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Monday, January 11, 2021

ARC Review: Dragon Revealed (Dragon Kings #1)

Dragon Revealed (Dragon Kings #1)
by Donna Grant

Blurb:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant comes a new story in her Dragon Kings series…

The capture of a Dragon King is cause for celebration. Jeyra never dreamed she would actually face one of the creatures who destroyed her home. But the longer she’s around him, the more she finds herself gravitating to him. All it takes is one reckless kiss that unleashes desires and the truth that has been hidden from her to set them both on a course that could be the end of them.

Varek, King of Lichens, has known nothing but a life with magic. Until he finds himself on a different realm unable to call up his powers. Worse, he’s in shackles with no memory of how it happened. When he sees an enthralling woman who leaves him speechless, he believes he can charm her to free him. The more she rebuffs him, the more he craves her, igniting a dangerous passion between them. Can he protect the woman he’s fallen for while uncovering the truth – or will peril that neither see coming tear them apart?

Themes:  Paranormal, Dragon-Shifters, Magic

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating: 
Review:

The world of Donna Grant’s Dragon Kings gets a makeover with an all new cast of characters and a new world with new rules in this spinoff of her beloved Dark Kings series. Donna Grant has captivated readers for years with her sensual and tantalizing Dragon Kings and the women that manage to steal their hearts and this new series looks like it will be just as amazing. The story picks up directly after the ending of Con’s story overlapping with the short Holiday novella that was released, but there is so much going on in the Dragon Kings's lives that it just gets better and better with each story.  Varek is pulled into a new world and learns the fate of their dragons finally and meets the woman meant for him in the most unlikely of circumstances. For long-time readers, this story brings a lot of tears, both happy and sad, as we learn this long held secret, and we also get the hope that the series will continue for many years to come.  I am already dying for the next story and to learn more about Con and Rhi’s twins and to see where that storyline goes.

Varek, King of the Lichens, is in serious trouble.  He has been captured and locked in a prison in a strange world full of new enemies but the scariest thing of all is he is utterly defenseless—unable to access his innate magic, shift into his dragon, or access his immortal healing.  While he knows he can get away from his captors, he needs information first so that he can keep the other kings safe from this new enemy.  Jeyra has fulfilled her lifelong quest to capture a Dragon King, in order to kill him as retaliation for the death of her family and many others on her world at the hands of other dragons and their Kings.  Despite breaking all the rules to do it, she doesn’t regret pulling Varek to her world, until the council forces her to interrogate him, then she has to face her choices. The more she learns from Varek and gets to know him, the more she questions her entire life and the outlook she has on the dragons and the actions of both sides of her people’s war in the past. When the time comes to make a decision on who to trust, both Varek and Jeyra have to decide if their newly formed bond is strong enough to withstand the truths they are discovering and take a chance on a new life together.  Or if the long-standing feud between Dragons and the people of Jeyra’s world will pull them apart.

We haven’t gotten to know Varek very well in previous stories in the long-running series, so it was great to get to know him and learn more about his troubled past. Varek has lived a long and tormented life with struggles that would make any mortal give up, but he has preservered and found joy in the small things and friendships with the other Dragon Kings, despite his desire for a Mate of his own and the dragons he sent away for their safety so long ago.  He is a strong and sensual male that instantly pulls you in and makes you want to make him your own, reminding us all that some men are truly honorable and sweet even when they are deadly and dangerous to their enemies.  He was obviously intelligent and cunning, but I found the best trait of Varek’s to be his forgiving heart. His willingness to forgive Jeyra’s mistake in the light of her ignorance and the connection they formed showed him to be a truly great male and one that I would like to have for myself. Jeyra has lived her life with a certain understanding of the way the world works, but as she begins to look deeper she finds herself in some serious danger, and the questions that Varek is pushing her to ask herself are even more vexing.  While she has a reason in her mind to hate Dragons, there is always a deeper truth, and thankfully she is open-minded enough to know that only by knowing the full truth can she make a decision about how to live her life.  I didn’t like Jeyra at first, which was the intention I think, but as she begins to open her heart and mind, I found her to be an honorable, intelligent and brave match for Varek. While she has certainly had a lot of bumps in her long life as well, she is not a hateful person by nature, more a misguided woman who finally learns the truth of her world at the insistence of a truly loving male. In the end Jeyra was a brave woman that was forced to face a life-changing choice that rocked her to her core, but this made her a better woman and mate for Varek.

I was so thrilled to learn that Donna was continuing this series and leaning into an all new world, giving us new characters to meet, new rules to learn, and new adventures.  Varek is lost in an alien world, but he immediately feels the connection to the sexy woman that is sent to interrogate him for his captors and knows that there is no way he can just walk away from her.  His fears for his life are very real in his weakened state, but he is confident enough in his life experiences and his charm that he knows he will get out of his prison and home safely, now he just needs to convince Jeyra she is meant to come with him.  Jeyra has a lot of learn about herself and her people, having lived in the dark all her long life, but with the truths she faces she comes to realize that she might have been on the wrong side of the battle all along.  I loved seeing her growing into the perfect mate for Varek and the two of them coming together to bridge the gaps between their two worlds in the most meaningful of ways.  The passion between them is a steady undercurrent from the beginning, both of them burning slowly to a point of undeniable flash burn.  Once the love develops though, there is no way they will give up on a future together, no matter the dangers and difficult choices they have to face to have a life of love and happiness.  This story was truly one of two worlds coming together in a clash that would forever change them both and allow them to meld in a way that will make them both better.  I am dying to see where this new series goes and have so many questions.  Who will visit Jeyra’s home world next to visit the dragons? Will Rhi and Con finally get to meet their twins? Will the new truce between the Dragons and Jeyra’s people last?  I cannot wait for more… but I know whatever comes, Donna will make it worth the time it takes!      

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

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