The dragon rider might have taken everything from me.
My home, my family, and my crown.
But I vowed long ago he would never take my heart.
I survived ten years being tortured by his crazy worshippers. I know I can survive anything the king throws at me.
Because if this usurper thinks I’m going to bend and break to his will now that I’m his wife, he doesn’t know what his new queen is capable of.
I will make him bend and break.
I might not be a dragon rider like him, but I have dragon blood in my veins from an ancient bond forged by my ancestors, and its fire is fueled by the hatred I hold just for him.
A hatred that burns.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I should have killed the princess when I burned her world to ash.
It was the least she deserved after what her parents did that day. But my own stubborn dragon refused to destroy the one person the gods decided was fated to me.
For years I have ignored her existence and tried to forget her screams. For years I‘ve tried to hate her and burn her memory from my mind, but now the time has come to claim my betrothed…
And make her my queen.
Maelena lost it all to a dragon rider… her parents were killed, her castle destroyed, and her freedom taken away. All she knows is torture at the hands of convent sisters who should be grooming her to be a fitting queen.
This book hooks you from the start, setting a dark and angry tone.
A decent chunk of worldbuilding and info is coming our way, but the authors give it to you gradually, as Maelena is learning. There are some huge gaps concerning the history and the reason Erax went on a total destructive bender, but let’s hope we get to that part in the next installment.
Maelena is a clueless princess. She’s sheltered and doesn’t know much about the real world. I get that her life was messed up, but she’s a bit too naive. I won’t spoil anything, but there is much more going on than we know at the end of this book!
Do I like the princess? Hmm, difficult question. While I understand where she’s coming from, she’s rather blind to the truth in front of her sometimes.
Erax, the dragon rider who destroyed her world, is shrouded in mystery. We don’t really know his reasoning or why he acted against the other kingdom, as he was still very young.
I hate that he didn’t bother checking in on Maelena for ten whole years (seriously?). So yeah, he has a lot of redeeming and explaining to do.
There are many twists and turns throughout the book, keeping you on your toes. Attraction, pain, death, and betrayal seem to be the main keywords of the story so far.
And that cliffhanger… yikes! That was brutal!
As for me, I’m not sure where I rate the book. I love the premise, and the ending made me want to read the next book right away. But the characters and their hot/cold attitudes toward each other were pretty frustrating. We never dove deep into the story/history/reasoning, which was a missed chance, in my opinion.
Some editing issues throughout the book also pulled me out of the story.
Let’s hope the next installment brings more polish and backstory to this promising series.
© Victoria Gryson 2024