterwards. I will have to think about it when I read it again. Great story, I cannot wait for the next one.

4.5 out of 5