What do you think?
Rate this book
World of the Lupi #14
Dragon Blood
The battle against a vengeful goddess reaches a climactic point as Lily Yu must now face the ultimate challenge in a dangerous new realm—without her husband, Rule...
When a mission to rescue five children stolen by an Old One falls apart under the assault of a demon prince, Lily wakes up in a strange reality—and is immediately taken captive by the dragon spawn who rule there. Jumping worlds has fractured her party, and Cynna is her only companion.
Although the clock is ticking, time works differently, and Lily has miraculously gained a week. That means seven days to free herself, find Rule and the others, rescue the children, and make it home alive. All before the dragon spawn holding her hostage trade her to the Old One. It would almost be doable if this weren’t Lóng Jia—also known as Dragonhome: the birthplace of dragons.
When a mission to rescue five children stolen by an Old One falls apart under the assault of a demon prince, Lily wakes up in a strange reality—and is immediately taken captive by the dragon spawn who rule there. Jumping worlds has fractured her party, and Cynna is her only companion.
Although the clock is ticking, time works differently, and Lily has miraculously gained a week. That means seven days to free herself, find Rule and the others, rescue the children, and make it home alive. All before the dragon spawn holding her hostage trade her to the Old One. It would almost be doable if this weren’t Lóng Jia—also known as Dragonhome: the birthplace of dragons.
391 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 2, 2018
95 people are currently reading
1306 people want to read
About the author
Eileen Wilks
129 books1,526 followersEileen 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
March 6, 2018
Best read back to back with the previous book. Avoids frustration at the end of that one, due to the massive cliffhanger, aka it stopped practically in the middle of a chapter. Some heavy editing of this one here with some massive cuts and publishing those two books in one might have been the way to go...
The book starts with immediate action (middle of the chapter, remember?), followed by a veeery looong info dump. 70 pages in, I starting skimming just a teeny-weeny bit. 100 pages later I was still knee-deep in explanations, more explanations, details upon details, portals, gates, Dis, Hell, magical philosophy, snore, skim skim skim.... And more skimming. Oh boy, this really did not do it for me. Large parts of the plot just felt like boring attempts to rack up the page count. Jumping here, jumping there, more detailed explanations, pages after pages of... I don’t even know, because I was skimming so much! The only highlight was Grandmother.
What the heck was that? Possibly the end of me reading this series. 2 catatonic stars, whimpering away, possibly through a gate into another dimension, that might or might not have a congruent timeline. I wish I had a gate to go through, back to the time before I started this book!
The book starts with immediate action (middle of the chapter, remember?), followed by a veeery looong info dump. 70 pages in, I starting skimming just a teeny-weeny bit. 100 pages later I was still knee-deep in explanations, more explanations, details upon details, portals, gates, Dis, Hell, magical philosophy, snore, skim skim skim.... And more skimming. Oh boy, this really did not do it for me. Large parts of the plot just felt like boring attempts to rack up the page count. Jumping here, jumping there, more detailed explanations, pages after pages of... I don’t even know, because I was skimming so much! The only highlight was Grandmother.
What the heck was that? Possibly the end of me reading this series. 2 catatonic stars, whimpering away, possibly through a gate into another dimension, that might or might not have a congruent timeline. I wish I had a gate to go through, back to the time before I started this book!
January 13, 2018
This book was very detailed! It was difficult to connect to the plot when you are given a description of everything throughout the entire novel. I felt that with some editing to remove the excessive, detailed, descriptions this would be a solid 5 star read, As it stands it's 3.5 stars for me.
I received this ARC copy of Dragon Blood from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. Dragon Blood is set for publication Jan. 2, 2018.
I received this ARC copy of Dragon Blood from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. Dragon Blood is set for publication Jan. 2, 2018.
December 28, 2017
Full disclosure, Dragon Blood is a book I found difficult to get into, and I skimmed a bit. Parts of the story were interesting, but there was too much skipping around and far too much detailed description of random ‘stuff’. I would have loved for this book and the last one to have been a single book; with a heavy round of editing.
I didn’t care for the story being set fully in the dragon realm, I much prefer the storylines that stay in the earth realm. Grandmother played a large role, that was nice; and the reader learned some of the background behind the dragon culture and the dragon spawn. The dangers to the Lupi children showed promise, but was woefully underused until the very end. There was a fairly simple plotline; but the convoluted elaboration and minute detail sucked all the life and interest for me.
This series is getting too far ‘out there’ for my tastes; and I honestly don’t know if I’ll read the next book. This puts me in mind of how far off the rails and weirded out Diana Rowland’s “Kara Gillian” series got in the Demon realm before I finally gave it up. As with that series, this is no longer the series that originally drew me in.
Others may love it; it simply wasn’t for me. Overall, I was disappointed, even more so than with ‘Dragon Spawn’. It just didn’t hold my interest well.
I didn’t care for the story being set fully in the dragon realm, I much prefer the storylines that stay in the earth realm. Grandmother played a large role, that was nice; and the reader learned some of the background behind the dragon culture and the dragon spawn. The dangers to the Lupi children showed promise, but was woefully underused until the very end. There was a fairly simple plotline; but the convoluted elaboration and minute detail sucked all the life and interest for me.
This series is getting too far ‘out there’ for my tastes; and I honestly don’t know if I’ll read the next book. This puts me in mind of how far off the rails and weirded out Diana Rowland’s “Kara Gillian” series got in the Demon realm before I finally gave it up. As with that series, this is no longer the series that originally drew me in.
Others may love it; it simply wasn’t for me. Overall, I was disappointed, even more so than with ‘Dragon Spawn’. It just didn’t hold my interest well.
March 3, 2018
Remember the Cliffhanger? aka when ppl are dying in Dis and...
...suddenly you are in another place?
Yep. That's the one.
Well , it goes like this: a little of
and then we got the impression of having fall into
with less enfasis in the sacrifice of thevirgins and more in the lupi children and where Lily is no-game. And Grandmother rocks.
rtc
----------------
http://eileenwilks.com/#!/dragon-blood
...suddenly you are in another place?
Yep. That's the one.
Well , it goes like this: a little of
and then we got the impression of having fall into
with less enfasis in the sacrifice of the
rtc
----------------
http://eileenwilks.com/#!/dragon-blood
February 8, 2018
Dragon Blood takes off from where the previous book, Dragon Spawn, left readers with an annoying cliffhanger. Lily, Rule, and a number of others were in the demon world Dis, trying to retrieve the Lupi children kidnapped by dragon spawn Tom Weng and the avatar of the Great Bitch. Events were going at breakneck speed and the culminating battle was not going well, so Lily and a few others were whisked to another realm. Events from the previous book are summarized at the beginning of this one and then...very little happens for about 75% of the book.
Lily and Cynna are captured in the new realm, separated from Rule, Grandmother, and Gan. They spend long periods of time waiting to reunite, thinking about magic, philosophizing about magic, waiting some more, all interspersed with exposition reviewing history and the major players in the conflict. The exposition is a bit dry, if helpful in putting the pieces of the overarching storyline together, but it slows the already slow narrative to a crawl.
The last part of the book picks up the pace, and the plotline of the kidnapped children is wrapped up. There are some interesting secrets revealed almost in passing and there’s an interesting twist at the end that will complicate the larger Great Bitch storyline. But overall, the book was difficult to get through because of the pacing/lack of action. I also have enjoyed more the books in the series that centered on the Lupi/pack issues rather than magic/different realms, and this book was almost entirely the latter.
I do enjoy the world and characters in the series and hope it will return to more of the storylines I prefer. The hints of continuation of the Great Bitch plotline at the end of the book do not give me much hope, though.
Lily and Cynna are captured in the new realm, separated from Rule, Grandmother, and Gan. They spend long periods of time waiting to reunite, thinking about magic, philosophizing about magic, waiting some more, all interspersed with exposition reviewing history and the major players in the conflict. The exposition is a bit dry, if helpful in putting the pieces of the overarching storyline together, but it slows the already slow narrative to a crawl.
The last part of the book picks up the pace, and the plotline of the kidnapped children is wrapped up. There are some interesting secrets revealed almost in passing and there’s an interesting twist at the end that will complicate the larger Great Bitch storyline. But overall, the book was difficult to get through because of the pacing/lack of action. I also have enjoyed more the books in the series that centered on the Lupi/pack issues rather than magic/different realms, and this book was almost entirely the latter.
I do enjoy the world and characters in the series and hope it will return to more of the storylines I prefer. The hints of continuation of the Great Bitch plotline at the end of the book do not give me much hope, though.
December 11, 2017
Eileen Wilks has been setting up a showdown between Lily, Rule and The Great Bitch for what feels like eons. This is book fourteen after all. The Great Bitch is the supreme villain, although our heroes have been fighting her minions since this series started. She has focused on Lily because she wants to use Lily’s body as an avatar on Earth. Magic does not have an effect on Lily, which makes her the perfect host. As Dragon Blood begins right where Dragon Spawn left off (cliffhanger), Lily has traveled through dimensions to Dragonhome where all of the Spawn live. Her friends are still trying to save the children that were kidnapped, and this dimension may be where that standoff actually happens.
The previous novel seemed to drag a bit, so I was excited at the quicker pace at the beginning of Dragon Blood. Lily is at her best when she is solving riddles, and this novel has a couple of plot twists that kept it interesting. I was disappointed that Lily and Rule were separated for most of the book. Lily’s strengths are her clear thinking and ability to solve mysteries, but Rule is more physical. Those contrasting aspects of their characters make them more interesting together and less interesting when they are apart. Did they save the kids? No spoilers here!
I have been a huge fan of the World of the Lupi books and have loved reading about Lily and Rule’s evolving relationship, but the last few books have been just ho-hum. This series will probably be over when they fight and win (I’m going to assume that they win) against the Great Bitch, so I’m sad that I’m ready for the end of this series. Eileen Wilks has built an amazing world, but lately I feel like the story has taken too long to be concluded and the descriptive writing that I’ve loved previously is now making the story drag. The plot to save these children (including Rule’s son, Toby) may be leading up to Lily’s mental preparation to become a mother herself, and when that happens I believe this series will end. It should. I am ready for this author to start fresh with a new world and new characters and I will be the first in line to read that book! ❤️❤️❤️❣️
I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!
The previous novel seemed to drag a bit, so I was excited at the quicker pace at the beginning of Dragon Blood. Lily is at her best when she is solving riddles, and this novel has a couple of plot twists that kept it interesting. I was disappointed that Lily and Rule were separated for most of the book. Lily’s strengths are her clear thinking and ability to solve mysteries, but Rule is more physical. Those contrasting aspects of their characters make them more interesting together and less interesting when they are apart. Did they save the kids? No spoilers here!
I have been a huge fan of the World of the Lupi books and have loved reading about Lily and Rule’s evolving relationship, but the last few books have been just ho-hum. This series will probably be over when they fight and win (I’m going to assume that they win) against the Great Bitch, so I’m sad that I’m ready for the end of this series. Eileen Wilks has built an amazing world, but lately I feel like the story has taken too long to be concluded and the descriptive writing that I’ve loved previously is now making the story drag. The plot to save these children (including Rule’s son, Toby) may be leading up to Lily’s mental preparation to become a mother herself, and when that happens I believe this series will end. It should. I am ready for this author to start fresh with a new world and new characters and I will be the first in line to read that book! ❤️❤️❤️❣️
I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!
December 21, 2017
*Source* NetGalley
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 3.0
*Thoughts*
Dragon Blood is the 14th installment in author Eileen Wilks World of the Lupi series. If you are a fan of this series, then you have already read Dragon Spawn. If you've read Dragon Spawn, then you know that that book is one of the very few in this series that ended on a stunning cliffhanger. This is a series that features FBI Special Agent Lily Yu, and her husband Rule Tanner who are fighting to save Earth from the Great Bitch and her avatars.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 3.0
*Thoughts*
Dragon Blood is the 14th installment in author Eileen Wilks World of the Lupi series. If you are a fan of this series, then you have already read Dragon Spawn. If you've read Dragon Spawn, then you know that that book is one of the very few in this series that ended on a stunning cliffhanger. This is a series that features FBI Special Agent Lily Yu, and her husband Rule Tanner who are fighting to save Earth from the Great Bitch and her avatars.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
May 1, 2018
When I finished reading Eileen Wilks’ DRAGON SPAWN over two years ago, I remember closing the pages (yes, I always buy Eileen in print!) and going, “Huh?” I felt as if I'd stopped in the middle of one of the best books I’d read in ages. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized she had ended it perfectly because the story had so much going on, it needed at least another full-length book.
It's hard to be patient, but Ms. Wilks is always worth the wait. She has yet to disappoint! I just finished DRAGON BLOOD, and it’s an absolutely stunning conclusion to this story arc—Lily Yu is one of my favorite heroines of all time, and Rule, her Lupi mate, is her perfect counterpart. The secondary characters are just as intriguing as the main cast, and the setting was, as it always is in this author's work, beautifully drawn and totally bizarre. I love the way she stages her stories.
I went back and reread parts of DRAGON SPAWN before starting this newest edition to the Lupi series, though I discovered once I started DRAGON BLOOD, I didn’t really need to have done that. Everything in this book absolutely flowed.
I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this one, including the teaser for the next book that's in the final chapter.
Such a conundrum! Desperately wanting to know what happens next, and knowing it’s going to take a while for Ms. Wilks to work her magic. A note to the author--Thank you for a truly wonderful book. Now get back to work!
It's hard to be patient, but Ms. Wilks is always worth the wait. She has yet to disappoint! I just finished DRAGON BLOOD, and it’s an absolutely stunning conclusion to this story arc—Lily Yu is one of my favorite heroines of all time, and Rule, her Lupi mate, is her perfect counterpart. The secondary characters are just as intriguing as the main cast, and the setting was, as it always is in this author's work, beautifully drawn and totally bizarre. I love the way she stages her stories.
I went back and reread parts of DRAGON SPAWN before starting this newest edition to the Lupi series, though I discovered once I started DRAGON BLOOD, I didn’t really need to have done that. Everything in this book absolutely flowed.
I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this one, including the teaser for the next book that's in the final chapter.
Such a conundrum! Desperately wanting to know what happens next, and knowing it’s going to take a while for Ms. Wilks to work her magic. A note to the author--Thank you for a truly wonderful book. Now get back to work!
November 17, 2019
Not my favorite in the series, but there was good payoff in the last 30% of the book. If I didn’t like this series so much and wasn’t so invested in the characters, I probably wouldn’t have finished this book. But, I do, and I am, and I sure hope the next (and last) book in the series is packed with all the things I love about it.
Why 3 stars, with such a lukewarm reaction? Because I can’t bring myself to rate it lower. There was way too much explaining and traveling for me, and I don’t like it when Rule and Lily aren’t interacting and working together. I did like getting so much of Grandmother in this book, and Gan’s continued soul growth and path to understanding what it means to have friends was sweet.
Here’s hoping the last book isn’t long in coming and that it’s a whiz-bang finale to the series.
Why 3 stars, with such a lukewarm reaction? Because I can’t bring myself to rate it lower. There was way too much explaining and traveling for me, and I don’t like it when Rule and Lily aren’t interacting and working together. I did like getting so much of Grandmother in this book, and Gan’s continued soul growth and path to understanding what it means to have friends was sweet.
Here’s hoping the last book isn’t long in coming and that it’s a whiz-bang finale to the series.
December 1, 2017
Lily Yu, along with Rule, Cynna, Grandmother, and Gan, find themselves in Long Jia, the fabled Dragonhome, on their quest to rescue the missing Lupi children. The missing children include Rule's son Toby and Cynna's daughter Ryder. Of course, they are also trying to defeat the Great Bitch and it looks like the dragon spawn on Dragonhome have made some sort of deal with her.
They are taken from Dis to Long Jia by Gan who doesn't manage to keep them all together. Cynna and Lily end up in the capitol city which is ruled by dragon spawn. Grandmother, Rule and Gan appear far from the city and need to make their way to it to rejoin the others. Making things more difficult is that Rule is badly injured. We do learn more about Grandmother's abilities and past as she attempts to heal him.
While Grandmother, Rule, and Gan are making their way to the capitol, Lily is being interrogated by one of the dragon spawn. Since he, like all the dragon spawn, is a sociopath, his interrogation techniques are akin to torture. Between sessions which have Lily discussing abstract topics like altruism, faith, and belief, she and Cynna are trying to find a way out of their prison, a way to rescue the children, and a way to gate back to Earth.
When Gan brought them to Dragonhome, she brought them some time before the children were actually kidnapped which does give our heroes some time to come up with a plan to rescue them. Lily does find out why the children were taken and what is planned for them which makes their rescue even more vital.
I liked the setting of Dragonhome which has been colonized by Chinese who essentially fell through a gate from Earth. I liked learning more about the history of the dragons. I liked learning more about Grandmother. The story was filled with action.
While this would not be a good place to start this series since its events follow so closely and are dependent on the events of Dragon Spawn, it is a great episode for long-time fans of the series. This book is not a cliffhanger in that the main plot of this book - rescuing the children - is mostly concluded but the ending leads the way for the next book in the series.
Fans of urban fantasy and dragons will enjoy this long-running series.
They are taken from Dis to Long Jia by Gan who doesn't manage to keep them all together. Cynna and Lily end up in the capitol city which is ruled by dragon spawn. Grandmother, Rule and Gan appear far from the city and need to make their way to it to rejoin the others. Making things more difficult is that Rule is badly injured. We do learn more about Grandmother's abilities and past as she attempts to heal him.
While Grandmother, Rule, and Gan are making their way to the capitol, Lily is being interrogated by one of the dragon spawn. Since he, like all the dragon spawn, is a sociopath, his interrogation techniques are akin to torture. Between sessions which have Lily discussing abstract topics like altruism, faith, and belief, she and Cynna are trying to find a way out of their prison, a way to rescue the children, and a way to gate back to Earth.
When Gan brought them to Dragonhome, she brought them some time before the children were actually kidnapped which does give our heroes some time to come up with a plan to rescue them. Lily does find out why the children were taken and what is planned for them which makes their rescue even more vital.
I liked the setting of Dragonhome which has been colonized by Chinese who essentially fell through a gate from Earth. I liked learning more about the history of the dragons. I liked learning more about Grandmother. The story was filled with action.
While this would not be a good place to start this series since its events follow so closely and are dependent on the events of Dragon Spawn, it is a great episode for long-time fans of the series. This book is not a cliffhanger in that the main plot of this book - rescuing the children - is mostly concluded but the ending leads the way for the next book in the series.
Fans of urban fantasy and dragons will enjoy this long-running series.
May 7, 2018
Eileen Wilks drops us right back into the action with this latest installment of her World of the Lupi series and thankfully, she begins with a great recap; otherwise, I think I would have completely forgotten what was going on. You see, the last book stopped right in the middle of the action: Lily and Rule had led a group of fighters into Dis to rescue Toby and some other Lupi children who had been kidnapped. They were in the middle of a big battle; Benedict and Cullen were seriously hurt… so was Rule. A dragon snatched Lily and THEN THE BOOK WAS OVER. This book is more like a Part 2 of that story, although it has its own arc set entirely in Dragonhome, which is where Lily is spirited away to.
As the story begins, Lily wakes up in this other plane. The dragon spawn who run this world have made a deal with the lupi’s Great Enemy which demands they procure her in exchange for a spoiler I’m not going to reveal. Thankfully, Gan has also pulled Cynna, Rule, and Grandmother into the same plane; only, they are not all together. Lily and Cynna are both held captive, while Grandmother and Rule must travel a great distance and come up with a plan for their rescue. The book bounces back and forth between their storylines until they converge at the end.
It was a good book. It’s a cool blend of Chinese and otherworldly cultures. I found the dragon spawn fascinating, despite (or maybe even because of) their sociopathic mindset. I was especially interested in the one who was trying to understand human concepts like altruism and integrity while clearly having no compunction about using torture to get the results he was after. There is a lot of action, but there is also a lot of conceptual stuff happening, especially when it came to Lily’s side of the story. I felt like her half was the stronger part of the book, but Grandmother’s presence in Rule’s journey helped drive up my interest level there.
There’s a lot of stuff happening, and while there is resolution in the kidnapped kids and escape from Dragonhome storylines, this adventure isn’t over yet. There’s no cliffhanger like in the last book, but there is no doubt that the next book is interconnected to this one and the one before. I’d definitely recommend this book for fans of the series, though. And if you’ve never tried the series, for sure, it’s worth reading. Lily is such a great heroine (both with and without Rule) and the secondary characters are just as interesting and fleshed out in their own rights.
Bring on the next book. I’m ready for Michael and Molly (see Originally Human) to finally fold into the main books!!
Rating: B/B+
*ARC provided by publisher
As the story begins, Lily wakes up in this other plane. The dragon spawn who run this world have made a deal with the lupi’s Great Enemy which demands they procure her in exchange for a spoiler I’m not going to reveal. Thankfully, Gan has also pulled Cynna, Rule, and Grandmother into the same plane; only, they are not all together. Lily and Cynna are both held captive, while Grandmother and Rule must travel a great distance and come up with a plan for their rescue. The book bounces back and forth between their storylines until they converge at the end.
It was a good book. It’s a cool blend of Chinese and otherworldly cultures. I found the dragon spawn fascinating, despite (or maybe even because of) their sociopathic mindset. I was especially interested in the one who was trying to understand human concepts like altruism and integrity while clearly having no compunction about using torture to get the results he was after. There is a lot of action, but there is also a lot of conceptual stuff happening, especially when it came to Lily’s side of the story. I felt like her half was the stronger part of the book, but Grandmother’s presence in Rule’s journey helped drive up my interest level there.
There’s a lot of stuff happening, and while there is resolution in the kidnapped kids and escape from Dragonhome storylines, this adventure isn’t over yet. There’s no cliffhanger like in the last book, but there is no doubt that the next book is interconnected to this one and the one before. I’d definitely recommend this book for fans of the series, though. And if you’ve never tried the series, for sure, it’s worth reading. Lily is such a great heroine (both with and without Rule) and the secondary characters are just as interesting and fleshed out in their own rights.
Bring on the next book. I’m ready for Michael and Molly (see Originally Human) to finally fold into the main books!!
Rating: B/B+
*ARC provided by publisher
May 15, 2018
Honestly, I'm having a tough time hanging with this series. I absolutely love the characters and I like the pack dynamics and the relationships but the constant spewing of magical theory and how things work is driving me crazy. It's long, drawn out and quite frankly really boring. It slows the pace of the book WAY DOWN and I find myself putting the book down because I'm bored senseless waiting for something to happen. In fact for 75% or more of this book the reader is waiting for something to happen. Rule, Grandmother and Gan are separated from Lily and Cynna who have been captured and most the book is spent waiting for Rule and Grandmother to make their way to Lily and Cynna. We don't even know if Cullen and Benedict are alive but somehow I felt no drama or angst. Probably because Lily and Cynna never really do either since they spend most their time talking about magical theory and the background of all the players.
Will I stick with this series - probably just because I want to know how it all ends but I'm definitely on the borrow from the library side when this used to be a buy immediately series for me.
Will I stick with this series - probably just because I want to know how it all ends but I'm definitely on the borrow from the library side when this used to be a buy immediately series for me.
February 7, 2018
At the end of the last book, I was like %$*# cliffhangers
At the end of this book, I'm like yay!!!!
Good resolution to this story arc, and Wilks built the groundwork for the next story arc.
There's not real "romance" in here exactly, though many other kinds of love are shown. I actually really enjoyed that, but the longer this series goes on, the more I think it's shelved in the wrong genre. Oh well.
I continue to enjoy how all the characters have an internal POV in this series -- whether or not the story is told from their POV, they all clearly have interiority. For me, this is nicely balanced by plot development and worldbuilding. This book is set in an alternate medieval China, and I found that quite fun. Especially when comparing Lily and Grandmother's reactions to things.
If you like your stories more action oriented, this may not work for you. But also, if you haven't read this series before, do not start here.
At the end of this book, I'm like yay!!!!
Good resolution to this story arc, and Wilks built the groundwork for the next story arc.
There's not real "romance" in here exactly, though many other kinds of love are shown. I actually really enjoyed that, but the longer this series goes on, the more I think it's shelved in the wrong genre. Oh well.
I continue to enjoy how all the characters have an internal POV in this series -- whether or not the story is told from their POV, they all clearly have interiority. For me, this is nicely balanced by plot development and worldbuilding. This book is set in an alternate medieval China, and I found that quite fun. Especially when comparing Lily and Grandmother's reactions to things.
If you like your stories more action oriented, this may not work for you. But also, if you haven't read this series before, do not start here.
January 11, 2018
I had such a hard time with this book, much like the one set in Dis. It was so wordy and easy to get lost with the unfamiliar setting and all the language issues.
I did really like the parts with Rule and Grandmother, love how their relationship has changed. I also liked how Lily and Cynna were able to comfort and bolster each other.
I did really like the parts with Rule and Grandmother, love how their relationship has changed. I also liked how Lily and Cynna were able to comfort and bolster each other.
January 5, 2018
I’ve enjoyed the Lupi series and looked forward to every book coming out until this one. The last book, Dragon Spawn, began to lose my interest about the time the group went to Dis and then left us in a cliffhanger that promised more of the same. This one, with its otherworldly setting, took a long time to catch my interest again, but in the last quarter the excitement finally started to build and I was pleased with the ending. Overall, however, I just don’t feel like this book is up to the standard of the first twelve. Hopefully Wilks will turn things around in the next one.
On the positive side, this series is blessed with very interesting characters. Lily Yu and Rule Turner make an excellent pair. They have very different personalities and their strengths complement each other nicely. Each one is believable with their personality quirks. The same can be said of the ever growing cast. These are characters you can care about. It’s just this particular adventure stretched out over two books that didn’t hold my interest.
On the positive side, this series is blessed with very interesting characters. Lily Yu and Rule Turner make an excellent pair. They have very different personalities and their strengths complement each other nicely. Each one is believable with their personality quirks. The same can be said of the ever growing cast. These are characters you can care about. It’s just this particular adventure stretched out over two books that didn’t hold my interest.
August 12, 2021
This will be part review and part rant.
For those who are wondering if and when there will be another book -( The Codex
from reading her Facebook page, I sincerely doubt it. It has been three years since this book, and the author has several reasons why she is not writing. One is along the line of what the Andrews team is claiming about their next The Iron Covenant Series book. I call it general ennui or pure laziness. But that's me, and I'm no author. I just know that I would be very much indebted to those who have stayed with a series like this one that eventually turned into a mess of filler, a myriad of introspection, and several cliffhangers.
Please check out the sixth post down for more information: https://www.facebook.com/eileenwilks
We had already know where the Codex is and who has it. Why the need to drag this on? (read the novella -
) Although the end of this book finally delves into this issue. Sort of...at the end.
Why do we need such improbable and complex scenarios? I can only suspend my disbelief so far before the cord breaks.
Adding insult to injury, entire paragraphs are copied and pasted from early in the book to later chapters. I can see why Ms. Wilks did this, what with the space/time issue, but still. This is unacceptable to me.
The story is interesting enough; bloody and scary and deadly, but written as if the author doesn't care. Part of the problem is that I think Ms. Wilks is starting to believe that what she is writing is real life. This can be both good or bad. In this case, it adds a lot of detail that most people don't need to keep them avidly and eagerly reading.
All in all, this isn't a terrible read, but it IS a supremely tedious book. It takes about 3/4 of the novel to get interesting.
We know that there is supposed to be another book, but will it be worth it if it is written like the last two or three novels?
For those who are wondering if and when there will be another book -( The Codex
from reading her Facebook page, I sincerely doubt it. It has been three years since this book, and the author has several reasons why she is not writing. One is along the line of what the Andrews team is claiming about their next The Iron Covenant Series book. I call it general ennui or pure laziness. But that's me, and I'm no author. I just know that I would be very much indebted to those who have stayed with a series like this one that eventually turned into a mess of filler, a myriad of introspection, and several cliffhangers.Please check out the sixth post down for more information: https://www.facebook.com/eileenwilks
We had already know where the Codex is and who has it. Why the need to drag this on? (read the novella -
) Although the end of this book finally delves into this issue. Sort of...at the end. Why do we need such improbable and complex scenarios? I can only suspend my disbelief so far before the cord breaks.
Adding insult to injury, entire paragraphs are copied and pasted from early in the book to later chapters. I can see why Ms. Wilks did this, what with the space/time issue, but still. This is unacceptable to me.
The story is interesting enough; bloody and scary and deadly, but written as if the author doesn't care. Part of the problem is that I think Ms. Wilks is starting to believe that what she is writing is real life. This can be both good or bad. In this case, it adds a lot of detail that most people don't need to keep them avidly and eagerly reading.
All in all, this isn't a terrible read, but it IS a supremely tedious book. It takes about 3/4 of the novel to get interesting.
We know that there is supposed to be another book, but will it be worth it if it is written like the last two or three novels?
May 30, 2022
And another series I'm giving up on. The story gets lost in all the details of Lilyverse - gates vs. portals, Dis vs. Hell, demons who change sex, dragons who are good unless they're bad - everything else, all explained in excruciating and endlessly endless detail. The relationship between Rule and Lily is barely touched. Frankly, I just got bored with it long before the ending, and although I'd really like to know what happens to The Great Bitch, there are too many other good books to be read to spend so much time trying to understand what's going on here.
November 21, 2025
Interesting. Thankfully doesn't end on a cliffhanger.
I have no idea where that brother came from. I'll probably need to do a backwards re-read -- unless it was part of a short story?
I have no idea where that brother came from. I'll probably need to do a backwards re-read -- unless it was part of a short story?
June 7, 2023
Fourteenth in the World of the Lupi urban fantasy series and revolving around Lily Yu, an FBI agent with Gifts, mated to the gorgeous werewolf, Rule Turner.
My Take
It’s a two-mantled wild ride of a story with Lily and Cynna captured by the dragon spawn and Madame Yu, Rule, and Gan struggling to find them through an interpolation of an ancient China with its way of life and manner.
Wilks easily slips perspective from Lily to Rule to Madame Yu with our seeing the story through their emotions and thoughts, a third person global subjective point-of-view.
It’s an interesting realm Wilks has created in Dragon Blood, from the manner in which its Dragonhome population, um, “creates” and its culture. There’s a fascinating backstory as well that explains how dragons became what they are and why they are all born males. And why Europe had such trouble with dragons while Chinese history did not indicate draconic issues, lol. Hmmm, what parents wouldn’t give for this kind of relief *grinning*.
Alice’s explanation of the twin bond she shared with Helen was a combination of depressing and what one would expect of such a bond, although Alice did go further with her analysis of the human need to differentiate themselves from any other human. Quite promising. It does make Alice a much more, I can’t say likeable, but I did view her with more sympathy.
Zhu Kongqi is a conundrum. Cold with a passion for philosophy and scientific experimentation. We’d call it torture. Gan experiences new feelings, about motherhood, about family. She also provides a real ick of a backstory on how demons evolve. Just. Ick.
A very frustrating part of this story was Dragonhome. Not the realm, but the choppy manner in which Wilks wrote and the multiple names she included for the same places. It wasn't until I was working up the "characters" section that I was able to eventually sort out the overall realm from the spawn realm, figure out which names were the alternates, and how Lang Xin fit into it.
There were quite a few philosophical notes spread throughout from Grandmother’s version of therapy for the rescued eight-year-old Lily to Madame Yu’s fascinating frustration with humans not understanding the truth about God. It certainly does make sense. There’s Madame Yu’s take on strength in a terrible situation. Cynna’s difficulty in explaining the affect of understanding the magic enough to believe in it and an exploration of different realities that also made sense.
Very much a wild ride of a story with a nasty bit of foreshadowing at that cliffhanger of an end.
The Story
It’s a desperate mission to rescue the children. One that falls apart in a demon realm ruled by a demon prince who should have been dead.
Worse, Lily is yanked into an alternate realm — and is immediately taken captive by the dragon spawn who rule there. At least she discovers what happened to Cynna!
Although the clock is ticking, time works differently, and Lily has miraculously gained a week. That means seven days to free herself, find Rule and the others, rescue the children, and make it home alive. All before the dragon spawn holding her hostage trade her to the Old One. It would almost be doable if this weren’t Lóng Jia — also known as Dragonhome: the birthplace of dragons.
The Characters
Special Agent Lily Yu is a touch-sensitive FBI agent who has gained a mindspeech ability, 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. In Dragonhome, Grandmother will name him Wu Tǔ Ní. Dirty Harry is Lily's cat. Madame Li Lei Yu is Lily’s grandmother who has lived for three centuries and has had a relationship with Sam over many of them. And who shifts into a Siberian tiger. In Dragonhome, she will call herself Madame Chen Chan Ying, the owner of a diamond mine. Li Qin is Grandmother’s companion at home. Beth and Susan are Lily’s sisters.
The lupi are…
…werewolves who are divided into Clans. Rule's is the Nokolai with his father, Isen, its Rho, its leader. A Lu Nuncio is a Clan's heir. A Clan's Rhej is their heart with the memories of the lupi past and their connection to the Lady whom they serve. Dr. Nettie Two Horses is physician, healer, and shaman for the Nokolai. Raina Matthews is Carlos' daughter and Miguel Guterrez is his father, who works for the Clan’s construction firm. Mateo Ortiz is a cantakerous Leidolf.
Jasper Machek is Rule's half-brother, who used to be a thief and now runs an antique shop specializing in Victoriana in San Francisco. He’s also learned he is a sorcerer. He is in a relationship with Adam “Angel Eyes” King ( Mortal Ties , 9). Mark is a good friend of Adam’s and an actor.
The children who were kidnapped in…
… Dragon Spawn , 13, are Toby who is Rule’s eleven-year-old son; the nine-month-old Ryder (Cynna and Cullen’s daughter); eight-year-old First Fist, Diego, grandson of Ybirra Clan’s Rho; four-year-old Sandy, the son of Czøs’ Lu Nuncio; and, the three-month-old Noah, whose grandfather had been the Etorri Rho.
Those on the mission to rescue the children include…
…the orange Gan, a former demon, a friend, and the Chancellor of Edge. The lupi include Daniel, Mason, Max, the wounded Carlos left in a demon-infested tunnel, Jude, Benedict who is Rule’s older brother, and Cullen Seabourne is both sorcerer and werewolf — Cynna Weaver, Cullen’s wife, is the Rhej for Nokolai Clan.
The FBI, Unit 12, is…
…Lily’s division composed of primarily magically Gifted agents. Martin Croft was Ruben’s replacement. Dead. At least 79 are dead. One hundred and forty-nine are still missing.
Sun "Sam" Tsao is the black dragon absorbing magic in California with a lair in San Diego. "Reno", a.k.a., the Great Dragon, is a green dragon with an orange frill who was the mother of the original dark-mind hatchlings. Yì Sǐwáng, a.k.a., A Thousand Million Deaths, was the first dragon to learn how to segment his mind.
Gnomes can build gates that allow beings to travel between realms. Michael and Molly “Brown” are a magic couple who had first crossed paths with Cullen in Cravings: "Originally Human", 1.5. Michael also holds the Codex Arcana. Ed Minsky’s health (and wife, Trish) requires that he jog. That and curiosity cause him to cross paths with a dying not-a-fox. I suspect his actions in this are another bit of foreshadowing.
Lóng Jia is…
…Dragonhome, an alternate high-magic plane — and the home realm of all dragons. Including the dragon spawn, a.k.a., Lóng Luǎn, created when a hatching was botched and the baby dragons were mind-dark. To spare them, their forms were permanently altered to human. An error as it led to supersmart, sorcerous sociopaths with parental issues. They should have been dead, those seven. Zhu means master with Zhuren the plural form.
Wǒmen De, a.k.a., Ours, is…
…the dragon spawn realm in Dragonhome with two levels of law: heavenly law set by the spawn and village law. Zhu Kongqi, the Master of Air who tortures Lily currently serves as Father of Law; Zhu Dìqiú, a.k.a., Dick Boy, is the Master of Earth; Zhu Shēngwù is the Master of Body Magic who had physically altered the Whitehead twins to look European (he’s the current Father of Wealth); Zhu Huǒ, a.k.a., Tom Weng, is the Master of Fire; Zhu Shuǐ is the Master of Water and the current Father of Study; and, Zhu Tú’àn is the Master of Patterns. (The spawn swap administrative positions among themselves, with the leader referred to as Father of Law.)
Lang Xin is…
…the capital, which originated as an entire village that fell through. Qī Jiā is the Home of the Seven. Heart’s Home is the government complex. The Court of Heavenly Justice is the jail/prison. Ah Hai, a.k.a., Li Hai, is a servant with an empathy Gift. Ah Li is one of the finest healers in Lang Xin.
Báitóu Alice Li, a.k.a., Alice Whitehead, is Helen’s twin sister. The Helen Lily killed. Another of Tom Weng’s fellows in crime includes Ginger Harris, Sarah’s older sister, who is serving as an avatar for the Great Bitch.
Fists are soldiers but are really more like prestigious policemen. Li Po is the First Fist of the Heavenly Masters and considers himself a scholar. He believes writing a beautiful signature makes him a good officer. Fang Ye Lì is a Fist Second with an Earth Gift; Fist Second Chen leads the guards who police the city; and, Chu Wen Shan has been a Fist for nine months.
Bolilu is…
…a town known for its glassworks. Mei Bo is the boat father of a chún-chún boat and is a Beastmaster, a Siji, able to control the chún (oxen). Mei Ling is Mei Bo's beautiful, impressionable daughter. Shān-jiǎo are beasts bigger than elephants with bony plates.
Liangzhou is…
…another town, the penultimate stop for Rule, Li Lei, and Gan.
Kanas are people of a distant village who raised the dragon spawn. Ah Wen is the leader of the Kanas. Ah Cheng can quench mage fire.
Dis is…
…the demon realm, a.k.a., hell. Turns out Xitil, the demon prince, survived, a Looney Tunes ruler of a region in hell. Some of the demon types include Claws, among the deadliest of Xitil’s foot soldiers, and redeyes.
Sorcéri are loose bits of magic. The Codex Arcana is the Book of All Magic, a.k.a., Shén de Shū. Dashtu is a demon ability to go out of phase, disappear. Üther is a type of energy produced by living creatures. Toltoi is a charm that is part of the ritual of being made part of Nokolai. Xi qi is a type of status, like the Seven, dragon kin. Jùdá téng is a type of body magic that causes great agony. Those we would call slaves are called yāoqiú, the claimed, which is supposedly an honorable status. Mandarin is also known as the Tongue of Heaven. A lái is a human who has fallen through.
The Great War occurred…
…more than 3,000 years ago with the conflict over self-determination versus dictatorship. Earth was closed at the end of that war. The Great Bitch is an Old One who chose the wrong side, and she is THE enemy of the Lupi who were created to oppose her. Robert Friar calls her Mistress. Amanda is her current avatar on earth. Dyffaya had been a god who had wanted to come back to earth.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a range of reds, the blood and the heat of the smoking rocky ground behind Lily with its spooky trees. It’s Lily out front of it all, crouched in her black leather jeans, high-heeled boots (as if!), and a black tank top, holding what I think is the magic cage with smoke curling up before her. An info blurb and the author’s name are in a serif font in white at the top while the sans-serif title is slightly angled with a white-to-neutral gray gradient at the bottom. The series information is below that in white.
The title is about family, about home, about Dragon Blood.
My Take
It’s a two-mantled wild ride of a story with Lily and Cynna captured by the dragon spawn and Madame Yu, Rule, and Gan struggling to find them through an interpolation of an ancient China with its way of life and manner.
Wilks easily slips perspective from Lily to Rule to Madame Yu with our seeing the story through their emotions and thoughts, a third person global subjective point-of-view.
It’s an interesting realm Wilks has created in Dragon Blood, from the manner in which its Dragonhome population, um, “creates” and its culture. There’s a fascinating backstory as well that explains how dragons became what they are and why they are all born males. And why Europe had such trouble with dragons while Chinese history did not indicate draconic issues, lol. Hmmm, what parents wouldn’t give for this kind of relief *grinning*.
Alice’s explanation of the twin bond she shared with Helen was a combination of depressing and what one would expect of such a bond, although Alice did go further with her analysis of the human need to differentiate themselves from any other human. Quite promising. It does make Alice a much more, I can’t say likeable, but I did view her with more sympathy.
Zhu Kongqi is a conundrum. Cold with a passion for philosophy and scientific experimentation. We’d call it torture. Gan experiences new feelings, about motherhood, about family. She also provides a real ick of a backstory on how demons evolve. Just. Ick.
A very frustrating part of this story was Dragonhome. Not the realm, but the choppy manner in which Wilks wrote and the multiple names she included for the same places. It wasn't until I was working up the "characters" section that I was able to eventually sort out the overall realm from the spawn realm, figure out which names were the alternates, and how Lang Xin fit into it.
There were quite a few philosophical notes spread throughout from Grandmother’s version of therapy for the rescued eight-year-old Lily to Madame Yu’s fascinating frustration with humans not understanding the truth about God. It certainly does make sense. There’s Madame Yu’s take on strength in a terrible situation. Cynna’s difficulty in explaining the affect of understanding the magic enough to believe in it and an exploration of different realities that also made sense.
Very much a wild ride of a story with a nasty bit of foreshadowing at that cliffhanger of an end.
The Story
It’s a desperate mission to rescue the children. One that falls apart in a demon realm ruled by a demon prince who should have been dead.
Worse, Lily is yanked into an alternate realm — and is immediately taken captive by the dragon spawn who rule there. At least she discovers what happened to Cynna!
Although the clock is ticking, time works differently, and Lily has miraculously gained a week. That means seven days to free herself, find Rule and the others, rescue the children, and make it home alive. All before the dragon spawn holding her hostage trade her to the Old One. It would almost be doable if this weren’t Lóng Jia — also known as Dragonhome: the birthplace of dragons.
The Characters
Special Agent Lily Yu is a touch-sensitive FBI agent who has gained a mindspeech ability, 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. In Dragonhome, Grandmother will name him Wu Tǔ Ní. Dirty Harry is Lily's cat. Madame Li Lei Yu is Lily’s grandmother who has lived for three centuries and has had a relationship with Sam over many of them. And who shifts into a Siberian tiger. In Dragonhome, she will call herself Madame Chen Chan Ying, the owner of a diamond mine. Li Qin is Grandmother’s companion at home. Beth and Susan are Lily’s sisters.
The lupi are…
…werewolves who are divided into Clans. Rule's is the Nokolai with his father, Isen, its Rho, its leader. A Lu Nuncio is a Clan's heir. A Clan's Rhej is their heart with the memories of the lupi past and their connection to the Lady whom they serve. Dr. Nettie Two Horses is physician, healer, and shaman for the Nokolai. Raina Matthews is Carlos' daughter and Miguel Guterrez is his father, who works for the Clan’s construction firm. Mateo Ortiz is a cantakerous Leidolf.
Jasper Machek is Rule's half-brother, who used to be a thief and now runs an antique shop specializing in Victoriana in San Francisco. He’s also learned he is a sorcerer. He is in a relationship with Adam “Angel Eyes” King ( Mortal Ties , 9). Mark is a good friend of Adam’s and an actor.
The children who were kidnapped in…
… Dragon Spawn , 13, are Toby who is Rule’s eleven-year-old son; the nine-month-old Ryder (Cynna and Cullen’s daughter); eight-year-old First Fist, Diego, grandson of Ybirra Clan’s Rho; four-year-old Sandy, the son of Czøs’ Lu Nuncio; and, the three-month-old Noah, whose grandfather had been the Etorri Rho.
Those on the mission to rescue the children include…
…the orange Gan, a former demon, a friend, and the Chancellor of Edge. The lupi include Daniel, Mason, Max, the wounded Carlos left in a demon-infested tunnel, Jude, Benedict who is Rule’s older brother, and Cullen Seabourne is both sorcerer and werewolf — Cynna Weaver, Cullen’s wife, is the Rhej for Nokolai Clan.
The FBI, Unit 12, is…
…Lily’s division composed of primarily magically Gifted agents. Martin Croft was Ruben’s replacement. Dead. At least 79 are dead. One hundred and forty-nine are still missing.
Sun "Sam" Tsao is the black dragon absorbing magic in California with a lair in San Diego. "Reno", a.k.a., the Great Dragon, is a green dragon with an orange frill who was the mother of the original dark-mind hatchlings. Yì Sǐwáng, a.k.a., A Thousand Million Deaths, was the first dragon to learn how to segment his mind.
Gnomes can build gates that allow beings to travel between realms. Michael and Molly “Brown” are a magic couple who had first crossed paths with Cullen in Cravings: "Originally Human", 1.5. Michael also holds the Codex Arcana. Ed Minsky’s health (and wife, Trish) requires that he jog. That and curiosity cause him to cross paths with a dying not-a-fox. I suspect his actions in this are another bit of foreshadowing.
Lóng Jia is…
…Dragonhome, an alternate high-magic plane — and the home realm of all dragons. Including the dragon spawn, a.k.a., Lóng Luǎn, created when a hatching was botched and the baby dragons were mind-dark. To spare them, their forms were permanently altered to human. An error as it led to supersmart, sorcerous sociopaths with parental issues. They should have been dead, those seven. Zhu means master with Zhuren the plural form.
Wǒmen De, a.k.a., Ours, is…
…the dragon spawn realm in Dragonhome with two levels of law: heavenly law set by the spawn and village law. Zhu Kongqi, the Master of Air who tortures Lily currently serves as Father of Law; Zhu Dìqiú, a.k.a., Dick Boy, is the Master of Earth; Zhu Shēngwù is the Master of Body Magic who had physically altered the Whitehead twins to look European (he’s the current Father of Wealth); Zhu Huǒ, a.k.a., Tom Weng, is the Master of Fire; Zhu Shuǐ is the Master of Water and the current Father of Study; and, Zhu Tú’àn is the Master of Patterns. (The spawn swap administrative positions among themselves, with the leader referred to as Father of Law.)
Lang Xin is…
…the capital, which originated as an entire village that fell through. Qī Jiā is the Home of the Seven. Heart’s Home is the government complex. The Court of Heavenly Justice is the jail/prison. Ah Hai, a.k.a., Li Hai, is a servant with an empathy Gift. Ah Li is one of the finest healers in Lang Xin.
Báitóu Alice Li, a.k.a., Alice Whitehead, is Helen’s twin sister. The Helen Lily killed. Another of Tom Weng’s fellows in crime includes Ginger Harris, Sarah’s older sister, who is serving as an avatar for the Great Bitch.
Fists are soldiers but are really more like prestigious policemen. Li Po is the First Fist of the Heavenly Masters and considers himself a scholar. He believes writing a beautiful signature makes him a good officer. Fang Ye Lì is a Fist Second with an Earth Gift; Fist Second Chen leads the guards who police the city; and, Chu Wen Shan has been a Fist for nine months.
Bolilu is…
…a town known for its glassworks. Mei Bo is the boat father of a chún-chún boat and is a Beastmaster, a Siji, able to control the chún (oxen). Mei Ling is Mei Bo's beautiful, impressionable daughter. Shān-jiǎo are beasts bigger than elephants with bony plates.
Liangzhou is…
…another town, the penultimate stop for Rule, Li Lei, and Gan.
Kanas are people of a distant village who raised the dragon spawn. Ah Wen is the leader of the Kanas. Ah Cheng can quench mage fire.
Dis is…
…the demon realm, a.k.a., hell. Turns out Xitil, the demon prince, survived, a Looney Tunes ruler of a region in hell. Some of the demon types include Claws, among the deadliest of Xitil’s foot soldiers, and redeyes.
Sorcéri are loose bits of magic. The Codex Arcana is the Book of All Magic, a.k.a., Shén de Shū. Dashtu is a demon ability to go out of phase, disappear. Üther is a type of energy produced by living creatures. Toltoi is a charm that is part of the ritual of being made part of Nokolai. Xi qi is a type of status, like the Seven, dragon kin. Jùdá téng is a type of body magic that causes great agony. Those we would call slaves are called yāoqiú, the claimed, which is supposedly an honorable status. Mandarin is also known as the Tongue of Heaven. A lái is a human who has fallen through.
The Great War occurred…
…more than 3,000 years ago with the conflict over self-determination versus dictatorship. Earth was closed at the end of that war. The Great Bitch is an Old One who chose the wrong side, and she is THE enemy of the Lupi who were created to oppose her. Robert Friar calls her Mistress. Amanda is her current avatar on earth. Dyffaya had been a god who had wanted to come back to earth.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a range of reds, the blood and the heat of the smoking rocky ground behind Lily with its spooky trees. It’s Lily out front of it all, crouched in her black leather jeans, high-heeled boots (as if!), and a black tank top, holding what I think is the magic cage with smoke curling up before her. An info blurb and the author’s name are in a serif font in white at the top while the sans-serif title is slightly angled with a white-to-neutral gray gradient at the bottom. The series information is below that in white.
The title is about family, about home, about Dragon Blood.
January 26, 2018
Originally posted at SmexyBooks-https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Favorite Quote: “You suggest we throw humans at them instead of rocks?”
Reviewed by Tori
We left Dragon Spawn after the Lupi children’s’ kidnapping was arranged by the dragon spawn in return for a promised favor from the Great Bitch. She wants to use Lily’s body and in her attempts to take over the world. Lily and Rule are separated when the mission to rescue the children falls apart in a terrific battle and Gan’s attempts to save them, results in Lily, Rule, Madama Lu, and Cynna being pulled through a gate from Dis (the demon realm) into another realm. Lucky for us, Wilkes recaps all this in the beginning.
Dragon Blood picks up with Lily being discovered and taken to Long Jia, the capital of the dragonhome , as a prisoner of the dragon spawns while Rule, Madame Lu, and Gan end up approximately 100 plus miles away with Rule badly injured. Lily is jailed and is shocked but pleased to see Cynna is a prisoner too. She also meets Helen Whiteheads’ twin sister-Alice-whose own motives remain circumspect. Lily soon learns of her captor’s plans regarding herself and the children which pushes her to plan an escape. The more she learns about her captors and the world around her, the more she understands the myriad of different forces at work. The battle to save the earth from the Great Bitch is on.
Eileen Wilks’ World of the Lupi series was one of my gateway series into urban fantasy and I devoured the first book in the series-Tempting Danger with a vengeance. I’ve enjoyed this serious and dark urban fantasy because of its strong female character driven cast and story arc. We first meet our protagonists- Lily Yu and Rule Turner –Tempting Danger. A pragmatic human cop and a worldly Lupi prince whose destiny is tied together as the Chosen through they don’t know that until it’s too late.
As the series progresses, so does the evolution of Lily and Rule as individuals and as a couple. We watch as Lily deals with a mating bond to a man unknown for his monogamy, respective dismay from both families, and her deep submersion into magic. Lily and Rule are flip sides of a coin and both have had to adjust, coincide, and find common ground in their continuously evolving love affair. Wilks does a fantastic job of creating pockets of realism in this fantasy world as she balances all her characters’ various different relationships with the ever-expanding world and paranormal plotlines.
Told from two viewpoints-Lily Yu and her grandmother-Madame Yu, this storyline is extremely convoluted and overflowing with information so you really have to be up to date on this particular arc to understand everything going on. Set in what I presume to be a historical and alternative version of China, Wilks stays centered here as she sets out to bring us up to speed on the Great Bitch story arc while giving us more background on the dragon spawns existence and the many facets of Lily’s grandmother.
Some readers may bemoan the lack of movement in the arc and the sheer amount of filler used in here. I myself was left less enchanted with this particular installment. Frankly, the Great Bitch storyline should have been resolved already but Wilks keeps adding to it, bringing more confusion and unnecessary drama. The elaborate exposition of mundane scenes, randomly inserted plotlines, certain additions that added nothing to the story, and the glaring usage of the children as plot moppets was a disappointment and led me to skim the book at times. Extremely verbose and particular, the story trudges along as Wilks falls into various rabbit holes as she philosophizes on magical theory, social constructs, various emotional states, and alternative world history.
While I was disappointed to see Lily and Rule separated, the subplot regarding Madame Yu was certainly eye-opening and fun to watch. She’s always been a bit of a wild card in the series and I enjoyed the in-depth characterization and certain reveals that should prove to be VERY interesting in the future. I was amazed though that nobody seemed all that shocked by some of the things she was able to do. An interesting cast of new characters is introduced while Wilks revisits a few familiar long-term faces. They all help to amp up the story’s energy and break up the sometimes monotonous narrative.
Around the 65% mark, the story picks up speed and begins to tighten up in preparation for a climactic ending. The humor, action, and suspense I had been waiting for suddenly appeared. Some shocking secrets and manipulative twists are revealed that left me side-eyeing the book while laughing softly to myself. I give Wilks props for going there.
While this particular installment was not a favorite, I will continue to recommend Eileen Wilks’ The World Of The Lupi series to readers who enjoy action-packed, suspenseful Urban Fantasy brimming with charismatic characters, strong female leads, intriguing storylines, and viable relationships. I do suggest starting from the beginning because this is a continuous evolving arc that picks up where it leaves off in each book. I really hope book fifteen, title and release TBA, keep us Earthbound with more Lupi/Dragon involvement and a firm ending to this story arc.
Grade: C-
Favorite Quote: “You suggest we throw humans at them instead of rocks?”
Reviewed by Tori
We left Dragon Spawn after the Lupi children’s’ kidnapping was arranged by the dragon spawn in return for a promised favor from the Great Bitch. She wants to use Lily’s body and in her attempts to take over the world. Lily and Rule are separated when the mission to rescue the children falls apart in a terrific battle and Gan’s attempts to save them, results in Lily, Rule, Madama Lu, and Cynna being pulled through a gate from Dis (the demon realm) into another realm. Lucky for us, Wilkes recaps all this in the beginning.
Dragon Blood picks up with Lily being discovered and taken to Long Jia, the capital of the dragonhome , as a prisoner of the dragon spawns while Rule, Madame Lu, and Gan end up approximately 100 plus miles away with Rule badly injured. Lily is jailed and is shocked but pleased to see Cynna is a prisoner too. She also meets Helen Whiteheads’ twin sister-Alice-whose own motives remain circumspect. Lily soon learns of her captor’s plans regarding herself and the children which pushes her to plan an escape. The more she learns about her captors and the world around her, the more she understands the myriad of different forces at work. The battle to save the earth from the Great Bitch is on.
Eileen Wilks’ World of the Lupi series was one of my gateway series into urban fantasy and I devoured the first book in the series-Tempting Danger with a vengeance. I’ve enjoyed this serious and dark urban fantasy because of its strong female character driven cast and story arc. We first meet our protagonists- Lily Yu and Rule Turner –Tempting Danger. A pragmatic human cop and a worldly Lupi prince whose destiny is tied together as the Chosen through they don’t know that until it’s too late.
As the series progresses, so does the evolution of Lily and Rule as individuals and as a couple. We watch as Lily deals with a mating bond to a man unknown for his monogamy, respective dismay from both families, and her deep submersion into magic. Lily and Rule are flip sides of a coin and both have had to adjust, coincide, and find common ground in their continuously evolving love affair. Wilks does a fantastic job of creating pockets of realism in this fantasy world as she balances all her characters’ various different relationships with the ever-expanding world and paranormal plotlines.
Told from two viewpoints-Lily Yu and her grandmother-Madame Yu, this storyline is extremely convoluted and overflowing with information so you really have to be up to date on this particular arc to understand everything going on. Set in what I presume to be a historical and alternative version of China, Wilks stays centered here as she sets out to bring us up to speed on the Great Bitch story arc while giving us more background on the dragon spawns existence and the many facets of Lily’s grandmother.
Some readers may bemoan the lack of movement in the arc and the sheer amount of filler used in here. I myself was left less enchanted with this particular installment. Frankly, the Great Bitch storyline should have been resolved already but Wilks keeps adding to it, bringing more confusion and unnecessary drama. The elaborate exposition of mundane scenes, randomly inserted plotlines, certain additions that added nothing to the story, and the glaring usage of the children as plot moppets was a disappointment and led me to skim the book at times. Extremely verbose and particular, the story trudges along as Wilks falls into various rabbit holes as she philosophizes on magical theory, social constructs, various emotional states, and alternative world history.
While I was disappointed to see Lily and Rule separated, the subplot regarding Madame Yu was certainly eye-opening and fun to watch. She’s always been a bit of a wild card in the series and I enjoyed the in-depth characterization and certain reveals that should prove to be VERY interesting in the future. I was amazed though that nobody seemed all that shocked by some of the things she was able to do. An interesting cast of new characters is introduced while Wilks revisits a few familiar long-term faces. They all help to amp up the story’s energy and break up the sometimes monotonous narrative.
Around the 65% mark, the story picks up speed and begins to tighten up in preparation for a climactic ending. The humor, action, and suspense I had been waiting for suddenly appeared. Some shocking secrets and manipulative twists are revealed that left me side-eyeing the book while laughing softly to myself. I give Wilks props for going there.
While this particular installment was not a favorite, I will continue to recommend Eileen Wilks’ The World Of The Lupi series to readers who enjoy action-packed, suspenseful Urban Fantasy brimming with charismatic characters, strong female leads, intriguing storylines, and viable relationships. I do suggest starting from the beginning because this is a continuous evolving arc that picks up where it leaves off in each book. I really hope book fifteen, title and release TBA, keep us Earthbound with more Lupi/Dragon involvement and a firm ending to this story arc.
Grade: C-
January 21, 2018
I didn't care for the beginning, I found the story line moving too slowly, but it picked up by the midpoint of the story! I enjoyed it from that point on! Interesting story!
November 29, 2017
This was an advance reading copy.
I was not very happy with the previous instalment in this series, and had thought about giving up on it. So glad I didn't, this book was great!
I was also not pleased to see the book start with Rule and Lily separated....AGAIN... I like their interactions, and I didn't think I would like their interactions with others as much (I haven't previously). But this book was really enjoyable, even with them split up.
I was not very happy with the previous instalment in this series, and had thought about giving up on it. So glad I didn't, this book was great!
I was also not pleased to see the book start with Rule and Lily separated....AGAIN... I like their interactions, and I didn't think I would like their interactions with others as much (I haven't previously). But this book was really enjoyable, even with them split up.
March 1, 2018
Review written by Marie for Ever After Book Reviews!
3.5 Stars
I have to be honest here. I wasn’t a HUGE fan of this book. I’ve read the first books in the series, and I enjoyed those, but with Dragon Blood being set mostly in the dragon realm, without the earth realm, I just didn’t get nearly as in to it as I had with the previous books.
Now, because I know that I am just one person, with one opinion, I have to give credit where credit is due in regard to the book. In all fairness to Ms. Wilks, her intricately detailed writing is still very much present. The way she paints her worlds and her characters is still just as stunning, and her character development is still incredibly strong. These are the things that kept me reading.
What I had a hard time getting in to, was the storyline. In the plot synopsis, it sounds really exciting. But in reality, it wasn’t all that exciting for me. I felt that, at times, the plot dragged, and I wasn’t a huge fan of Lily in this book. Without Rule, I feel like she’s… lacking something.
With that said, it isn’t a terrible addition to the series. I have no doubt that others will LOVE the dragon realm, and will love the story itself. And I encourage them to read this book, as it continues what is originally a fantastic idea. I just hope that the next book in the series gives me, personally, something a little bit… more.
***I voluntarily read a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own***
3.5 Stars
I have to be honest here. I wasn’t a HUGE fan of this book. I’ve read the first books in the series, and I enjoyed those, but with Dragon Blood being set mostly in the dragon realm, without the earth realm, I just didn’t get nearly as in to it as I had with the previous books.
Now, because I know that I am just one person, with one opinion, I have to give credit where credit is due in regard to the book. In all fairness to Ms. Wilks, her intricately detailed writing is still very much present. The way she paints her worlds and her characters is still just as stunning, and her character development is still incredibly strong. These are the things that kept me reading.
What I had a hard time getting in to, was the storyline. In the plot synopsis, it sounds really exciting. But in reality, it wasn’t all that exciting for me. I felt that, at times, the plot dragged, and I wasn’t a huge fan of Lily in this book. Without Rule, I feel like she’s… lacking something.
With that said, it isn’t a terrible addition to the series. I have no doubt that others will LOVE the dragon realm, and will love the story itself. And I encourage them to read this book, as it continues what is originally a fantastic idea. I just hope that the next book in the series gives me, personally, something a little bit… more.
***I voluntarily read a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own***
October 12, 2022
3.5 stars
Great “Previously on…” summary at the start kept me from being lost. More authors in long-running series should do this, if there’s an intricate overall arc.
The things I really like about this series are still present: multiple, interesting POVs, rich worldbuilding and magic, an evolving adventure, the sense of possibility.
And while I do enjoy the worldbuilding, history and other detail Eileen Wilks includes, it did get to be a bit much in places, with some chapters dragging.
Looking forward to the finale!
Great “Previously on…” summary at the start kept me from being lost. More authors in long-running series should do this, if there’s an intricate overall arc.
The things I really like about this series are still present: multiple, interesting POVs, rich worldbuilding and magic, an evolving adventure, the sense of possibility.
And while I do enjoy the worldbuilding, history and other detail Eileen Wilks includes, it did get to be a bit much in places, with some chapters dragging.
Looking forward to the finale!
February 13, 2018
I love Lily and Rue. This was the second installment of what happens when the two of them and their friends go up against the G.B. This time they end up in Dragonhome and we learn more about dragons and their spawn, as well as more about Grandmother. I laughed at parts and held my breath at others. Some of it I was confused, but there was a lot about different theories which went over my head. I was glad to see that they remain one of my favorite couples and Grandmother is such a strong woman.
April 4, 2019
There's the usual trying to escape the bad guys but we're really not sure who the bad guys are even when they do horrible things. I really liked the ending. Not a cliffhanger like book #13 but things are heading toward a resolution. I liked seeing Grandmother and her thinking about Lily's possible future. Great book!
January 9, 2018
The previous book left us hanging - as in cliffhanger - and book 14 finally gives us some closure. Wilks doesn't get enough credit when it comes to this wonderful series - each book is well-plotted, tons of actions, with excellent bad guys who are layered - and then there is Lily and Rule - solid, unbreakable, no need to get all lovey-dovey and spout off about their transcendent love every 5 pages - because they are better than that.
Thoroughly enjoyed this visit to another realm - liked the Spawn, lots of tension, never knowing who to trust, who is an ally/enemy. Tons of Grandmother - who shines in her secondary role.
This series remains firmly lodged on my must-buy list.
Thoroughly enjoyed this visit to another realm - liked the Spawn, lots of tension, never knowing who to trust, who is an ally/enemy. Tons of Grandmother - who shines in her secondary role.
This series remains firmly lodged on my must-buy list.
May 18, 2018
Way too much info-dumping and introspection. The story just about came together at the end, but this was really the second half to the previous book. Both books could have been edited down into a single volume IMO.
June 17, 2019
The second part to the cliffhanger from the previous novel, this is a highly detailed and rich world Eileen Wilks has created. It’s nice to read a novel with dragons and magic are founded on a more Asian context that are European one. A good story, with just enough of a “what next?” to whet your appetite for the next book.
May 13, 2025
audiobook
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews