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A review by mspilesofpaper
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Dragon Bound is the first instalment in a series of paranormal romances that feature supernatural characters (mostly shapeshifters called Wyr) on their way to find a mate. It is set in the modern-day USA (the first book is set in New York City with a short trip to South Carolina). There's no mention of the year but it feels very modern and recent and not set in the 80s or so.
In terms of the book: it was a massive issue of my expectations vs. reality. Based on the cover and the summary, I thought that it would be a fantasy read with spicy romance scenes. Instead, it is 120% straight smut. If you want an urban fantasy with tons of very explicit sex scenes: go for it (and do not continue reading the review because I will critique it A LOT). If you are like me and would prefer more than just sex: skip it and pick something else.
***
First of all: the characters (main and side characters).
‣ Dragos Cuelebre
His fucking name. Dragos is a Romanian/Serbian given name, which comes from the word root "drag". Do you know what the word root means? Dear, beloved, precious. Cuelebre is a gigantic winged serpent-dragon of Asturian mythology who takes xanas (young, beautiful women/water spirits) as prisoners. Asturias is a region in Northern Spain (Gijón and Oviedo might be the most known cities). So, basically the author named the character "beloved dragon". Though the first thought when reading Dragos might be "dragon" to create a "dragon dragon". I'm so mad about it because it's lame af.
In addition, to the name issue: he is millions of years old. Quite literally because he was created when time was created (or the Earth). He is the oldest and strongest Elder Race being in the books. To underline how old and strong he is: he was considered a God by several cultures. Of course, he is the stereotypical alphahole that comes with it. WHY DO THEY ALWAYS HAVE TO BE LIKE IT!? Of course, the author explains it with his being - being a dragon - why he is such an arse. Furthermore, his description is ... I'm just tired. He's the stereotypical overly muscular, tall love interest with an eight-pack and a massive dick. Basically, tall, dark, handsome and morally grey. Aside from his defining (or lack of) looks, his dick, and his awful behaviour (aggressive, possessive, ...): he has no defining features. He has no understanding of pop culture, no hobbies or anything. Not so fun fact: the author fell into the typical trap of alphahole characters and makes him larger with each chapter while the female character seems to become smaller with each chapter. It gets to the point where his hand can cover half of her skull. 🙃
‣ Pia Giovanni
I will never understand why US-American authors are obsessed with anything Italian. It isn't her actual name because her TRUE NAME is a secret that will give anyone, who knows it, power over her. Hence, the reader will not learn it. Hence, I cannot tell you how stupid the name will be but I bet that the author picked something that means purity.
Her defining features are her hidden wyr (which was very easy to guess, in my opinion, but I will not spoil it) and her stupidity. The only reason why she survived as long as she did before meeting Dragos: her mother's protection spells and sheer plot armour. Without both, she would have been long dead. Unfortunately, she never really learns during the novel and continues to survive by sheer luck, plot armour or Dragos' timely interference. Aside from these two characteristics: she doesn't have anything else. Sure, she used to have a job and is vaguely familiar with a handful of characters but they play no importance after a couple of chapters anymore. Of course, she is in her 20s and therefore much younger than the male love interest, and most likely mortal because she is a half-breed.
‣ side characters
The majority of them will become the main characters in the following novels but based on how they appear in this one: they will be as underdeveloped and undefined there as they are now. The male characters will act like alphaholes of varying degrees while the few female characters (who are supposed to be in positions of power) will just be waiting for the male hero to arrive, so he can save her and then fuck her. The few side characters who will never play a major role in the upcoming novels are so stereotypical. E.g., the personal shopper for Pia is portrayed as flamboyant and gay because - of course - a male personal shopper must be flamboyant and gay.
Concerning the world-building: it is utterly vague and the little information that the author gives to the reader is so unsatisfying that it results in more questions than answers. For the most part, the world-building is saved by the fact that it plays in modern-day New York City (although there's not much to identify NYC as NYC) and other parts of the USA. The few scenes that are set in the Otherworld are vaguely described in terms of "where are we" and could be easily somewhere in our world as well. The major defining trait of the Otherworld is the lack of modern amenities and items. The higher the degree of technology, the faster it will backfire in the user's face in the Otherworld.
As for the romance, there's not much to say aside from the fact that it's based on the "fated mates" trope, instant lust and love. The entire story happens within two or three weeks to give you a time frame. There's no explanation for why they fell for each other aside from instant attraction and one magical sex dream. Dragos' rage about his stolen item vanishes as soon as he lays eyes on her. He's obsessed with her from the beginning due to her scent as he cannot truly place it while it does feel familiar. (Also, they fuck right away after a dangerous moment instead of getting away from the danger.)
My biggest pet peeve is the description of Pia's and Dragos' colouring though. Pia is described as extremely pale (as cream/as the moon) with white golden hair, and midnight sapphire blue eyes. Of course, she also glows if she lets go of her mother's hiding spell. Of course, she becomes paler with each passing chapter and there's such an emphasis on her colouring, and the implied purity of it, that it's extremely easy to guess her Wyr form. Meanwhile, Dragos is described as tanned (or bronze/copper because it changes with the chapters), with pitch-black hair and golden raptor eyes. Whereas Pia's colouring becomes paler with each chapter, his colouring becomes darker with each chapter. I have major issues with any fantasy/romantasy book that uses the "black and white" colouring scheme for their love interest because white implies purity in the Western world (and let's admit it, 99% of these books are set in the Western world or worlds inspired by the western hemisphere), and authors always use it for their very white female characters. Their male characters are always white in terms of facial features but their skin colour is never white. It is always between "Could be a white man with tanned skin or a BIPOC person with a white man's face". I have beef with books that use the white-black/light-dark scheme for their female-male characters.
TL;DR: 120% smut, 3% plot, 0% character development. If you want a spicy and smutty book with the bare minimum of a plot, and even less world-building, because you want the sex scenes: go for it. It has a Happy End but fair warning: the author used the pregnancy trope. If you want more than that: skip it (and the entire series).
In terms of the book: it was a massive issue of my expectations vs. reality. Based on the cover and the summary, I thought that it would be a fantasy read with spicy romance scenes. Instead, it is 120% straight smut. If you want an urban fantasy with tons of very explicit sex scenes: go for it (and do not continue reading the review because I will critique it A LOT). If you are like me and would prefer more than just sex: skip it and pick something else.
***
First of all: the characters (main and side characters).
‣ Dragos Cuelebre
His fucking name. Dragos is a Romanian/Serbian given name, which comes from the word root "drag". Do you know what the word root means? Dear, beloved, precious. Cuelebre is a gigantic winged serpent-dragon of Asturian mythology who takes xanas (young, beautiful women/water spirits) as prisoners. Asturias is a region in Northern Spain (Gijón and Oviedo might be the most known cities). So, basically the author named the character "beloved dragon". Though the first thought when reading Dragos might be "dragon" to create a "dragon dragon". I'm so mad about it because it's lame af.
In addition, to the name issue: he is millions of years old. Quite literally because he was created when time was created (or the Earth). He is the oldest and strongest Elder Race being in the books. To underline how old and strong he is: he was considered a God by several cultures. Of course, he is the stereotypical alphahole that comes with it. WHY DO THEY ALWAYS HAVE TO BE LIKE IT!? Of course, the author explains it with his being - being a dragon - why he is such an arse. Furthermore, his description is ... I'm just tired. He's the stereotypical overly muscular, tall love interest with an eight-pack and a massive dick. Basically, tall, dark, handsome and morally grey. Aside from his defining (or lack of) looks, his dick, and his awful behaviour (aggressive, possessive, ...): he has no defining features. He has no understanding of pop culture, no hobbies or anything. Not so fun fact: the author fell into the typical trap of alphahole characters and makes him larger with each chapter while the female character seems to become smaller with each chapter. It gets to the point where his hand can cover half of her skull. 🙃
‣ Pia Giovanni
I will never understand why US-American authors are obsessed with anything Italian. It isn't her actual name because her TRUE NAME is a secret that will give anyone, who knows it, power over her. Hence, the reader will not learn it. Hence, I cannot tell you how stupid the name will be but I bet that the author picked something that means purity.
Her defining features are her hidden wyr (which was very easy to guess, in my opinion, but I will not spoil it) and her stupidity. The only reason why she survived as long as she did before meeting Dragos: her mother's protection spells and sheer plot armour. Without both, she would have been long dead. Unfortunately, she never really learns during the novel and continues to survive by sheer luck, plot armour or Dragos' timely interference. Aside from these two characteristics: she doesn't have anything else. Sure, she used to have a job and is vaguely familiar with a handful of characters but they play no importance after a couple of chapters anymore. Of course, she is in her 20s and therefore much younger than the male love interest, and most likely mortal because she is a half-breed.
‣ side characters
The majority of them will become the main characters in the following novels but based on how they appear in this one: they will be as underdeveloped and undefined there as they are now. The male characters will act like alphaholes of varying degrees while the few female characters (who are supposed to be in positions of power) will just be waiting for the male hero to arrive, so he can save her and then fuck her. The few side characters who will never play a major role in the upcoming novels are so stereotypical. E.g., the personal shopper for Pia is portrayed as flamboyant and gay because - of course - a male personal shopper must be flamboyant and gay.
Concerning the world-building: it is utterly vague and the little information that the author gives to the reader is so unsatisfying that it results in more questions than answers. For the most part, the world-building is saved by the fact that it plays in modern-day New York City (although there's not much to identify NYC as NYC) and other parts of the USA. The few scenes that are set in the Otherworld are vaguely described in terms of "where are we" and could be easily somewhere in our world as well. The major defining trait of the Otherworld is the lack of modern amenities and items. The higher the degree of technology, the faster it will backfire in the user's face in the Otherworld.
As for the romance, there's not much to say aside from the fact that it's based on the "fated mates" trope, instant lust and love. The entire story happens within two or three weeks to give you a time frame. There's no explanation for why they fell for each other aside from instant attraction and one magical sex dream. Dragos' rage about his stolen item vanishes as soon as he lays eyes on her. He's obsessed with her from the beginning due to her scent as he cannot truly place it while it does feel familiar. (Also, they fuck right away after a dangerous moment instead of getting away from the danger.)
My biggest pet peeve is the description of Pia's and Dragos' colouring though. Pia is described as extremely pale (as cream/as the moon) with white golden hair, and midnight sapphire blue eyes. Of course, she also glows if she lets go of her mother's hiding spell. Of course, she becomes paler with each passing chapter and there's such an emphasis on her colouring, and the implied purity of it, that it's extremely easy to guess her Wyr form. Meanwhile, Dragos is described as tanned (or bronze/copper because it changes with the chapters), with pitch-black hair and golden raptor eyes. Whereas Pia's colouring becomes paler with each chapter, his colouring becomes darker with each chapter. I have major issues with any fantasy/romantasy book that uses the "black and white" colouring scheme for their love interest because white implies purity in the Western world (and let's admit it, 99% of these books are set in the Western world or worlds inspired by the western hemisphere), and authors always use it for their very white female characters. Their male characters are always white in terms of facial features but their skin colour is never white. It is always between "Could be a white man with tanned skin or a BIPOC person with a white man's face". I have beef with books that use the white-black/light-dark scheme for their female-male characters.
TL;DR: 120% smut, 3% plot, 0% character development. If you want a spicy and smutty book with the bare minimum of a plot, and even less world-building, because you want the sex scenes: go for it. It has a Happy End but fair warning: the author used the pregnancy trope. If you want more than that: skip it (and the entire series).