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A review by lifeinthebooklane
Dream of Dragons by Aja James
4.0
Overall I very much enjoyed this fantasy/PNR fusion, and despite initial concerns it does read as both a standalone and separate to the Pure/Dark Ones series. I did put this down for a few day, fairly early on, as I found the character of Erebus to be extremely irritating. I'm pleased to report that he did get less so as the story progressed, though that may equally have been because we saw less of him. He was an OTT camp mix of Julian Clary and John Inman's character (Mr Humphries) from Are You Being Served?
Since I had only reached the 11% mark, I picked this back up and actually went on to enjoy it. Whilst it didn't take itself too seriously, the author blended Arthurian and Welsh legends together, twisted them sideways and created quite a compelling story. It even, in part, explained why those tales are so blurred. It wasn't the most complex of world building, but it very much suited the story, setting and characters, so I've no complaints there.
What didn't work for me, hence temporarily setting it aside, was (a) it starting with a sex scene between two characters from a previous series and (b) Erebus. This is a spin off, in effect an entry point for new readers who have zero connection to Ere and Sorin, who care not one jot for them, so for us the sex scene felt clinical, a little crude and entirely unnecessary. It took far too long to meet and get to know the actual protagonists of this book, Rui and Wolfe - much longer than it's taken me to mention them!
Rui left me cold at first, but that's all part of her character arc and it didn't take long for me to absolutely adore this little firecracker. She was a beguiling and utterly believable mix of kick-ass warrior and naïve kitten-y dragon. She's definitely up there as a favourite heroine. Wolfe was so mean, moody and ruggedly gorgeous, I loved him from the first moment we met. Not only did I buy their developing relationship, I was fully invested in it - I may even have had a "must be hayfever" moment or two towards the end. Sigh. So good.
In summary I went from regretting requesting an arc of this (and the next one) to having found an author I want to read more of. If it hadn't been for that initial "gah!" of the first few chapters I probably would have given this 5 stars. I'm definitely looking forward to reading [b:Song of Dragons|57538788|Song of Dragons (Dragon Tails #2)|Aja James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616811567l/57538788._SX50_.jpg|89730228].
11% thoughts here -->
This is one that I am really struggling with, I will give it another try in a couple of days and see if that makes a difference.
This has all the elements of a good book but it just isn't hitting the mark for me personally, in particular I am struggling with the character of Ere, who I find incredibly annoying. I don't even know anything of significance about Sorin and I'm on the fence with Rui. Opening with a one sided sex scene between two characters I neither know nor currently care about didn't really provide the best of beginnings. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a smutty read but I at least like to have had the mental equivalent of a meal bought for me before diving into the action. Also, if this isn't the main couple of the story, why am I seeing so damn much of them instead of the ACTUAL protagonists?
My other main issue lies with the "confused" feel of the book. I was expecting a fantasy read, but the tone of this was more akin to PNR, particularly Ere's character when considering both his dialogue and inner monologue. I hadn't spotted the tiny line at the end of the synopsis which stated this is a spin-off from a previous series - my bad. However to my mind a spin off should not require the need to have read the previous series in order to fully appreciate and understand it.
Since I had only reached the 11% mark, I picked this back up and actually went on to enjoy it. Whilst it didn't take itself too seriously, the author blended Arthurian and Welsh legends together, twisted them sideways and created quite a compelling story. It even, in part, explained why those tales are so blurred. It wasn't the most complex of world building, but it very much suited the story, setting and characters, so I've no complaints there.
What didn't work for me, hence temporarily setting it aside, was (a) it starting with a sex scene between two characters from a previous series and (b) Erebus. This is a spin off, in effect an entry point for new readers who have zero connection to Ere and Sorin, who care not one jot for them, so for us the sex scene felt clinical, a little crude and entirely unnecessary. It took far too long to meet and get to know the actual protagonists of this book, Rui and Wolfe - much longer than it's taken me to mention them!
Rui left me cold at first, but that's all part of her character arc and it didn't take long for me to absolutely adore this little firecracker. She was a beguiling and utterly believable mix of kick-ass warrior and naïve kitten-y dragon. She's definitely up there as a favourite heroine. Wolfe was so mean, moody and ruggedly gorgeous, I loved him from the first moment we met. Not only did I buy their developing relationship, I was fully invested in it - I may even have had a "must be hayfever" moment or two towards the end. Sigh. So good.
In summary I went from regretting requesting an arc of this (and the next one) to having found an author I want to read more of. If it hadn't been for that initial "gah!" of the first few chapters I probably would have given this 5 stars. I'm definitely looking forward to reading [b:Song of Dragons|57538788|Song of Dragons (Dragon Tails #2)|Aja James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616811567l/57538788._SX50_.jpg|89730228].
11% thoughts here -->
Spoiler
This is one that I am really struggling with, I will give it another try in a couple of days and see if that makes a difference.
This has all the elements of a good book but it just isn't hitting the mark for me personally, in particular I am struggling with the character of Ere, who I find incredibly annoying. I don't even know anything of significance about Sorin and I'm on the fence with Rui. Opening with a one sided sex scene between two characters I neither know nor currently care about didn't really provide the best of beginnings. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a smutty read but I at least like to have had the mental equivalent of a meal bought for me before diving into the action. Also, if this isn't the main couple of the story, why am I seeing so damn much of them instead of the ACTUAL protagonists?
My other main issue lies with the "confused" feel of the book. I was expecting a fantasy read, but the tone of this was more akin to PNR, particularly Ere's character when considering both his dialogue and inner monologue. I hadn't spotted the tiny line at the end of the synopsis which stated this is a spin-off from a previous series - my bad. However to my mind a spin off should not require the need to have read the previous series in order to fully appreciate and understand it.