Book Review: Dragon's Debt; H.L. Burke.

Woah, was it really 2014 that I read the first book in this series?! That's so long ago! Honestly though, I stumbled upon this while clearing out my Kindle and remembered that I rather liked book one. I knew it would be short too, so it was good to sit down and read it!

SOURCE: Author Sent Copy
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Dragon's Debt
AUTHOR: H.L. Burke
SERIES: The Dragon And The Scholar (#2)
PUBLISHER: Amazon's Digital Services
PAGES: 196
GENRE: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal Romance

RATING: 3.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
Scholar Shannon Macaulay and the Dragon-Prince Ewan have been traveling together for a year when their blissful companionship is interrupted by a cryptic message from their friend Martin.

"Come to Westshire. Edmond needs you."

Drawn to his brother's aid, Ewan finds himself hunting an elusive monster: a winged beast kidnapping young women and stealing their memories. Its latest victim is the Princess Brighid of Westshire, the very girl Edmond has recently fallen for, to the disapproval of her temperamental father, King Riley, and stoic brother, Prince Ryan. 

Ewan is determined to rescue his brother's beloved, no matter what the cost. But when Ryan's eyes fall upon Shannon, the dragon realises the cost might be greater than he is willing to pay.

What I Liked:

• Despite the four years since reading book one, I still remembered these characters. And this world. And in fact, that made me really happy! It's a testament to a writer's skill that they can write such a memorable book, especially if it was short.
• The plot of this book was pretty fun too, I especially liked that it developed the characters further. We got to see more of Edmond and Martin, but with plenty of Ewan and Shannon to keep me happy. I liked the newest character, Ryan, too. Sure he was a bit grumpy and the third point in a love triangle, but he was respectful and likeable all the same.

What I Disliked:

• This series is a tad juvenile. Many people have tagged it as YA, but I disagree with that judgement as it feels more like a middle grade read really. The dialogue was a little forced at times, and I didn't feel as much of that connection between Shannon and Ewan that I liked from book one.

Overall Conclusion:

I think this series has some real potential, despite the covers that I'm really not a fan of. Good characters and a likeable plot, it's a tad predictable but a fun, easy read for sure. I don't know that I'll be racing to read the next book, but I certainly won't discount this series!

Book Review: Dragon's Curse; H.L. Burke.

So this is one book that definitely took me by surprise. In a good way! It only took me a day to read, it was quite short so it's going to be a 'Quick Fix' entry. Honestly though, I can't wait to share my thoughts!

SOURCE: Author Sent Copy
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Dragon's Curse
AUTHOR: H.L. Burke
SERIES: The Dragon And The Scholar (#1)
PUBLISHER: CreateSpace
PAGES: 165
GENRE: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal Romance

RATING: 3.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
On her first assignment out of the Academy, young healer and scholar, Shannon Macaulay is summoned to the struggling kingdom of Regone to see to the wounds of a young but crippled king. When the unwanted attentions of an aggressive knight and the sudden appearance of a hated dragon turn her world upside down, she decides to take matters into her own hands even if doing so proves dangerous. 


Finding herself strangely drawn to the company of the dragon, Gnaw, Shannon must force herself out of her safe world of books and botany to come to the aid of her unexpected ally in a strange kingdom, cursed by a fateful encounter with a dragon and the loss of a beloved prince. Can she learn to put aside her fears, and perhaps sacrifice her deepest desires, to help a friend and restore a family?

What I Liked:

• Let's start with the plot, which completely blew me away. The blurb sounded intriguing to me from the beginning, but I don't think I ever expected to get so hooked on this book! I honestly cannot believe how much I enjoyed it, and how desperate I am to read the next one! I was completely engrossed from beginning to end. There were a fair few twists and turns that kept me on my toes too.
• The characters were really well-written and there were some wonderful relationships in there. The obvious being Shannon and Gnaw, the Dragon that she befriends. I really rooted for those two as a duo, and I think their interactions were my favourite. They had some pretty funny conversations as well! I liked the side characters too, they were very likeable.

What I Disliked:

• I guess my main issue with this book was that it was so short. Burke did a wonderful job at writing a really good story in this short page-count, but I would have liked to seen more. I liked Shannon as a heroine but I wanted to get to know her a bit better. Similarly, the romance in the book could have done with developing a little more slowly I suppose.

Overall Conclusion:

They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, and the cover for this book didn't blow me away. The story inside however absolutely did, proving that phrase to be totally true. The characters and plot were just fantastic, Burke wrote really well and I found the story both easy to follow and gripping to read. I would have liked to have seen a teeny bit more detail! If this book had been just a little more padded out, I would liked it more. I really want to read the next one though!