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City of Dragons #1
Blood Bonds
Living with Humans is never easy. They don’t do scent exchange, they don’t lick palms, and they have this thing called “personal space”. As the first and only Kin Agent for the Center of Folk and Kin Relations, Haley Night’s job is to help keep the public safe by helping keep the peace. After an interview with serial man-eater Niles Fury goes terribly wrong, Haley finds herself in a race against time to stop a madman's plot to destroy all Kin. It’s a journey that will put to the test everything she thought she knew: Kin have no God. Survive at all costs. And love is only a Human emotion. Welcome to Atlanta, Georgia… City of Dragons…
338 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2010
36 people are currently reading
954 people want to read
About the author
Adrienne Wilder
50 books1,794 followersGeorgia born and bred, I am an artist, a writer, and a general pain in the ass.
I spend most of my days working on my next book or bettering my art.
Writing is my identity and I love every minute of it. It's work, lots of work (sometimes I work 12+ hours a day and I never get a vacation) but I don't regret doing it.
I currently share my house with a myriad of dogs, a few cats, a saltwater aquarium filled with coral and fish, as well as my partner who's great at giving hugs when the day's been rough.
And of course, my editor and PA, who helps me keep life reasonably organized. At least so I won't walk out the door without wearing pants.
I spend most of my days working on my next book or bettering my art.
Writing is my identity and I love every minute of it. It's work, lots of work (sometimes I work 12+ hours a day and I never get a vacation) but I don't regret doing it.
I currently share my house with a myriad of dogs, a few cats, a saltwater aquarium filled with coral and fish, as well as my partner who's great at giving hugs when the day's been rough.
And of course, my editor and PA, who helps me keep life reasonably organized. At least so I won't walk out the door without wearing pants.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 24, 2011
BRILLIANTLY AND CREATIVELY WRITTEN!!!
What an amazing draconian world Adrienne Wilder has created. The overpowering action scenes will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seat with intense excitement.
This story is not your average dragon tale full of fun filling fantasy; No however, it’s a tale between the dragons and the humans force of survival of the viciousness and cruel inhumane side that these two dangerous species create towards each other as they struggle to coexist in today’s world.
The story’s plot was excellent and you either fell in love with the characters or you wanted them dead because of their evil ways. With the mixture of romance, erotic sexual scenes, horrifying feeding of flesh and blood and the drama of the story is sure to suck you in. I felt as though I was amongst them and apart of the story. The scenes were so graphically described that I could actually see color visuals of the scenes.
Haley and Farley’s tale truly captured my heart and the story left me with wanting to know more about their world and what becomes of the other characters such as Justice with his telepathic abilities and many more characters that I only got a glimpse of.
I look forward to reading more about the city of dragons and will be reading more of this authors work. FANTASTIC READ!
What an amazing draconian world Adrienne Wilder has created. The overpowering action scenes will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seat with intense excitement.
This story is not your average dragon tale full of fun filling fantasy; No however, it’s a tale between the dragons and the humans force of survival of the viciousness and cruel inhumane side that these two dangerous species create towards each other as they struggle to coexist in today’s world.
The story’s plot was excellent and you either fell in love with the characters or you wanted them dead because of their evil ways. With the mixture of romance, erotic sexual scenes, horrifying feeding of flesh and blood and the drama of the story is sure to suck you in. I felt as though I was amongst them and apart of the story. The scenes were so graphically described that I could actually see color visuals of the scenes.
Haley and Farley’s tale truly captured my heart and the story left me with wanting to know more about their world and what becomes of the other characters such as Justice with his telepathic abilities and many more characters that I only got a glimpse of.
I look forward to reading more about the city of dragons and will be reading more of this authors work. FANTASTIC READ!
May 14, 2011
Violent... cruel... heartless... shocking... inhuman... that's how I can describe the dragons in this world... and that's why I love all of them so much
In my view, 5 motives to give my full vote to this book
1)The plot is amazing
In a world were humans and dragons coexist nothing can be easy... and isn't.
Kin are feral creatures. They don't follow human (aka Chetrah in their slang) laws, they are dragons. Proud of their heritage and wild nature no Kin, aka a full blood dragon, can be be bent... can be "normal"... be close to a human being in their behave. They eat flesh and drink blood because it's their nature. Only the stronger of the hatch survive... and they are almost all males. Why? After I'll talk about full blood dragons females, like the heroine of the story.
But some Kin can breed with humans. It's rare, mainly because human are food in dragon's eyes. The first generation born from a human and a Kin is called half-breeds. There are only males, and impossible to blend as human for their inhuman appearance. And last of all, there are Lesser-Breeds almost human... but yet, not human... they can have a close to perfect human body, but as Kin and Half-Breeds, they have inhuman power... they have Metaphysical power.
From Kim to Lessers the Metaphysical will be weaker, but it's always a inhuman force, that all this creatures have.
So, probably you already guess that humans don't like it... at all. And in this cruel and violent world of hate and fights our heroine and some more characters will travel... fight... and love?
Kin, aka Dragons, can't love... They know it very well. Kin don't care... Kin are egoists...
2)The narrators are remarkable, all of them
The main character is Haley. She is the most important storyteller, and her bravery surprise me.
I don't want to criticize other writers but sometime a kick ass heroine is what I need... and that's the better way I can explain her... Haley will kick everyone ass.
She is an rarely. Full blood dragons are almost all males, and females are ALL consider almost as their God. The females are Queens, control a harem of males, and don't sharer their territory with other females. All Dragon females, but her... Haley was kick out their hatch. She was not grow up to be a queen... being left out from her own kind she live in human world, being human for all means... but always a Dragon to human eyes. Her work is in a special human enforcement that exist to control inhuman damages.
Another amazing character, and also narrator, is Farley.
No Dragon can live without another of his kind, so Haley with her human family (and still a child) had as "present" a little and week Dragon as friend. That's him, Farley. He is considered as food in Kin hierarchy. A weak and useless Dragon that is alive just to allow another Kin to live. When I said food i mean literally food. Farley do that, all the time, still at the present time of the story... he feed Haley giving his blood, his flesh, his Metaphysical energy... But he is really so weak?
And the last character that will tell you the story is Dobson.
All fantasy, sci-fi, romance book need a Dobson... all books should and must have a nasty bad guy that will make you want to see defeated and suffering! He is a perfect villain! His narrations will make bile rise in your mouth! He is racist, cruel, a terrible human being! I hate him with all my forces! That's why I also like him so much! A villain is necessary, and in this case was essential to make this book even better!
3)The writing was impeccable
I know you are think how can I judge a English book, if English is not my first language? Think in this way... it's a long book, a VERY long story (256 pages the PDF file) and I never, even for one time, was lost or bored. The narration flows perfectly. No plot weak points, and most of all, no boring moment. I had a hell of fun reading this book, and that's how I judge if a story is well written or not.
4)The originality is one more aspect that contribute to my full vote
If you are searching for a romance I think this book is perfect.
If you are searching for a fantasy this book have it.
If you want action, OMG there are a lot of it (also breathless moments!)
If you want a urban-fantasy that's there too...
yes... I think this plot and everything was so original that i can place Blood Bound is so many different categories!
5)The dragon's behave
Perfect... that's how I judge how Dragons are described. There are a lot of blood and gore in this story... and I LOVE IT! Because I want it! I want big, bad dragons so scary that will made me fear then! I want big and bad dragons that will made me hate them! I want it because it's part of their nature... and it's what a dragon supposedly should be...
Violent... cruel... heartless... shocking... inhuman... that's them... monsters... because they are Dragons!
5 stars and my applause
May 21, 2011
I finally finished this book this morning. I realized I was so close to the end that it would only take me an hour to finish. If you read any of my updates (I know, you all just sit around eagerly waiting my updates..NOT), you know I stopped and started this book over and over again. This would seem to be a bad thing. However, it wasn't. I just was in a book funk this past week and books with intense world building, didn't hold my interest.
And this book has very intense world building. It has a glossary and terms you need to learn to understand. I was being lazy. However, don't let that discourage you since once you do figure out what is going on, the book is actually quite good.
Adrienne Wilder is going to be a very successful author. She can seriously write and I'm eager to see what happens to her in the future.
And this book has very intense world building. It has a glossary and terms you need to learn to understand. I was being lazy. However, don't let that discourage you since once you do figure out what is going on, the book is actually quite good.
Adrienne Wilder is going to be a very successful author. She can seriously write and I'm eager to see what happens to her in the future.
March 23, 2017
I love dragons. I love reading about them, watching movies, the works. Obviously, I have a preconceived notion and expectations of what a dragon story will contain. Having just finished another story by this very author, loving every minute of it might I add, I see there is a dragon series in the author’s library. Of course, I just had to read it. And....all my preconceived notions have been tossed out the window because Blood Bonds is unlike any other dragon story I have read before.
Consider my mind completely blown away. What a world this author has created. The human world with dragons but don't think of it as dragons flying around and eating people. No, no, no. Dragons are living among the humans, however, where I'm use to dragons being considered revered and special in this world they ranked way below a 2nd classed citizen. *GASP* They have no rights and are always considered guilty. Majority of dragons are male but they are female dragons that are very rare and are usually queens. There is a whole ranking of the dragons, primarily the males. Then there is Haley a female dragon, raised by and bonded to a human, with female dragon instincts with human morals and guilt to complicate it all.
I'm not going into details because WOW! there is so much to absorb to this book and it really is something you have to experience for yourself. I'll just hit a few highlights that are worth mentioning. For starters, the author has nicely provided a Glossary of Terms for us readers to help us along with everything. I immediately ignored it. Why?...because I wanted to see if I could read the book without knowing things in advance. You know what? I did! The story is well detailed and everything in the Glossary is spelled out nicely for me to follow along. I know because I went back once I hit the 50% mark and check. Yup. Yup. Yup. I was right on track for knowing what was what.
Now for how I really felt. Holy Moly! What an adventure! Haley is awesome. Tough yet fragile, strong yet unsure of her place in the dragon world. The story hits the ground running and keeps going at a high velocity. Make sure to check your human perceptions at the door because you need an open mind here. Sex, food, and dragon domination are detailed and at a level that may gross out the weak-hearted. The characters are outstanding, the story unpredictable and the ending is explosive.
Adrienne Wilder is the best author you are not reading. I have yet to find a book by this author that hasn't shocked or blown me away in a great way. As for Blood Bonds, the hardest thing for me was putting it down. I have already loaded up the next book and plan another sleepless night getting lost in City of Dragons world.
I received this book from the JeepDiva for the express purposes of an honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine.
Stars - 5, Flames - 5
Consider my mind completely blown away. What a world this author has created. The human world with dragons but don't think of it as dragons flying around and eating people. No, no, no. Dragons are living among the humans, however, where I'm use to dragons being considered revered and special in this world they ranked way below a 2nd classed citizen. *GASP* They have no rights and are always considered guilty. Majority of dragons are male but they are female dragons that are very rare and are usually queens. There is a whole ranking of the dragons, primarily the males. Then there is Haley a female dragon, raised by and bonded to a human, with female dragon instincts with human morals and guilt to complicate it all.
I'm not going into details because WOW! there is so much to absorb to this book and it really is something you have to experience for yourself. I'll just hit a few highlights that are worth mentioning. For starters, the author has nicely provided a Glossary of Terms for us readers to help us along with everything. I immediately ignored it. Why?...because I wanted to see if I could read the book without knowing things in advance. You know what? I did! The story is well detailed and everything in the Glossary is spelled out nicely for me to follow along. I know because I went back once I hit the 50% mark and check. Yup. Yup. Yup. I was right on track for knowing what was what.
Now for how I really felt. Holy Moly! What an adventure! Haley is awesome. Tough yet fragile, strong yet unsure of her place in the dragon world. The story hits the ground running and keeps going at a high velocity. Make sure to check your human perceptions at the door because you need an open mind here. Sex, food, and dragon domination are detailed and at a level that may gross out the weak-hearted. The characters are outstanding, the story unpredictable and the ending is explosive.
Adrienne Wilder is the best author you are not reading. I have yet to find a book by this author that hasn't shocked or blown me away in a great way. As for Blood Bonds, the hardest thing for me was putting it down. I have already loaded up the next book and plan another sleepless night getting lost in City of Dragons world.
I received this book from the JeepDiva for the express purposes of an honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine.
Stars - 5, Flames - 5
November 8, 2012
I had a hard time giving this only 4 stars! This book was far better than I expected it to be.
The things I loved:
1- World building was excellent in my opinion. Wilder doesn't give you infodump after infodump and you just learn things along the way and this is the way I prefer it.
2- Her Dragons are different- interesting- horrific, sexual and man eating.
3- In this universe the Female Dragons..or Kin are the dominant. That in itself is unusual to run across unless you're looking at specific erotica categories.
4- I believe this is firmly in UF land vs PNR. While there IS love in this book and it is a fine beautiful thing- it doesn't seem to be the overriding factor? I am questioning myself because perhaps other people will think I'm wrong. I don't know- it felt really very balanced to me. Usually PNR just sees the romance as the journey and the destination versus truly being interweaved into a more in depth plot.
5- The characters. I really enjoyed all of the characters!
The reason why I took off a star:
I'm very picky about endings! If an ending destroys everything I will rate badly. The ending of this book is great- the ONLY real issue I had with this book is that there are what I see as major plot items that were left unanswered by the end. I could include my list of those things, but then I'd have to spoiler tag those..if you TRULY want to know you can always PM me :).
I am reading the second one now!
The things I loved:
1- World building was excellent in my opinion. Wilder doesn't give you infodump after infodump and you just learn things along the way and this is the way I prefer it.
2- Her Dragons are different- interesting- horrific, sexual and man eating.
3- In this universe the Female Dragons..or Kin are the dominant. That in itself is unusual to run across unless you're looking at specific erotica categories.
4- I believe this is firmly in UF land vs PNR. While there IS love in this book and it is a fine beautiful thing- it doesn't seem to be the overriding factor? I am questioning myself because perhaps other people will think I'm wrong. I don't know- it felt really very balanced to me. Usually PNR just sees the romance as the journey and the destination versus truly being interweaved into a more in depth plot.
5- The characters. I really enjoyed all of the characters!
The reason why I took off a star:
I'm very picky about endings! If an ending destroys everything I will rate badly. The ending of this book is great- the ONLY real issue I had with this book is that there are what I see as major plot items that were left unanswered by the end. I could include my list of those things, but then I'd have to spoiler tag those..if you TRULY want to know you can always PM me :).
I am reading the second one now!
December 23, 2012
There's a review on GR somewhere that said this book felt more like it's about aliens than dragons, and that's exactly how I felt. There's a lot of violence and gore: flesh eating hatchling dragons, gang rape of M/M, rough/bleeding type of sex....and here I thought I was reading a stock standard PNR!
The world building is quite heavy, it's set in an alternate world where dragons mix with the human race although they take human form. Their behaviour is very reptilian, alien like (not that I know how aliens are supposed to behave) but there's not a lot of dragon folklore stereotypical behaviour involved. I just didn't find the book entertaining to read even though the plot was tight and fast.
I wouldn't recommend this book if you're looking for PNR, this book is more horror.
The world building is quite heavy, it's set in an alternate world where dragons mix with the human race although they take human form. Their behaviour is very reptilian, alien like (not that I know how aliens are supposed to behave) but there's not a lot of dragon folklore stereotypical behaviour involved. I just didn't find the book entertaining to read even though the plot was tight and fast.
I wouldn't recommend this book if you're looking for PNR, this book is more horror.
November 16, 2010
An absolutely fantastic book!
I rewarded myself 25 pages each time I finished a chore. It made me want to get the housework done.
YES it is THAT good.
Can’t wait to read more from this author.
I rewarded myself 25 pages each time I finished a chore. It made me want to get the housework done.
YES it is THAT good.
Can’t wait to read more from this author.
December 21, 2012
Fantastic book. Many original concepts, I love the world building. The characters are complex and fascinating. I really loved this book. And the second one was even better!!!
The way the dragons are written is unlike any other book I've read, which was a big draw for me as far as tis author goes.
The way the dragons are written is unlike any other book I've read, which was a big draw for me as far as tis author goes.
October 5, 2018
Oh Boy. Made it through this one by the skin of my teeth 'cause I love Adrienne.
So. Not A Romance. In fact, this is as close to Horror as I get (I've read one Clive Barker and no Stephen King).
But what a ride! Adrienne pulls out all the stops. I love how she doesn't whitewash anything about the Dragons but manages to make them appealing and sexy anyway.
If you like Horror and/or Adrienne you can add 1-2 stars. She deserves them.
So. Not A Romance. In fact, this is as close to Horror as I get (I've read one Clive Barker and no Stephen King).
But what a ride! Adrienne pulls out all the stops. I love how she doesn't whitewash anything about the Dragons but manages to make them appealing and sexy anyway.
If you like Horror and/or Adrienne you can add 1-2 stars. She deserves them.
June 10, 2011
This book both shocked and amazed me. I LOVE the world that Wilder created for her Kin (dragons.) This book is so different and so unique in everything that you are left craving more of this complex world and all of its characters. This book will suck any reader in from page 1 and leave you wanting more at the words “the end.” This book has some very graphic feeding scenes, erotically hot sex, mild male on male sexual moments and dragon tearing apart another dragon in some intense fighting. The draconian culture is so different from what the humans believe is normal behavior it adds the perfect amount of human/dragon conflict to the story. The ending had me completely surprised. I honestly never saw it happening.
“Food,” I LOVE how this word is used in this story. Kin must feed on flesh and blood, and metaphysical energy. The majority of the time when that word is used in this book it is referring to a live bi-pedal being of flesh and blood. There are various forms of food. Farley is food. He is a smaller, weaker Kin that figured out very early on in life that to survive he must submit to the dominant that are higher up on the food chain. But is he really weaker? He is a very surprising character. I loved his relationship with Haley. Haley was raised among humans. She is belittled by this (among her kind, Kin) and often referred to as a domesticated dragon. Farley has always been her “food” source. Haley and Farley work together with a human law enforcement group, Center of Folk and Kin Relations. Her current case sends her into the Den’s she was never allowed to be a part of and into the middle of a prophecy of biblical proportions.
While reading this book I highly recommend having your computer near. Wilder’s website has her glossary list and character illustrations on it. I am new to the Kindle and had some issues going from the page I was reading to the glossary. I am sure there is an easy way to do this, I just don’t know it. You do not have to flip to the glossary to understand this book. When one of the terms that is specific to this world is used it is ether explained, or as a reader you understand the word from the context of what you are reading. I am just one of those people who will over use a glossary if it is present. I really enjoyed seeing the characters illustrations too. Wilder is an AMAZING artist. It was nice to be able to put a face or physical dragon image to the character I was reading.
I loved this book, loved the authors writing and creative genius. I will definitely read more by her. I hope to read more of her books very soon. I enjoyed this book and the world that it was set in. I also learned while cruising around on Wilder’s website that her Darwin’s Theory books take place in this same Dragon inhabited Atlanta. I hate to say this but I am happy that my friend Alycia does not have an eReader. She won the first two books in that series last week. She has put them on my Kindle so she can read them. Yay! I get to read more of this world.
“Food,” I LOVE how this word is used in this story. Kin must feed on flesh and blood, and metaphysical energy. The majority of the time when that word is used in this book it is referring to a live bi-pedal being of flesh and blood. There are various forms of food. Farley is food. He is a smaller, weaker Kin that figured out very early on in life that to survive he must submit to the dominant that are higher up on the food chain. But is he really weaker? He is a very surprising character. I loved his relationship with Haley. Haley was raised among humans. She is belittled by this (among her kind, Kin) and often referred to as a domesticated dragon. Farley has always been her “food” source. Haley and Farley work together with a human law enforcement group, Center of Folk and Kin Relations. Her current case sends her into the Den’s she was never allowed to be a part of and into the middle of a prophecy of biblical proportions.
While reading this book I highly recommend having your computer near. Wilder’s website has her glossary list and character illustrations on it. I am new to the Kindle and had some issues going from the page I was reading to the glossary. I am sure there is an easy way to do this, I just don’t know it. You do not have to flip to the glossary to understand this book. When one of the terms that is specific to this world is used it is ether explained, or as a reader you understand the word from the context of what you are reading. I am just one of those people who will over use a glossary if it is present. I really enjoyed seeing the characters illustrations too. Wilder is an AMAZING artist. It was nice to be able to put a face or physical dragon image to the character I was reading.
I loved this book, loved the authors writing and creative genius. I will definitely read more by her. I hope to read more of her books very soon. I enjoyed this book and the world that it was set in. I also learned while cruising around on Wilder’s website that her Darwin’s Theory books take place in this same Dragon inhabited Atlanta. I hate to say this but I am happy that my friend Alycia does not have an eReader. She won the first two books in that series last week. She has put them on my Kindle so she can read them. Yay! I get to read more of this world.
June 6, 2011
3.5 stars
Blood Bonds focuses on Kin, or dragons. Kin take a human form and must be "fed" regularly, in both a literal and metaphysical way. Food and sex have blurry lines in this world. Haley Night is a Kin that has been raised by humans and had "impressed" many human traits. She doesn't feel 100 percent comfortable around Kin, yet she's not human, either. She works for a government agency and is an agent who questions non-human subjects. Farley is another Kin that works with her as an informant. He was not raised by humans, but has sworn off human meat. He was brought in to "feed" Haley because he was not raised around Kin. They have been friends for over 100 years at the setting of this story. Farley is seen by other Kin as nothing but "food." We find later on that he is stronger than he or anyone else thinks.
There is an evil government colonol who is trying to wipe out the entire existence of Kin. Haley finds herself in the middle of this mess, and has to work with Kin while still holding on to her humanity.
There is a lot of blood and sex, sometimes erotic, in this story. I like Farley and the rest of the Kin cast, although I think there needs to be some serious character development in any upcoming stories. Sometimes, Haley comes off as very professional and modern, and then she'll say something that is more immature in nature. I like how the author wrote Farley's inner strength and his understanding of the Kin world versus Haley's ignorance. However, I think that Farley is also a bit immature - some of the things he says and the belching is just a little much.
The author does a good job introducing the reader to the dragon world. It was a good first novel, but I hope that she gets better copy editing on the next story. I'm usually not one to compain about this kind of thing, but there were some errors in the text that are blatent. Some words are missing, there are extra words added in some place where they don't make sense, even a misplaced comma that changed a sentence's meaning.
I wish Niles would have been in the story more. He seemed like such a great character. I really enjoyed Justice, too.
I will read the next story in this series to see where Haley and Farley are going.
Blood Bonds focuses on Kin, or dragons. Kin take a human form and must be "fed" regularly, in both a literal and metaphysical way. Food and sex have blurry lines in this world. Haley Night is a Kin that has been raised by humans and had "impressed" many human traits. She doesn't feel 100 percent comfortable around Kin, yet she's not human, either. She works for a government agency and is an agent who questions non-human subjects. Farley is another Kin that works with her as an informant. He was not raised by humans, but has sworn off human meat. He was brought in to "feed" Haley because he was not raised around Kin. They have been friends for over 100 years at the setting of this story. Farley is seen by other Kin as nothing but "food." We find later on that he is stronger than he or anyone else thinks.
There is an evil government colonol who is trying to wipe out the entire existence of Kin. Haley finds herself in the middle of this mess, and has to work with Kin while still holding on to her humanity.
There is a lot of blood and sex, sometimes erotic, in this story. I like Farley and the rest of the Kin cast, although I think there needs to be some serious character development in any upcoming stories. Sometimes, Haley comes off as very professional and modern, and then she'll say something that is more immature in nature. I like how the author wrote Farley's inner strength and his understanding of the Kin world versus Haley's ignorance. However, I think that Farley is also a bit immature - some of the things he says and the belching is just a little much.
The author does a good job introducing the reader to the dragon world. It was a good first novel, but I hope that she gets better copy editing on the next story. I'm usually not one to compain about this kind of thing, but there were some errors in the text that are blatent. Some words are missing, there are extra words added in some place where they don't make sense, even a misplaced comma that changed a sentence's meaning.
I wish Niles would have been in the story more. He seemed like such a great character. I really enjoyed Justice, too.
I will read the next story in this series to see where Haley and Farley are going.
November 10, 2010
This is Adrienne Wilder's first novel, and it will knock you out of your chair. It's dark urban fantasy - heavy on the dark - with a generous serving of erotic on the side. She makes it completely believable that there's a hidden part of Atlanta where dragons (or Kin) walk around in human form but without the personal and social boundaries of your average human. The main character, Haley Night, is one of those Kin, and as an agent in the Center for Kin and Folk Relations she has her work cut out for her. She is not your typical Kin for a number of reasons, including the fact that for her, Humans are NOT on the menu. She was fostered by a Human, and now works with Humans to try and keep the peace between her birth race and the population that raised her, but prejudice and suspicion are still very much a problem - on both sides of the equation.
Wilder's book isn't just a wild ride - it explores complex contemporary themes like prejudice, racism, and germ warfare, as well as life-after-death and the definition of love. But she presents it in a unique and exciting package.
What's also terrific about this book are the supporting characters - from the chilling Col. Dobson to Haley's partner and fellow Kin, Farley, to Medan, the formidable and frightening Queen of Atlanta, each character is unique and vibrant and adds depth to the overall story....and leaves us with the delicious potential of sequels and spin-offs!
This story is not for the faint of heart - it's erotic and there's a fair amount of blood spilled (otherwise, would there be Blood Bonds? Probably not.) - but it's worth every minute to engage your senses and see things through the eyes of a dragon.
City of Dragons: Blood Bonds is an ebook at Liquid Silver Books.
Wilder's book isn't just a wild ride - it explores complex contemporary themes like prejudice, racism, and germ warfare, as well as life-after-death and the definition of love. But she presents it in a unique and exciting package.
What's also terrific about this book are the supporting characters - from the chilling Col. Dobson to Haley's partner and fellow Kin, Farley, to Medan, the formidable and frightening Queen of Atlanta, each character is unique and vibrant and adds depth to the overall story....and leaves us with the delicious potential of sequels and spin-offs!
This story is not for the faint of heart - it's erotic and there's a fair amount of blood spilled (otherwise, would there be Blood Bonds? Probably not.) - but it's worth every minute to engage your senses and see things through the eyes of a dragon.
City of Dragons: Blood Bonds is an ebook at Liquid Silver Books.
November 10, 2010
The author of this book has a true gift for taking you into the world she's created and drawing you into it. While it can be a frightening and unpredictable world at times, you won't want to leave it!
This world is just like the one we live in with one catch. Major cities across the United States (and hopefully across the world in the books to come!) have areas in them that have 'dens' which house a dragon queen and her hatchery located in the seedy underbelly of the dens.
The star of the show is Haley, a female dragon that was raised by a human. She doesn't live by the code of the dragons because of this upbringing, so her friend Farley, also a dragon, guides her through. Haley works with the local law enforcement in helping them with the dragon end of interrogations, etc. One particular case with a dragon named Niles Fury draws her into a conspiracy that she hadn't bargained for.
Haley also has to fight racism daily in her personal life and her work life too, and it's an interesting thing to watch. Humans hate dragons, and dragons think humans are delicious, especially when they can smell your fear. ;)
I'm going to make a prediction on this book in particular, and the remainder of this series: Watch for the movie!!
FIVE STARS*****
This world is just like the one we live in with one catch. Major cities across the United States (and hopefully across the world in the books to come!) have areas in them that have 'dens' which house a dragon queen and her hatchery located in the seedy underbelly of the dens.
The star of the show is Haley, a female dragon that was raised by a human. She doesn't live by the code of the dragons because of this upbringing, so her friend Farley, also a dragon, guides her through. Haley works with the local law enforcement in helping them with the dragon end of interrogations, etc. One particular case with a dragon named Niles Fury draws her into a conspiracy that she hadn't bargained for.
Haley also has to fight racism daily in her personal life and her work life too, and it's an interesting thing to watch. Humans hate dragons, and dragons think humans are delicious, especially when they can smell your fear. ;)
I'm going to make a prediction on this book in particular, and the remainder of this series: Watch for the movie!!
FIVE STARS*****
April 29, 2011
This book was surprisingly good. I was a little sketchy about it, but I am super glad I read it. Haley is a dragon, and it's one of those 'I'm going to be super powerful and everyone fears me.' book, kinda. Haley is soo outrageously normal. She cries, she makes bad decisions, the whole bunch. Now one thing to consider is that the dragons are relatively free with their bodies, this isn't a romance book, touch is extraordinarily important to them, you do the math. I was really glad I read it, and plan to read more of this author and this series (if there are more, which there should be.)
September 24, 2011
I heard so many awesome reviews about this book and how different/interesting it was, and it was different and interesting. Yet... I didnt really enjoy it, there was something missing for me, but I cant for the life of me say what it is. I dont think I really identified with the main character much, she annoyed me, she was so naive and I kept waiting for her to do something epic and stop being a victim... and the switching perspectives annoyed me too. I dont think I actually liked any of the characters except maybe Farley
November 10, 2010
This book never disappointed me. It held me and kept me wanting more. Kin are introduced and the action begins. This author, Adrienne Wilder, has more tricks up her sleeve than I've seen in a long time, and thank goodness she has only just begun her career in this genre, though it seems she is a seasoned veteran. I can't wait for more books from her and will anxiously wait for what her nimble mind brings us.
June 21, 2017
Amazing world-building, but the characters and story just didn't grab me like the author's other books have. I still plan to read book 2 in the series.
May 15, 2020
This was on my to read list for years so I finally bought and read it. It was better than expected. Reminded me of the Anita Blake series a bit. Interesting concept for sure. I may read the 2nd one.
March 18, 2017
Really good book. Fantasy. Great plot, characters, emotion. Hot sex. Excellent read.
May 16, 2012
This is a whole new take on Dragons and I thought it was perfect. Most of the dragonkin books I've read the dragons seem domesticated but short tempered. Adrienne Wilder takes a whole different spin on them though that was extremely interesting. The dragons don't act, look or behave like humans. Their way of greeting is by licking palms. Since there are very few Females every Male that Haley comes across waits for permission to touch her and when it is granted they lick her palm and always try to keep physical contact with her via skin to skin touch, which can look a little perverted to human officers when she is questioning someone in the Tank and he's licking her calf. Not only is the behavior different from what I have normally read but the Kin must feed on each other by not only drinking blood but eating each others flesh to feed off of the metaphysical energy. However, the lower Kin on the food chain end up being the Food and Haley's best friend Farley just so happens to be Food. He learned immediately after hatching that because he was the smallest and weakest he had to fully submit to all Dominants in order to stay alive. The whole concept Wilder has on the dragonkin is so gritty and feral that you never for a second forget that you are reading a book of dragonkin.
Haley was raised by a human and therefor imprinted on humans. She acts and looks more like a human than her own kind. The only thing that gives away her true identity is the nevus (Kin mark) on her neck that no one see's. So a lot of humans mistake her for their own. She doesn't have the same mentality as the rest of her Kin. She doesn't view herself above others, she doesn't have a hunger for human flesh and she doesn't plan on marking any Males as her's.
There are a lot of crazy terms in this book and the glossary in the front definitely helps with that. I found myself flipping to the glossary a lot to look up meanings. Was it distracting, a little, but the fact that the Kin have their own language made the story more authentic as well. I really did enjoy this story and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Favorite quote...
"So far he's been about as helpful as a paper cut."
Haley was raised by a human and therefor imprinted on humans. She acts and looks more like a human than her own kind. The only thing that gives away her true identity is the nevus (Kin mark) on her neck that no one see's. So a lot of humans mistake her for their own. She doesn't have the same mentality as the rest of her Kin. She doesn't view herself above others, she doesn't have a hunger for human flesh and she doesn't plan on marking any Males as her's.
There are a lot of crazy terms in this book and the glossary in the front definitely helps with that. I found myself flipping to the glossary a lot to look up meanings. Was it distracting, a little, but the fact that the Kin have their own language made the story more authentic as well. I really did enjoy this story and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Favorite quote...
"So far he's been about as helpful as a paper cut."
July 2, 2012
This book was mildly entertaining but I just didn't find it realistic enough. There was too much woo-woo magic crap used to explain everything. Don't get me wrong, I like woo-woo magic crap but only if it has boundaries, limitations and consequences. In this book, the boundaries seemed to bounce all over the place and the reasons behind personal power/dominance was a little wishy-washy. What made one Male stronger than another? I have no idea. I know age played a factor but not always. For example, Farley's brother was stronger than him. And it definitely had nothing to do with skill. It seemed all the dragons did was bite and scratch and use brute force. No finesse. I also didn't like a lot of the concepts, especially the hatching dragon white-scales thing. They were just gross and violent. All I kept picturing was squirming larva with sharp teeth. Yuck. I prefer the idea that everything is born innocent. The baby dragons just wanted to eat people and each other. I also didn't like that the dragons practically never took dragon shape. And when they did, they were practically the size of half a football field. Too big and too invincible for me. And speaking of invincible, nothing short of decapitation will kill these things! They were ripping off body parts left right and center and they just grew back. One other thing was the idea that they had to eat parts of each other to survive. I didn't like that. I was okay with the touchy-feely needs and the sex needs and the energy sharing need...but not the consuming of the flesh crap. Anyway, I could go on but I think writing this review is actually lowering my opinion of the book post mortem. But all in all I was disappointed yet kind of entertained. So I guess it wasn't that bad... Wow this review is indecisive.
July 24, 2016
Dragons have always fallen into the fantasy realm for me, and I don't usually read straight fantasy books (the whole sorcerers, wizards and magic rules are too restrictive for me). So, I rarely choose a book with dragons.
I am soooo glad I picked up Blood bonds. I fell in love with Ms. Wilder's voice (I will read every paranormal book she writes!) and the characters she creates.
Haley is a strong heroine. Though she is a dragon, she was raised by a human woman. By imprinting (bonding) with a human, Haley has learned the scope of human emotions. She feels those emotions. Dragons, with their long-lived lives and violently brutal views on survival, don't identify with human emotion.
The ability to understand and succeed in the human world makes Haley a unique and dangerous woman. So dangerous, she finds herself in the middle of a dragon war. Females rule the dragon kin, and not all of the queens like Haley's position among the humans.
Soon, all the men in her life - both old and new - are fighting to protect or kill her. And no matter how hard she's tried to exist in the human world, she'll have to choose a position in the dragon world to save herself the people she loves.
I am soooo glad I picked up Blood bonds. I fell in love with Ms. Wilder's voice (I will read every paranormal book she writes!) and the characters she creates.
Haley is a strong heroine. Though she is a dragon, she was raised by a human woman. By imprinting (bonding) with a human, Haley has learned the scope of human emotions. She feels those emotions. Dragons, with their long-lived lives and violently brutal views on survival, don't identify with human emotion.
The ability to understand and succeed in the human world makes Haley a unique and dangerous woman. So dangerous, she finds herself in the middle of a dragon war. Females rule the dragon kin, and not all of the queens like Haley's position among the humans.
Soon, all the men in her life - both old and new - are fighting to protect or kill her. And no matter how hard she's tried to exist in the human world, she'll have to choose a position in the dragon world to save herself the people she loves.
January 17, 2024
This was a unique modern fantasy that wasn’t sexist and I’m always looking for those. (If you know of any I might like, mention it in the comments below!) The bad guy was super bad and just such an a-hole. The main Queen dragon was a force of nature.
This was super hot and not just the sex. There was so much near sex and sexual tension and hints of sex. Whew, I need a fan.
Nonstop action and danger and peril. Lots and lots of peril. Hospital scenes and bedside vigils, terror for another person. Times when it seemed all was lost and then something change or something else was revealed and our heroes caught a break.
I can’t wait to read the next one.
My only problem, and I’m going with the idea it’s different for dragons in this world Wilder’s built, but having sex with a sleeping person is a no no because they can’t give consent. Maybe in the past the character said he could always do that but it isn’t really enough IMHO.
This was super hot and not just the sex. There was so much near sex and sexual tension and hints of sex. Whew, I need a fan.
Nonstop action and danger and peril. Lots and lots of peril. Hospital scenes and bedside vigils, terror for another person. Times when it seemed all was lost and then something change or something else was revealed and our heroes caught a break.
I can’t wait to read the next one.
My only problem, and I’m going with the idea it’s different for dragons in this world Wilder’s built, but having sex with a sleeping person is a no no because they can’t give consent. Maybe in the past the character said he could always do that but it isn’t really enough IMHO.
August 5, 2011
I am not completely sure how to rate this book. I am torn. I should start by saying this book is a little out of the norm for me, but I do like trying new things. I will also say that the plot was well thought out and VERY interesting. The characters were also fleshed out (yes, a pun) very well. They struggled...both Human and Kin. No one was really all good or bad...except the villain.
I guess I had a hard time being sympathetic towards the Kin...most are brutal/violent/sociopathic. Also, their social mores/etiquette are so alien to me.
I'm glad I read this book...I like to open my mind to different things. I am undecided on whether or not I will continue with the series.
I guess I had a hard time being sympathetic towards the Kin...most are brutal/violent/sociopathic. Also, their social mores/etiquette are so alien to me.
I'm glad I read this book...I like to open my mind to different things. I am undecided on whether or not I will continue with the series.
June 12, 2015
I liked it enough to get the second book in the series ....
Set in a world where dragons have lived among humans for centuries, the world building and dragon (or Kin as they are called in the book) lore and hierarchy are very well developed. It is violent (usually dragon on dragon and a fair amount of that being m/m), so if they puts you off, give it a miss. But I enjoyed the details, the sheer "alien-ness" of Kin culture.
The main character, Haley Knight is a bit of a dark horse (although she is a Kin LOL) and I am hoping that she develops a bit more of a back bone as the series develops.
Set in a world where dragons have lived among humans for centuries, the world building and dragon (or Kin as they are called in the book) lore and hierarchy are very well developed. It is violent (usually dragon on dragon and a fair amount of that being m/m), so if they puts you off, give it a miss. But I enjoyed the details, the sheer "alien-ness" of Kin culture.
The main character, Haley Knight is a bit of a dark horse (although she is a Kin LOL) and I am hoping that she develops a bit more of a back bone as the series develops.
June 15, 2011
I liked the story. It was well-written and interesting with good characters, though there was only tiny bit of romance. On the whole, it was too gory and bloody for my tastes; limbs getting torn off everywhere, people being eaten left, right and center...
It is also a good thing there was a glossary at the beginning. Keeping track of what all the special words meant was a bit difficult.
It is also a good thing there was a glossary at the beginning. Keeping track of what all the special words meant was a bit difficult.
July 18, 2012
I liked the role reversal in this one. The male love interest was as far from an alpha male as he could get, but the romance was a good one, and it gave the heroine room to be the strong one and save the dragon-y day.
I'm about to dive into the sequel. There were layout errors in the e-copy on my Kindle, so I'm hoping those aren't so prevalent in this book.
I'm about to dive into the sequel. There were layout errors in the e-copy on my Kindle, so I'm hoping those aren't so prevalent in this book.
July 25, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. It's quite gritty and the take on dragons is definitely quite different to anything else I have read. The book has a lot of steamy sex scenes in it but it's definitely not a romance, so if you are looking for a happily ever after then this probably isn't for you.
April 16, 2012
3.5* Interesting read. Female dominant Dragons. MC is not a Mary-sue, has her moments but overall not whiney. I liked that it seemed to be several stories tied into one?
*typos and missing words - needs some editing
*typos and missing words - needs some editing
September 19, 2012
I found this book to be to technical and felt like I was reading a medical book or the equivalent. This is a Kindle book that I got for free on Amazon. I managed to get through 25% of it before giving up. City of Dragons just wasn't for me.
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