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catapocalypse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this installment of the Dragons and Blades novellas even better than the first!
As with the first, we follow dragon prince Thuan and his Fallen angel husband, Asmodeus, on another visit to the dragon kingdom beneath the Seine. While babysitting their nieces, Ai Nhi and Camille, they stumble upon a peculiar ghost child in an abandoned shrine, as well as the remains from a more recent murder.
This romp is more action-packed than the first, with some unusual magic and intense conflicts. And I adored the kids! Another great addition to the Dominion of the Fallen world.
As with the first, we follow dragon prince Thuan and his Fallen angel husband, Asmodeus, on another visit to the dragon kingdom beneath the Seine. While babysitting their nieces, Ai Nhi and Camille, they stumble upon a peculiar ghost child in an abandoned shrine, as well as the remains from a more recent murder.
This romp is more action-packed than the first, with some unusual magic and intense conflicts. And I adored the kids! Another great addition to the Dominion of the Fallen world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Misogyny, and Torture
jessie_h's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
Y'all! My favorite dragon prince and his murder husband are back to solve another murder mystery and I am literally the heart eyes emoji now that I've finished! This novella was everything!
It starts off with Thuan (the soft bookish dragon husband) and Asmodeus (the stabby overprotective fallen angel husband with lots of knives) babysitting while visiting Thuan’s family. They soon find a ghost and uncover a murder that leads them into all sorts of troubles ranging from being attacked while babysitting to an ex-lover making an appearance. It’s mixed together with a hefty dash of emotional struggle, knives, and romance.
Aliette de Bodard has built such an intriguing gothic fantasy world that instantly sucks me in. Her writing is beautiful and I adored the Vietnamese mythology mixed with the lore on fallen angels. The plot was intriguing and was a good mix of action, romance, and comedy. The babysitting scenes alone had me grinning like a loon. My heart didn’t know it needed the scenes with Asmodeus and Thuan being uncles. My heart is a pile of goo reading about how protective they are of all the children.
My favorite part though was the romance. Thuan and Asmodeus have come a long way since the first book but their marriage isn’t without its issues and their relationship struggles kept me glued to my ereader. I needed to know if things were going to be okay or not!
I’m going to cross my fingers and hope with everything I have that we get even more novellas about my favorite murder husbands! I really can’t get enough of them or this world.
Queer Rep: Bisexual, Gay, M/M Romance
*ARC provided by the Publisher via Netgalley
It starts off with Thuan (the soft bookish dragon husband) and Asmodeus (the stabby overprotective fallen angel husband with lots of knives) babysitting while visiting Thuan’s family. They soon find a ghost and uncover a murder that leads them into all sorts of troubles ranging from being attacked while babysitting to an ex-lover making an appearance. It’s mixed together with a hefty dash of emotional struggle, knives, and romance.
Aliette de Bodard has built such an intriguing gothic fantasy world that instantly sucks me in. Her writing is beautiful and I adored the Vietnamese mythology mixed with the lore on fallen angels. The plot was intriguing and was a good mix of action, romance, and comedy. The babysitting scenes alone had me grinning like a loon. My heart didn’t know it needed the scenes with Asmodeus and Thuan being uncles. My heart is a pile of goo reading about how protective they are of all the children.
My favorite part though was the romance. Thuan and Asmodeus have come a long way since the first book but their marriage isn’t without its issues and their relationship struggles kept me glued to my ereader. I needed to know if things were going to be okay or not!
I’m going to cross my fingers and hope with everything I have that we get even more novellas about my favorite murder husbands! I really can’t get enough of them or this world.
Queer Rep: Bisexual, Gay, M/M Romance
*ARC provided by the Publisher via Netgalley
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Murder
adancewithbooks's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to JABberwocky Literary Agency and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
Before reading this short novella, I first read of Dragons, Feast and Murder and The Dominion of the Fallen trilogy in a week and a half or so. I was very much prepared for this world. While I know this novella is being advertized as a standalone novella, I can't help but feel that it is the best to have read those before diving into this.
And I say this because this novella delves a little deeper into the relationship between Thuan and Asmodeus. A lot of their relationship is settled in the trilogy where this novella is a companion too. But there is still a lot of things they don't talk about a lot. They've been tossed into this and that situation. And talking things out was never part of the repertoire for them. But in this book they have to. I think to really appreciate that and to appreciate how much that means for a character like Asmodeus you need to have read the previous installments. And how our duo each deals with things so very differently. Perhaps so very different from what is expected from them. A lot would pick Thuan as the caring one but in this instance it goes a little differently. I like how the author set that up.
Outside of that it is interesting to once again return to the dragon world and to see the two that the two young ones have grown up so much. The plot in itself wasn't quite as interesting as the dressing up was. I loved reading it for the characters that I have grown to love.
Before reading this short novella, I first read of Dragons, Feast and Murder and The Dominion of the Fallen trilogy in a week and a half or so. I was very much prepared for this world. While I know this novella is being advertized as a standalone novella, I can't help but feel that it is the best to have read those before diving into this.
And I say this because this novella delves a little deeper into the relationship between Thuan and Asmodeus. A lot of their relationship is settled in the trilogy where this novella is a companion too. But there is still a lot of things they don't talk about a lot. They've been tossed into this and that situation. And talking things out was never part of the repertoire for them. But in this book they have to. I think to really appreciate that and to appreciate how much that means for a character like Asmodeus you need to have read the previous installments. And how our duo each deals with things so very differently. Perhaps so very different from what is expected from them. A lot would pick Thuan as the caring one but in this instance it goes a little differently. I like how the author set that up.
Outside of that it is interesting to once again return to the dragon world and to see the two that the two young ones have grown up so much. The plot in itself wasn't quite as interesting as the dressing up was. I loved reading it for the characters that I have grown to love.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, and Murder
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