Made with love
© Victoria Gryson 2024
Dragons don’t exist anymore. Neither do their legendary fae riders…until I stumble into a mansion full of them.
It turns out the last of the dragon rider fae have been locked in a trap, a mansion with no doors, no way to leave for five hundred years, and I’m the first fae to enter. The dragon fae riders know nothing of the world outside or the vampyres who have taken over in their absence, and most don’t trust me.
Especially not Ziven—king of the forgotten Moon Dynasty.
The gorgeous but cruel king demands I enter the Decidere, a ritual for all fae over the age of twenty. It’s a deadly trial in the dragons’ caves below the mansion, and if you’re weak, you’re dead. Ziven marks me as a traitor, and he doesn’t believe anything I say. He wants me to lose. The Sun Dynasty king takes me in, helps me and is kind. With his help, I might last a week.
With Ziven doing everything he can to end me, my ability to escape the mansion seeming impossible, and dragons literally burning the ground at my feet, I don’t know how I’m going to live through this.
You need to be brave. You need to be a warrior…or the dragons will know.
My name is Story Dehana, and I escaped the vampyres, only to find myself trapped once again with a new enemy who might be worse.
Wow, this is a fantastic start to a new series! 4.5*
We dive headfirst into Story’s brutal world right from the beginning. While her best friend manages to help her escape, at a soul-crushing cost, she jumps from one frying pan into a fire by entering a mansion filled with fae riders! And with the door disappearing as soon as she’s inside, she’s as stuck as they are. Yikes!
There are rival factions: the Sun Dynasty king sees Story as their ticket out of their prison, while the Moon Dynasty king thinks she’s a traitor and a spy. To top it off, she’s forced into a deadly competition called the Decidere to become a dragon rider (or die trying!).
The world-building unfolds through Story’s flashbacks and what we learn alongside her. There are so many twists and turns in the book that kept me on the edge of my seat, not to mention the characters that are intriguing mysteries waiting to be solved. I couldn’t put the book down – I devoured it in one sitting! While the middle dipped a bit, the overall pacing kept me hooked and entertained.
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book, and I can honestly say, as we’ve come to expect from the author, this is another definite winner. But that cliffhanger ending?! I can’t wait for the next book!
© Victoria Gryson 2024