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Grave Affairs #1
Grave Affairs
Following an accusation of being a necromancer with no way to prove her innocence, Detective Kirani Kinsley Ramons turns in her badge and flees to Dragon Heights, Wyoming for a fresh start.
In Miami, few understand the difference between a necromancer and the descendant of dragons.
In Dragon Heights, nobody cares.
With weekly rains of unusual composition, dragon-kin and human alike vying for the right to become the next dragon in town, and magic lurking around every turn, there is no better place for Kinsley to hide her skills and history.
But when the local brothel workers are attacked and the bodies of would-be dragons begin showing up with alarming frequency, Kinsley revisits her past and makes the painful decision to hunt the hunter for the sake of her neighbors and new friends.
With her trusty carbunclo kitten at her side, she delves into the dark world of dragons and the city they call home to catch those behind the attacks before they can strike again.
What she doesn’t know may awaken the sleeping beast, forever changing her destiny.
In Miami, few understand the difference between a necromancer and the descendant of dragons.
In Dragon Heights, nobody cares.
With weekly rains of unusual composition, dragon-kin and human alike vying for the right to become the next dragon in town, and magic lurking around every turn, there is no better place for Kinsley to hide her skills and history.
But when the local brothel workers are attacked and the bodies of would-be dragons begin showing up with alarming frequency, Kinsley revisits her past and makes the painful decision to hunt the hunter for the sake of her neighbors and new friends.
With her trusty carbunclo kitten at her side, she delves into the dark world of dragons and the city they call home to catch those behind the attacks before they can strike again.
What she doesn’t know may awaken the sleeping beast, forever changing her destiny.
482 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2024
73 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
October 22, 2024
I wished I could have rated this book higher. While the story was original in the beginning, it got lost in the confusion brought in by the writing style and the overall structure of the story. Here are my main problems with the book with some examples :
- A lot of information required to understand the world are absent or explained late in the story. We know the names of a lot of Dragon Heights's districts but we don't know the layout of the city or where it's located in the USA. In the story, Kinsley is hopping between all the districts without describing her path. Kinsley is also studying to take a test and be able to work in the city. What subjects she had to study? No idea. We learn later in the book that dragons can choose if they want clutches of eggs or be pregnant in human form but we don't know why dragon's children are mostly born dragon-kins (even if they come from eggs) instead of being dragons themselves.
- Kinsley does not act like an ex-detective. In the beginning of the book, she gets two investigations. Somehow, she only spend a few days going through a lot of documents and visiting the location where the bodies were found. She then spend many days shopping. I think she spend more time shopping than investigating in the story. All the information she "finds" to solve the crimes comes from her parents. Her parents did more investigating in the background than her and we only see when they tell her all of those infos. Her parents even did some acting to bring Kinsley in the spotlight of the criminals so she could be kidnapped by them. They should be the detectives, not her.
- The romance between Kinsley and Erik is just confusing. They love each other a lot but they haven't told each other they are dragon-kins or how big and who their families are. After meeting again, they never have a discussion about why they haven't told each other those things or their feelings about their break-up. They just continue as if they never broke up and knew those details all along.
- Kinsley's reasoning is frequently difficult to follow and she keeps changing her mind. This is the main problem I had with the book so I have a lot of examples. (1) She misses Erik a lot and is hesitant to meet him and his family. She then thinks it's a great idea to dress as someone from a brothel (her words). After leaving her apartment and regretting her decision about her clothes, she thinks it's a great idea to be in cuffs when she meets Erik and his mom. What!? (2) Because Kinsley sacrificed herself so he could have his dream job and because she doesn't want her kitten to leave and find a mate elsewhere, she challenges Erik to find a mate for her kitten carbunclo. Later in the book, she helps someone else give a female carbunclo (so not a potential mate) to Erik. Erik did absolutely nothing to find a carbunclo. (3) She makes a challenge with Erik about being the first one to find who attacks the brothel's workers. If she looses, he can propose once again and be as extravagant as he wants. Two pages later, she decides to work with Erik on this same case. Then, much later in the book, Kinsley makes another challenge with Erik where their mothers will hand-fight each other. The child of the winner will propose to the other one.
More proof readers should have read this book before publishing it. A lot of those problems could have been caught and solved.
I think this is the first book I read from this author but I don't know her aliases. Because of how confusing this book was, I have no interest in finding out her other aliases and reading their books.
- A lot of information required to understand the world are absent or explained late in the story. We know the names of a lot of Dragon Heights's districts but we don't know the layout of the city or where it's located in the USA. In the story, Kinsley is hopping between all the districts without describing her path. Kinsley is also studying to take a test and be able to work in the city. What subjects she had to study? No idea. We learn later in the book that dragons can choose if they want clutches of eggs or be pregnant in human form but we don't know why dragon's children are mostly born dragon-kins (even if they come from eggs) instead of being dragons themselves.
- Kinsley does not act like an ex-detective. In the beginning of the book, she gets two investigations. Somehow, she only spend a few days going through a lot of documents and visiting the location where the bodies were found. She then spend many days shopping. I think she spend more time shopping than investigating in the story. All the information she "finds" to solve the crimes comes from her parents. Her parents did more investigating in the background than her and we only see when they tell her all of those infos. Her parents even did some acting to bring Kinsley in the spotlight of the criminals so she could be kidnapped by them. They should be the detectives, not her.
- The romance between Kinsley and Erik is just confusing. They love each other a lot but they haven't told each other they are dragon-kins or how big and who their families are. After meeting again, they never have a discussion about why they haven't told each other those things or their feelings about their break-up. They just continue as if they never broke up and knew those details all along.
- Kinsley's reasoning is frequently difficult to follow and she keeps changing her mind. This is the main problem I had with the book so I have a lot of examples. (1) She misses Erik a lot and is hesitant to meet him and his family. She then thinks it's a great idea to dress as someone from a brothel (her words). After leaving her apartment and regretting her decision about her clothes, she thinks it's a great idea to be in cuffs when she meets Erik and his mom. What!? (2) Because Kinsley sacrificed herself so he could have his dream job and because she doesn't want her kitten to leave and find a mate elsewhere, she challenges Erik to find a mate for her kitten carbunclo. Later in the book, she helps someone else give a female carbunclo (so not a potential mate) to Erik. Erik did absolutely nothing to find a carbunclo. (3) She makes a challenge with Erik about being the first one to find who attacks the brothel's workers. If she looses, he can propose once again and be as extravagant as he wants. Two pages later, she decides to work with Erik on this same case. Then, much later in the book, Kinsley makes another challenge with Erik where their mothers will hand-fight each other. The child of the winner will propose to the other one.
More proof readers should have read this book before publishing it. A lot of those problems could have been caught and solved.
I think this is the first book I read from this author but I don't know her aliases. Because of how confusing this book was, I have no interest in finding out her other aliases and reading their books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2024
So, as a general rule, I enjoy this particular author's books, I really do. It starts out strong. Absolutely fabulous world, wonderful characters and just an all around fab storyline. Until about halfway through, and it begins to implode with ridiculously long conversations between characters, even more ridiculous and unnecessary/unbelievable character actions... It's like a poorly done parody of a parody. I loved it until it became so plastic. I couldn't even finish it, I was so annoyed! But there you go, will still probably read her books, after a long vacation from them.
May 5, 2024
I just fell in love with a Carbunclo.
I hope I spelled that right. Carbunclo's are an exotic species resembling cats. They are cute curry balls of fluff with paws the consistency of stone they have a complex language consisting of purrs, beeps, chirps and growls. Some even attain human speech. They have the same dietary requirements as humans and are also capable of using a toilet unaided....Oh and they can transform to a ball of light. They are by far the best thing about this book, a masterful creation. The main character is a dragon kin, the child of dragon's who has not yet transformed into their own dragon. Some never do, some need magical help to transform and go on pilgrimages to Dragon shrines in order to transform. Kinsley has been living in Dragon Heights for two years she left Miami after being accused of being a necromancer leaving behind her career as a police detective her parents and fiancee. Dragon Heights is a fascinating place to live as you can gather from the name Dragons live all around in their own districts there are a wide variety of different species of Dragon's titanium, yellow, mercury purple, red, orange cyan ...........and it goes on and on. In Drqagon Heights prostitution is legal and Kinsley's landlord owns and runs the brothel next door, one day she approaches Kinsley need her help, some of her workers have been attacked by a stranger wielding a blade, it's actually been happening all over the city. Cecilia (her landlady) wants Kinsley to investigate the attacks and see if she can find out who the attacker is before they go to the police, although prostitution is legal some police officers still consider them as outside the law and so.deserve whatever happens.to them. Kinsley is happy to dust off her old skills and investigate the matter. Of course that's when things go a little crazy as her parents choose that moment to descend on her determined she needs some parental care. So Kinsley has two high maintenance Dragon's following her everywhere when she's trying to fly under the radar....................................
I hope I spelled that right. Carbunclo's are an exotic species resembling cats. They are cute curry balls of fluff with paws the consistency of stone they have a complex language consisting of purrs, beeps, chirps and growls. Some even attain human speech. They have the same dietary requirements as humans and are also capable of using a toilet unaided....Oh and they can transform to a ball of light. They are by far the best thing about this book, a masterful creation. The main character is a dragon kin, the child of dragon's who has not yet transformed into their own dragon. Some never do, some need magical help to transform and go on pilgrimages to Dragon shrines in order to transform. Kinsley has been living in Dragon Heights for two years she left Miami after being accused of being a necromancer leaving behind her career as a police detective her parents and fiancee. Dragon Heights is a fascinating place to live as you can gather from the name Dragons live all around in their own districts there are a wide variety of different species of Dragon's titanium, yellow, mercury purple, red, orange cyan ...........and it goes on and on. In Drqagon Heights prostitution is legal and Kinsley's landlord owns and runs the brothel next door, one day she approaches Kinsley need her help, some of her workers have been attacked by a stranger wielding a blade, it's actually been happening all over the city. Cecilia (her landlady) wants Kinsley to investigate the attacks and see if she can find out who the attacker is before they go to the police, although prostitution is legal some police officers still consider them as outside the law and so.deserve whatever happens.to them. Kinsley is happy to dust off her old skills and investigate the matter. Of course that's when things go a little crazy as her parents choose that moment to descend on her determined she needs some parental care. So Kinsley has two high maintenance Dragon's following her everywhere when she's trying to fly under the radar....................................
April 29, 2024
I deeply loved it! My only complaint is now I have to wait until the next book comes out.
April 29, 2024
I really enjoyed this book! The world is a very interesting concept, the characters are likable, and the mystery is intriguing. Highly recommend!
October 18, 2025
This one has the new-ish cozy flavor where everything is easy, everyone is idealistic, nice, and basically perfect. The MC might as well be a literal disney princess etc. Friction is mostly humorous and the bad guys are slow and stupid. Tension is almost nonexistent by design.
I dnf'd a bit over 30% in. This is straight up just bad. The world makes no sense, the magic makes no sense, the dialog is stilted to a level I haven't seen in a long time. Most characters sounds exactly the same and they are flat as cardboard. The story is ludicrous.
The entire book is borderline incoherent, sometimes because its just written badly, at other times because the author just makes shit up without rhyme or reason.
Magic in particular is being made up at an unbelievable rate without a single thought about the implications of any of it, which contributes to the incoherent world.
And lets not even get into the setting which is roughly 140 years in the future. But the world and technology is entirely contemporary but with magic. The author forgets about this future setting herself almost immediately when referencing how long ago historical events occurred. Just why?!
The MC and basically all other "good" characters are ridiculously unbelievably perfect and considerate. The MC in particular is very aggressively being shown to be miss perfect who is awesome in every conceivable way. In addition to her monologuing about how awesome she is in her head, others can not shut up about how perfect she is either. This naturally goes along with an unhealthy amount of virtue signaling. You get the point.
And as if this wasn't bad enough, I found the audiobook narration to be really off-putting as well. The narrator tries to give characters different voices. But she narrates them all in the same cadence while always going through the same pitch pattern and the inflection being always the same regardless of context. She rushes through most of the sentences but then puts a long and strong emphasis on individual syllables towards commas or full stops. This undermines the attempt to voice different characters in distinct ways because this rhythm is the most distinct feature of the voice and its always the same. In some sections the pauses between sentences are really rough as well because they frequently have inconsistent duration as if the entire thing was pieced together from individual sound bites by an inexperienced editor.
It sounds so unnatural and strange. This is really weird because this is an established narrator I have listened to before. And I don't remember her being this bad.
I honestly can not tell if I would have been able to see past at least some of the writing if the narration was better, or maybe its even the other way around.
The only positive I can come up with is creativity. The author didn't manage to put it into a proper story, but there is unusual whimsical creativity.
The book seems like a new author just writing whatever she felt like. But apparently this is a pen name of an established and pretty accomplished author. An author I have read before. And I have even enjoyed some of her other books. If I had to guess the author just doesn't care anymore and just writes whatever she feels like, probably well aware that its a mess. But her following seems to enjoy her books regardless, so can I even blame her? I don't get it, but it sells anyway.
I dnf'd a bit over 30% in. This is straight up just bad. The world makes no sense, the magic makes no sense, the dialog is stilted to a level I haven't seen in a long time. Most characters sounds exactly the same and they are flat as cardboard. The story is ludicrous.
The entire book is borderline incoherent, sometimes because its just written badly, at other times because the author just makes shit up without rhyme or reason.
Magic in particular is being made up at an unbelievable rate without a single thought about the implications of any of it, which contributes to the incoherent world.
And lets not even get into the setting which is roughly 140 years in the future. But the world and technology is entirely contemporary but with magic. The author forgets about this future setting herself almost immediately when referencing how long ago historical events occurred. Just why?!
The MC and basically all other "good" characters are ridiculously unbelievably perfect and considerate. The MC in particular is very aggressively being shown to be miss perfect who is awesome in every conceivable way. In addition to her monologuing about how awesome she is in her head, others can not shut up about how perfect she is either. This naturally goes along with an unhealthy amount of virtue signaling. You get the point.
And as if this wasn't bad enough, I found the audiobook narration to be really off-putting as well. The narrator tries to give characters different voices. But she narrates them all in the same cadence while always going through the same pitch pattern and the inflection being always the same regardless of context. She rushes through most of the sentences but then puts a long and strong emphasis on individual syllables towards commas or full stops. This undermines the attempt to voice different characters in distinct ways because this rhythm is the most distinct feature of the voice and its always the same. In some sections the pauses between sentences are really rough as well because they frequently have inconsistent duration as if the entire thing was pieced together from individual sound bites by an inexperienced editor.
It sounds so unnatural and strange. This is really weird because this is an established narrator I have listened to before. And I don't remember her being this bad.
I honestly can not tell if I would have been able to see past at least some of the writing if the narration was better, or maybe its even the other way around.
The only positive I can come up with is creativity. The author didn't manage to put it into a proper story, but there is unusual whimsical creativity.
The book seems like a new author just writing whatever she felt like. But apparently this is a pen name of an established and pretty accomplished author. An author I have read before. And I have even enjoyed some of her other books. If I had to guess the author just doesn't care anymore and just writes whatever she feels like, probably well aware that its a mess. But her following seems to enjoy her books regardless, so can I even blame her? I don't get it, but it sells anyway.
April 29, 2024
Kinsley has a money problem that she solves by gathering up conjured critters. She’s running from her past and toward a new future.
She’s getting there in a truly amusing fashion.
I loved this book!
She’s getting there in a truly amusing fashion.
I loved this book!
May 30, 2025
So good, I read it in one sitting.
May 3, 2024
Which this books is a romance, it's got a lot of plot and details of investigation. The cover illustration even has to do with a plot turning point. There's enough wrap-up to hold me until the next book, but I really want to read the next book for some important reveals!
I love the characters when they're being serious and when they're being ridiculous. It's good that each of them has the depth to be both in turn, and at appropriate moments for the plot. There was definitely more laugh-out-loud than tense drama, and I get enough tense at work that I prefer this balance.
I accidentally ordered two copies, have no regrets, and handed the second copy off to a friend.
I love the characters when they're being serious and when they're being ridiculous. It's good that each of them has the depth to be both in turn, and at appropriate moments for the plot. There was definitely more laugh-out-loud than tense drama, and I get enough tense at work that I prefer this balance.
I accidentally ordered two copies, have no regrets, and handed the second copy off to a friend.
July 16, 2025
I…. Am not sure about this book. For a few pages I really like it.. then I don’t, then I’m confused, finally I realized it’s the writing style !! It’s choppy/clunky at times. I was eager to read it because the blurb was very interesting, but .. ehhhh. Maybe it will improve in book 2
April 29, 2024
Enjoyed
May 31, 2024
Lighthearted fun...
This book was a fun read. I enjoyed the banter between the characters, but the conversations were ONLY banter. Every. Single. One.
There wasn't a lot of story building in this book. We didn't get any history of the world, really. There was also a lot of repetition within conversations and thoughts, with things getting repeated like 4 times within a page. Also, definitely didn't need the dates and time at the start of each chapter and breaking up the chapters. Like, we'd get the break with the date, but the same conversation would be continuing from before, in the same room, seconds later.
The plot of this book was okay. I feel like the murders and her investigating were just a way for the plot to be something other than romance. It also wasn't explained that the brothel workers couldn't see who attacked them, so that caused some confusion for me. As well as why she needed to go through the girls'financials, when she could just ask them about their usual schedules.She didn't do much investigating, and she spent a lot of time traipsing around town with her parents. The murders were solved by her randomly getting kidnapped. Also, I don't think motive for the murders was explained, either, but I could be wrong cuz I skimmed through the ending.
There was also a weird theme of her being in poverty, but her parents are extremely rich and buy whatever she wants(or doesn't) want. She seemed to have a lot of privilege, but at the same time, the author was trying to portray her the opposite of that.
This girl literally made my yearly salary just picking up the conjured animals 2 Fridays in a row. Also, what a weird thing, the randomly conjured animals during petitions. It's not really explained well why it happens. It's amusing, for sure, but not explained.
I also think there was a bit too much of telling and not showing going on. A lot of conversations.. so many.
Overall, I finished the book, so I obviously liked it, but I definitely skipped a lot in the last 20% of the book. I hope the author continues to write and get better. I think she could make some awesome stories!
This book was a fun read. I enjoyed the banter between the characters, but the conversations were ONLY banter. Every. Single. One.
There wasn't a lot of story building in this book. We didn't get any history of the world, really. There was also a lot of repetition within conversations and thoughts, with things getting repeated like 4 times within a page. Also, definitely didn't need the dates and time at the start of each chapter and breaking up the chapters. Like, we'd get the break with the date, but the same conversation would be continuing from before, in the same room, seconds later.
The plot of this book was okay. I feel like the murders and her investigating were just a way for the plot to be something other than romance. It also wasn't explained that the brothel workers couldn't see who attacked them, so that caused some confusion for me. As well as why she needed to go through the girls'financials, when she could just ask them about their usual schedules.She didn't do much investigating, and she spent a lot of time traipsing around town with her parents. The murders were solved by her randomly getting kidnapped. Also, I don't think motive for the murders was explained, either, but I could be wrong cuz I skimmed through the ending.
There was also a weird theme of her being in poverty, but her parents are extremely rich and buy whatever she wants(or doesn't) want. She seemed to have a lot of privilege, but at the same time, the author was trying to portray her the opposite of that.
This girl literally made my yearly salary just picking up the conjured animals 2 Fridays in a row. Also, what a weird thing, the randomly conjured animals during petitions. It's not really explained well why it happens. It's amusing, for sure, but not explained.
I also think there was a bit too much of telling and not showing going on. A lot of conversations.. so many.
Overall, I finished the book, so I obviously liked it, but I definitely skipped a lot in the last 20% of the book. I hope the author continues to write and get better. I think she could make some awesome stories!
May 3, 2024
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
.
Lost2 3 stars because I do not like the 'romance'. -- Edited see bottom of actual review.
.
FYI the blurb for the book is IMHO deceptive, if it'd held true and it only followed what was in the promotional blurb and the 'romance' wasn't shoe-horned in, I'd have loved this book!
.
So disappointed, I've been waiting many months to get my hands on this book. :( Other of her series I rate at 4 star.
.
In the unlikely event that I re-read this book, I'd do my best to skip past anything to do with the LI, then it'd actually be a 4 star book. -- If I could get myself to 'damage' even an e-book, I'd remove the 'romance' parts so I'd actually enjoy a re-read.
.
.
Disappointing. Had to force myself to finish from around page 280. Because the 'romance' that I don't like was in full play by then. -- Now this is all typed up going to force myself to finish it.
.
Edited to add -- finished it, it took hours to read 60? pages because I really hated it so it knocked another star off.
.
First time read the author's work?: No -- I've enjoyed books under her other pen names, some being 4* books
.
Will you be reading more?: Not of this series.
.
Would you recommend?: No
.
.
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
.
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
.
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
.
Lost
.
FYI the blurb for the book is IMHO deceptive, if it'd held true and it only followed what was in the promotional blurb and the 'romance' wasn't shoe-horned in, I'd have loved this book!
.
So disappointed, I've been waiting many months to get my hands on this book. :( Other of her series I rate at 4 star.
.
In the unlikely event that I re-read this book, I'd do my best to skip past anything to do with the LI, then it'd actually be a 4 star book. -- If I could get myself to 'damage' even an e-book, I'd remove the 'romance' parts so I'd actually enjoy a re-read.
.
.
Disappointing. Had to force myself to finish from around page 280. Because the 'romance' that I don't like was in full play by then. -- Now this is all typed up going to force myself to finish it.
.
Edited to add -- finished it, it took hours to read 60? pages because I really hated it so it knocked another star off.
.
First time read the author's work?: No -- I've enjoyed books under her other pen names, some being 4* books
.
Will you be reading more?: Not of this series.
.
Would you recommend?: No
.
.
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
.
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
.
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
October 8, 2025
Loved this dragon tale and can't wait for the next one.
Kinsley, moves from Miami to Dragon Heights to let her ex fiancee (Eric) follow his dreams, when the rumour starts that she's a necromancer. As she was hiding that she's actually a dragonkin (child of dragons) she can't exactly tell everyone the truth. Especially as both she & her ex are/were cops.
Her parents, the dragons, are feared by all the dragons in Dragon Heights, which causes confusion to Kinsley, as they were fairly normal in Miami. Loved all the drama they caused when they finally catch up to their wayward daughter.
The pets are fabulous!
Kinsley, moves from Miami to Dragon Heights to let her ex fiancee (Eric) follow his dreams, when the rumour starts that she's a necromancer. As she was hiding that she's actually a dragonkin (child of dragons) she can't exactly tell everyone the truth. Especially as both she & her ex are/were cops.
Her parents, the dragons, are feared by all the dragons in Dragon Heights, which causes confusion to Kinsley, as they were fairly normal in Miami. Loved all the drama they caused when they finally catch up to their wayward daughter.
The pets are fabulous!
September 9, 2025
I loved this new look at Dragons, Dragon-kin, and fun strange new animals raining from the sky. A fun romp in a fantasy world. Enjoy.
April 30, 2024
Go buy, read and enjoy. You're welcome.
Already a comforting re-read. Highly recommend.
So many things I enjoyed in this book - magic, dragons, dragon kin, ultra smart and cute pets, intriguing mysteries, love and sacrifice, unbelievable parents, police procedures, familiars, hoards and new chances.
Great story with enjoyable characters and a dragon-centric world.
Kinsley. A heroine who is protective, smart, stubborn, loyal and dedicated to justice.
Garnet. A carbunclo kitten, a cat but not.
And several other characters who fall into spoiler territory.
This character and her world have held my attention from the first read of the chapter one snippet released on the blog back in Jan 2023. The story was then a patreon work in progress read along with each release a highlight in my day. Loved Kinsley more and more with each reveal, counting the days until publication.
As a patreon, it's so much fun when you realize what changed in the final version and how much more story existed. To my fellow patreons, I sure did not see most of the last third of the book coming, but it was even better than I hoped.
Ignore reality for a while and enjoy Kinsley and Garnet. Dragons are definitely involved.
As this was not purchased at a certain retailer, it has the bonus story which is an awesome slice of life story featuring the heroine and all.
Go buy so we can get more stories in this world. Enjoy.
Thanks RJ Blain. Your imagination continues to amaze me.
Cross posted good reads, book bub and kobo.
Already a comforting re-read. Highly recommend.
So many things I enjoyed in this book - magic, dragons, dragon kin, ultra smart and cute pets, intriguing mysteries, love and sacrifice, unbelievable parents, police procedures, familiars, hoards and new chances.
Great story with enjoyable characters and a dragon-centric world.
Kinsley. A heroine who is protective, smart, stubborn, loyal and dedicated to justice.
Garnet. A carbunclo kitten, a cat but not.
And several other characters who fall into spoiler territory.
This character and her world have held my attention from the first read of the chapter one snippet released on the blog back in Jan 2023. The story was then a patreon work in progress read along with each release a highlight in my day. Loved Kinsley more and more with each reveal, counting the days until publication.
As a patreon, it's so much fun when you realize what changed in the final version and how much more story existed. To my fellow patreons, I sure did not see most of the last third of the book coming, but it was even better than I hoped.
Ignore reality for a while and enjoy Kinsley and Garnet. Dragons are definitely involved.
As this was not purchased at a certain retailer, it has the bonus story which is an awesome slice of life story featuring the heroine and all.
Go buy so we can get more stories in this world. Enjoy.
Thanks RJ Blain. Your imagination continues to amaze me.
Cross posted good reads, book bub and kobo.
December 29, 2024
So much promise..
The base storyline of this book is good, the world offers SO MUCH promise, but in the end I felt let down.
The MC is interesting, multi faceted and entertaining, the parents are brilliantly amusing, and many of the characters that appear in the story offer great hope for variety and interest… but dear me.
The SO brings less than zero to the storyline and could easily be excluded for the betterment of the story.
The storyline itself has those massive plot holes that come about when an author knows the world and back story so well, that they fail to fill in the blanks for the reader. A really good editor and some tough Beta readers would have helped immeasurably here. I was left with so many questions and spent half the book wondering what hole I had just fallen into and trying to puzzle my way back out again.
The issue may be that there is so so much banter. The author seems to prefer conversation rather than scene building and narration. Which is fine, but it does lend itself to a confusing read.
All in all this book has so much promise, I was totally hooked on the world and would love to see this world revisited after some good editing and rewriting. It is definitely a book worth looking at, as long as you are prepared for good but not great writing, and a bit of lack lustre storytelling as the book progresses. 5/10.
The base storyline of this book is good, the world offers SO MUCH promise, but in the end I felt let down.
The MC is interesting, multi faceted and entertaining, the parents are brilliantly amusing, and many of the characters that appear in the story offer great hope for variety and interest… but dear me.
The SO brings less than zero to the storyline and could easily be excluded for the betterment of the story.
The storyline itself has those massive plot holes that come about when an author knows the world and back story so well, that they fail to fill in the blanks for the reader. A really good editor and some tough Beta readers would have helped immeasurably here. I was left with so many questions and spent half the book wondering what hole I had just fallen into and trying to puzzle my way back out again.
The issue may be that there is so so much banter. The author seems to prefer conversation rather than scene building and narration. Which is fine, but it does lend itself to a confusing read.
All in all this book has so much promise, I was totally hooked on the world and would love to see this world revisited after some good editing and rewriting. It is definitely a book worth looking at, as long as you are prepared for good but not great writing, and a bit of lack lustre storytelling as the book progresses. 5/10.
August 29, 2025
I stayed up way too late reading this, after finishing I wanted to start the next book asap. This was an easy read for those who don't want to get to immerse in a world building as the author didn't have much of that in this story. I wish we saw more of the politics of Dragon Heights, more on the different Dragon groups and how they rule.
A few things that I didnt enjoy about this book, firstly it felt like we were missing a huge piece of the puzzle what happened in Miami and why she left. These characters had a whole relationship before we met them and the author failed to really give us the full picture. At times it felt like there should have been a whole other series of book that as prequels. We didnt really get the full story of Kinsley's parents, their whole story of why she was so ignorant of Dragons where her own parents were one was so flimsy. Its so unrealistic that at no part in her life she was curious of their background and heritage.
I hated the who I know nothing about Dragon situation it was frustrating to read.
A few things that I didnt enjoy about this book, firstly it felt like we were missing a huge piece of the puzzle what happened in Miami and why she left. These characters had a whole relationship before we met them and the author failed to really give us the full picture. At times it felt like there should have been a whole other series of book that as prequels. We didnt really get the full story of Kinsley's parents, their whole story of why she was so ignorant of Dragons where her own parents were one was so flimsy. Its so unrealistic that at no part in her life she was curious of their background and heritage.
I hated the who I know nothing about Dragon situation it was frustrating to read.
August 12, 2024
Excellent first book. While the mystery(s) our main character gets sucked into are satisfyingly resolved-- as is the painful tangle of her past-- the author has left delightful little hooks to engage our curiosity and prompt us to return. After all, our girl hasn't fully come into her powers/inheritance yet...
I am eagerly looking forward to what comes next in this series. The kittens are adorable, the take on dragons & magic is fresh and original, and the characters (even minor characters) are believable and interesting.
I have read a few of the author's books under other pseudonyms and this one is my favorite by far. The others I can take or leave but this one -- depending on how the series goes-- may end up on my "all time favorites"/"acquire a hardcopy" list...
I am eagerly looking forward to what comes next in this series. The kittens are adorable, the take on dragons & magic is fresh and original, and the characters (even minor characters) are believable and interesting.
I have read a few of the author's books under other pseudonyms and this one is my favorite by far. The others I can take or leave but this one -- depending on how the series goes-- may end up on my "all time favorites"/"acquire a hardcopy" list...
August 13, 2025
This book could have been a great murder mystery, but it’s everything else instead. I made it halfway through, and more than 80% of what I read is about an animal and a family reunion no mystery whatsoever. I am so bored. Every time I try to pick this up, I stops because it's just so boring. I also really didn’t like how magically her problems got solved — she’s poor and needs money, no worries, she has a rich family. She misses her ex-fiancé, no worries, that was resolved too. Boring! I need some adversity, and as hard as the author tried to make her journey interesting, it was so uneventful. This is my first DNF of the year, and thank God I have free will and can stop putting myself through this. 1/5
May 17, 2024
I like the setting and the premise, but the book does suffer from a lack of focus (much like a lot of the author’s recent works under different pen names). There’s a whole 10 chapter tangent with no plot progression. Absolutely no investigating is done between chapters 9 and 19, an entire third of the book, instead that section is spent on everyone doting on either the main character or her pets. I like fluff as much as anyone, but when it’s so long and has so little impact on the story, it comes across as filler.
December 21, 2024
DNF. Started off cute and fun but got boring along the way. No world building whatsoever, many things were not explained sufficiently like the creatures rain. The murder investigation felt like a side project while there was too much interest in garnet and everything relating to her. Lost interest when Kinsley and Arik finally met, as I felt the book took a ridiculous turn with no end to the banter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2025
Sooooo good
It’s been a long time since I’ve read one of this author’s books. Why? I’m cheap…try not to have to buy books and just stick with Kindle Unlimited offerings. However, I was in a slump, saw this and overcame my inner Scrooge. So glad I did….it means bad thing for my wallet though because now I need to go buy her backlog of titles that I’d managed to bypass in the past. She’s just too good at this writing thing.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read one of this author’s books. Why? I’m cheap…try not to have to buy books and just stick with Kindle Unlimited offerings. However, I was in a slump, saw this and overcame my inner Scrooge. So glad I did….it means bad thing for my wallet though because now I need to go buy her backlog of titles that I’d managed to bypass in the past. She’s just too good at this writing thing.
November 13, 2025
I think I am addicted to Kinsley and company
I love this author in all her personalities. This book is different from her others. I liked Kinsley. I am holding judgment on Erik. The Ramons are hysterical. I am wondering what is going on with the Mercury Dragons. It should be interesting to find out.
I have gotten book 2 in the series. Off to read if the Ramons have any more kids!
I love this author in all her personalities. This book is different from her others. I liked Kinsley. I am holding judgment on Erik. The Ramons are hysterical. I am wondering what is going on with the Mercury Dragons. It should be interesting to find out.
I have gotten book 2 in the series. Off to read if the Ramons have any more kids!
April 30, 2024
What an awesomely fun read! A puzzling mystery, spiced by a romantic gordian knot, and leavened with rains of questionable composition (not quite raining cats and dogs) made this novel an attention-holder. Adding dragons and other adorable critters just adds to the fun! Animal lovers, mystery fans and romance divas will enjoy this! I sure did!
May 3, 2024
Awesome
I have not read a single book from this author I have not loved no matter which name it was written under (she has I think 5 more? I may be off on that count don't quote me) but every series has been great. The books are a blend of humor and action that make for a lovely read.
I have not read a single book from this author I have not loved no matter which name it was written under (she has I think 5 more? I may be off on that count don't quote me) but every series has been great. The books are a blend of humor and action that make for a lovely read.
May 4, 2024
loved it!
The rider Really did a great job with this book. She has totally from page 1 pulled the reader in and set the scene with great Great skill. I can tell that she really enjoyed this story and and I'm looking forward to the next book. Would totally recommend this book to any reader.
The rider Really did a great job with this book. She has totally from page 1 pulled the reader in and set the scene with great Great skill. I can tell that she really enjoyed this story and and I'm looking forward to the next book. Would totally recommend this book to any reader.
May 5, 2024
Great read. Uhm, did anyone else’s copy find it stopped abruptly? Bought in Kindle. Looking forward to more books. Reminds me a little of R.J. Blain’s Magical Romantic Comedies (with a body count) series which I thoroughly enjoy for light reading and a good time. OMG they are the same author, I just checked.
May 28, 2024
Exciting new story
This story has me hooked and I have to know what happens next.
I love the idea of this world with magic and dragons and each colour having different power and magical abilities.
The intriguing murder mystery that has yet to be concluded made sure I read the whole book in one day.
I eagerly await the next book in this excellent series by an amazing author.
This story has me hooked and I have to know what happens next.
I love the idea of this world with magic and dragons and each colour having different power and magical abilities.
The intriguing murder mystery that has yet to be concluded made sure I read the whole book in one day.
I eagerly await the next book in this excellent series by an amazing author.
June 2, 2024
i totally enjoyed this entire book
The characters are all awesome. I am hoping to find out the name, at least, of the necromancer. I suspect someone but I’m not certain. The animals add dimension and fun to the story. I’m curious about why the black dragons are so crazy about Eric and so helpful for the heroine even before they knew who and what she really is.
The characters are all awesome. I am hoping to find out the name, at least, of the necromancer. I suspect someone but I’m not certain. The animals add dimension and fun to the story. I’m curious about why the black dragons are so crazy about Eric and so helpful for the heroine even before they knew who and what she really is.
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