Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: March 27, 2018
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Format: Ebook
Pg count: 448 pages
Series: The Embraced
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Synopsis
Gwennore has a talent. An Elf able to track down the cause of an illness and heal it, she’s a valuable asset to her people. But when the kidnapping of a young girl thrusts Gwennore into the very heart of the realm of the dragons, she discovers not only a place of power and magic, but also a haunted land, plagued by an ancient curse that all but ensures extinction to the royal family. But when she meets the smoldering General Silas Dravenko, they strike a bargain—save the country from its cursed illness, and he will return the kidnapped girl. She’s been raised never to trust a dragon, but never did making a deal with the devil feel so good…
Silas has no way of curing the family he’s loyally served for years. But when a beautiful elf, long considered the enemy of the dragons, comes bursting into his world, Silas is awakened to passion and desire in a way he’s never felt before. But can he trust a sworn enemy to save the very existence he holds dear? And can their love survive those that threaten to tear them apart?
My Review
| **This book was sent to me by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and this does not affect my review. ** |
Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon is the third novel in the Embraced series. As we continue to move through the series, each of the embraced women that grew up on the Isles of Moon and Mist are finding love and are learning more about who they are. All of these embraced women were left on the Isle of Moon as infants and none know where they come from and who their family is. But each of them has a special ability given to them by the two embraced moons. Powers that are helping them with their journey in life and bringing together the kingdoms.
From the very start of the series I’ve been captivated and in love. While this is definitely a flowery romance novel, in my book at least, I think a little lovey dovey and flowery romance is good. I’ve been looking forward to this novel for so long. Since book one, I’ve wanted to know more about the elves and dragons. While I won’t say this is the top book in the series (I’m waiting for the series to end to crown the winner) it was still a fantastic read. I couldn’t put the book down and I stayed up all night (didn’t go to bed until 7am, that’s what I get for starting a book by Kerrelyn Sparks before bed) to finish reading it and then couldn’t sleep because…wow.
In this novel we focus on Gwennore, unlike her adopted sisters Gwennore is an elf. Which I think is wicked cool but not everyone else thinks so. For the last couple years that Gwennore has been on the mainland she’s had to deal with the disdain and prejudice of people around her. If it wasn’t for her sisters and loved one she would have gone back to the Isle of Moon. During a birthday celebration Gwen takes Luciana’s young daughter, Eviana, in a field to play in an attempt to escape the whispers that follow her. But Eviana gets kidnapped by a DRAGON! Gwen knowing that she can’t leave Eviana and jumps on the dragon before it can get away. Gwen finds herself swept away from her loved ones and in Norveshka, the land with dragons. It’s also the place where the monarchy is going mad and kidnapping children. According the whispers and rumors the madness that has plagued the royal family is caused by a curse and this curse is now affecting the entire kingdom with plague and infertility. But Gwennore’s special ability is actually healing. She can touch a person and know what’s wrong with them, and with all her years of training at the convent, she may know how to help them. After an encounter with the queen Gwen knows that it is no curse that’s causing the queen to go mad, but poison and Gwen believes that she can help. With the help of the heir and general, Silas Dranvenko, they start to unveil the mystery behind the supposed “curse.”
But they soon realize they may have bigger problems when the Chameleon shows up. A shifter that has appeared since book one, that’s been causing trouble but they have yet to defeat. As Gwen and Silas continue their search for the poison and poisoner, they start to uncover a secret group that wants to rule Aerthlan and has spies throughout the castle. I’m fascinated by this new discovery of a secret group and we’re now seeing more of a series plot unfold. I can’t wait to see what happens with this mystery group and who’s a part of it.
We also get to find out more about Gwen’s heritage, while some of it still remains a mystery, I think in the next books everything will come to light. And of course during all this craziness unfolding, Gwen and Silas start falling for each other. The tension building between the couple is both fast and slow and very hot. While it’s instant attraction, they had hurdles to overcome before they’d admit to more between each other.
My favorite part has to be the characters. I loved seeing how they interacted and the jokes between Silas and his friends. It felt very homey and full of love. I also loved how modernesque Norveshka was. They had female soldiers, granted it was only because they were at war and had population issues, but still. Then there was that whole thing with women wearing pants, which was actually really funny. But the real cherry on top of it all was how the eight rules were slipped into the story. Now that was brilliant.
While I loved the novel, it did take me a little longer to be really drawn into the story. I’m not 100% sure why at this point but I have some theories. I’ll just have to reread and see if I can pick anything out that I may not have liked. The only other thing that bugged me was how confusing some things were because Sparks was trying to keep an air of mystery. By constantly not naming things or by going around certain parts it made it harder to piece the simple things together.
A dazzling read with a breath-taking world. I can’t wait for book four!!!
Simply Enchanting Books 
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