I really liked the first book in this series, but they seem to getting progressively worse. Maricara and Kimber were poorly developed characters that I didn't even like. Their "love" story seemed super weird since I'm pretty sure he is way, way older than her. I read this awhile ago so I don't remember as much as I should, but looking back at my notes and things I highlighted on my kindle it seems I was confused about just about EVERYTHING! (What gift does Maricara have? Why the terrible side note chapters that add nothing? Does the emerald signify Rhys' heart?) Don't ask me, I have no idea.

Overall the book tries too hard to be "deep" and symbolic (with very ornate language) but does not do it successfully as many of the actual points Abe is trying to make in the story are obscured by the frivolous language. I read the whole book, some parts more than once, (and I consider myself a good at reading comprehension) but now 11 months later I can tell you almost nothing about the book itself.

This book was much better than I expected (shape-shifting dragon princesses is usually not my genre of choice). However, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of character shown by the main heroes. The princess struggles with understandable feelings of isolation. She is a strong leader in a place and time that doesn't know how to handle strong, female leaders. When she leaves home to warn another group about a potential serial killer, they immediately try to kidnap her and force her into a marriage.

That said, I understand the negative comments about this novel. Princess Maricara ultimately goes along with the dictates of society, and although the author tries to make it seem like it is because of love, she does too good of a job of explaining that there really is no choice. Alpha weds alpha.

It was a fun read, but not completely satisfying.

The bodice-ripping romance (old-school heteronormative vanilla) has become rather a yawn here. Still, there is an overarching arc through the series, and it’s a pretty little world. Why not keep reading, right?

This was an entertaining romance, with likeable leads and an intriguing society of dragons who masquerade as humans. While it was clear there have been previous books in the series -- and more saga yet to come -- the relationship between Kimber and Maricara stands nicely on its own. I enjoyed the details of the dragons' existence and especially delighted in her portrayal of the heroine *as* a dragon.

The book would have earned more stars from me had the plot been more complex and/or there had been more substance to the story of the characters' relationship. That said, Abe did a nice job of balancing the required tightrope of tension and attraction: providing valid external reasons for conflict between the two while portraying each as behaving in a way that justifies and validates the love of the other.

I enjoyed this series very nuch, but this book I feel leaves you hanging at the end!! Its like ok we're about to start a big dragon war.....awesome, now I want more! I wish there was more to the series or that this book was longer because it definitely didn't feel finished.

this would have been much better as a short story. Perhaps in a compendium of shifter stories. This book was short on plot. There was quite a bit of discussion among the characters and quite a few descriptions, but neither of these furthered the plot. I don't feel like I've learned anything new of Maricara, and Kimber appears to be a spoiled child. I really enjoyed the previous two books, or I wouldn't have read this one. I was very disappointed. I'll be thinking twice before committing to the next book.

3.5 stars - the Drakon series continues in a competent entry which was overall fun but some wobbles in the macro plot

The writing continues to be strong - a little cold here given the heroine’s background. The writing was “heavy” (I don't know how to describe it) - it reflected well the heroine’s unhappiness and the pressure she is under. It’s not angst per se but a sadness and otherness which pervades most of the book. As a consequence, this is not the happiest romance out there but there is a gravity here which I don't often find in PNR books which tend to be more cheesy.

It was also interesting to have the heroine be so much more powerful than the rest of the men in the world - more than the hero most of the time. It gave the book a bit more teeth than typical alpha PNR. I noted that in book 2 as well.

As usual with this series, I like the heroine more than the hero. He was almost a non-entity - almost an alpha-ass when we are introduced to him but thankfully he didn’t keep annoying me throughout the book.

The last 30/40 pages were kind of meh though which made the book wobble a bit. The macro plot got a bit lost and the ending was a bit abrupt. Par for the series, we don't spend a lot of time with the after their declaration of love which gives this book an untypical ending. However, to since the bigger mystery in this book was kind of stupid I didn’t like it as much as book 2 which had a much more focused, smaller plot.

This big bad evill will likely be explored in the next book but it left this particular book hanging a bit like filler in terms of the wider world. As a result, I am reducing this down to 3.5 stars.

it was an enjoyable book, not a can't put down book but not a i can't finish this either. After reading the book i found it was part of a series and if i had read the earlier boks my have made it a little more enjoyable