Dragon Awakened (The Hidden #1)
by Jaime Rush
Blurb:
They are the
Hidden.
Not quite human.
Far from normal.
And never, ever
safe…
Playing With Fire
Ruby Salazaar
wants answers…and revenge. Her uncle has just been murdered before her eyes and
the name he utters with his final breath—Cyntag—leads Ruby into a world beyond
her wildest imaginings. She soon learns that the dark, sexy Cyntag Valeron
knows more about her than she does herself.
Burned By Love
Ruby changed
Cyn's life before she even knew who he was. Now she charges into his life, a
beautiful woman full of fire and questions. Cyn knew this day would come, yet
he couldn't foresee the danger—and desires—Ruby would bring with her. He can
teach her how to harness her newly awakened powers. But there is one force
neither of them can control…
Review:
The first full length novel in the new Hidden
series by Jaime Rush is one that will send you into a strange new world of
dragons, magickals, and angels and leave you wishing that you too were one of
the Hidden. I have read the first two published novellas in this series and while
they were both great, Dragon Awakened was an awesome story with more of the
depth and length that I crave. This
series is based on a very interesting myth surrounding the Bermuda triangle and
Gods and creatures that came from them—Dragons, Deuces, and Caidos being the
main types of descendants. The Hidden is
a whole different world, concealed in the midst of ours, corralled by energy needs
to the south Florida area, primarily giving us Miami as a setting, and running
alongside the world of the mundanes. Rush handles all the secrecy and fear
inherent in these types of alternate truths extremely well and keeps the focus
of the story on the characters themselves not just the circumstances that shape
the world they live in.
With
a single phone call from her Uncle, Ruby’s life is thrown into a tailspin
leaving her completely foundering for understanding in her new world. Only when
she discovers that her Uncle has been murdered, Ruby’s need for revenge leads
her to track down Cyn, believing him to be behind the death, but she soon discovers
that nothing is as it seems. When Cyn confronts
her with the truth, Ruby has to accept that she is not who she thought she was either, but is in fact a member of the Hidden, a magickal race of beings that live alongside the mundanes of the world. And
she is a target now too. Cyn has looked out for Ruby from afar since she was
only a young girl, but meeting her again all grown up sends a fire coursing
through Cyn that he hasn't felt in decades. Determined to protect her at all
costs, even knowing that the dark truth that originally brought him to her life
could rip them apart, Cyn takes her under his wing to train her to keep herself
safe and to find out why she is being hunted. But as the lurking danger gets
closer and closer, Ruby is forced to deal with the passion that Cyn incites in
her and the truth of their past that could prevent them from ever being
together. So the question becomes, can
she forgive an action as heinous as murder or will she forever be forced to
lose the people she loves?
From
the second Ruby sees Cyn, heat builds within her, brings her senses to life and
pulls her to him. The passion that
flares is fascinating as they both try to deny it, for different but no less
valid reasons, but when the tentative trust they are building is shattered that
passion seems to be the only thing between them any longer. Cyn is the quintessential tortured prince
character, doing penance for his past after a shocking event sends him to
change his ways and question his motivations.
His past weighs heavily on his mind, but the awakening Ruby causes makes
him wish he was a different man, one that is worthy of her. Ruby sees his arrogance and bossiness, but doesn’t
understand his need for control stems from the fear of losing her—until she
finally has her eyes opened. Ruby’s own
past has shaped her into the woman she is, one that needs control in her life
to find her balance, but when that balance is shifted forever she finds herself
leaning on a man for the first time since her parents’ death. She hates being
dependent on him in this new and dangerous world, but her desire for independence
puts them into some dangerous and awkward situations, and when she is in mortal
danger she begins to believe that Cyn might just feel something for her, deep beneath
that unfeeling shell he shares with the world.
While the emotions of the story rage, betrayal, fear, understanding, and
forgiveness, beneath it all is the obvious desire between Cyn and Ruby,
sometimes pushed aside or denied, but never forgotten or neglected.
Dragon
Awakened is a twist on the classic coming of Age story, though Ruby is a bit
older than most; finally being Awakened to the world around her and her own
inner nature leaves Ruby often with more questions than answers, but only when
she embraces her true inner nature does she find the missing piece of her soul.
Cyn is the only man who could lead her through this initiation, but he has
his own fears and issues to come to terms with as he trains her and brings out
her inner beast. Though he tries his damnedest to maintain distance between them,
the magnetic draw is just too much for even one as strong as him, and when he
sees the attachment forming between them, he can no longer hid the truth from
her. The dangers lurking around every corner though make him want to put off the
confrontation for as long as possible.
The evil plot that has wrapped around Cyn and Ruby was well written and
seeing the lengths the some creatures will go to just to ensure their race’s
superiority never ceases to amaze me. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Cyn and Ruby
trounce the bad guys and prevent disaster, and I wonder if there will be even
more consequences to deal with in the next story. Can’t wait for more of this amazing parallel
world and the creatures that are Hidden in it.
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