by Kyra Jacobs
Series: Kingdoms of Fire & Ice #1
Pub. Date: April 19, 2016
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Pages: 198
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
My Rating:
Sultry Scale:
Prince Zayne Godfrey, heir to Edana’s throne, is betrothed to the lone princess of rival kingdom Forath. While his heart is not in the arranged marriage, he will do his royal duty.
When he finds a beautiful stranger cornered by a pack of wolves, he doesn’t hesitate to shift into his golden dragon form to save her. She thanks him by taking one look at him and fainting dead away.
Photographer Adelaide Miller is in England for a career-making shoot when a bizarre jogging mishap lands her in a dangerous, medieval-like world of royals, wizards and dragon-shifting men. Her first instinct is to find her way back, but the fire-breathing prince intent on protecting her threatens to melt her heart.
Zayne’s burning passion for Adelaide not only jeopardizes the fragile peace between two kingdoms, it uncovers a ruthless plot to destroy his family. Remaining together may change Adelaide’s very definition of home—and expose one searing secret that could forever shift the balance of power in Zayne’s world.
I am a huge fan of fantasy romance, particularly with dragons, so I am always happy to find a new author writing in this genre. This one certainly has an eye-catching cover, which matches the story perfectly.
Photographer Adelaide "Addie" Miller, product of a difficult childhood, is on assignment to photograph a soccer team in England when she literally rolls down the hill into a different and unknown kingdom. A kingdom where dragons, wizards and magic exist. I liked Addie as a heroine. Although she is fairly young, she was not immature or annoying. She referred to her bad childhood quite a few times... but we didn't really learn what made it so difficult, so I wish her backstory would have been more developed. Addie's physical traits were nicely detailed and I liked that they matched the cover of the book. There was also a good amount of chemistry between our H/h and it was easy to root for them as a couple.
Prince Zayne Godfrey is heir to the throne for the Kingdom of Edana, and was betrothed to the princess of the neighboring kingdom in an effort to secure peace across the land. Though Zayne is not eager to commit himself to Princess Rosalind and, as she is a power-hungry snake, I could not blame him one bit. Zayne also has dragon blood running through his veins and he turns into a huge golden dragon. I love dragons!!! I also loved Zayne, and I really would have liked to know more about him. I understand that's difficult in a book of this length, but I can never get enough dragony goodness.
The relationship between Zayne and Addie moves at a fast clip so if you are not a fan of insta-love, you should be aware that this is one of those types of stories. I don't mind insta-love so much when its in shorter books like this, and I enjoyed how the relationship grew as the story unfolded. Plus our H/h are touted as soul mates, so its easier to get behind an instant connection between the two.
I was reading this as I was flying back from the RT Convention, and it kept me entertained for the duration of the plane ride. I would have liked more world building. As a fantasy romance, there is a lot of room to really get into the details of the land, dragons, magic, etc. - and I was missing that here. There was a bit about the two worlds - England vs. Edana, and how they came to be separated. Though it is towards the end so you don't have that working knowledge as you are reading. Edana seems to be stuck in medieval times, with lots of "fair maiden" and similar terms/phrases being used. Some may find that cheesy, but it was cute and entertaining.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars / 2 flames.
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