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gothicbunnyyy's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
kelsenator's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chllybrd's review against another edition
4.0
Demetrius wasn't the most likable guy when we first met him in SOULFIRE, but DRAGON HEARTSTRING makes it clear how much he has changed.
We know from previous books that a romance between a Morgan and human is never easy. The romance between Shakara and Demetrius doesn't happen in an instant, but their is instant chemistry and that is easy to work off of. I was surprised that Demetrius was the one that knew what he wanted and went after it and Shakara was the hesitant one that had to work through her feelings. I thought it would be the other way around. I enjoyed watching their chemistry and relationship grow.
Not only do we get to see Cade's change, but we get to see his Dad make huge strides in the right direction as well. If you have read the previous books in the Nightwing and Vale series, you know what a huge thing that is and it was really nice to see. Another thing I really enjoyed about DRAGON HEARTSTRING was that we find out what came of Aron Grayson from SOULFIRE—he so got what he deserved and still deserves worse.
I don't usually like going backwards in a series, but DRAGON HEARTSTRING was worth the blast to the past. It was nice to see the final Cade sibling find their Morgan match.
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
daniela_endless_tbr's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
assassinsreader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I liked that Demetrius grew a lot as a character he's not as much of a arse now, and I love Shakara she cute and a perfect match for him.
bewoelkt_aber_heiter's review against another edition
5.0
That was so amazing! Never thought Demetrius would be such a great, charismatic and ruthless alphamale-hero. And all this action and suspense... This complex novella felt like a full length novel and I loved every page of it!
Die Welt der Morgon, welche Juliette Cross in ihrer Nightwing- und Vale of Stars-Reihe kreiert hat, wird mit jedem Band faszinierender und detailreicher! Mit diesem Prequel zu den ersten beiden Bänden der Vale of Stars-Reihe hat die Autorin eine unglaublich dichte Geschichte geschrieben, die trotz ihrer kurzen Novellenlänge die Liebesgeschichte unheimlich realistisch ausgebaut hat.
Von beiden Protagonisten war ich diesmal sehr überrascht. Shakara lernt man in den Nightwing-Novellen bereits kennen und sie hat dort auf mich immer sehr zart besaitet gewirkt. In Dragon Heartstring zeigt sie zwar ebenfalls eine sanfte Seite von sich, sie ist aber zugleich sehr entschlossen und verfolgt die Ziele, an die sie glaubt, mit viel Willensstärke. Sie bietet Demetrius von Anfang an die Stirn. Und das will etwas heißen, denn wer denkt, er hat mit all den anderen Morgonmännern, die bisher in den beiden Reihen ihre Partnerinnen fanden, Alphamänner vor sich, der erlebt hier eine Überraschung: ich für meinen Teil hätte niemals vermutet, welch starker Charakter Demetrius werden würde. Er hat einen geradezu extremen Beschützerinstinkt und scheut sich nicht, zum Schutz seiner Liebsten zu handeln, zu drohen, zu verletzen.
Dragon Heartstring bietet mit den vertauschten Rollen (weibliche Morgon und menschlicher Mann) eine neue Sichtweise auf die Welt und offenbart auch ein weiteres Detail in Bezug auf die Gefährtenverpaarung. Zugleich diskutiert die Novelle ein stückweit auch Vorurteile, die Ablehnung von gemischtrassigen Pärchen sowie die scheinbar gesellschaftlich festgelegten Frauenbilder, wie wir sie in der Realität oft genug erleben, und bietet daher auch etwas Potenzial zum Nachdenken.
Der Plot dieser Novelle war sehr temporeich und vor allem dicht gestaltet. Neben der wunderschön ausgestalteten Liebesgeschichte, die trotz der Novellenlänge in einem realistischen Zeitraum und mit einer glaubwürdigen Annäherung stattfand, hat Juliette Cross einen sehr guten Suspense-Plot erdacht. Shakara und ihr Clan wollen einen kontroversen Vorschlag vor dem Parlament zur Abstimmung bringen, was Shakara in Gefahr bringt. Sie gerät relativ schnell im Verlauf der Geschichte in bedrohliche Situationen, die sie gemeinsam mit Demetrius bewältigen kann. Dadurch war die Novelle tatsächlich von vorn bis hinten spannend und actionreich. Ich habe sie beinahe in einem Rutsch durchgelesen.
Fazit
Die Romane und Novellen der Autorin werden mit jedem erscheinenden Werk besser. Wo die ersten Novellen in der Morgonwelt noch ein paar Kleinigkeiten vermissen ließen, war Dragon Heartstring ein voller Genuss: tiefgründige und vor allem überraschende Protagonisten, ein actionreicher Plot, eine glaubwürdige Liebesgeschichte und einige nachdenklich stimmende Details. Definitiv ein Monatshighlight!
Die Welt der Morgon, welche Juliette Cross in ihrer Nightwing- und Vale of Stars-Reihe kreiert hat, wird mit jedem Band faszinierender und detailreicher! Mit diesem Prequel zu den ersten beiden Bänden der Vale of Stars-Reihe hat die Autorin eine unglaublich dichte Geschichte geschrieben, die trotz ihrer kurzen Novellenlänge die Liebesgeschichte unheimlich realistisch ausgebaut hat.
Von beiden Protagonisten war ich diesmal sehr überrascht. Shakara lernt man in den Nightwing-Novellen bereits kennen und sie hat dort auf mich immer sehr zart besaitet gewirkt. In Dragon Heartstring zeigt sie zwar ebenfalls eine sanfte Seite von sich, sie ist aber zugleich sehr entschlossen und verfolgt die Ziele, an die sie glaubt, mit viel Willensstärke. Sie bietet Demetrius von Anfang an die Stirn. Und das will etwas heißen, denn wer denkt, er hat mit all den anderen Morgonmännern, die bisher in den beiden Reihen ihre Partnerinnen fanden, Alphamänner vor sich, der erlebt hier eine Überraschung: ich für meinen Teil hätte niemals vermutet, welch starker Charakter Demetrius werden würde. Er hat einen geradezu extremen Beschützerinstinkt und scheut sich nicht, zum Schutz seiner Liebsten zu handeln, zu drohen, zu verletzen.
Dragon Heartstring bietet mit den vertauschten Rollen (weibliche Morgon und menschlicher Mann) eine neue Sichtweise auf die Welt und offenbart auch ein weiteres Detail in Bezug auf die Gefährtenverpaarung. Zugleich diskutiert die Novelle ein stückweit auch Vorurteile, die Ablehnung von gemischtrassigen Pärchen sowie die scheinbar gesellschaftlich festgelegten Frauenbilder, wie wir sie in der Realität oft genug erleben, und bietet daher auch etwas Potenzial zum Nachdenken.
Der Plot dieser Novelle war sehr temporeich und vor allem dicht gestaltet. Neben der wunderschön ausgestalteten Liebesgeschichte, die trotz der Novellenlänge in einem realistischen Zeitraum und mit einer glaubwürdigen Annäherung stattfand, hat Juliette Cross einen sehr guten Suspense-Plot erdacht. Shakara und ihr Clan wollen einen kontroversen Vorschlag vor dem Parlament zur Abstimmung bringen, was Shakara in Gefahr bringt. Sie gerät relativ schnell im Verlauf der Geschichte in bedrohliche Situationen, die sie gemeinsam mit Demetrius bewältigen kann. Dadurch war die Novelle tatsächlich von vorn bis hinten spannend und actionreich. Ich habe sie beinahe in einem Rutsch durchgelesen.
Fazit
Die Romane und Novellen der Autorin werden mit jedem erscheinenden Werk besser. Wo die ersten Novellen in der Morgonwelt noch ein paar Kleinigkeiten vermissen ließen, war Dragon Heartstring ein voller Genuss: tiefgründige und vor allem überraschende Protagonisten, ein actionreicher Plot, eine glaubwürdige Liebesgeschichte und einige nachdenklich stimmende Details. Definitiv ein Monatshighlight!
cely212's review against another edition
5.0
I love Ms. Julietter Cross as an author!!! She does it again with this book. This is a story about Jessen's, hard core cold brother. (if you have read the Nightwing series; you know who I am speaking of. if you haven't read it, I recommend that you do; not only because it has some spoilers for it, but because it is a great series) Anyway, I have found a new respect for the Cade family especially, Demetrius. I always give five stars when a book takes me through all of the different emotions. I am looking forward to the next one! enjoy your new loves!
angisnowflake's review
4.0
Great story, interesting characters and not too much drama. I really enjoyed the story of Cade and Shakara they are super cute together. There were a few super cheesy scenes but overall it was just adorable.
Sometimes I wondered how things worked with her wings, for example when he pushed her blouse over her head... how does she wear a blouse in the first place??? Are the wholes in the back for her wings? Is the back free? Then how can he put it over her head?? Well however... it’s not that important the only important thing is that they had great chemistry.
Besides I also liked some of the side characters. I really want to read the Nightwing books too because it’s the story of Jessen, Cades sister. I probably should have read those first. If you want to. Start this series, I do recommend starting with the Nightwing series first.
Sometimes I wondered how things worked with her wings, for example when he pushed her blouse over her head... how does she wear a blouse in the first place??? Are the wholes in the back for her wings? Is the back free? Then how can he put it over her head?? Well however... it’s not that important the only important thing is that they had great chemistry.
Besides I also liked some of the side characters. I really want to read the Nightwing books too because it’s the story of Jessen, Cades sister. I probably should have read those first. If you want to. Start this series, I do recommend starting with the Nightwing series first.
deannasworld's review against another edition
5.0
Dragon Heartstring will stir your soul and make you fall in love with the humans and Morgons who live in Gladium Province. You'll enter a spectacular world where dragon hybrids live amongst men, prejudices abound and love conquers all.
I'm so excited to have a new Juliette Cross to read because getting a new Juliette Cross book to read makes me feel rather like a person going through withdrawals getting a fix. I was in need of some excellent writing after a few recent disappointments. Juliette has such a way with words. Where her use of words is short and succinct, she still manages to convey her meaning with clarity and efficiency. I never need to be concerned about the writing because the writing is always good. I can simply immerse myself into the reading experience and allow her to take me on a journey.
Dragon Heartstring is the prequel to the Vale of Stars series even though it comes out after Waking the Dragon and Dragon in the Blood. It is the bridge between the Nightwing series where we are introduced to the Morgons and the Vale of Stars series where a war is brewing amongst Morgonkind. That said, it is not necessary to have read the Nightwing series prior to reading Dragon Heartstring. True, you get a better feel for some of the characters mentioned if you do, but it's not necessary. Juliette does an excellent job of letting all the characters standalone and providing enough information for you to feel you are a part of the world.
I met Demetrius in Soulfire and my impression of him was of a rather cold, calculated man with a protective streak a mile wide for his sister Jessen. In Dragon Heartstring, we see the same Demetrius at the beginning but there is so much more to him than meets the eye. Demetrius is intense, strong, sexy, protective and so much of an alpha male he'll give the Morgon males a run for their money. He's also hot as heck. Seriously, the sex scenes in this book are the hottest Juliette's ever written, I think. They will knock your socks off. That first sex scene ..... Ahem! Back to Demetrius' character. I start of thinking he's rather arrogant and stand-offish but as we get to know him, we see a noble and honorable side to him. He is a man who stands by what he believes and stands for right over wrong. I love how principled Demetrius is. Juliette did a wonderful job of redeeming him from what we saw of him in Soulfire.
As for Shakara, while she is a Morgon female, she is also delicate, fragile and beautiful. However, that does not make her weak. Quite the opposite in fact. Shakara is a caring, giving person who is willing to take risks to stand up for things she believes in, like sharing her healing gifts with humans, and stopping a weapon aimed at murdering Morgons from being sold. I think in Shakara we see the perfect partner for Demetrius, someone who is gentle to his toughness, flexible to his immovability, although in the beginning, I felt she had judged him too harshly based on his reputation even though she had information about him to the contrary from a reliable source. It made me dislike her just a little bit because I felt she was being unfair towards Demetrius. Of course, this turns around quickly as she gets to know his character and his heart. There is a particular section in the book where Shakara first gains insight int Demetrius as a person she is getting to know personally and it's brilliantly written. I won't share it here or quote it though I'd like to because I think it might be a bit spoilery. She does look beyond rumour and hearsay to see the man within.
When Demetrius and Shakara come together we see a lot of the themes from the Nightwing series reemerge. The racial prejudice in the Nightwing series is very prominent here though on a smaller scale focused between Demetrius and Shakara. Both of them have prejudices to overcome through a lifetime of preconceived notions of the the other race. This is handled delicately and skillfully. When the topic arises, it is dealt with swiftly and with expert care. If you aren't careful, you might even miss the transition of Demetrius from slightly prejudiced to accepting of his attraction towards Shakara. Demetrius is a decisive man. He has to be in terms of being good at what he does in the business world. He handles his personal life in the same way. Once he makes a decision, he pursues his goal with ruthless efficiency. This is where we see the alpha male in him come to the forefront. It's rather spectacular to behold.
I loved the concept of the Dragon Heartstring as well and I want more of it. Just as I adore the concept of Soulfire.
Dragon Heartstring concludes with a hint that more is brewing on the horizon. Congratulations on an excellent prequel to the Vale of Stars series. I can't wait for the next book.
See more from Deanna's World
I'm so excited to have a new Juliette Cross to read because getting a new Juliette Cross book to read makes me feel rather like a person going through withdrawals getting a fix. I was in need of some excellent writing after a few recent disappointments. Juliette has such a way with words. Where her use of words is short and succinct, she still manages to convey her meaning with clarity and efficiency. I never need to be concerned about the writing because the writing is always good. I can simply immerse myself into the reading experience and allow her to take me on a journey.
Dragon Heartstring is the prequel to the Vale of Stars series even though it comes out after Waking the Dragon and Dragon in the Blood. It is the bridge between the Nightwing series where we are introduced to the Morgons and the Vale of Stars series where a war is brewing amongst Morgonkind. That said, it is not necessary to have read the Nightwing series prior to reading Dragon Heartstring. True, you get a better feel for some of the characters mentioned if you do, but it's not necessary. Juliette does an excellent job of letting all the characters standalone and providing enough information for you to feel you are a part of the world.
I met Demetrius in Soulfire and my impression of him was of a rather cold, calculated man with a protective streak a mile wide for his sister Jessen. In Dragon Heartstring, we see the same Demetrius at the beginning but there is so much more to him than meets the eye. Demetrius is intense, strong, sexy, protective and so much of an alpha male he'll give the Morgon males a run for their money. He's also hot as heck. Seriously, the sex scenes in this book are the hottest Juliette's ever written, I think. They will knock your socks off. That first sex scene ..... Ahem! Back to Demetrius' character. I start of thinking he's rather arrogant and stand-offish but as we get to know him, we see a noble and honorable side to him. He is a man who stands by what he believes and stands for right over wrong. I love how principled Demetrius is. Juliette did a wonderful job of redeeming him from what we saw of him in Soulfire.
As for Shakara, while she is a Morgon female, she is also delicate, fragile and beautiful. However, that does not make her weak. Quite the opposite in fact. Shakara is a caring, giving person who is willing to take risks to stand up for things she believes in, like sharing her healing gifts with humans, and stopping a weapon aimed at murdering Morgons from being sold. I think in Shakara we see the perfect partner for Demetrius, someone who is gentle to his toughness, flexible to his immovability, although in the beginning, I felt she had judged him too harshly based on his reputation even though she had information about him to the contrary from a reliable source. It made me dislike her just a little bit because I felt she was being unfair towards Demetrius. Of course, this turns around quickly as she gets to know his character and his heart. There is a particular section in the book where Shakara first gains insight int Demetrius as a person she is getting to know personally and it's brilliantly written. I won't share it here or quote it though I'd like to because I think it might be a bit spoilery. She does look beyond rumour and hearsay to see the man within.
When Demetrius and Shakara come together we see a lot of the themes from the Nightwing series reemerge. The racial prejudice in the Nightwing series is very prominent here though on a smaller scale focused between Demetrius and Shakara. Both of them have prejudices to overcome through a lifetime of preconceived notions of the the other race. This is handled delicately and skillfully. When the topic arises, it is dealt with swiftly and with expert care. If you aren't careful, you might even miss the transition of Demetrius from slightly prejudiced to accepting of his attraction towards Shakara. Demetrius is a decisive man. He has to be in terms of being good at what he does in the business world. He handles his personal life in the same way. Once he makes a decision, he pursues his goal with ruthless efficiency. This is where we see the alpha male in him come to the forefront. It's rather spectacular to behold.
I loved the concept of the Dragon Heartstring as well and I want more of it. Just as I adore the concept of Soulfire.
Dragon Heartstring concludes with a hint that more is brewing on the horizon. Congratulations on an excellent prequel to the Vale of Stars series. I can't wait for the next book.
See more from Deanna's World