Dragon Kissed

Author: winteringpages-
Reviewer: CoffeeAndSilverInk

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SYNOPSIS

A maiden is expected to marry into nobility to uphold the family name's honour. However, come the night of her wedding, the mysterious dragon shifter she encountered in the forest has other ideas, starting by invading her carriage.

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As a woman, Olivia Willows is expected to cast aside her pursuit of independency to fulfill her duties; as an acquiescent housewife in a patriarchal society. All for the sake of one's honour not even her own.

Though the veil isn't as pellucid as it appears when Olivia meets a male in the nearby forest. A silent creature neither man nor dragon, he's shrouded behind the very riddles leaving fiery sparks on her skin.

And when an instinct stirs awake, a prophecy written long ago revives a centuries-old war, ensuing an ominous threat after them. On the run, the bond with the dragon shifter soon reaches dangerous new heights, and Olivia finds herself tangled amidst a dark web of lies leading to the truth of her heritage.

However, to end a timeless war, she must fulfill the expectations that destiny has dropped on her. Can Olivia do it, knowing it'll cost her everything? Or will she run to escape it? After all, she's only human.

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Title and Cover:

The title works perfectly. It's catchy and explains what the story is about fairly well. Although, it came to mind later that the word "kissed" is sometimes used as a metaphor. "Destined to the dragon" is definitely a title I would skip, but "Dragon Kissed" is much better.

The cover is simply amazing. Title and author are well displayed, the colour is bold, making it impossible to go unnoticed, and it matches the colour of Rykal's eyes and scales.

Blurb:

The opening sentence is great. It summarised the story pretty well and it striked me as funny in a sense.

Throughout the rest of the blurb, we are given an insight on Olivia's life, her ambitions and what she is expected to do.Then, we're told the main conflict and what changes in her life. Finally, the ending appeals to the reader to open the story. These are the steps to make a successful blurb. I am left with no suggestions to make it better, as it is perfect to me.

Plot/Flow:

The opening chapter was amazing. It takes us through the character's emotions, and it makes us wonder about what is to come. Being written in 1800s English is also a detail I liked a lot about it.

In Rykal's chapter, though full of action and a great way to start the book, I was a bit confused in a sense. He says he shields her from carnage, meaning there is some kind of war or battle going on. I did not realise that at first because the story follows the dragon in his quest for the maiden and describes nothing more. I'd like to know if there was a battle beforehand. And was the battle already going on or started due to his arrival? She had the dress thorn so I assume prior to his arrival.

A bit forward into the chapter, the main conflict of Rykal (at that point) is shown to us, and his desperation is obvious. The whole chapter does well in telling us more about Rykal, the (hot) drama queen who tore his shirt to pieces (you can't tell me doing that ain't drama queen behaviour), as well as his issues and goals.

Fast forward a bunch of years, Mr Blue Eyes has gone berserk, which I was not expecting but is definitely a part of the story that made it more interesting. It was Beauty and the Beast but the rose has already died out.

Rykal and Olivia's first meeting was somehow wholesome and their chemistry is obvious. All of their encounters were sweet, definitely keeping readers eager for more and for Olivia to be with him instead of the forceful husband hunt.

Fiona is introduced as the mother, but she isn't actually. We are told Olivia is to meet her mother and then the narrator refers to Fiona, but unless I missed something, it is never said that they are the same person. It is left to the reader to deduce that, and at first I thought they were two different women.

Fiona is a character who wants their daughters to fulfil their womanly duty and is so set on finding a husband for Olivia that she threatens her with the misery of a commoner. A few chapters later, she apologises and says she overstepped, allowing Olivia to have a bit more freedom. That seemed strange to me as it came out of nowhere and there was no apparent reason for the change of mind.

Also with the Serafino, or as I like to call him, barbecue vamp, he is very set on marrying her and though I have many theories about why, I don't think it was explained why. At least not yet.

The story flows nicely. I found myself eager for another encounter between Rykal and Olivia, and that made the parts where they were apart excruciatingly slow, but those parts are needed to the story.

Descriptions:

I'm a huge fan of description (that's why this section of my reviews is always full of complaints). I think they're the soul of a book and what makes the story worth reading. They give shape and colour to flat words. And this book left me flabbergasted in the good sense.

Descriptions of characters, actions and feelings are great. The author definitely painted images in the readers' minds and transmitted emotions effectively.

However, while descriptions of the mentioned above were on point, descriptions of surroundings were lacking. There isn't a need to describe every location where the characters are, but adding a bit more detail would be nice.

Characterization:

Rykal doesn't speak, but his physical language is very well portrayed, as well as his thoughts, so we get to know a lot about him. In his first chapter he seems demanding, desperate for his Dragella and living for the hopes of meeting her so he can avoid going berserk. Of course things don't go his way. Still, in a world where men think they're entitled to women, Rykal respects Olivia's timing and doesn't rush to claim her. He wants her to know him and love him before anything else.

He seems arrogant in some scenes, but maybe it's more confidence in his own skills.

His character development is obviously set on him unberserking himself, but the scene in which he goes crazy on Marcus and his horns come back is great to show us how he can easily go back to his wild ways despite Olivia.

I find him very cute, despite his gruesome berserk activities, for the way he acts with Olivia and when he is stubborn. Amazon needs to start selling portable Rykens for winter. I heard he warms you up.

Olivia is a strong lady who likes swordplay and dreams of having a fairytale love. She can't have that due to the patriarchy that wants her to clean, cook, and breed. The hatred towards that way of life and towards men like Marcus is well portrayed and sometimes comes out as funny due to her derogatory comments. She is a strong girl hoping to be independent and to be loved for herself and not because she is a woman. Seeing her slowly getting that love when she meets Rykal are feel-good scenes for the readers.

The rest of the characters are also well portrayed in the sense that they're all easy to hate (except for those three ladies that stand by Olivia). Those characters give depth to the world and its ways.

Writing:

The writing is really good and pleasant to read. I loved the 1800s bits from "Destined to the dragon", even though they are harder to read for people that don't speak English as their first language like me.

A small issue I saw being made, that I too make quite often and have been called out for several times, is in the character introductions. The character's names should be introduced as soon as the character is inserted, not halfway through the story. Several times I've seen a chapter begin with "She" and only a few paragraphs later is Olivia's name said. We know it's her because the story has always followed her, but it's still better to introduce the character right away.

There's also sudden changes of pov that don't make much sense. For example, by the end of chapter 3, which has followed Olivia the whole time, and suddenly it changes to Rykal. While this is not an issue, the Rykal pov lasts only one short paragraph and then goes back to Olivia. If the author is following a close pov of the characters, the narrator should stick to the same pov unless it is changing completely and for a longer time than one paragraph.

Also in Chapter 3 it is said "Wiped the snot from his beard". Perhaps it was meant to be "with his beard"? I'm not sure.

Many times there have been thoughts repeated in dialogue, or ideas reinforced quite often throughout a short span of paragraphs. This is not wrong, but it can become annoying if the author keeps pressing too much on the same thing.

In chapter 10 it is said "martial duties" where I believe it's "marital duties". The expression "she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding" is a very cliché and fanficky saying that personally I would erase completely.

One thing I loved about the story are the metaphors for normal things. They made the story feel more whimsical and interesting. I wasn't a fan of "beating organ" instead of heart, but it's a personal preference.

Overall enjoyment:

First of all, I would like to say I am in shock with myself. Knowing the trope in the book I was expecting him to show up and claim her like it was his birth right and be an idiot about it. I've always hated mating tropes and anything where the male thinks he has a right to the female. But I absolutely adored this book.

I may or may not have binge read the whole thing and may or may not be waiting for the next chapter.

I found myself truly immersed in the writing style and the story, in the connection between the two main characters and every other event. I was reading in hopes of reaching another scene with both of them and reading those scenes in giddy excitement.

My goal as a reviewer is to point out flaws and give advice (subjectively as everyone has a different opinion), but in this story I have mostly pointed out meek things, neglectable "issues". I truly think this story is great as it is and there are no key details to be changed. You definitely got yourself a fan.

Good luck with your future projects and thank you for choosing me as your reviewer.