ביטחון כוזב

Death Before Dragons #5

by Lindsay Buroker, אדוה לנציאנו (Translator)

אף פעם לא חשבתי שאצא לדייטים עם דרקון או שאאכיל אותו בעוף מטוגן באמצע הלילה, אבל בזמן האחרון החיים שלי נהיו מעניינים. כן. אפילו יותר מאשר בעבר.

הדרקון הצמוד שלי (שאתם אולי מכירים בתור לורד זברידנוקווטל, אבל אני קוראת לו זב) – מציע לקחת אותי לעולם האלפים כדי לפגוש את אבא שלי וללמוד להשתמש בקסם שזורם לי בדם.

אומנם יש לי ספקות לגבי התוכנית שלו להכריח את האלפים להכשיר אותי, אבל אני זקוקה לכל יתרון אפשרי. במיוחד עכשיו, כשערפדים מתחילים לתקוף אנשים בכל רחבי סיאטל, והחבר והשותף העסקי שלי דימיטרי נעלם.

לצערי, ההכשרה שלי תצטרך לחכות. אם לא אמצא את דימיטרי בזמן, אני עלולה לאבד אותו לנצח.

ביטחון כוזב הוא הספר החמישי בסדרת דרקונים בשמי סיאטל של הסופרת לינדזי ברוקר. קדמו לו הספרים קסם אפל, ברית אש ודם, אמת מתעתעת ואבדון מטלטל.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Dragons, Romance, Paranormal, Magic, Vampires

Unknown Binding

First published June 26, 2020

About the author

I'm a full-time indie fantasy and science fiction author. When I'm not writing, I'm ferrying my dogs to hiking trails for adventures.

Reviews

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly just become more impressed as this series progresses. Apart from the easy writing style from Lindsay buroker I absolutely love her characters, the story lines and the twists and turns that she introduces along the way.

Each book is a mystery, one that is aching to be solved and as the mysteries become more intense, the characters develop alongside.

I adore Zav the pompous dragon, he is absolutely lovely, arrogant and totally hot! Val is also amazing and I can't wait to see her flourish, I am sure I am about to find out how strong she actually is in the coming books!

Sideline characters are no longer sitting on the side in my eyes, they are equally a part of my ever-growing heart, I love them all.

I am looking forward to the next book which I will be reading very soon ((thank you Kindle Unlimited!))

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fifth in an Urban Fantasy series with character and plot elements that span individual books. So I definitely recommend you read them in order.

Again, you know mostly what you're getting in this one. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the previous. The plot felt meandery, the relationship between Zav and Val is in something of a holding pattern, and the secondary characters didn't shine quite so much. Plus, the central villain is a huge plot hole that Buroker pulled pretty much out of thin air. It's the kind of setup that should have penetrated much deeper into the worldbuilding than it did and that's a problem for me.

But it's still a four star read and I'm happy moving on to the next one. Also, I'm glad to have movement on Val's elven kin, finally, though that, too, was a bit rough and intrusive.

A note about Chaste: Still no sex. Some making out and yearning. But I think it's still pretty clearly chaste—if you can overlook a (fully clothed) butt squeeze.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay- this series is so much fun, and I got a lot of good chuckles while reading this one!



I mean, Zav rocking the socks and sandals as his new footwear attire thinking it's a fashion statement? *snort*
Nope. Nope. Focus on the review Andrea.



Okay, so the dynamic duo has finally gotten rid of the dark elf threat, and they are slowly (and sometimes painfully for Val) working their way through the list of criminals. Its not until Val takes a new job as bodyguard-for-hire to a wealthy human businessman that things in her life start to go sideways....again.

Add to that the fact that the new opening of the coffee/yard art/tinctures shop doesn't exactly go to plan, vampires are attacking humans, Val might be kicked out of her apartment, Demitri is no where to be found, and Willard is being sent on a training mission amongst the chaos- leaving her with no government backup.

Also, we have Zav insisting that she travel to the Elf homeworld to get training- in the middle of her mission! Which may or not be due to some jealously over said wealthy businessman getting a bit to close to our girl, or to expedite her learning to protect her mind so they can have some schmexy time 😉



So, like I said I had a lot of fun with the dialogue and plot- but I was also glad that we got a little bit of progress in the romance/ friend/ family department! I was happy to see Val (somewhat awkwardly) getting to spend time with her daughter and taking a leap to get more involved with her friends and let them in a bit more. I can't wait for the new house shenanigans!

Oh and I'm still loving Val and Zav together and hope the next book kicks their romance up a bit.

[Cee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was half-asleep not even out of bed yet, checking my email when I see news from Amazon that this book is available. Dudes, I didn't even know this book was in the works! I switched over and clicked download so quick I think my iPad almost crashed haha.

Look, this series? A new favorite of mine. I love the slow burn romance , the banter, and all the characters. Val is amazing refreshing! Did I mention yet that I ended up laughing myself into tears a few times??

This book also took us off-world 0.0!! I was not expecting it and now I'm so excited to see where the author will take us next. End game?? I have no idea where this series is taking us, but I'm loving the ride.

[Tara Grayce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I rush home after work to start this book? Yes, I did. Did I stay up far too late Friday night and do nothing Saturday morning so that I could finish this book? Yes. Yes, I did.

This is another great addition to this series! It has laugh-out-loud humor. Plenty of swoony kissing scenes. And one sword-wielding half-elf, half-human mother who tends to vex her (and Zav's) enemies.

[Angela (Angel's Book Nook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

False Security is book five in the Death Before Dragons series by Lindsay Buroker. It is a series you do need to read in order.

Val seems to find herself in another predicate and misunderstanding. She accepts a job as a bodyguard to a mega rich tech mogul, her friend Darius turns up missing, vampires are attacking people and vanishing, and Zav wants her to learn to keep dragons out of her mind. What’s the Death Reaper to do?

Val and Zav’s relationship progresses and we have a lot of sexual tension, but that doesn’t take away from the fast-paced action and adventure. We see a lot of growth and changes in Zav. He’s still pompous and arrogant dragon we all love, but also see he’s growing and changing for the better.

The mystery in this one was fun to unravel. The side-characters are enjoyable and are more a part of the storyline now then at the beginning of the series. Last, the banter between characters is entertaining and the world is ever growing. I like the direction things are taking.

Fans of Urban Fantasy will enjoy this series. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Val and what her elven powers will be once fully unlocked.

Rated: 5 Stars

[Tiffany (Bluestocking) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am loving Zav more and more. He has such a weird sense of humor that I can’t help but laugh out loud. His blunt, arrogant and honest speech mixed with Val’s sarcasm, makes for some absolutely amazing dialogue. I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship and loved seeing them work together and banter.

I also love the secondary characters. They’re not just conveniently present or absent for the sake of the plot. Rather, they have personality and depth that just makes the story a whole lot more interesting. Willard always had me smiling but she had me cracking up even more in this one. Also Zultan, the vampire, is an excellent side character that brings a lot of humor whenever he’s present.

As expected, there is plenty of action and the plot is still very intriguing. Can’t wait for Val to fully unlock her elven powers but she is becoming more impressive.

CONTENT
Romance: Kissing, Innuendo throughout
Violence: Moderate
Language: Moderate (A**, S**t & variations, 1 F-bomb), some crude speech.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.1

Buddy read with the MacHalos!

So...this book was ultimately a let down for me. I feel like I keep waiting for Val to develop more as a character, or there to be more depth to the story, but it hasn't happened. Since this is book 5, I don't think it will happen.

And that's a shame.

The banter is still there, it's still good writing, there's just not enough substance to keep me interested.

Exhibit 34C of said banter:

Zav walked out of the bathroom again, this time holding the plunger. “What does this do?”

Probably won't continue on with this series, sadly.

[Brit Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am completely obsessed with this series which is rather funny since it took me forever to get around to reading it... once I did though I read through everything in a few days so I was very happy to read this though I probably should have tried to read slower...

So..

Val tries to take a day off and it’s Val so naturally it doesn’t quite work out. She’s been working hard with Zav on his list of criminals so she deserves time off. He wants to take her to the world of the elves so that she can learn to use magic. Unfortunately those plans are sidetracked when she’s hired by a very wealthy man to be his bodyguard. Simple job a lot of money what could ho wrong? Well... he says magical beings are after though Val isn’t sure what to think of that. She accepts the job since hanging with a dragon in an elf world doesn’t exactly pay money.

Dimitri has opened his new business that he’s partnering with Zoltan, Nin and Val in. Things aren’t quite going the way he expects especially when Zoltan goes missing. Then Val finds out that other vampires are also missing. Naturally the magical think she’s behind it but she’s just as clueless as everybody else. When Dimitri also goes missing during the course of his own search for Zoltan of course Val is on the case. As she investigates she wonders if maybe her new employer and the missing might somehow be connected. Or us she just paranoid? While she’s trying to figure things out the arrival of bigger trouble has her racing to save the day and possibly all of Settle.

I love Val and Zav and all her friends but really I just LOVE Sindari he’s the best part of anything.

The only downside of this book was that I read it all in one day and have to wait till August to see what happens next. I’m completely obsessed.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got kind of bogged down in the beginning because the romance in this series is kind of tiresome, but then I decided to focus more on Val's relationships with everyone else than on her relationship with a dragon whose name she won't even attempt to pronounce correctly and it became a lot more enjoyable. The trope of giving someone a nickname because trying to use their real name is "too hard" is one that bugs me immensely (because racism IRL) but the dragon Zavryd’nokquetal is equally assholeish so Val is well-matched in that sense.

[adhya · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 ⭐
Sadly I didn't enjoy this book as much I thought I would, for me it was like the book was more focused on certain events happening as fast as they could and coz of that the side characters and even the main ones didn't shine through and just sort of blurred into the plot(?) ya whatever that means...
anyways I'm still gonna read the next book and hope its better and saves the series for me

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um...I liked it ig. Definitely a shambles though. With every book, Val goes down in my estimations a tiny bit which is upsetting. She has magnificent potential but she's really not helping herself. If I'm being absolutely candid, I sometimes have a hard time believing she's the "good guy". Like, she's not evil, but I think her priorities and views about magical beings need to be sorted out. There's more I could complain about but I don't want people to take that and therefore think this is a bad book. It's still fun, it's still enjoyable, just a bit of a mess - that I can deal with.

On a separate note, I wanna be buddies with Zoltan and Xilneth.

[Zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the dark elves

I think this series keeps getting better. I love how each of these characters keep growing and evolving. Val's world keeps getting bigger and I'm curious to see where she will go.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it obviously this series is perfect.

[Stephaniec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zav is awesome, i love getting time with him. I like where the story is going and really want book 6

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably not the strongest in the series, but still an awful lot of fun. My favorite - and the reason I keep reading - is still the humor and banter between characters, it is …. Just genius!

[S.K. Wee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic installment to Death Before Dragons series. Val struggles to solve one problem after another as her friends begin to disappear. Some great reveals along with the ever present slow burn romance between Val and Zav. We are also introduced to another dragon family and can’t wait to see more of Zav’s competition. I’m so looking forward to the next one since I devoured this one. Highly Recommended for all paranormal and urban fantasy readers!

[Che is Slowly Getting Back to Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

I absolutely adore Val along with all the other characters.

One of my fav series this year.

Cant wait till August for the next book!

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been really enjoying Lindsay Buroker's series. This is the third one I've read now and I like that they are quick easy reads. I had already read a space opera and a more traditional high fantasy by her, so I wanted to try her urban fantasy. I ended up liking the first book in the series quite a lot, but not loving it as much as I had hoped. That being said, I've read the whole series, or at least what's been published now, and I think the following books were better than that one.

The trademark Lindsay Buroker humor is present, which is one reason I like her books. They make me laugh quite a bit, and who doesn't like a little bit of laughter in their life? On the downside, I do feel like I've, for the most part, read the same main character in all three series. There are some slight differences, but they could be more distinct. Also every once in a while I find myself rolling my eyes at the attempts at humor, but still the stories are mostly good fun, and I don't think we are meant to take them too seriously.

I think my biggest issue with the main character is that she walked out on her daughter years ago to protect her from the different individuals/creatures who come after her because of her job, and I can't help but think that she could have simply left the job and chosen her daughter instead. This is definitely a flaw in the main character that I don't like, but this improves as the series progresses.

I thought this series had an interesting mix of fantasy creatures. There was pretty much everything but the kitchen sink thrown in, from dragons to vampires to orcs, and somehow it worked. I read these books back to back and I really can't remember now where one ended and the next started, so this will be my review for the whole series.

Sinister Magic (Death Before Dragons, #1): 3 stars
Battle Bond (Death Before Dragons, #2): 3.5 stars
Tangled Truths (Death Before Dragons, #3): 3.5 stars
Elven Doom (Death Before Dragons, #4): 3.5 stars
The Forbidden Ground (Death Before Dragons 4.5): 3 stars
False Security (Death Before Dragons #5): 3.5 stars
Storm Forged (Death Before Dragons #6): 3.5 stars

Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well. Things are moving forward nicely with Val and Zav's relationship. She's fed him large quantities of meat and everything. While she's definitely starting to care for the arrogant dragon, they still have a few things to figure out between them. Like, can Val handle Zav's choice in footwear or is that going to be a dealbreaker for her.

Oh, and she also needs to work on figuring out how to tap into any magical abilities she might have so dragons (or anyone else) can't force her to do their bidding. Which is where the trip to the elven homeland comes in.

But first, Val takes a freelance bodyguarding gig. She's also trying to figure out what's going on with the disappearing vamps around town. Oh, and she's on the hunt for Dimitri when he goes missing.

No lie, the lady has a full dance card and then some.

Dragons, dragons, everywhere, btw. In fact, the deeper Val gets into her investigations, the more dragons seem to show up. And the investigations are somehow all tied together in a complex knot just to make things even more interesting.

We get some answers, some more questions, steamy times with a mating-minded dragon, a whole lot of fighting (which is pretty normal for Val), and danger around every turn. I'm SO enjoying this series!

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you kidnap me we are not having sex...

Followed very shortly by

Oh well, what's done is done, lets make out under this strange, blue, elven tree...

Zav still has no respect for her person. He's beginning to respect her skill as a warrior. He's proud to own such a fearsome mongrel. He lusts after her body when he's in his human form. But he still doesn't respect her as a person.

It makes me sad and worried that such a strong, independent, capable women is so strongly controlled by her hormones. Val doesn't even like Zav half the time, but she appreciates what he can do for her and that sense of safety softens her defenses. I guess maybe this has been bred into our genes since caveman days when the strongest males took what they wanted and their strength offered survival. Women can be pretty pragmatic about sex and survival...

[Ra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The overall plot of this series is really good. Dimitri, Zoltan, and Nin are all great characters. However, the main male character (Zav) is so terrible and gross that it really detracts from the story. Lots of toxic masculinity and treating women as property.


#Potential spoilers#
There is a ton of toxic masculinity and vaguely homophobic sentiments in this series. Zav treats Val as property, making decisions for her and straight-up kidnapping her so that she can learn enough magic for them to bone safely. There are also several vague rape threats from multiple male characters. Honestly, I hope the dragons get slaughtered, would only be fitting for all their racial supremacy nonsense.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This installment was still pretty funny, with a solid plot, and decent characterization. The time that the heroine got to spend with her daughter and mother was sweet. There was decent development in every aspect of this book except in the romance department. That's my only quibble. Other than that, I really appreciate how there's nothing of a graphic nature in this series so far. We'll see if that stays true in the next installment. ;)

[Lorrie (Clockworkbookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 - I absolutely love the growth and changes in Zav! He is still arrogant and pompous, but I love how he is changing for the positive.

[SheLove2Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. The humor in this one had me laughing out loud!

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 3 out of 5]

As cute as the others, and we finally get to meet another relative. There's a funny new dragon I actually like. Some fun Amber time surprisingly. Zav is hilarious in several scenes, but the rest of dragonkind is obnoxious still and bugging me. You also get some more over the top assumptions and hatred toward Val from the magical community. Surprisingly, you can get resolution with the sister Zolandia, if I'm spelling that right (probably not). One less star is because Val should have been more suspicious of her employer, I thought, and didn't do much mystery solving other than some things falling into her lap. I know she and Zoltan are not friends per se, but I found her surprisingly lackluster about him missing and finding him in some cases. Something on her personality felt a little off in this one -- Freysa (again, spelling) is nice, but not sure yet on other changes either. We will see.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindsay Buroker is an author with a certain type of humor. A sample of her book will probably let you know if it is up your ally. I enjoy her books and the often snarky characters she writes. I love that she writes different types of strong females. This book is a solid installment. I will say that at this point in her series I get a little fatigued since her books are a little bit similar in style and tone and I get a little impatient to get on with the overarching storylines. But if I paced them out I'd enjoy them more for the silly, lighthearted banter and interactions along with a whole lot of action. Because she is a fast writer I think that I just need to spread them out a little more between other books with different styles. So that's on me.

Overall a solid book in the series.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this story, Val takes on a bodyguard job, thinking it was a quick way to make some money, but the client is a bit strange and may not be on the up and up. Then vampires begin disappearing, Dimitri is missing too, and then all those things converge into a big mess that Val has to sort out. All the while she’s getting closer to Zav, and finally getting a few lessons in how to use her magic to resist compulsions from dragons, which will come in handy with all the dragons that keep showing up. I’m looking forward to reading the next story to see what happens with Zav and Val next, along with all of her quirky friends.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sort of feels like with this book Val is hitting her stride more, gathering people around her again, instead of being the lone wolf. Of course the people are very mixed lot, but it works for her. I really like how the living situation is changing, feel like this will be the best for everyone involved.

Val's job in this one was crazy. You knew it wouldn't be what was presented to her. The guy was slimy from the start, then when learned what he had really been up to, I thought he got what he deserved.

I do wish that we could have seen Val let her boss know of the dragon's message, I have a feeling that would have been funny as hell!

[Tomer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had more mundane twists between the various characters, which served to polish out some of the quirks of interjecting with the magical and still not acknowledged elements. I do enjoy the various small pop-culture references, the toxic relationships are a bit disturbing. A major showdown is on the horizon.. .