What do you think?
Rate this book
Maggie's Grove #2
Throne of Oak
Book two of Maggie's Grove
Vampire Dragos Ibanescu, Mayor of Maggie's Grove, is about to lose his mind. His mate, the dryad queen Mina Chainey, refuses to have anything to do with him after her ordeal at the hands of an evil witch. If he doesn't mate with her soon, he may lose control of the beast within him—a force far more dangerous than anyone in town knows…
Mina's nightmares of her time with the witch haunt her. The Queen of the Forest can't muster the strength needed to fight her terror. Unable to leave the Throne, she vows she will not accept Dragos until she can stand at his side as an equal. But the nightmares are only growing in strength, and soon she realizes that there's more to her pain than simple fear.
Dark forces are converging on Maggie's Grove, and a horde of hunters stalk supernaturals from the shadows. Only by uniting in body and mind will Mina and Dragos find the strength to defend their home.
Delve into the Grove with Blood of the Maple.
82,000 words
Vampire Dragos Ibanescu, Mayor of Maggie's Grove, is about to lose his mind. His mate, the dryad queen Mina Chainey, refuses to have anything to do with him after her ordeal at the hands of an evil witch. If he doesn't mate with her soon, he may lose control of the beast within him—a force far more dangerous than anyone in town knows…
Mina's nightmares of her time with the witch haunt her. The Queen of the Forest can't muster the strength needed to fight her terror. Unable to leave the Throne, she vows she will not accept Dragos until she can stand at his side as an equal. But the nightmares are only growing in strength, and soon she realizes that there's more to her pain than simple fear.
Dark forces are converging on Maggie's Grove, and a horde of hunters stalk supernaturals from the shadows. Only by uniting in body and mind will Mina and Dragos find the strength to defend their home.
Delve into the Grove with Blood of the Maple.
82,000 words
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2013
23 people are currently reading
429 people want to read
About the author
Dana Marie Bell
56 books1,936 followersDana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.
Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.
You can learn more about Dana at:
http://www.danamariebell.com
http://danamariebell.blogspot.com
Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.
You can learn more about Dana at:
http://www.danamariebell.com
http://danamariebell.blogspot.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 10, 2013
Disappointing. I absolutely loved Blood of the Maple, so I was greatly looking forward to Throne of Oak, but it has none of the same sparkle.
The plot is disjointed and a lot of potentially interesting stuff either happens off page or isn't addressed at all, while the frankly boring attacks on Mina happen far too often. Ms Bell can bring the snarky humour, but a little goes a long way, and the humour here edged more into shrill hysteria.
The book suffers from being neither a light-hearted, adventurous romp, nor gritty, paranormal suspense. It also felt half-baked and in need of a lot more attention from both writer and editor.
The plot is disjointed and a lot of potentially interesting stuff either happens off page or isn't addressed at all, while the frankly boring attacks on Mina happen far too often. Ms Bell can bring the snarky humour, but a little goes a long way, and the humour here edged more into shrill hysteria.
The book suffers from being neither a light-hearted, adventurous romp, nor gritty, paranormal suspense. It also felt half-baked and in need of a lot more attention from both writer and editor.
March 7, 2021
I feel like this book was split into 2 halves. The first half Dragos working to win over Mina. It wasn't that she didn't want him, but with her still under siege she didn't feel like it was safe. Dragos wasn't having any of that and showed her he would be there to help her fight. The second half was filled with all sorts of battles. Dragos's family comes, that brought some interesting aspects. I liked how things ended there. Then there was a battle for the city once again, this time it seemed worse because they knew they had been betrayed from within. I loved how everyone banded together to do what needed to be done. While they won this battle they didn't get the person at the center, so I'm sure there is more to come.
September 4, 2013
Throne of Oak is book 2 in Dana Marie Bell's Maggie's Grove series. It follows on where Blood of the Maple leaves off with Maggie's Grove recovering from the battle with Terri and the Queen of the forest, Mina having a hard time recovering from her part in Terri's plan, suffering from paralyzing dreams that have confined her to her throne. But Mayor (and special vampire) Dragos is not going to let her fear keep him away, he's going to claim his mate and find out who or what is threatening her. What they find is more than anyone could have imagined.
I absolutely LOVED the first book, it was definitely one of Bell's funniest books, it had me in stitches the whole way through and I loved Parker and Amara. This book was great but not as good as the first one. It still had me laughing out load or smiling like crazy, but for some reason I didn't love Dragos and Mina all that much. Not that their characters weren't great, I just didn't feel their relationship like Bell's other ones. Having said that the story was really great!
Their relationship aside Mina and Dragos are characters you can enjoy. She's powerful yet vulnerable, I liked that Mina had such a connection to her people. She's also strong and commanding, though she isn't quite as kick ass as the other females in the series. Dragos for me was a bit difficult as, for some reason, he felt a bit old. But he definitely had moments when I thought he was hot and I loved his banter with Eddy.
The other characters were awesome. I really loved Eddy and Trajan! They had me in hysterics. Parker was awesome as always and getting to read more about Ash and Greer was great. I'm excited for their books. Selena is really awesome and I'm keen to read more about her. Mollie is still a bit of a mystery but she is definitely someone I think will be a great heroine.
I enjoyed finding out all the mysteries in this book, it started off a bit slow but once it picked up and all the secrets started to tantalize me, I couldn't put it down. Bell really has created a world that sucks you in and makes you wish you could move there. She's such a clever storyteller and I really enjoy the way she's able to introduce a mystery and play it out so well. I really cannot wait to for the next one!
I absolutely LOVED the first book, it was definitely one of Bell's funniest books, it had me in stitches the whole way through and I loved Parker and Amara. This book was great but not as good as the first one. It still had me laughing out load or smiling like crazy, but for some reason I didn't love Dragos and Mina all that much. Not that their characters weren't great, I just didn't feel their relationship like Bell's other ones. Having said that the story was really great!
Their relationship aside Mina and Dragos are characters you can enjoy. She's powerful yet vulnerable, I liked that Mina had such a connection to her people. She's also strong and commanding, though she isn't quite as kick ass as the other females in the series. Dragos for me was a bit difficult as, for some reason, he felt a bit old. But he definitely had moments when I thought he was hot and I loved his banter with Eddy.
The other characters were awesome. I really loved Eddy and Trajan! They had me in hysterics. Parker was awesome as always and getting to read more about Ash and Greer was great. I'm excited for their books. Selena is really awesome and I'm keen to read more about her. Mollie is still a bit of a mystery but she is definitely someone I think will be a great heroine.
I enjoyed finding out all the mysteries in this book, it started off a bit slow but once it picked up and all the secrets started to tantalize me, I couldn't put it down. Bell really has created a world that sucks you in and makes you wish you could move there. She's such a clever storyteller and I really enjoy the way she's able to introduce a mystery and play it out so well. I really cannot wait to for the next one!
October 22, 2013
~* 2.5 Stars *~
Felled by Execution
The mayor of Maggie's Grove, Dragomir "Dragos" Ibanescu, has a problem. Actually, a host of them. Four weeks after his town barely survived an attack by a psychopathic witch with a vamp obsession, the residents of the town are still trying to pick up the pieces and heal from the damage. Some of his people have gone missing. His father, a male Dragos has more than just an acrimonious relationship with, has contacted him for the first time in centuries. His ex-bed partner is stirring up trouble and teetering close to the line of black magic, if she hasn't crossed it already. And his sotiei, the dyrad queen Mina, who suffered the most under last month's vicious attack, not only isn't healing, but she refuses to even speak to him.
And that alone is enough to make his inner bad boy want to roar with frustration.
Being stretched thin isn't a new feeling for the vampire, but if Dragos can't convince Mina to at least give their relationship a try, the rest of his problems are going to disappear under the avalanche of destruction his inner beast will leave in its wake, and there is absolutely nothing Dragos will be able to do to prevent it.
~*~
It didn't take me long into this book to guess my feelings about it were going to be in the minority, because my biggest issue with the story is related to my personal preferences for my romance heroines. I have a very low tolerance for exactly the sort of wallows-in-her-misery damsel that Mina was for far too long in the book, and she just never redeemed herself enough for me to find her tolerable. And if I don't like one of the romantic leads, I can't like the romance.
Mina, who by all accounts should be one of the strongest females in the series as the queen of her people and the ruler of the Throne of Oak, just didn't cut it for me in this book at all. I would have had no problem being sympathetic to the grievous wounds she suffered if she'd been more proactive about dealing with them, but she wasn't, and every attempt by friends and potential loved ones to assist her was rebuffed out of a mix of fear and pride. I found that very unappealing.
As much as I love Dragos and enjoy the world that Bell has created for the series, with its imaginative mythos and fun, often funny, always quirky cast of characters, Mina alone was enough to temper the majority of the enjoyment I could have felt with the story.
But she wasn't the only problem. Like Dragos, I had a host of them.
Over two years have passed between the release of the first and second book in this series. That's a long time for a reader to remember details from a series debut. Maybe that's why Bell spent so much of the first part of this book outlining the events in that one...if outlining is the right word. To me it felt more like I was being force-fed a condensed version of the debut with all the info dumping that was in the first several chapters here. Much of it was completely tangential to this story's plot and characters, so it became a quagmire of unnecessary minutia that slowed the pace of the narrative to a crawl and distracted from the story threads that were being introduced here.
And tangential is the word of the day, too, because the narrative had a bad habit of trotting off on useless tangents rife with superfluous information throughout the whole book, a habit I found particularly annoying during several pivotal scenes. Something serious would be going down and everything for the characters would be tense or emotionally charged, then the narrative would veer off into a long-winded dissertation about something else completely unrelated to what was happening. Yes, details like those provided can add to the tapestry of world-building for the series, but in the wrong place it just yanks me out of the story and hinders the emotional impact of a scene. It was far too often in the wrong place in this book.
I also had issues with the plot's jerky timeline, abrupt transitions, and lack of relationship evolution in Dragos and Mina's romance. There was also a dearth of character definition, most notably but not exclusively when it came to secondary and ancillary characters.
Thing is, though, there were also several things I truly enjoyed about this book. I love Maggie's Grove and the imaginative, creative history of the town. I thought Dragos was a great romantic hero, and even though I never warmed up to Mina, I'm glad he got his HEA. The secondary characters, though two-dimensional, were another source of entertainment. That's where most of the humor was found, and I'm very fond of the sort of humor that Bell excels in weaving into her stories. There were a lot of lighter, chuckle-worthy moments that I enjoyed.
And of course the sex is always smoking hot. Bell gives great smutty good times, and she doesn't skimp on the number of them.
As a whole, though, the good bits didn't provide enough balance to the less favorable elements for me to be okay with this one, and I was pretty far removed from liking it. I still have hope for the series. There's a lot of great story potential and a cornucopia of characters I would love to see mix it up in their own books. I just think there has to be a tighter, more controlled execution of the plot and a bit more depth given to the characters and their romantic evolution before any of that awesome potential is reached.
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Carina Press via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
Felled by Execution
The mayor of Maggie's Grove, Dragomir "Dragos" Ibanescu, has a problem. Actually, a host of them. Four weeks after his town barely survived an attack by a psychopathic witch with a vamp obsession, the residents of the town are still trying to pick up the pieces and heal from the damage. Some of his people have gone missing. His father, a male Dragos has more than just an acrimonious relationship with, has contacted him for the first time in centuries. His ex-bed partner is stirring up trouble and teetering close to the line of black magic, if she hasn't crossed it already. And his sotiei, the dyrad queen Mina, who suffered the most under last month's vicious attack, not only isn't healing, but she refuses to even speak to him.
And that alone is enough to make his inner bad boy want to roar with frustration.
Being stretched thin isn't a new feeling for the vampire, but if Dragos can't convince Mina to at least give their relationship a try, the rest of his problems are going to disappear under the avalanche of destruction his inner beast will leave in its wake, and there is absolutely nothing Dragos will be able to do to prevent it.
~*~
It didn't take me long into this book to guess my feelings about it were going to be in the minority, because my biggest issue with the story is related to my personal preferences for my romance heroines. I have a very low tolerance for exactly the sort of wallows-in-her-misery damsel that Mina was for far too long in the book, and she just never redeemed herself enough for me to find her tolerable. And if I don't like one of the romantic leads, I can't like the romance.
Mina, who by all accounts should be one of the strongest females in the series as the queen of her people and the ruler of the Throne of Oak, just didn't cut it for me in this book at all. I would have had no problem being sympathetic to the grievous wounds she suffered if she'd been more proactive about dealing with them, but she wasn't, and every attempt by friends and potential loved ones to assist her was rebuffed out of a mix of fear and pride. I found that very unappealing.
As much as I love Dragos and enjoy the world that Bell has created for the series, with its imaginative mythos and fun, often funny, always quirky cast of characters, Mina alone was enough to temper the majority of the enjoyment I could have felt with the story.
But she wasn't the only problem. Like Dragos, I had a host of them.
Over two years have passed between the release of the first and second book in this series. That's a long time for a reader to remember details from a series debut. Maybe that's why Bell spent so much of the first part of this book outlining the events in that one...if outlining is the right word. To me it felt more like I was being force-fed a condensed version of the debut with all the info dumping that was in the first several chapters here. Much of it was completely tangential to this story's plot and characters, so it became a quagmire of unnecessary minutia that slowed the pace of the narrative to a crawl and distracted from the story threads that were being introduced here.
And tangential is the word of the day, too, because the narrative had a bad habit of trotting off on useless tangents rife with superfluous information throughout the whole book, a habit I found particularly annoying during several pivotal scenes. Something serious would be going down and everything for the characters would be tense or emotionally charged, then the narrative would veer off into a long-winded dissertation about something else completely unrelated to what was happening. Yes, details like those provided can add to the tapestry of world-building for the series, but in the wrong place it just yanks me out of the story and hinders the emotional impact of a scene. It was far too often in the wrong place in this book.
I also had issues with the plot's jerky timeline, abrupt transitions, and lack of relationship evolution in Dragos and Mina's romance. There was also a dearth of character definition, most notably but not exclusively when it came to secondary and ancillary characters.
Thing is, though, there were also several things I truly enjoyed about this book. I love Maggie's Grove and the imaginative, creative history of the town. I thought Dragos was a great romantic hero, and even though I never warmed up to Mina, I'm glad he got his HEA. The secondary characters, though two-dimensional, were another source of entertainment. That's where most of the humor was found, and I'm very fond of the sort of humor that Bell excels in weaving into her stories. There were a lot of lighter, chuckle-worthy moments that I enjoyed.
And of course the sex is always smoking hot. Bell gives great smutty good times, and she doesn't skimp on the number of them.
As a whole, though, the good bits didn't provide enough balance to the less favorable elements for me to be okay with this one, and I was pretty far removed from liking it. I still have hope for the series. There's a lot of great story potential and a cornucopia of characters I would love to see mix it up in their own books. I just think there has to be a tighter, more controlled execution of the plot and a bit more depth given to the characters and their romantic evolution before any of that awesome potential is reached.
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Carina Press via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
February 17, 2018
So many things going on, the attack on Mina, the attacks on the people of Maggie's Grove and the conflict between Dragos and his family. Humorous Renfield Eddy… really LIKE this book. Definitely want to keep my eye on future books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2017
When Mina queen of the dryad's can't leave her throne without pain her mate Dragos wants to know why, and what has happened to Iva, will the Dragon the mayor of Maggie's cove true id be revealed.
August 4, 2019
A good continuation of the series. A few discrepancies in the levels of magic being used/available. A couple of twists and turns.
May 29, 2019
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a good job. I enjoyed Dragos and Mina's story along with the secondary characters that make up the town. I liked that story moved along and had a few twist to the storyline.
January 29, 2016
I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for the second book of the Maggie’s Grove series and it was well worth every moment of the wait! Dragos was every thing I was hoping for. Strong, protective, serious when he needs to be but with a dry sense of humor. And as soon as he meets Mina, he’s utterly devoted. He wants to help Mina heal and shield her from danger but knows without a doubt that she’s strong enough to stand beside him. They were perfect together.
As much as I loved Dragos and Mina, it was Maggie’s Grove and its set of eclectic residents that made this book shine. After the town was so divided in Blood of the Maple, it was awesome to see them come together to protect their own in Throne of Oak. Bell’s humor is definitely present in this one but it is darker than the previous book. Maggie’s Grove is under attack from multiple sides and none of the secondary characters I loved so much in book 1 are safe.
Throne of Oak was one of the best books I’ve read this year. It showcases everything I love about the paranormal romance genre. With fantastic world building, drama, danger, humor, angst, and characters I can’t wait to revisit again and again, I recommend this to any reader that wants a great story.
As much as I loved Dragos and Mina, it was Maggie’s Grove and its set of eclectic residents that made this book shine. After the town was so divided in Blood of the Maple, it was awesome to see them come together to protect their own in Throne of Oak. Bell’s humor is definitely present in this one but it is darker than the previous book. Maggie’s Grove is under attack from multiple sides and none of the secondary characters I loved so much in book 1 are safe.
Throne of Oak was one of the best books I’ve read this year. It showcases everything I love about the paranormal romance genre. With fantastic world building, drama, danger, humor, angst, and characters I can’t wait to revisit again and again, I recommend this to any reader that wants a great story.
July 8, 2013
While Throne of Oak can be read as a stand-alone without too much confusion, I highly recommend reading the first book, Blood of the Maple first. I didn’t and really wish I would’ve have. I wasn’t lost, but just felt like I missed out on a lot of back story.
Ms. Bell is one of my favorite paranormal authors and I was very excited for the chance to read this book. Throne of Oak exceeded my expectations. I love when a book makes you laugh so hard you’re crying. Eddy did that for me over and over again. The intense attraction between Dragos and Mina was steaming up my fingers as I flipped through the pages of this book.
I loved the fact that even though I figured out who the “bad guy” was, there were still so many surprises about them along the way that I wanted to hurt them several times over. I can’t wait for Ash and Selena, Greer and Morgan, and Noah and Iva’s stories. They all deserve to be happy.
This is an amazing story for what I can tell is going to be an amazing series.
Ms. Bell is one of my favorite paranormal authors and I was very excited for the chance to read this book. Throne of Oak exceeded my expectations. I love when a book makes you laugh so hard you’re crying. Eddy did that for me over and over again. The intense attraction between Dragos and Mina was steaming up my fingers as I flipped through the pages of this book.
I loved the fact that even though I figured out who the “bad guy” was, there were still so many surprises about them along the way that I wanted to hurt them several times over. I can’t wait for Ash and Selena, Greer and Morgan, and Noah and Iva’s stories. They all deserve to be happy.
This is an amazing story for what I can tell is going to be an amazing series.
January 13, 2024
Snagged from NetGalley (I am so behind on these reviews, it's embarassing).
I re-read Blood of the Maple prior to starting Throne of Oak and I was glad I did. Oak picks up directly after Maple so it's best if the events are fresh in your mind.
I had a little bit of an issue with the relationship development since the relationship between Mina and Dragos really begins in Maple and by the time Oak opens, Dragos is a goner. As far as the actual plot goes, I agree with other reviewers that Oak's Big Bad bore a marked similarity to Maple's, but Dragos's family drama freshened it up for me.
Overall, I think the Maggie's Grove series is unique as far as paranormals go and definitely covers more than your standard vamps & shifters. I would recommend these books for vacation reads, something quick and easy that you can read by the pool or waiting on line.
I re-read Blood of the Maple prior to starting Throne of Oak and I was glad I did. Oak picks up directly after Maple so it's best if the events are fresh in your mind.
I had a little bit of an issue with the relationship development since the relationship between Mina and Dragos really begins in Maple and by the time Oak opens, Dragos is a goner. As far as the actual plot goes, I agree with other reviewers that Oak's Big Bad bore a marked similarity to Maple's, but Dragos's family drama freshened it up for me.
Overall, I think the Maggie's Grove series is unique as far as paranormals go and definitely covers more than your standard vamps & shifters. I would recommend these books for vacation reads, something quick and easy that you can read by the pool or waiting on line.
July 14, 2013
This book, second in a series that does not require one to read in order, was just lovely. Lovers of magical worlds and beings will adore the characters, particularly the hero (vampiric dragon shifter) and heroine (queen of the Forest) as their tale unfolds. Full of both action and romance, I couldn't put it down. Though the amount of content could easily have stretched into several books by more exquisite detailing of the town, it's surroundings and inhabitants, it was nevertheless quite satisfying. I will most definitely be seeking others of this series and this author.
July 29, 2013
A little monotonous because it was very similar to the first one in the whole dryad/vampire mate thing and my Renfield finds his mate is a man. Did like the dragon and Van Helsing twist, but it still couldn't make up for the obsessive woman making trouble plot as well. Hope Ash, Birch, and Yew have differing plots but I'm not too worried since their lovers are NOT vampires. Otherwise, still cute and fun as ever. Liked the cookie habit his Renfield has. I eat my stress sometimes too but I gain weight from it :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2013
Follow up to Blood of the Maple. In this book, Drago Ibanescu, Vampire Mayor (and founder) of Maggie's Grove and his Bride Mina Chainey, Oak, and Queen of the Dryads, are trying to get past the torture of Mina experienced in the previous book. As if this isn't enough, they are also fighting enemies both within Maggie's Grove and without. While a more serious in tone than Blood there are still plenty of lol moments in this book. Well worth the wait.
October 23, 2015
Liked getting a broader view of the town, but I think this one suffered from too many plot lines, too many new characters and a bit of a rushed ending. Still have high hopes for two male dryad heroes that have been teased and want to learn more about the town's other residents. Not all bad though, because
June 29, 2013
It looses a star because, for me the villain was so obvious. Even in the previous book I was thinking kate was going to be evil, and in the opening chapter of this one I was proved right.
Very annoying how long it took everyone to realise it.
Very annoying how long it took everyone to realise it.
August 22, 2015
Wonderful trip back to the Grove
Nina is trying to recover from Terri's attack. The Grove is rebuilding and everyone is trying to work out their matings. Dragons, Van Helsings , betrayal, and demons all come together to create an intricate story, that held me from the first page.
Nina is trying to recover from Terri's attack. The Grove is rebuilding and everyone is trying to work out their matings. Dragons, Van Helsings , betrayal, and demons all come together to create an intricate story, that held me from the first page.
January 22, 2016
And the plot thickens. With this book new characters are introduced and the knowledge that the series has to continue to be able to give each couple their own book is reassuring. (I love long series) If you don't want spoilers read this book before you read the synopsis for book 3.
March 22, 2022
Once again, Dana Marie Bell has proven why she is one of my favorite authors.
August 5, 2020
Re-read 9-13 audio book
Re-read audible June 21
Re-read audible June 21
June 18, 2013
I'm really enjoying this series. Can't wait for more!
March 15, 2018
Throne of Oak
I absolutely love thus series! Dragos and Mina boy, when they finally come together it gets hot. They make a strong pair for the people of Maggie's Grove.
I absolutely love thus series! Dragos and Mina boy, when they finally come together it gets hot. They make a strong pair for the people of Maggie's Grove.
January 5, 2016
Another great book by Dana Marie Bell and in this series specifically! I loved learning more about the community, dryads, and Dragos. I am very excited to read the next book in this series!
October 25, 2015
3.75 stars
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews