The New York Times bestselling author of Mind Magic returns as FBI agent Lily Yu gets some very bad news…
Lily learns she was right. Tom Weng—a powerful sorcerer allied with the Old One who keeps trying to take over the world—is still alive. But that's not the worst. Weng is a dragon spawn, the product of a botched hatching given a human form in an attempt to keep him from going mad. A failed attempt.
Meanwhile, Lily’s husband Rule is facing a Challenge to the death. Then there’s the possible reappearance of another sorcerer. But none of that matters when their enemy strikes out of nowhere in the worst way possible. Lily must face a nightmare and return to a place she never wanted to see again. The place where she died…
Eileen Wilks’ first book, a Silhouette Desire published in 1996, hit the USA Today Bestseller List and was nominated for Romantic Times' Best First Short Contemporary award. Since then, her books have appeared consistently on national bestseller lists. With thirty two books in print and novellas in nine anthologies, she has been a finalist in the prestigious Rita Awards three times, as well as receiving several nominations from Romantic Times, including one for Career Achievement in Series Romantic Suspense.
Each book in her World of the Lupi series gains a larger audience. It was originally sold in the Romance section of bookstores, but more and more you will be able to find copies cross-shelved under Sci-Fi and Fantasy as the popularity of the series grows!
Eileen has lived in the West Texas town of Midland, TX for over 30 years--three years as a young teen, and the remaining years since she moved back here as an adult. When she first started writing over 10 years ago, it hit her like the first drink for an alcoholic . . . or the first kiss for Romeo and Juliet.
She came to writing romance in a roundabout way. Having read and loved science fiction for years, that’s where she first tried her hand when the writing bug bit. Somehow her stories always ended up having a strong romantic subplot, but she hadn’t read a romance since the early 80’s and didn’t think “those little books” were her kind of stories. But when a friend in her critique group began working on a romance novel, Wilks decided she needed to give the genre another try. She asked her friend to recommend some titles--and quicker than you can say “Jayne Ann Krentz,” she fell in love. The genre had been busy growing up while she wasn’t watching. These days, with romances comprising over 50% of the mass market books published in the U.S., there are romances to appeal to almost every taste--historicals, paranormals and contemporaries that range from romantic suspense to romantic comedy, from inspirational to sizzling.
Eileen covered a lot of territory before coming home to Midland, having lived in Canada and Venezuela as well as twelve U.S. cities in five states.
Profile taken from the author's site with her permission.
Yes, the book was good. However, it was incomplete, so I am giving an incomplete amount of stars. It's only fair.
It's like when you are watching your favorite television show and it's coming to the end of the allotted time when you realize: "Oh crap! They aren't going to be able to wrap this up in time!". It's one of the dreaded to-be-continued episodes. That's annoying!
So, we have half of an otherwise exciting story. I might reconsider my stars once the full story is out.
I bloody hate cliffhangers! This one ends with a huge one. It is like a full length novel cut right in the middle. Nothing is resolved, no clue what's going on. Not like Wilks at all.
I remember reading a comment from Wilks saying something about if we ever see Michael and Molly again, it means that shit hits the fan in an apocalyptic sense. As you can guess, we have our first glimpse of him here. This is the start of the last leg of war and I think we are getting close to the end of the series.
I am giving this 3 stars for now but I'll reconsider my rating after I read the next book. Because as it is, it feels like reading only first half of a book and then judging it.
Thirteenth in the World of the Lupi paranormal fantasy series revolving around FBI Agent Lily Yu and Rule, who holds the mantles of two Clans. It's been two months since Mind Magic, 12.
My Take Wait. Don't get this book until Dragon Blood comes out in 2017. Dragon Spawn has the most annoying ending. I felt as if Wilks left me hanging in mid-air after jumping off a cliff, much like Wile E Coyote hangs there until he realizes there's nothing beneath him.
It took forever for Wilks to get to the point, and then there's that bloody ending. I kept trying to flip a page over, as I was so sure the story couldn't possibly have ended…there. WTF?
I did crack up when Sarah Winstead turns out to be as hypocritical as most men about women's dress, lol. Hmmm, I wonder if we could get a picture of Cullen in that Speedo. Wilks also gets in a jab at bigoted idiots.
Good point about control. It took me a bit to work it out, but…yeah. Habits are a behavior we don't consciously control. Must be why it's so hard for me to give up swearing.
I like the point Lily makes about Toby beginning to seek his own answers. He'll need to accept his dad's advice, and Toby experiences a lot of unexpected growth. I did not like how Lily learns the name Dirty Harry has given her, "Beloved". It made me cry and then laugh to think that that rangy cat had such a soft side.
Now that I'd like to see…Grandmother in biker leathers!
It's been a weird sort of story and more like a build-up for the start of a war Wilks has been "promising" forever.
The Story Lily learns she was right. Tom Weng—a powerful sorcerer allied with the Old One who keeps trying to take over the world—is still alive. But that's not the worst. Weng is a dragon spawn, the product of a botched hatching given a human form in an attempt to keep him from going mad. A failed attempt.
Meanwhile, Lily's husband Rule is facing a Challenge to the death. Then there's the possible reappearance of another sorcerer. But none of that matters when their enemy strikes out of nowhere in the worst way possible.
Lily must face a nightmare and return to a place she never wanted to see again. The place where she died…
The Characters Lily Yu is a touch-sensitive FBI agent, a Chosen, AND married to Rule Turner, a two-mantled Lupi who holds the role of Lo Nuncio, the heir to Nokolai Clan, and Rho, the leader for Leidolf Clan. Lily was also efondi in Mind Magic and must now learn to control and use her new mindsense. Toby is Rule's ten-year-old son. Dirty Harry is Lily's cat who is just fine around lupi. Freddy is Lily's cousin and a whiz with currency trading. Grandmother, Madame Li Lei Yu, is formidable and shapeshifts into a Siberian tiger. She's had a relationship with Sam for centuries. Li Qin is Grandmother's companion. Beth is Lily's sister.
Lupi security includes Mike, the Leidolf second-in-command (at least until José finishes regrowing his leg), Barnaby, Crane, Ricky, Mason, Jason, Hank, Daniel, Carlos, and Jude. Charlie is one of the lupi security sent to keep Ackleford safe.
The Lupi Clan Home is what the lupi call their home base. Lupi is plural for lupus, which is essentially a wolf shifter. A high dominant literally cannot submit to his Rho. The wild cancer strikes a lupus in old age or First Change.
Nokolia Clan is… …Rule's home Clan based outside San Diego. His father, Isen Turner, is Rho. Cullen Seabourne, a lupus sorcerer, is mated to Cynna Weaver, the Clan's Rhej (the heart of the Clans, their link to the past and to the Lady), and they have a daughter, Ryder. Joe and Sean are Cynna's Lupi bodyguards. Benedict Turner is Rule's older brother and in charge of security for the Clan. Arjenie Fox, Benedict's pregnant mate, is the fact-loving FBI researcher. Pete is Benedict's second. The Magical Mystery Machine (Triple M) is the device Cullen is inventing. Tom Erdquist has a son, Mark, who is Toby's agemate and friend. Dr. Nettie Two Horses is physician, healer, and shaman for the Clan. Mrs. Rogers.
Leidolf Clan had been… …led by Victor Frey who thrust the mantle onto Rule. Alex Thibidoux is Lo Nuncio, but his continuing in that role is in doubt due to his dishonesty. Mateo Ortez, a high dominant, is Leo Freeman's son and too idealistic and naive to believe.
Czøs Clan is… …in Minnesota. Lucas is Lu Nuncio; his son, Sandy, was kidnapped.
Ybirra Clan Diego is the eight-year-old grandson of their Rho.
Etorri Clan Noah is a three-month-old baby and grandson of the former Rho.
The Lady is the Old One respected by the Lupi. The Santo Desafío, the Holy Challenge, is considered heresy by some. Gan, a former demon, is now female and the chancellor of Edge growing a soul. She's also a crosser, one who can travel between realms without a gate.
FBI Derwin "the Big A" Ackleford is the Special-Agent-in-Charge of the San Diego office and a pain in the posterior. The idiotic Conroy Pine is the assistant director. Director Franklin Parks is brand-new (and a jerk). Crowley. Fielding is either a reporter or FBI.
Unit 12 is… …part of the FBI's Magical Crimes Division. Ruben Brooks, a precog, had been its leader until events in Mind Magic. Deborah is Ruben's wife. Now Martin Croft is running Unit. Ida is the Unit secretary. Stephen Marsh will become the acting head, and he wants to exterminate lupi. Karin. Jenny, Amos Baxter, Rob Bennet, Po, Arianne Rice, and Rutger were in the D.C. office.
Shadow Unit is… …an undercover, even more secret organization than Unit 12. Ruben is its leader. Rule and Lily are part of it.
Colonel Marcus Abram/Abrams is an unknown quantity. Avery Jenkins was the pilot who fired the missiles. The plane was from General MacDonald's command. Airman First Class Rodney Klepper has a tip.
The gnomes are… …masters at opening Gates and sticklers for protocol. Max is half-gnome. Byuset is the best of the gatemakers; Old Jenerder and Mabron are some of the gnomes with gate abilities. Ggilek is a Gnomish language. Tvortish is some kind of rite of passage, I think. I also think a hitsuche means "tribe", three of which are Hragash (earth's gnomes), Hirmon, and Harazeed. Jabak are devices the gnomes use to communicate across realms.
The Great Bitch, a.k.a., the Mistress or the Enemy, is the insane enemy Old One of the Lupi. The conspirators from Mind Magic included Sharon Plummer; Bethany; the pilot, Frederick South; a farseer or clairvoyant (no one is sure which), Adrian Farquhar; a Finder, Susan Thompson; a Telepath-plus, Amanda Craig; and, the levitating Tom Weng, a very powerful dragon spawn. Robert Friar's Gifts include clairaudience and patterning.
The kidnappers include… …Warty and Ginger Harris (Sarah, Lily's murdered grade school friend, had been Ginger's sister).
Dis is… …the Hell realm. Dashtu is a demon trick that allows a demon to go out of phase with the rest of the world. Xitil, a.k.a., Earth Mover, is a demon prince whose body was used as an avatar by the Enemy. Mevroax had been a chancellor for Xitil. Urti is infrared light? A chur-chur is a demon sex toy. Claws are among the deadliest of Xitil's foot soldiers. Khahlikka are the red-eyed demons.
Ambient magic is… …rising throughout the world, and there are only twenty-four dragons to soak up the excess before it blows up the tech. The Dragon Accords treaty allow dragons to lair where they wish and to not be subject to human law in return for their help. Sun "Sam" Mzao is the black dragon covering, or rather, absorbing in California with a lair in San Diego. Mika turned female in Mind Magic. Fa Deng had been a dragon based east of Beijing. "Reno", a.k.a., El Draco, is a green dragon with an orange frill based in Spain. Third birth is when a dragon turns female. Mind-dark dragons-turned-humans are Lóng Luăn and psychopathic sorcerers capable of reproduction. Üther is living mass.
Meghan is one of the girls hitting on Cullen. Sarah Winstead is waiting in line. Orange Trunks, Green Trunks, and Confederate Flag, a.k.a., Marvin, are drunken, bigoted idiots. Smith had been an NSA bureaucrat gone wrong.
Michael is possibly the name of the sorcerer who amped up Cullen's powers, and Cullen thinks he has the Codex Arcana (The Book of All Magic).
The Cover and Title The cover is the mountainous browns and oranges of Dis with Reno flying in its sky. A hip-cocked Lily, her long hair blowing in the breeze and wearing black jeans and a black tank top, is toting a machine gun as she stares off to the side. There are three lines of blurb at the very top with the author's name large and in white just below it. The title is a gradation of cream to yellow at the bottom with the series info below it in the same yellow.
The title refers to the Lóng Luăn, the Dragon Spawn.
I enjoyed this 13th installment of the Lupi Books. It wasn’t quite as strong as Mind Magic, but it still was a solid Lily and Rune book. The biggest problem I had was that the ending wasn’t really an ending it all. I couldn’t even honestly call it a cliffhanger. The book just stopped. And that’s not cool.
The story picks up right on the heels of the last one. Lily and Rune are finally back home, but they don’t have much of an opportunity to relax. Her old nemesis, Tom Weng, is back and he is working for the Lupi’s great enemy. She Who Shall Not Be Named has a new plan and it involves targeting the valuable children of various clans. Including Toby.
The story follows Lily and Rule as they try to figure out what happened to the children and work to get them back. There is plenty of action. And the dragons feature prominently along with Grandmother, which is always a treat. The dragons are one of my favorite things about this series. They are so foreign and arrogant, and they have so many interesting secrets and layers.
We also get to travel to another dimension again, which is cool. And longtime readers will enjoy how many threads from earlier in the series come back around here.
Really, my only complaint is that ending. I mean, it’s not the most emotional installment of the series, but I liked it. It just feels completely… incomplete. If I had known, I would’ve waited to read this when the next book comes out. But I still would have read it. And enjoyed it.
3.5 Stars. Dragon Spawn is a pretty good, if unfinished read. There are two storylines going on here. In one, Rule is challenged as Leidolf Rho by high dominant lupus. Apparently, high f dominants are completely unable to submit to the Rho. The other storyline is the one that takes up most of the page time.
The botched dragon hatching Tom Weng survived the helicopter crash, and he is back with the Great Bitch, who has taken over the body of Ginger Harris. Together they cause several disasters that occupy everyone's time, then kidnap a number of high-profile clan children, including Toby and Ryder.
Lots of fun and excitement here; the dragons feature prominently in the book, as does Lily 's grandmother. Gan makes an appearance to add some levity to the situation, and there are a number of dangerous, highly described demons.
Now for the not so good, at least for me. The book starts well, and ends well; but there is a draggy portion through the middle where entirely too much time is spent hashing and rehashing what to do to handle the kidnappings. And for the really bad - the book is a dreaded cliffhanger. Not even really a ch so much as it felt like a long book cut in half. Not only does one storyline not wrap up, the other one barely gets touched on in this book.
Hopefully 'Drago N Blood' (that's what it says for the title, could be a typo) will be released reasonably quickly to tie all the loose ends up.
After the ending of the last book, I expected this book to have a certain focus. That did not happen. Instead the book took off in a completely different direction. I wasn't sure at first, if I would like the plot, but I did.
Some of the characters remained a little flat at first, but others took an interesting step forward. Lily Yu changed so much from the first books! A lot more badass! And Rule turned into a much softer guy.
There was a lot of info dumping shortly after the middle of the book, which got a bit tiresome after a while. But it led up to plenty of good action, which did not stop until the end. Which turned out not to be an ending at all, but an extremely infuriating cliffhanger. I consoled myself by reading the included peak of the next book.
If you haven't read this yet, I would suggest waiting for the next book, so you can read them back-to-back! Good stuff...
Primero que nada: El libro termina en CLIFFHANGER, sólo para que lo sepan.
Perdí la mitad de mis notas al borrarlas por error, pero recuerdo perfectamente esto: PRIMERA ESCENA - CULLEN SEABORN EN ZUNGA.
Cullen siendo fantabuloso en zunga.
Wow.
Yo quiero video en camara lenta de eso.
"The woman in front of him let out a loud laugh. “If you’re tired of women climbing all over you, why you wearing that little Speedo? Man as pretty as you don’t need to show off what he’s got.” “What, you think I’m asking for it? Isn’t that what some people say if a woman wears anything more revealing than a burka?” “I like you,” she announced. “What’s your name?” “Cullen.
Bueno, después de eso ¿a que más podria aspirar una obra? XD
Supongo que siguiendo con la trama, vemos que la GB -aka la que no debe ser nombrada- que decide subir las apuestas y desencadena un fuerte ataque destinado a causar el mayor caos posible. Mientras esto sucede Sam le pide ayuda a Lily con un problema de los dragones, sorpresa, revelando más secretos fuertemente relacionados con el libro anterior.
Nos encontramos con que:
*Hay más dramarama dragonil.
*Luchas internas politicas con los mandos de la policia (lo cual vengo viendo desde el inicio de los libros).
*Muchos poderes extraños que parecen evolucionar y cambiar de acuerdo a la trama.
*La abuela Lu la lleva. Repitiendo mis comentarios, habria que hacer una serie de la abuela sola, a Lily siempre la he encontrado tremendamente aburrida con su apego a las reglas y la autoridad. Pero la abuela ... tigresa ... 'amiga' cof de dragones ... badass in leather. Go granma!
*Este libro en realidad es un gran intervalo entre el anterior y el próximo, ganando velocidad para una nueva gran confrontación entre los heroes y su enemiga. Porque Cliffhanger, ¿recuerdan?
Me gusta que Cynna y Cullen esten aqui. Encuentro que son una pareja bastante fuerte.
“You okay?” Cynna asked. (Lily:)“I have spider blood on me.” “That’s the girliest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” “Lots of people don’t like spiders. It has nothing to do with who has ovaries and who has testicles.” “You’re scared of spiders.” “Shut up, Cynna.” (lol)
Además me molesta que Arjenie no parezca más que una repetidora de datos.
World of the Lupi is an excellent example of an Urban Fantasy. Mrs. Wilks has created a fantastic universe with some pretty memorable characters!
I get excited whenever a new book comes out because I can't wait to see what new adventure Lily, Rule, Cullen, and Cynna are about to embark on together.
Dragon Spawn is good from the very beginning. It has an excellent prologue, not because Cullen is wearing a speedo (which doesn't hurt) but because it gives you a taste of his commitment towards his family and also has some needed humor because once the action begins, there is not a lot of it left.
If you are familiar with the series you know that there has been a fight for centuries between the Lady (who the Lupi support/follow) and the Great Bitch (who is like Voldemort....you don't say her name because you give her power). The GB is powerful and she has tried directly or indirectly to kill them at different times.
Dragon Spawn has three storylines that I think are relevant.
First, a dominant is challenging Rule for the Leidolf mantle. A dominant is a Lupi who does not submit.
Second, chaos ensues when a bomb goes off in the FBI offices and missiles are sent to attack dragons including Sam.
Third, and the one that occupies most of the book, Tom Weng is alive and he, with the help of Ginger, is kidnapping the heirs of the different packs. This includes Toby, Rule's son. It also includes Ryder, the only female Lupi. Of course, their disappearance puts everyone on edge. Bringing the kids home becomes their only priority.
Dragon Spawn is novel with a great plot, action-packed and with a well-developed dynamic between the main characters.
My one objection to this story is the end. Talk about frustrating! It ends in a cliffhanger!!!
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really like this series but I couldn't be more disappointed in this latest novel. It got downright tedious a lot. Pages and pages of convoluted dragon-speak, pages of detailed description of multiple varieties of monsters, pages of excessive chatter by humorous characters all added to the verbal bog. Add to this the sheer chaos of crises on every front and I found myself getting numb and skimming to be done. In the end there was no payoff for wading through all the verbiage and unrelenting disaster. Not one bad guy of several choices getting taken off the board. Not a single win for the good guys. No reunions of the characters I most wanted to see reunited. Everyone is in peril or possibly worse. This novel is merely a prologue to whatever the real point of her story is, to be continued not in a couple months like a good TV cliffhanger but in several at least. And the canvas of action is so spread out we may not be much better off after the next novel. It really is a shame because this novel had the raw material to be emotionally powerful and in moments was: the parts told from Toby's perspective and when Lily confronts Rule about how Toby is hers, too. Cullen and Grandmother are always bright spots and nice to see Benedict front and center. But as a whole this novel was an effort leaving me unsatisfied rather than left on the edge of my seat waiting to see what will happen next.
Dragon Spawn (World of the Lupi #13) by Eileen Wilks
Lily learns she was right. Tom Weng—a powerful sorcerer allied with the Old One who keeps trying to take over the world—is still alive.
But that's not the worst. Weng is a dragon spawn, the product of a botched hatching given a human form in an attempt to keep him from going mad. A failed attempt. Meanwhile, Lily’s husband Rule is facing a Challenge to the death. Then there’s the possible reappearance of another sorcerer.
But none of that matters when their enemy strikes out of nowhere in the worst way possible. Lily must face a nightmare and return to a place she never wanted to see again.
The place where she died…
The 13th book of the Lupi series, things get turned upside down for the cast. There are more secrets and revelations than ever before. The good vs bad girls that pull the good guys and the bad guys in different directions for more epic adventures. You definitely want to read the previous books in this series if you haven't picked it up yet. Don't jump into the middle it won't be easy to pick up and follow along. Dragon Spawn has a lot of twists and a lot of emotional scenes and a lot of trying to figure out how to deal with Ginger and Tom - so much that I kept skipping forward because I was so anxious to know what was going to happen next. I cheated a teeny bit. Yes, I'm guilty but its a good guilty. The Lupi series only gets better the further in we (the readers) get. Wondering what's going to happen with all the kidnappings, the possessions and the emotional turmoil just adds to the excitement. If you haven't discovered this series try it out it only gets better the further in you get.
Eileen Wilks
Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy in exchange for an honest review via the publisher.
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*Source* Publisher *Genre* Urban Fantasy *Rating* 4.0
*My Thoughts*
Dragon Spawn, by author Eileen Wilks, is the 13th installment in the World of the Lupi series. This is a story where the hits start from the very beginning, and don't end until the cliffhanger ending, which I believe is the first of its kind in this series. Right from the start, Lily Yu, Unit 12 Special Agency, Chosen, & mate to Rule Tanner, has her job cut out for her. From a surprising visit from someone Cullen has been searching for, to the not so shocking fact that her mortal enemy Tom Weng, who works for the Great Bitch, is alive and well after surviving their previous encounter.
Dang it. I had a whole line-up of books to read next, a plan, if you will. Now I find I must plunge right into the next Lupi book and ignore everything else. Staying in this world a little longer is, of course, fine, but I’m so mad about the cliffhanger. I don’t think Wilks has ever done this in this series. On the other hand, the number of things left to be resolved was so high, I didn’t know how she was going to pull it off in a satisfying way. So...fine, I guess? But I sure hope this type of ending doesn’t become a habit. That rant done, I did like seeing Toby with the other kids in this one, and I’m intrigued about what will happen with his wolf. The rest of the book was an OK series entry—a lot of running around and obviously too many plots for one book. At least the digital library had a copy of Dragon Blood available. Onward!
(RabidReads.com)3.5 stars. I discovered this series on my own a few years ago. I loved the world, the characters, and just about everything about it, and I ended up reading the first three. Then I got involved in too many other series and just never went back until Mind Magic, the book just previous to this one. Of course I wanted to jump in and read this one as soon as I saw it offered on Net Galley. And while it was good, it just didn’t live up to how good Mind Magic was-at least for me anyway.
Lily, FBI special agent, and her Alpha wolf husband, Rule, are back for this installment, along with magical couple, Cynna and Cullen. I love all these characters and always enjoy catching up with them and seeing what new plight has befallen them each time. And this time, there’s two problems going on. First, Rule is being challenged to the death by a dominant newcomer that has just enough blood in him from one of the two packs that Rule leads/is heir to. The dominance in him demands that he challenge Rule. On Rule’s part, he understands, but really doesn’t want to kill the young man. Second, all hell is breaking out in different places in the country. Attacks, and that is all I am saying due to spoilers. Suffice it to say that the characters end up in the middle of all the problems when it hits close to home for them.
Mind Magic. I couldn’t put it down, and it more than earned 5 stars from me. Dragon Spawn. It took me entirely too long to read it, since I kept putting it down and reading other things, and that has never really happened to me while reading anything else by this author. Way too much description, way too much time spent by the characters waiting to do things that needed doing, and although things do happen, there was not enough going on to keep me fully engaged, at times. I kept waiting for it to take off and get some non-stop action as in Mind Magic, and that didn’t exactly happen. And when it does start to get interesting, there was a horrible cliffhanger. And by horrible I mean, that none of the story line threads really got wrapped up. And it also stopped at a very crucial point. One good thing is that there is an excerpt of the next book included, and I was able to get a bit of closure from that. Thankfully!
Now, all that being said, I loved the characters as usual. The villains were truly evil and there was even some new types of demons introduced. And speaking of demons, little demon Gan is back as well, and I enjoyed her character a lot.She’s the demon that was male and is now female. So funny when she starts trying to female bond with Lily. The story threads were exciting to a point, but as I mentioned, I expected at least one of them to be wrapped up. There’s another visit to Dis(hell) on tap for most of the group as well. Not my favorite place for the action, but it was very necessary to the plot. And I do have to mention that there are DRAGONS! And not the shapeshifter kind. These dragons are arrogant, intelligent, and know things that humans couldn’t even fathom. And they mind speak! So all in all, this was not a bad addition to this series whatsoever. Fans of this series will probably not be disappointed and hopefully will not have the same experience I had with trying to finish the book in a timely manner.
Recommended to adult UF fans. I would start with book one as the stories do go in order.
I've had a love/hate relationship with this series. I love the characters...absolutely adore them all. I love it when the author hits her stride and shows us a fantastic, action packed, urban fantasy story that is filled with mystery, suspense, and all kinds of fascinating creatures. This book was wonderful until it just ended..."boom"...no resolution, major pause, huge cliffhanger, that 'you-get-to-wait-for-the-next-book' kind of torture that I despise. I probably should take an extra star away because of it, but I'm feeling generous today and I did enjoy the book - even though it is incomplete.
Dragon Spawn is definitely one of the better stories. We learn a little more about Sam and the dragons, whom I adore! All of our favorite characters are back, including Grandmother and Gan. Part of the story takes place in Dis, the hell realm first introduced in Mortal Danger Rule and Lily are up against one of the most powerful enemies they've faced so far and the action scenes are fantastic. The problem is that the book ends right in the middle of it all. GRRRR!!!!!
My recommendation? Wait for the next book to be published before you read this one and let's all hope we aren't faced with another cliffhanger for awhile.
Looks like the Great Bitch is back and doing what she does best, cause chaos. And what causes chaos more than disrupting the dragons and stealing what is most precious to the Lupi. With those 2 acts everyone is at loose ends and everyone wants to go after her. They sort of have a plan, but it seems more like things work for them. With the ending you really aren't sure if they succeeded or not, hate the cliffhanger, but will be looking forward to the next book to see what happened.
This book just ends. I don't think I've ever seen a "cliff - hanger" ending that didn't still at least finish the smaller story arc, before leaving you on the edge for the larger. Did not like. At all.
Man, sometimes I hate cliffhangers and this is one of those times. What happened to the The next book in the series is out but I have 3 other books that are due now that I need to read first. UGH!!!
Great story, and a fun read. But under no circumstances start this novel unless you already have the next one, number 14, ready to go. The cliffhanger is an absolute killer.
This really does feel too much like a prequel instead of a story in its own right.
It did have a few good scenes. I liked Lily claiming Toby but honestly it felt a little slow in coming. Rule and Lily have been together for two years now, how has this not happened sooner?
At this point I'm starting to worry the author is running out of material and is attempting to stretch what little she has across multiple books.
Think of this as Part 1 of a two-part book. (The next book in the series being part 2). It was fine, but it was mostly setup, and it ended in a really awkward place during the climax of the action, without any resolution to the main plot problem. The "resolution" was really just a cliffhanger for the next book. The idea of dragon spawn was interesting but sad.
Sam, the great Black Dragon, is finally willing to release some secrets about the Sorcerer Tom Weng and the dragon’s shameful secret
When the missiles start landing
The nature of the dragonspawn become a less pressing problem as Sam is attacked, nuclear weapons start flying and Lupi children start disappearing
The war with the Enemy is finally coming.
Hmmmm… hmmmmm
Hmmmmm…
This is kind of what I’ve been doing and why I’ve just spent several several hours trying to start this review and then stopping because I’m not sure how to address this
There’s a lot I love here
I love that we’re back to that core battle – the battle against the enemy. We’re focused again on Lily and Rule. We’re involving the dragons and Lily’s friends and Cullen et al. It’s back to the main meta and the main plot
We continue to have the excellent world building – the wonderful development of things like the dragon’s culture and knowledge and world and unique biology. I love the excellent, detailed insight we got into even relatively minor players like the Gnomes – creating an impressive, involved culture and tradition and language system for being that have so little role but still get a full accounting and development.
We continue to have excellent commentary on politics and history and culture with some excellent moments like the politics of the FBI and law enforcement
All of it through the lens of Lilly who continues to be awesome and intelligent and insightful and so wonderfully competent.
We also have a lot of racial diversity. Lily is an Asian woman, the awesome Madame Yu is back in the picture. We have Black, Native American (including Benedict, a prominent character) and Latino characters in the police force, in the lupi packs, in every group that plays a role in the series. Racial diversity has always been more of a norm in this series than an exception – wherever we have a depiction of a large group of people there will be a racial cross section among them. And Lily with Gan, Cynna and her grandmother does not move in an all male setting or surrounding.
In terms of LGBTQ people… well if you know from previous books then we have some because we know Madame Yu is in a same-sex relationship – but it isn’t mentioned at all in this book, there are no other LGBTQ characters and some homophobia and transphobia included: including by Cullen ironically (or not) in a scene where he is calling out racism and anti-religious hatred. Well done for fighting bigotry – but by encouraging and supporting other bigotry? Yeah, thanks for that
This would have been a 5 Star read for me except for the cliffhanger ending!! 4 1/2 Stars
Oh boy, more Lily, Rule and a host of others!!
What I liked: When you wait for almost a year or more for an installment in a favorite series, you hope it’s worth the wait; Dragon Spawn WAS worth the wait and yet, not. First things first….
I love this series when Lily and Rule are the stars as that is how I fell in love with it oh, so many years ago. I mean think about it, magic, dragons, Lupi, shifters, demons, The Lady and The Bi*ch. Mix them all together and you’ve got a heck of a lot of storylines the author could follow. Ms Wilks does include a book here and there in the World of the Lupi series about others beside Lily and Rule, but Lily and Rule are the nucleus. This is the 13th book of the series and yet I still wait impatiently for each release.
Each book usually picks up right where or near to where the previous book ended; so a lot has happened over 13 books but in a pretty short timeframe. In Dragon Spawn, a new problem is introduced. Let me be clear here, this series and each book in it are not quick, easy reads. There are a multitude of characters and plots for each one, there are more worlds than just Earth and new information is usually introduced in each installment of the series. Ms Wilks also has “rules” that each species is bound to follow. Sam, The Black Dragon, is breaking a rule in telling Lily, Rule and Lily’s grandmother, Li Lei Yu or Madam Yu (I love this character so much and wonder if she will get her own book somewhere in the future) how and why Dragon Spawn happen. More often than not, dragon spawn are the Earth’s equivalent of psychopaths. And guess who the Great Bi*ch has on her side now.
Ms Wilks does not make it easy on her characters. Just because they are fighting for the greater good doesn’t mean they don’t have obstacles to overcome or some they can’t win. What would a parent do for their child?, just about anything and that’s all I can say without spoilers. The Great Bi*ch knows her enemy well and will stop at nothing to enter the Earth dimension so she can conquer the world.
What I didn’t like: When I said Dragon Spawn was worth the wait, I meant it. HOWEVER, a cliffhanger was not what I expected at all. I was pretty upset and Ms Wilks does give a glimpse into the next book to help calm the reader down but, I hate cliffhangers especially given how long between each new release in this series.
If you're not an avid reader of this series, you might think the beginning is a bit slow but if you're familiar with Ms Wilks' writing, she pays a attention to detail and lays the groundwork well. Our heroines/heroes are playing defense in the beginning of Dragon Spawn and trying to regroup, so it feels a little slow.
Overall, I loved Dragon Spawn, Ms Wilks is a heck of an author to keep me coming back after 13 books. I always recommend the World of the Lupi series to friends and those in need of something just a bit different from all the other paranormal books available.
Surprisingly, the pricing is $7.99 which considering some of the books out there that are selling at $9.99 or more, you more than get your money’s worth. The paperback edition is a few pennies cheaper at $7.43.
I highly recommend Dragon Spawn but please, please, start at the beginning of the series and read all the shorts and novellas that are available too.
As a fan of the series, I wanted to give this a higher rating; but couldn't bring myself to do it. It's probably a 2 1/2 stars for me. The story was just so disjointed, and some of the scenes were, frankly, unnecessary, with zero impact on events or character building. The characters' motivations were repetitive, and their interactions rote. I hadn't ever been bored with the stories in this series until now. But by far the harshest criticism I have is with the ending. I get that Wilks wanted this to be a cliffhanger; but turning the last page and reading the last few paragraphs didn't leave me anxious/excited/wowwed/breathless, it just left me confused. My actual words were, "Wait, what? What the hell was that? Is that all there is??" No satisfaction, no feeling of wonder, just blank confusion. None of it made any sense. All in all, very disappointing. And completely unexpected from someone who's usually a very fine author. I am shocked at how much this volume failed.