After having read the entire series of LOTR and Harry Potter, and never taking a liking to Terry Pratchett, I naively believed that I had read all there was to be read in fantasy fiction. In the end, there are only so many underdog heroes, dark lords, and imaginary worlds that you can take.
But the beauty of fantasy fiction has always been in the power of magic and the belief that such a world could exist. And I missed the craziness and wonder of it all.
I thought it was time for me to go back and pick up something from the genre, and when I spotted this book on the library shelf, and brought it home with me.
The first thing I realized when I was through 30-40 odd pages was that this was a romance, a Harlequin-esque romance no less, with a fantasy world woven around it.
There is this drop-dead gorgeous, heroine, Princess Maricara and then there is this drop-dead gorgeous hero, Lord Kimber. They both bristle with beauty and arrogance and are rulers in their own world whose lives come together when they need to defend their race. The Drakons.
Drakons are creatures who can turn from humans to smoke to dragons and vice versa. The Sanf minus have risen and are out to slay the dragons and erase them from this world. The two surviving kingdoms of the Drakons must join forces and fight against them.
All the ingredients of a good fantasy fiction world are there. The mythical creatures, the power of magic with the dragons, the ring to bind them all (oops..in this case, the drumer..the stone that can rule the dragons). There are loyalties to be questioned, there is jealousy and betrayal. But amidst all this tension and mounting crisis – the leaders must seduce each other because the law demands that they be together(seriously??!!), make love, and when time permits prepare for the battle!
I do get that it is a romance novel, but the romance is so cliched and comes in the way of a whole crisis in the dragon world. I mean if the end of your kind and your carefully protected world was near would you seriously be romancing the first hot female dragon you see. Sheesh.
Needless to say, I am disappointed. And I don’t mean this as any offense to the writer or fantasy fiction readers. This book is a page-turner and gripping too. But in this category, there are so many better writers and stories out there.
Verdict : Skip it
Click for books that are worth your time.
0 comment
It is a nice change sometimes though for the romance to come first and the world crisis second. As you say, after reading about a large number of dark lords and under-dogs it is sometimes fun to read something like this.
Cassandra – Thanks for stopping by. Yes I agree it was a fun read. But it was a question of what I was looking for – I was not looking for a romance novel. I did read up on Shane Abe later on and realized that she is primarily a romance writer. If I had known that I might have had different expectations. Btw I visited your page too and found that you like strong female characters in stories – so do I. And in that way – Princess Maricara does not disappoint at all. She is definitely independent and does what is the best for her people.