by G.A. Aiken
I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This is the 7th book in the Dragon Kin Series, and then there are a handful of novellas. I adore both this series, and her Pack/Pride series under the Shelly Laurenston name. If you are confused by the fact that some of the Dragon Kin stories are under a different name, well it's the same author, so don't worry.
A word about reading order according to the author:
There are two ways to read the Dragon Kin series. One is in the order they were written by me, and one is based on the chronology of the series. I, personally, prefer the order in which the books were written because I tease or hint about the romances of the older dragons during the full-length novels. Then in the anthos, some of the humor payoff comes out of having read those novels first.
This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t read the series in straight chronological order. I know there are some readers who hate “prequels.” So to help out, below are the reading orders of the book, mine and chronological.
– G.A.
G.A.’S READING ORDER
1. Dragon Actually
2. “Chains & Flames” from Dragon Actually
3. About a Dragon
4. “Can’t Get Enough” from Everlasting Bad Boys
5. What a Dragon Should Know
6. Last Dragon Standing
7. “Dragon On Top” from Supernatural
8. The Dragon Who Loved Me
This is the 7th book in the Dragon Kin Series, and then there are a handful of novellas. I adore both this series, and her Pack/Pride series under the Shelly Laurenston name. If you are confused by the fact that some of the Dragon Kin stories are under a different name, well it's the same author, so don't worry.
A word about reading order according to the author:
There are two ways to read the Dragon Kin series. One is in the order they were written by me, and one is based on the chronology of the series. I, personally, prefer the order in which the books were written because I tease or hint about the romances of the older dragons during the full-length novels. Then in the anthos, some of the humor payoff comes out of having read those novels first.
This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t read the series in straight chronological order. I know there are some readers who hate “prequels.” So to help out, below are the reading orders of the book, mine and chronological.
– G.A.
G.A.’S READING ORDER
1. Dragon Actually
2. “Chains & Flames” from Dragon Actually
3. About a Dragon
4. “Can’t Get Enough” from Everlasting Bad Boys
5. What a Dragon Should Know
6. Last Dragon Standing
7. “Dragon On Top” from Supernatural
8. The Dragon Who Loved Me
*9. How to Drive a Dragon Crazy
*10 A Tale of Two Dragons
CHRONOLOGICAL READING ORDER
1. “Can’t Get Enough” from Everlasting Bad Boys
*10 A Tale of Two Dragons
CHRONOLOGICAL READING ORDER
1. “Can’t Get Enough” from Everlasting Bad Boys
*2. A Tale of Two Dragons
3. “Chains & Flames” from Dragon Actually
4. “Dragon On Top” from Supernatural
5. Dragon Actually
6. About a Dragon
7. What a Dragon Should Know
8. Last Dragon Standing
9. The Dragon Who Loved Me
3. “Chains & Flames” from Dragon Actually
4. “Dragon On Top” from Supernatural
5. Dragon Actually
6. About a Dragon
7. What a Dragon Should Know
8. Last Dragon Standing
9. The Dragon Who Loved Me
*10 How to Drive a Dragon Crazy
*These are my additions to Aiken's post which hadn't been updated with the newest books.
While I was disappointed that the Pack/Pride series was ending or at least going on hiatus, I was thrilled to see she started back on the Dragon kin series. Aiken/Laurenston has the absolutely funniest paranormal characters. They're witty, snarky, self-absorbed, and insane. Who wouldn't have a good time with that? But, as is almost always the case with a series, this just isn't a good starting spot, so if you haven't read the rest of the series, now is not a good spot to jump in. While each of the stories has it's own hero and heroine, there is an overall plot arc that won't make sense without all the pieces of the puzzle.
Light My Fire comes back about a decade after The Dragon Who Loved Me. Most of the characters live hundreds of years, so all the beloveds are still around and much as we saw them last, but there are a ton of new kids running around. Celyn the Charming, who caused so much trouble with, Izzy and Éibhear, finally gets his own heroine, and she is an absolute riot. Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight Mountains of Despair in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outerplains, is a cynic with a fatalistic world view from a matriarchal society, so just about as opposite from the Southland Dragons as is humanly, or even inhumanly , possible. And she is even more different from Celyn who tends to be a sweetie. The best way to explain Elina is to picture a stereotyped Russian man and then add some more aggression and chauvinism. Frankly, Celyn and Elina kind of flip gender sterotypes in an enjoyable and hilarious way that made me re-read this in really short order. Their romance was nicely integrated into the overall plot arc of the series, and they fit into the overall Anwyl and original human dragon hybrid children plot. The series seems to have grown organically and the new characters have been a logical extension of that growth, and they don't just seem to be place holders for characters we are waiting to have grow up so they can get their own stories. When a series gets this long you start to worry that the whole thing is going to spiral out of control into a mess that you don't even recognize anymore, and I am so, so glad that isn't the case this time. This book opened up the Dragon Kin World in a way that i think is going to keep the series fresh and interesting for a few more books at the very least. 4.5 stars and a murderous rampage if it takes more than about a year to get me the next one.
Light My Fire comes back about a decade after The Dragon Who Loved Me. Most of the characters live hundreds of years, so all the beloveds are still around and much as we saw them last, but there are a ton of new kids running around. Celyn the Charming, who caused so much trouble with, Izzy and Éibhear, finally gets his own heroine, and she is an absolute riot. Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight Mountains of Despair in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outerplains, is a cynic with a fatalistic world view from a matriarchal society, so just about as opposite from the Southland Dragons as is humanly, or even inhumanly , possible. And she is even more different from Celyn who tends to be a sweetie. The best way to explain Elina is to picture a stereotyped Russian man and then add some more aggression and chauvinism. Frankly, Celyn and Elina kind of flip gender sterotypes in an enjoyable and hilarious way that made me re-read this in really short order. Their romance was nicely integrated into the overall plot arc of the series, and they fit into the overall Anwyl and original human dragon hybrid children plot. The series seems to have grown organically and the new characters have been a logical extension of that growth, and they don't just seem to be place holders for characters we are waiting to have grow up so they can get their own stories. When a series gets this long you start to worry that the whole thing is going to spiral out of control into a mess that you don't even recognize anymore, and I am so, so glad that isn't the case this time. This book opened up the Dragon Kin World in a way that i think is going to keep the series fresh and interesting for a few more books at the very least. 4.5 stars and a murderous rampage if it takes more than about a year to get me the next one.
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