Queen of Dragons (Drakon, #3) in Alpha Heroes & Spitfire Heroines

Jun 16, 2009 Eastofoz rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal, historical-regency, 2010

Shana Abé doesn’t know the word “nice” nor does she know words like “good” or “bad”. You know those words that you see all the time to describe some regular thing or other making you wonder why the author can’t be a tad more creative in their writing style. Well with Abé you’ll never have that problem. She can make the most mundane, humdrum and inconsequential thing explode into a freakin’ firecracker of colour. The woman could convince you that ironing and sweeping are an intricate ballet of sw Shana Abé doesn’t know the word “nice” nor does she know words like “good” or “bad”. You know those words that you see all the time to describe some regular thing or other making you wonder why the author can’t be a tad more creative in their writing style. Well with Abé you’ll never have that problem. She can make the most mundane, humdrum and inconsequential thing explode into a freakin’ firecracker of colour. The woman could convince you that ironing and sweeping are an intricate ballet of swooping arms and twirling legs I tell ya ;) I’ve never come across anyone who can put words on paper as well as she can and still make the story enjoyable without needing it to be explained to be “appreciated”. It’s such a pleasure to read her stories. You can feel things, see things and be so immersed in her vibrant world that you need a breather before starting your next read otherwise you’ll find fault with just about everything on the page.

The Dràkon series is one that you’d really have to start from book 1, The Smoke Thief, in order to understand what’s happening in the following books otherwise you may be left scratching your head and you won’t get those very big, OMG, bug-eyed surprises like someone who’s read them from the beginning. Still written as a paranormal regency historical, book 3 continues on with the story of Princess Maricara from the unknown Zaharan Yce tribe of dragons that Zane and Lia encountered in book 2. She ends up travelling to Darkfrith to see about the Dràkon tribe there as they’ve been corresponding. She meets Kimber, the guy in charge while his dad is away, and they fall in love but the love story is in no way at the forefront of this tale and feels almost like an afterthought sometimes. I normally hate “romances” like that but Abé kept me reading with the various twists and turns in the story as the h/h try to find out who is trying to kill them off.

The author does a phenomenal job of ending a chapter. They’re creepy or leave you hanging with just enough to make you itch to read the next one. You can really feel the magic of the dragon world here but you don’t really feel the spark of the romance like you did in the first two books. The steam scenes are very few and very quick. There’s some sporadic tension building but you can see that that wasn’t the author’s focus. The heroine is another strong character like Rue but the hero is sometimes neither here nor there. He didn’t really have that pow! that Kit and Zane had. There are also some holes in the story that I hope will be resolved in the next book but had it been written any other way (style wise) I’d have said it was shoddy writing. What happened to Rhys the brother who lusts after Maricara? His story started to be told and then nothing. Where are Kit and Rue? Why aren’t they at least sending more messages as to where they are and what they’re doing? What exactly is Maricara’s gift? Why haven’t Lia and Zane returned to the tribe? I’m assuming because she sees something so doesn’t come back but it’s sort of annoying not to have these stories told. One particular thing also that didn’t make sense was if Maricara could Turn even with a blindfold on why couldn’t she do it with a hood? Like I said, holes aplenty here. The Dràkon narrator is also very eerie and just sent shivers up my spine with a “we’re coming to get you” kind of vibe.

The book will at times lull you into a languid sleep and then suddenly give you a case of the heebeegeebees all the while relinquishing a chilling morsel of the dragons' story that you’re dying to find out. So yeah, it’s not really a romance, but it’s almost one, so for all you PNR romance readers who need good writing this is still well worth the read :)
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Jul 08, 2009 Nisha rated it it was ok

Shelves: adventure, historicalromance, fantasy-romance

I was hoping for so much. I actually like Kimber (though I hate that name, no offense, but on a man its so...unmanning). There just was not enough romance. Its like they were forced together, destiny and shit. The premise was enticing, but I didn't like the actual story. weird? Well its just a filler for the next book in the series ...more

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Jan 12, 2010 Nikki ♥ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-historical, romance-paranormal, georgian, 2010, werewolves-shifters

I really enjoy the world that Shana Abe has created with this series. I liked this one as much as the first two in the series. This one has a few storylines developing further into the book. You're definitely left hanging, ready for the next story to see what happens. ...more

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