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Wytch Kings #4
Dragonwatch
The balance of power in Skanda is about to shift…
Beautiful, broken Tristin of Ysdrach would rather hide in his dragon form than live with a Wytch power that forces him to feel the pain of the past in every object he touches. Struggling to come to terms with a future he never believed he’d have, Tristin needs a reason not to surrender to the beast within.
Without Wytch power, Prince Mikhyal of Rhiva is not qualified to be his father’s heir, but newly discovered knowledge possessed by Rhiva’s allies could change that. On their journey to a secret negotiation that could shift the balance of power in Skanda, Mikhyal and his father are attacked, and Mikhyal is left bonded to an ancient sword with a mission, an attitude, and a penchant for blackberry tarts.
Even with the distractions of a royal betrothal ceremony, an enemy striking from the shadows, and the complex negotiations of alliance and rebellion, the painfully shy Tristin still manages to catch Mikhyal’s eye. The two men barely have time to acknowledge their mutual attraction before another attempt is made to end the line of Rhiva.
Can Tristin and Mikhyal get to the bottom of the plot? Or will the Northern Alliance be torn apart before the ink on the treaty is dry?
(~94,000 words)
Beautiful, broken Tristin of Ysdrach would rather hide in his dragon form than live with a Wytch power that forces him to feel the pain of the past in every object he touches. Struggling to come to terms with a future he never believed he’d have, Tristin needs a reason not to surrender to the beast within.
Without Wytch power, Prince Mikhyal of Rhiva is not qualified to be his father’s heir, but newly discovered knowledge possessed by Rhiva’s allies could change that. On their journey to a secret negotiation that could shift the balance of power in Skanda, Mikhyal and his father are attacked, and Mikhyal is left bonded to an ancient sword with a mission, an attitude, and a penchant for blackberry tarts.
Even with the distractions of a royal betrothal ceremony, an enemy striking from the shadows, and the complex negotiations of alliance and rebellion, the painfully shy Tristin still manages to catch Mikhyal’s eye. The two men barely have time to acknowledge their mutual attraction before another attempt is made to end the line of Rhiva.
Can Tristin and Mikhyal get to the bottom of the plot? Or will the Northern Alliance be torn apart before the ink on the treaty is dry?
(~94,000 words)
277 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 5, 2017
18 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Jaye McKenna
24 books132 followersJaye McKenna was born a Brit and was dragged, kicking and screaming, across the Pond at an age when such vehement protest was doomed to be misinterpreted as a “paddy”. She grew up near a sumac forest in Minnesota and spent most of her teen years torturing her parents with her electric guitar and her dark poetry. She was punk before it was cool and a grown-up long before she was ready. Jaye writes fantasy and science fiction stories about hot guys who have the hots for each other. She enjoys making them work darn hard for their happy endings, which might explain why she never gets invited to their parties.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 19, 2017
It's the end of the road...for now...
I started this series with my awesome cyber child, Josy back on October 13th and because of other books and sometimes even live we managed to drag this out until the end of November and the good news is we loved every minute of it. The bad news...come on now you knew there was going to be some, anyways the bad news is that for now we've run out of books to read but there will be more in the new year because you know one can never have too may dragons.
So gather round dragon babies and we'll talk about things...
In 'Burn the Sky' we met Prince Garrick, the Heir Presumptive to the throne of Altan and Wytch Master Ilya. Ilya and Garrick meet and fall in love when Ilya is summoned to Altan to teach Prince Garrick how to control his wytch powers after they have been forced to manifest and then in each subsequent book we are introduced to at least one of the MCs for the next book. I love this format in a series. It gives me a touch of the familiar and the new. For me it keeps things interesting.
So here we are at 'Dragonwatch' and we are badk in Altan with Garrick, Ilya and Tristin of Ysdrach, whom we met in Shadowspire when Jaire is taken captive and held captive at the same castle where Tristin has been held captive and drugged for most of his life. When Kian and Ambris (our MCs from Blackfrost book #2) along with Vayne attempt to rescue Jaire, he refuses to leave without Tristin and that's the condensed version of how Tristin came to be at Altan and believe me that's condensed there is a whole lot of good stuff being left out here but that's why you read the books right?
Ok so here we are at Castle Altan and Ilya is now trying to teach Tristin to master his Wytch power which forces him to feel the pain of the past in every object he touches...it's not a fun power to have, in fact it struck me as being incredibly painful both mentally and physically at times.
Prince Mikhyal of Rhiva has no Wytch powers but he is the heir to the throne of Rhiva if his father has any say in it but not if the Wytches council gets their way and can form an alliance with Altan and the other kingdoms of the north and this is how they come to be ambushed on their way to Altan.
There's a war brewing between the Wytches council and the Kingdoms of the north as they prepare to fight for the right to once again rule their own lands. The Wytches council has power and they have the numbers what they don't know is that the kingdoms of the north have...
...dragons of fire and ice...dragons with unknown powers...
and they will bring pain...yep, that's pretty much where the author left us when it comes to the bigger picture of this story and of course we'll get a new pair of MCs whose story will be woven into this epic adventure.
While I don't read a lot of fantasy stories it's not for lack of love for the genre. I'm just really, really fussy about what I read. Don't get me wrong I'm claiming to be any kind of authority on the genre or anything of that nature...it's just me being picky about what appeals to me, what I'll like and what I know I'll want to read but this series with all it's dragony awesomeness just poked and poked at me until I thankfully caved and I knew I was going down the rabbit home on this one so of course I grabbed my cyber child and pulled her down the rabbit hole with me. I think we're both happy that we did this...I know I am and since Josy's already looking forward to the next book as much as me, I'm pretty sure she's good with how this all turned out as well.
For me this one had it all an awesome plot, action, adventure, intrigue, an adorable and smexy romance...and best of all DRAGONS!!! because I love DRAGONS!!! and I'm really, really looking forward to 'Falkrag' book 5 in the Wytch Kings series...it's going to be good...really, really good of this I have no doubt.
So that's my chatter about 'Wytch King's' definitely one of the the best fantasy series that I've read in quite a while and the subject of yet again another awesome buddy read with my cyber child, Josy.
I started this series with my awesome cyber child, Josy back on October 13th and because of other books and sometimes even live we managed to drag this out until the end of November and the good news is we loved every minute of it. The bad news...come on now you knew there was going to be some, anyways the bad news is that for now we've run out of books to read but there will be more in the new year because you know one can never have too may dragons.
So gather round dragon babies and we'll talk about things...
In 'Burn the Sky' we met Prince Garrick, the Heir Presumptive to the throne of Altan and Wytch Master Ilya. Ilya and Garrick meet and fall in love when Ilya is summoned to Altan to teach Prince Garrick how to control his wytch powers after they have been forced to manifest and then in each subsequent book we are introduced to at least one of the MCs for the next book. I love this format in a series. It gives me a touch of the familiar and the new. For me it keeps things interesting.
So here we are at 'Dragonwatch' and we are badk in Altan with Garrick, Ilya and Tristin of Ysdrach, whom we met in Shadowspire when Jaire is taken captive and held captive at the same castle where Tristin has been held captive and drugged for most of his life. When Kian and Ambris (our MCs from Blackfrost book #2) along with Vayne attempt to rescue Jaire, he refuses to leave without Tristin and that's the condensed version of how Tristin came to be at Altan and believe me that's condensed there is a whole lot of good stuff being left out here but that's why you read the books right?
Ok so here we are at Castle Altan and Ilya is now trying to teach Tristin to master his Wytch power which forces him to feel the pain of the past in every object he touches...it's not a fun power to have, in fact it struck me as being incredibly painful both mentally and physically at times.
Prince Mikhyal of Rhiva has no Wytch powers but he is the heir to the throne of Rhiva if his father has any say in it but not if the Wytches council gets their way and can form an alliance with Altan and the other kingdoms of the north and this is how they come to be ambushed on their way to Altan.
There's a war brewing between the Wytches council and the Kingdoms of the north as they prepare to fight for the right to once again rule their own lands. The Wytches council has power and they have the numbers what they don't know is that the kingdoms of the north have...
...dragons of fire and ice...dragons with unknown powers...and they will bring pain...yep, that's pretty much where the author left us when it comes to the bigger picture of this story and of course we'll get a new pair of MCs whose story will be woven into this epic adventure.
While I don't read a lot of fantasy stories it's not for lack of love for the genre. I'm just really, really fussy about what I read. Don't get me wrong I'm claiming to be any kind of authority on the genre or anything of that nature...it's just me being picky about what appeals to me, what I'll like and what I know I'll want to read but this series with all it's dragony awesomeness just poked and poked at me until I thankfully caved and I knew I was going down the rabbit home on this one so of course I grabbed my cyber child and pulled her down the rabbit hole with me. I think we're both happy that we did this...I know I am and since Josy's already looking forward to the next book as much as me, I'm pretty sure she's good with how this all turned out as well.
For me this one had it all an awesome plot, action, adventure, intrigue, an adorable and smexy romance...and best of all DRAGONS!!! because I love DRAGONS!!! and I'm really, really looking forward to 'Falkrag' book 5 in the Wytch Kings series...it's going to be good...really, really good of this I have no doubt.
So that's my chatter about 'Wytch King's' definitely one of the the best fantasy series that I've read in quite a while and the subject of yet again another awesome buddy read with my cyber child, Josy.
January 1, 2020
This series should be read in order - although each book gives us a new couple and a solid ending, the overarching plot and secondary characters carry from one book to the next.
In this book we get Prince Mikhyal who is the oldest son of the Wytch King of Rhiva. Since Mikhyal’s Wytch power has never materialized, the Council named his younger brother as the heir to the Kingdom of Rhiva. When he and his father are attacked along the road to a meeting, Mikhyal is somehow part of pulling victory out of impossible odds, and is left bonded to an ancient sword with an attitude, personality, and power.
Mikhyal also encounters Tristan, a shy, quirky, abused man just beginning to shed the chains of his past. (Tristan was one of my favorite characters in the previous book, so I was pleased to see him get his appropriately slow-burn love story here.) This installment has a nice balance of adventure, pain, sweetness and snark. It might be my favorite so far.
In this book we get Prince Mikhyal who is the oldest son of the Wytch King of Rhiva. Since Mikhyal’s Wytch power has never materialized, the Council named his younger brother as the heir to the Kingdom of Rhiva. When he and his father are attacked along the road to a meeting, Mikhyal is somehow part of pulling victory out of impossible odds, and is left bonded to an ancient sword with an attitude, personality, and power.
Mikhyal also encounters Tristan, a shy, quirky, abused man just beginning to shed the chains of his past. (Tristan was one of my favorite characters in the previous book, so I was pleased to see him get his appropriately slow-burn love story here.) This installment has a nice balance of adventure, pain, sweetness and snark. It might be my favorite so far.
Read
September 6, 2017Available now at Amazon and Smashwords. Coming to other retailers soon.
January 18, 2018
More dragons wrapped in a fabulous tale. I’ve come to love this series. Sure, it has its flaws but I’ve come to appreciate McKenna’s ability to weave intriguing characters into her fantastical world. #5 in the Wytch Kings series can’t come soon enough!
(Note: I wrote this weak review during the beginning of my long recovery from major surgery. I know I’m going to wince down the road.)
(Note: I wrote this weak review during the beginning of my long recovery from major surgery. I know I’m going to wince down the road.)
September 16, 2017
I hope we get a book about Shaine.
December 21, 2017
5 Dragon Stars from start to finish!! I loved everything about this book and for me, it's the best one in the series so far. And that's saying something because I really enjoyed the previous books.
A big thank you to my cyber momma Karen who read the whole series with me and reading with her made the books so much better because we could share our loves for dragons :)
We are really looking forward to the next book in the series and another awesome BR!
Look up Karen's review because she says it so much better!
A big thank you to my cyber momma Karen who read the whole series with me and reading with her made the books so much better because we could share our loves for dragons :)
We are really looking forward to the next book in the series and another awesome BR!
Look up Karen's review because she says it so much better!
June 5, 2022
Caveat - biased review... I have the pleasure of beta reading this series and have an attachment to Tristan... whose book this is
Actually review will follow shortly as I need a computer to write this and put in spoilers etc...
Actually review will follow shortly as I need a computer to write this and put in spoilers etc...
February 10, 2018
(Originally reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews. Rated 4.5 out of 5.0 Love Bytes)
Welcome to installment four in the author’s Wytch King series. In this installment our focus switches to Tristin of Ysdrach…another Kingdom within Skanda. We met Tristin in Shadowspire, where we learned some secrets of his background. I was really happy to see Tristin get his own story. He was so broken, suffered such abuses, and most importantly had that strange Wytch power that pretty much immobilized him. I wasn’t sure he could recover and move on.
Prince Mikhyal is the oldest son of the Wytch King of Rhiva, yet another Kingdom. Unforunately, Mikhyal’s Wytch power has never materialized, so the Council has decreed his younger brother to be the heir to the Kingdom of Rhiva.
While traveling to Altan to meet with King Garrik, Mikhyal and his father’s party are attacked by bandits, and something mysterious happens. The bandits are all killed and in place of their bodies all that remains are little piles of polished bones. Mikhyal awakens with an ancient sword in his hand, which he vaguely remembers picking up just prior to all hell breaking loose on the bandits.
And a final main character in this story…just when I think the author can’t surprise me with anything different, along comes Dirit! I love this character and I’m sure you will as well. No spoilers on who he is…but hold on to your blackberry tarts!
As I’ve said in my reviews on the other books in the series, the author has written a really enjoyable series full of HEA’s or at least HFN’s. Each book is focused on a different pair, and each builds on the previous books and the characters flow from one to the next.
It is quite obvious that this isn’t the end of the series. The ending is wide open with events moving towards the revolt of the northerners. I personally can’t wait to see where the author goes from here.
I highly recommend this one!
Welcome to installment four in the author’s Wytch King series. In this installment our focus switches to Tristin of Ysdrach…another Kingdom within Skanda. We met Tristin in Shadowspire, where we learned some secrets of his background. I was really happy to see Tristin get his own story. He was so broken, suffered such abuses, and most importantly had that strange Wytch power that pretty much immobilized him. I wasn’t sure he could recover and move on.
Prince Mikhyal is the oldest son of the Wytch King of Rhiva, yet another Kingdom. Unforunately, Mikhyal’s Wytch power has never materialized, so the Council has decreed his younger brother to be the heir to the Kingdom of Rhiva.
While traveling to Altan to meet with King Garrik, Mikhyal and his father’s party are attacked by bandits, and something mysterious happens. The bandits are all killed and in place of their bodies all that remains are little piles of polished bones. Mikhyal awakens with an ancient sword in his hand, which he vaguely remembers picking up just prior to all hell breaking loose on the bandits.
And a final main character in this story…just when I think the author can’t surprise me with anything different, along comes Dirit! I love this character and I’m sure you will as well. No spoilers on who he is…but hold on to your blackberry tarts!
As I’ve said in my reviews on the other books in the series, the author has written a really enjoyable series full of HEA’s or at least HFN’s. Each book is focused on a different pair, and each builds on the previous books and the characters flow from one to the next.
It is quite obvious that this isn’t the end of the series. The ending is wide open with events moving towards the revolt of the northerners. I personally can’t wait to see where the author goes from here.
I highly recommend this one!
June 12, 2024
I was looking forward to Tristin's story. He's been through so much and his Wytch power is not easy to deal with. He's overwhelmed by the residual emotions in every object he touches. I wanted him to learn that he can trust his cousins and that he deserves more than he believes. Prince Mikhyal has done everything to support his country even as his younger brother was named heir and change drastically after he was injured in an accident. Still Mikhyal only wants what's best for his country and his people. But when he's attacked on the road and bonded to an ancient sword everything begins to change.
Mikhyal and Tristin were so sweet together. Tristin has no self confidence, but Mikhyal is so patient with him. Mikhyal is just the goal Tristin needs to really come back to himself and put in the work to gain control of his powers. As the Northern countries look to bond together and stand against the vagrancies of the Wytch council, new powers are awakening and it might be able to give them the edge.
Ultimately this was a sweet story and had just enough tension and action to keep it interesting. I adored Dirit as well. Yes please more Dirit! He amused me to no end. Another great installment in this series.
Mikhyal and Tristin were so sweet together. Tristin has no self confidence, but Mikhyal is so patient with him. Mikhyal is just the goal Tristin needs to really come back to himself and put in the work to gain control of his powers. As the Northern countries look to bond together and stand against the vagrancies of the Wytch council, new powers are awakening and it might be able to give them the edge.
Ultimately this was a sweet story and had just enough tension and action to keep it interesting. I adored Dirit as well. Yes please more Dirit! He amused me to no end. Another great installment in this series.
September 21, 2017
3.5 stars!
I did like the book though my favourite has to be book 3 so far. The main difference being that I felt that the main characters interacted more in book 3 as compared to this book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book and especially loved Dirit. Though regarding one plot point,
Tristin was shy and sweet and it was nice to see him slowly acclimate to his surroundings and interacting with others. Mikhyal's interaction with him were sweet to see. It was nice to see a progression in the overarching plot of the books regarding the fight against the wytch council. The ending of the series seems to be approaching.
One more thing I like about the series is
Overall, a good book and I will be waiting for the next one!
I did like the book though my favourite has to be book 3 so far. The main difference being that I felt that the main characters interacted more in book 3 as compared to this book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book and especially loved Dirit. Though regarding one plot point,
Tristin was shy and sweet and it was nice to see him slowly acclimate to his surroundings and interacting with others. Mikhyal's interaction with him were sweet to see. It was nice to see a progression in the overarching plot of the books regarding the fight against the wytch council. The ending of the series seems to be approaching.
One more thing I like about the series is
Overall, a good book and I will be waiting for the next one!
September 27, 2017
Rating: 4.5 stars
I absolutely love this series. This book is no exception. I really felt for Tristan in the last installment and was glad to finally get his story. Both Tristan and Mikhyal were wonderful as the MCs, but the absolute star of the book for me was Dirit. I just love small snarky dragon characters and he fit the bill. I really hope to see more of him in future installments.
The other thing that I liked was that the majority of the book was story/plot. The romance between Trisan and Mikhyal was slow burning and there was very little sex in the book. Too many times, we get a book with more sex than plot and this was the exact opposite. It was a refreshing change of pace.
I highly recommend this series and this book in particular. If you are new to the series, I would not start with this book. I really think it will be worth your while to start at the beginning.
I absolutely love this series. This book is no exception. I really felt for Tristan in the last installment and was glad to finally get his story. Both Tristan and Mikhyal were wonderful as the MCs, but the absolute star of the book for me was Dirit. I just love small snarky dragon characters and he fit the bill. I really hope to see more of him in future installments.
The other thing that I liked was that the majority of the book was story/plot. The romance between Trisan and Mikhyal was slow burning and there was very little sex in the book. Too many times, we get a book with more sex than plot and this was the exact opposite. It was a refreshing change of pace.
I highly recommend this series and this book in particular. If you are new to the series, I would not start with this book. I really think it will be worth your while to start at the beginning.
July 24, 2019
The consistency of the writing is really solid from book to book. McKenna does a really good job of differentiating each character and their development, along with finding some unique twist for each story to keep it from getting boring.
For this story, one of those twists would be the Mythe Sword. It was very entertaining. The political intrigue is as much or more a part of the story as the couple, but they definitely end with a bright future and a promise to get to know each other better.
I really enjoyed this installment which felt less dark. A prior m/c gets some positive closure. The overall arc continues to move forward and remains engaging. I will definitely continue in this series.
For this story, one of those twists would be the Mythe Sword. It was very entertaining. The political intrigue is as much or more a part of the story as the couple, but they definitely end with a bright future and a promise to get to know each other better.
I really enjoyed this installment which felt less dark. A prior m/c gets some positive closure. The overall arc continues to move forward and remains engaging. I will definitely continue in this series.
September 27, 2017
I was a beta reader, and I loved this story from first read. Dirit is such a hoot... I adore him. I fell for quirky Tristin in book three, and he only gets more fun in this. Those two kept making me smile throughout this story. Mixed in with this sweet love story there is action and intrigue among royals.
There is an overlying story arc that carries from one book to the next--but yet there are never cliffhangers. I can't wait for the next in this series... will there be
P.S. Captive Prince series lovers may want to check this series out!! Its got palace intrigue, love, torture, hot long haired guys, battles/strategies, but also DRAGONS.
There is an overlying story arc that carries from one book to the next--but yet there are never cliffhangers. I can't wait for the next in this series... will there be
P.S. Captive Prince series lovers may want to check this series out!! Its got palace intrigue, love, torture, hot long haired guys, battles/strategies, but also DRAGONS.
October 17, 2017
5 Stars.
March 5, 2018
Getting better!!
This series is getting better with each book... I have to say I loved Tristin.... And Ditric.... I can't wait for the next book!!!
This series is getting better with each book... I have to say I loved Tristin.... And Ditric.... I can't wait for the next book!!!
March 11, 2018
Loving this series! And Tristan and Mikhyal are a sweet couple.
Dirit deserves all the stars, though :)
Dirit deserves all the stars, though :)
April 10, 2018
Takes you away
Loved it..once again I fell in love with each character..all so different and special in their own way..makes them feel like familiar friends..
Loved it..once again I fell in love with each character..all so different and special in their own way..makes them feel like familiar friends..
July 3, 2018
4.5 stars
August 11, 2019
Love this series! Shaine’s book next!
September 26, 2018
I really enjoy escaping into this world Jaye McKenna has built. The magic, mythe, history and characters are very interesting and it’s easy to fall in love with the men working to fight the Wytch Council and their evil.
Prince Tristan of the New Flower Bed was a victim of the Council and was imprisoned & drugged for most of his life. He was rescued when Kian & Jaire we’re kidnapped by the Council in Shadowspire
Mikhyal Is the former heir to Rhiva and on his way to Altan for Prince Jaire’s betrothal ceremony he & his father the King of Rhiva are attacked by bandits. During the fight he is disarmed and grabs the bandits dropped sword.
Here we meet Dirit, a mythe dragon chosen to bond with Wytch Sword of Rhiva, to protect the royal line and restore the balance. Unfortunately he has no idea what balance.
Dirit is a ferocious mythe dragon the size of a cat with a love of blackberry tarts and full of snark, sarcasm and witty titles for his bond mate. I want one!
I think this might be my favorite so far. We still have the Council using the mythe to hurt those trying to fight their power but the men of the Northern Kingdoms are finding that love, family and friends will help heal the wounds.
Prince Tristan of the New Flower Bed was a victim of the Council and was imprisoned & drugged for most of his life. He was rescued when Kian & Jaire we’re kidnapped by the Council in Shadowspire
Mikhyal Is the former heir to Rhiva and on his way to Altan for Prince Jaire’s betrothal ceremony he & his father the King of Rhiva are attacked by bandits. During the fight he is disarmed and grabs the bandits dropped sword.
Here we meet Dirit, a mythe dragon chosen to bond with Wytch Sword of Rhiva, to protect the royal line and restore the balance. Unfortunately he has no idea what balance.
Dirit is a ferocious mythe dragon the size of a cat with a love of blackberry tarts and full of snark, sarcasm and witty titles for his bond mate. I want one!
I think this might be my favorite so far. We still have the Council using the mythe to hurt those trying to fight their power but the men of the Northern Kingdoms are finding that love, family and friends will help heal the wounds.
February 27, 2021
Love the book, series, writing and everything else about it.
October 28, 2020
I loved this one, too. Dirit was such an entertaining character!!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews