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lynguy1's review
5.0
ANCIENT PROTECTOR by Katie Reus is the first book in the Ancients Rising paranormal romance and fantasy series. This is a spin-off of her Darkness series, but can be read without reading that series. It is also the second book by this author that I have read. Star’s sister has been abducted and she and her pack mates are determined to rescue her and head to their safe house.
Star and Lachlan are both Alphas of their packs and complement each other well. With two strong protagonists, this story line was bound to be exciting. Their characters are compelling, well-drawn, charming, and at times, funny. Their characters were three-dimensional and their goals were clear. The secondary characters were well-rounded and enhanced the story. The internal and external conflicts were well defined and the stakes were high. The prose was well-written, entertaining and engaging. I loved the writing style. The plot twists were believable, but not quite as unexpected as I would have liked. The world building is terrific. There are a few steamy scenes in the second half of the book.
Overall, this was a fun and entertaining book that has depth to it. Themes include shifters, witches, vampires and humans existing in the same world, romance, abduction, rebuilding lives, family relationships, friendship, greed, power and much more. I recommend this to those that enjoy paranormal romantic suspense with plenty of action scenes and some depth to the underlying themes. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series as well as other books by this author.
Many thanks to KR Press, LLC – Author Collective 20 and Katie Reus for a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Star and Lachlan are both Alphas of their packs and complement each other well. With two strong protagonists, this story line was bound to be exciting. Their characters are compelling, well-drawn, charming, and at times, funny. Their characters were three-dimensional and their goals were clear. The secondary characters were well-rounded and enhanced the story. The internal and external conflicts were well defined and the stakes were high. The prose was well-written, entertaining and engaging. I loved the writing style. The plot twists were believable, but not quite as unexpected as I would have liked. The world building is terrific. There are a few steamy scenes in the second half of the book.
Overall, this was a fun and entertaining book that has depth to it. Themes include shifters, witches, vampires and humans existing in the same world, romance, abduction, rebuilding lives, family relationships, friendship, greed, power and much more. I recommend this to those that enjoy paranormal romantic suspense with plenty of action scenes and some depth to the underlying themes. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series as well as other books by this author.
Many thanks to KR Press, LLC – Author Collective 20 and Katie Reus for a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
khadijareads's review
3.0
3 stars
dragon shifter, fated-mated trope. Super obsessive mmc but not overbearing just persistent in his goal to be part of her life. He's determined and more importantly supportive. I genuinely enjoyed the relationship between the mc's and I felt like their characters were dynamic.
My problem is everything else... I think the mystery of her shifter species was drawn out unnecessarily and became detrimental to the plot, I mean I was so busy wondering her species I didn't even care about the looming threat of the rival dragons..
Also, we could've used a lot more world building, a more intricate plot and some showing not telling.
dragon shifter, fated-mated trope. Super obsessive mmc but not overbearing just persistent in his goal to be part of her life. He's determined and more importantly supportive. I genuinely enjoyed the relationship between the mc's and I felt like their characters were dynamic.
My problem is everything else... I think the mystery of her shifter species was drawn out unnecessarily and became detrimental to the plot, I mean I was so busy wondering her species I didn't even care about the looming threat of the rival dragons..
Also, we could've used a lot more world building, a more intricate plot and some showing not telling.
librarygirlreads's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jje121579's review
4.0
Great futuristic fated mate story
Star and her pack stole my heart with their determination to get her sister back. I just love tough chicks and all of these shifter women can hold their own. Then comes Lachlan who is so smitten it’s almost embarrassing but also adorable. A romantic read, with shifters, and a cool new world.
Star and her pack stole my heart with their determination to get her sister back. I just love tough chicks and all of these shifter women can hold their own. Then comes Lachlan who is so smitten it’s almost embarrassing but also adorable. A romantic read, with shifters, and a cool new world.
abrittlebee's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning of this book reminded me a lot of "Dragon Bound" by Thea Harrison in that the tone and humor of the first contact between the main protagonists was very similar. However, as the story progressed, I appreciated that it diverged and became it's own, unique narrative. Star was an interesting character, as she was neither a passive waif, nor a hard-grained badass as is often the case in any novel revolving around shapeshifter romance, especially when power dynamics are so closely examined as a means of world-building. The kind of "alpha" attitude that has become a trope within urban-fantasy and urban-paranormal ("everything I say goes" etc.) was fairly absent in all the "alphas" presented in Ancient Protector (Star, King, and Lachlan), save for the villainous Oscar. As an avid reader and lover of "shifter" stories, I found this a pleasant change and it made me more receptive to the characters as a whole. It also made the romance between Lachlan and Star seem like more of an organic progression peppered with destiny, as opposed to purely "your mine/I'm yours, damned if we know nothing about one another."
My only problem with the novel is that the world seemed a little incomplete. There was constant reference to humanity recovering from a disaster event, but nothing shown in the novel backed up that claim.
My only problem with the novel is that the world seemed a little incomplete. There was constant reference to humanity recovering from a disaster event, but nothing shown in the novel backed up that claim.
leabookjoy's review against another edition
4.0
French & English reviews
Le premier tome d'une série agréable à lire
Je dois avouer, je ne suis pas trop livres avec des dragons >< Je ne sais pas pourquoi, les dragons n'ont jamais été mon truc donc je tente rarement des livres avec ...
Mais ici le résumé m'a bien donné envie et comme j'avais envie de me distraire, je me suis laissée tenter =)
Globalement, c'était une lecture agréable : c'est bien écrit, l'intrigue était intéressante, les personnages sont attachants et j'ai bien aimé l'univers qui est décrit (même si je suis consciente que je n'ai pas commencé par la bonne série ... Encore une fois xD)
Ce n'est pas un coup de coeur parce qu'il m'a manqué un peu plus de retournements de situations (j'avais tellement deviné l'identité de Star ><) et de détails (j'aurais voulu plus de détails sur leur précédente vie, sur le meurtre et plus d'angst peut-être ...) mais ça reste une lecture sympa !
Bref, une romance fantasy sympa parfaite pour se distraire
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The first book in a fun-to-read series
I have to admit, I'm not too much into books with dragons >< I don't know why, dragons were never my thing so I rarely attempt books with them ...
But here the summary made me want to and as I wanted to have a fun and light reading, I let myself be tempted =)
Overall, it was a pleasant read : it's well written, the plot was interesting, the characters are endearing and I really liked the universe that is described (even if I am aware that I didn't start with the right series ... Again xD)
It's not a favourite because I would have like a few more twists and turns (I had guessed Star's identity so early ><) and details (I would have liked more details on their previous life, on the murder and more angst maybe ...) but it's still a nice read !
In short, a nice fantasy romance perfect for entertainment
Le premier tome d'une série agréable à lire
Je dois avouer, je ne suis pas trop livres avec des dragons >< Je ne sais pas pourquoi, les dragons n'ont jamais été mon truc donc je tente rarement des livres avec ...
Mais ici le résumé m'a bien donné envie et comme j'avais envie de me distraire, je me suis laissée tenter =)
Globalement, c'était une lecture agréable : c'est bien écrit, l'intrigue était intéressante, les personnages sont attachants et j'ai bien aimé l'univers qui est décrit (même si je suis consciente que je n'ai pas commencé par la bonne série ... Encore une fois xD)
Ce n'est pas un coup de coeur parce qu'il m'a manqué un peu plus de retournements de situations (j'avais tellement deviné l'identité de Star ><) et de détails (j'aurais voulu plus de détails sur leur précédente vie, sur le meurtre et plus d'angst peut-être ...) mais ça reste une lecture sympa !
Bref, une romance fantasy sympa parfaite pour se distraire
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The first book in a fun-to-read series
I have to admit, I'm not too much into books with dragons >< I don't know why, dragons were never my thing so I rarely attempt books with them ...
But here the summary made me want to and as I wanted to have a fun and light reading, I let myself be tempted =)
Overall, it was a pleasant read : it's well written, the plot was interesting, the characters are endearing and I really liked the universe that is described (even if I am aware that I didn't start with the right series ... Again xD)
It's not a favourite because I would have like a few more twists and turns (I had guessed Star's identity so early ><) and details (I would have liked more details on their previous life, on the murder and more angst maybe ...) but it's still a nice read !
In short, a nice fantasy romance perfect for entertainment
fsmeurinne's review against another edition
4.0
Lachlan and Star´s story is part of a spin-off new series, this is a dragon and shifter romance that will keep you entertained from the beginning, this is my first book by the author and I can't wait to read more of them, I wish they get into an audiobook.
wellactjoally's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
3.0
Past lives. Strong magical beings. Life after an apocalypse.
peggyemi's review
4.0
This is my first introduction into author Katie Reus' paranormal world but it certainly won't be my last. I devoured this book in about a day. The author has done a great job of introducing all of the characters allowing the reader to get the backstory on Star, Lachlan, and the other characters who play an important role in the story. If you have read her Darkness Series then you will likely see characters you are familiar with. I hadn't read that series, but I will definitely check it out. This story had me engaged from the start and the relationship between Star and her sister is as good as the one between Star and Lachlan. There is a lot of steamy romance and I love that Star is a type of supernatural character that I don't see in other paranormal romances. I will definitely be back to see where she takes the next book in the series. But before that, I will be checking my library for copies of the Darkness Series.
I voluntarily read a digital advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
I voluntarily read a digital advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
lfruech's review
Didn't connect with the characters & didn't like the pacing. Wanted to love the story, loved the concept, but couldn't get into this one