Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken

 

3.5 Star

Gemma Smith dedicated her life to battles.  When her sister became the prophesized queen, she broke faith with the war monks and left to support her sister.  The war monks were mad that she broke faith and decided to support Beatrix for queen.  Gemma has to get them to change their mind and get them to support Keeley.  With the help of the Amichai warriors she will do anything to keep her family safe.

This book is one you can’t read without reading the first one.  It starts off about two years after the end of the first book with no build up or back story.  Since it has been a year since I read the first book I was confused as to who some of the characters were as there are a lot of them.  Some of it clicked the more I read but it took a bit of time.  I did enjoy the banter between Gemma and Quinn.  He kept her on her toes.  The best part of the book took place in the very last chapter and I need the next book so I can see how this all plays out.  It literally was an OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED moment. 

Book 2 Scarred Earth Saga

The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken

 

3 Star

The old king is dead, and a new king or queen will need to fight it out to find out who is on top.  For Keeley the blacksmith she didn’t care about the siblings waring until it looked like her younger sister Beatrix would be dragged into the war.  She won’t have to fight alone as warrior group, Amichai, are stepping up to help her protect her family.

This one was a bit of a disappointment as it is similar in some of her other books.  There was a lot of potential to this story, but it was never fleshed out.  There was also some character development issues.  Keeley felt like a gentler version of Annwyl and Caid was like Feargus but not as complex.  It felt like there wasn’t a lot of time spent on developing Caid and Keely.  The other issue was that it ended very abruptly.  Overall, I am interested in seeing where this series is going.

Book 1 Scarred Earth Saga

Bring the Heat by G.A. Aiken

 

3 Star

Bronwen the awful is ordered to help Keita on her mission with some of the Mi-runach.  They are to try and find Ren before his mother finds out and starts a war.  Aiden is loving the fact that he gets to spend more time with Bronwen even if she doesn’t want anything to do with him.  The group have to dodge the Zealots, who follow the god Chramnesind and it isn’t working out well for them.  What will they do when they find out Ren was killed and Keita loses it.

The romance took the backseat again in this book.  It also seemed the book was more about all the other characters.  The best part of the book was when Annwyl was stuck in Hell and had to fight her way out.  She gets out just in time to help all of the people of her realm defeat the bad guys. I loved this storyline.  I also enjoyed the parts with Keita.  She is out for revenge over the murder of her friend Ren and I loved how this worked out. If the book was about these two storylines it would have been a pretty good book.  However, the book was supposed to be about Bronwen and Aiden.  There wasn’t enough time with this couple to feel a connection with them and since that is what the book is touted as it was a bit disappointing. 

Book 9 Dragon Kin

Feel the Burn by G.A. Aiken

 

3 Star

Gaius Domitus is the one-eyed dragon King.  He is determined to take out more of his relatives who are gunning for his throne.  Kachka gave up her place with the Stepps for her sister.  Her new queen is sending her on a mission using other Daughter of the Stepps to take out those who are trying to overthrow all of the current monarchs.  Gaius and Kachka keep running into each other on their own missions and decide to combine their forces to take out the threat.

This was a rare miss for me with this author.  I didn’t see the connection between Gaius and Kachka.  It didn’t see any chemistry between them or building of a connection like past characters have had.  There was also one scene in the book that really bothers me.  It was about one of Daughter of the Stepps Zoya taking a soldier who seemed to be unwilling to bed.  It was used as a humorous point in the story and I didn’t find it amusing to joke about someone being forced into sex.  I don’t think the author meant for it to be construed that way but it is how I took it.  The story was also all over the place.  I didn’t read this yesterday but recently and if not for notes I couldn’t tell you what the book was about.  It was that forgettable.  Overall, I think this was a bridge book for the next one which I hate seeing.

Book 8 Dragon Kin

Light my Fire by G.A. Aiken

 

4 Star

Celyn the Charming may have forgotten about her but it wasn’t his fault.  Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight tried to kill his queen.  He was ordered to stash her away so he did.  How was he to keep track of her.  Now that they need her help he’s stuck with the woman with the longest names and she isn’t even impressed by him.  The horror of this is inconceivable. 

I really enjoyed this for the most part.  There were some slow parts where I wanted the story to move on already.  The journey to Elina’s family was the part that I wanted them to move on already.  That was the first half of the book.  What made the book a 4 is that I LOVED the last several chapters.  Those few chapters are what made the book amazing.  It was awesome to see some of the previous characters in this book like Bram.  I loved his story and I loved seeing him again.  This was a good addition to the series.

Audiobook

Morgan Hallett narrated this book.  She did an ok job.  I’ve talked about this before they’ve had better narrators for this series and even though we are several books in with this narrator I am still not a huge fan.  She is a good narrator just want the character voices to be the same throughout.

 

Book 7 Dragon Kin

How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G.A. Aiken

 

3.5 Star

After the death of his friend Éibhear the Blue is uncontrollable and is sent to the Mi-runach in hopes he will work out his anger.  For 10 years he fought with the Mi-runach until his mother sends him on a mission to collect Izzy and come home.  He, the Mi-runach, and Izzy are needed to escort Izzy’s sister to their relatives for training.  No trip can be easy and if it can go wrong it will.

This is not my favorite book.  The two just kind of irritate me.  The story takes a while to get to the point.  Once it gets to the point I enjoy it but it took way too long.  It still had the humor the other books have but I had been anticipating the romance of these two since it has been building since book two and it just fell flat for me.  The romance took a backseat to the rest of the story.  It just comes across as a bridge book that will lead into the rest of the series.

Audiobook

Morgan Hallett narrates this book.  She did a pretty good job.  Not my favorite narrator but not enough to make me quit listening.

Book 6 Dragon Kin

The Dragon Who Loved Me by G.A. Aiken

 

4 Star

Rhona the Fearless was raised to fight.  One of the Cadwaladr Clan with all the craziness but awesome fighting skills.  She is asked to go after Annwyl and make sure she gets back from her mission.  Vigholf knows Rhona is his she just hasn’t realized it.  When she agrees to go after Annwyl, Vigholf will follow.

I would have loved this book and given it a 5 if not for the jumping between characters in the first half of the book.  I loved Rhona and Vigholf’s characters as well as their love story.  With all of the characters so far this one was kind a quiet couple. I don’t know how else to explain them.  They aren’t outgoing.  They aren’t kings, queens, princess, prince or any other bigwig.  They are the foot soldiers and I just really enjoyed them.  It was a good addition to the series.

Audiobook:

I liked this audiobook.  The shift in the narrator made it a little difficult since I had been listening to Hollie Jackson.  Morgan Hallett wasn’t bad by any means I was just used to Hollie Jackson.  I know G.A. Aiken has no control over the narrator but I wish when author or publisher would just stick with one person for a series barring something major for consistency in the voices.

Book 5 Dragon Kin

Last Dragon Standing by G.A. Aiken

 

3.5 Stars

Keita dragoness and youngest daughter of the Dragon Queen isn’t a fighter like the rest of the family.  Even though she isn’t a fighter she has her own talents.  Ragnar, Lightning Dragon from the Northern territories has a treaty with the Queen.  He HATES Keita.  She is a spoiled royal who is annoying.  When he finds out that she isn’t quite what she seems will he be able to woo her?

This was not one of my favorite books in the series.  Even knowing what Keita means to the thrown and she uses her act to get what she wants she still annoyed me so much.  Ragnar also wasn’t my favorite male lead in these books.  I did like seeing the progress the overall story with all of the characters from previous books.  The other reason I had issues with it was the middle part was a little slow for me.  Once it picked up the book was way better.

Audiobook:

I loved Hollie Jackson narrating this book.  She does an excellent job with each character.

Book 4 Dragon Kin

What a Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken

 

5 Stars

Gwenvael the Handsome irritated Annwyl and is sent off to the north to try and broker an alliance with the Beast.  He is shocked when he finds out the Beast is Dagmar Reinholdt the only daughter to the Reinholdt.  Gwenvael does what he does best and annoys all of them until he can get the information from Dagmar.  However, the only way she will give him the information is if he helps her first.  This starts them on a journey to the south where their lives will be changed forever.

I loved this story so much.  Gwenvael is so cocky but he finds out the information they need in his own way.  I love how he freaked out Dagmar’s family to get her to do what he wanted too.  But the main reason this book was a 5 star read/listen for me was Dagmar herself.  She was just awesome.  She ignored and challenged Gwenvael throughout the book.  I also loved how she saved the day in the end.  There were so many emotional bits in this book that had me laughing and crying it just made the book that much more enjoyable.  Definitely one of the better books by G.A. Aiken.

Audio Book:

Hollie Jackson does an amazing job bring the new voices out and staying true to characters from past books.

Book 3 Dragon Kin

About a Dragon by G.A. Aiken

 

3.5 Stars

Nolwenn witch Talaith was taken right after she had given birth, separated from her daughter, and given to a man to serve a god.  Not her god but another.  She will be trained to kill someone in the future when the god has decided she is needed.  What the god didn’t factor in was the villagers wanting to burn her at the stake and a dragon taking an interest in her.  Briac the Mighty figured she would be all lovey dovey for him since he rescued her.  Instead what he gets is someone who argues and fights with him all day and night.  He’s not sure if this is bad.  They will need to work together to keep the kingdoms safe and reunite Talaith with her daughter.

I didn’t like this book as much as the last one.  Part of it comes down to the fact the two main characters like to argue about everything and for me it got old fast.  I liked how it intersected with the previous book and builds onto Dragon Actually.  They also set up the next book nicely.  This book also had some pacing issues where I was wanting it to move on already.  It wasn’t a bad book just kind of a let down from the last book that was so awesome.

Audiobook:

Hollie Jackson did an amazing job bring to life the new characters while stay true the characters from the last book. 

Book 2 Dragon Kin

A Tale of Two Dragons

 

4 Stars

Braith of the Darkness likes to go unnoticed by everyone at court.  She is able to accomplish this until her father forces her into an evil plot against the crown.  Addolgar the Cheerful knew Braith but never spent time with her until his queen tells him that to help escort another dragon royal to the border.  He gets pulled into evil plot against the queen but is determined to keep Braith safe and claim her for himself.

I loved this prequel to a series that I love.  It was interesting to see one of the Cadwaladr clan’s story.  You get bits and pieces in the main story so it was nice to see the family when Ailean and Shalin were alive.  It definitely added to the overall story and world of Dragon Kin.  It was a short story and it didn’t feel like it.  There wasn’t any part of it that felt rushed and the story itself was interesting.

Audio Book:

This book was narrated by Hollie Jackson.  I loved this narrator so much.  She did an amazing job bringing the story to life and was able to give each character a unique voice.  It made listening to the book so enjoyable.

Book .02 Dragon Kin

Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken

 

Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken

5 Stars

Annwyl the Bloody needs to take out her brother to protect the kingdom.  While in a mini skirmish with some of her brother’s men she is grievously wounded and rescued by a dragon.  Feargus the Destroyer normally ignores what’s going on with the humans in the realm other than an occasional snack until he is disturbed by a battle just outside his cave.  He ends up killing the remaining men attacking Annwyl and brings in a healer to save her life.  With their many nights chatting he comes to feel so much for her and wants to help her to be able to destroy her brother.  What Annwyl doesn’t know is the knight the dragon brings in to train her is the same dragon she has come to care for.  She will have to take the throne and make it work with the dragon.

I loved this story.  When I originally read the book it was an interesting new take of paranormal romance for me.  I loved the humor of the story as well as how strong the women in the book are.  There is also the short story at the end of the main book called Chains and Flames.  This is the story of Princess Rhiannon and Bercelak coming together.  It was interesting to see how they came together but wasn't my favorite story.

 

Audio Book

Hollie Jackson does an amazing job with each character and made me realize that when I read the book I mispronounced almost every single name.

Book 1 Dragon Kin