Draegon's Lair

by Linda Ciletti

Alys de Monceux, betrothed to a cruel and ruthless lord, runs to save herself from further abuse and to protect the secret that she carries. But when she finds herself wounded and without memory in the keep of a man who dares not show his face, will she find the peace and love her heart desires? Or will this strange and foreboding lord return her to the man she fears?

Draegon of Greystone stays hid beneath hood and helm, concealing a face he is sure others will fear. Content to live in a world of shadows, his secure existence is suddenly threatened when he rescues and hides Alys from her pursuer, the evil Knighthawk, Bastion of Worthingshire. But can Draegon save Alys without endangering his people when Bastion’s powerful army tracks her to the small demesne of Greystone? And can a love he never dreamt possible give Draegon the strength to fight against a foe determined to destroy them both?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Medieval Romance, Fantasy

334 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Linda Ciletti grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she discovered her love for classic fairytales during her many childhood visits to the Hazelwood public library. She now resides in the beautiful Western Pennsylvanian suburbs. She is a member of the Greensburg Writers’ Group, Ligonier Valley Writers, and a former member of Romance Writers of America. Linda exhibits her love of fairytales, romance, and happily ever afters in the genres of medieval historical, time travel paranormal, contemporary, and fantasy. Her novel, Draegon’s Lair, won the Epic Award for best historical romance. Other works include KnightStalker, Dream of the Archer, Lady Quest, and Faerie Dust. She is currently working on a sequel to Faerie Dust called Faerie Knights. When not serving the writing muse, she immerses herself in illustration and graphics, doing photography, virtual world content creation, and book cover design.

Reviews

[Zoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not certain about the time period in this book, but it reads like something before the 10th century. Why the 10th? Because this was before William the Conqueror and 10th is a nice round number. :D

I like my romance novels with a strong focus on relationship development. I found this book sorely lacking in that regard. Draegon, the hero and Alys, the heroine, became attracted to each other after Draegon saved Alys from her betrothed, a cruel man who had impregnated Alys. I think attraction can happen very quickly. But as a reader I need to see how they accept their attraction to each other and develop deeper feelings than that. In this book we were told that they liked each other, and they exchanged a few words and walked around together a few times. And we are supposed to believe that Draegon and Alys had something going on. I felt no affection between them and the supposed love story seemed non-existent to me.

There is another couple in the background. I don't usually like when there is a secondary relationship. I always end up feeling that the writer needs another couple to fill the story. And in this book, it felt that way too. Linda Ciletti has 2 couples and 2 pairs of men all playing the "who is the true heir?" game. The relationship development seems lacking in my eyes and I did not feel connected to any character in the story.

I regret to say that this was not a read that I could not put down. I started skim-reading around 40% and could not wait for it to be over. Not much romance or growing affections, just oh bad guy, guy protects woman because the writer told us that he seemed to like her. All tell, no show.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this authors way of writing and great storytelling. Characters are so well fleshed out it gives for a truly wonderful read. Well recommended.

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Draegon’s Lair struck me on two levels. First, it is a wonderful historical romance, one of the best I’ve ever read - and I’ve been reading them for over 40 years. Ms. Ciletti plays the factions of good and evil off each other with the ease of an orchestra conductor. The plot has several delightful twists and turns and her character development is superb. Bastion, Draegon’s evil twin brother, chills me to the core as he torments and abuses beautiful Alys both verbally and physically. Some heroes are so downright pure that they are virtually untouchable. Not so with Draegon. Although he is brave and honorable to a fault, Draegon’s doubts and fears make him vulnerable and I bonded with him over the course of the novel.

Second, Ms. Ciletti has a great deal to say about surviving abusive relationships and how our own insecurities may cloak and hide us from the life we were born to live. Draegon is a prisoner of darkness and shadow, keeping the world at bay lest his true appearance be revealed. And yet, when he finally allows the hood to fall, he is surprised by what people really think about him. This is a lesson for us all. Well done, Ms. Ciletti! Well done.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alys de Monceux has run away from her abusive betrothed. Draegon of Greystone witnesses her flight and when she is wounded, he takes her back to his domain. But even though Alys has lost her memory she knows that something bad happened and she needs protection.

Bastion of Worthingshire wants his betrothed back. He will do whatever it takes to get her back. He is evil and abusive to all. Even his men fear him.

It started out good and it was pretty good for the most part. There were parts where it seemed to lag just a tad. I felt like the characters needed to be developed a little more too. But I think it was good enough that I would more than likely read more of this author at some point.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I discovered Goodreads, I would search the internet constantly for more abused/raped heroines themed romances. Most of the time, my searches came up empty. But once and awhile, I would find a gem like this book. It is a great historical romance with a beauty and the beast theme added to it.

Basically, the book starts out where the heroine is fleeing her betrothed. His warriors are in pursuit of her in the forest. At the same time, the hero Draegon is walking in the forest - it is a place he feels at peace. Draegon rescues her and takes her back to his castle Greystone to recuperate. Alys the heroine lost her memory in the forest, but knows deep down there is something she should fear.
She has to depend on Draegon and soon realizes what an honorable man he is.

Lord Draegon hides his face from the world in the shadows. He hardly remembers his childhood. The one thing he remembers is showing his face and people being terrified of him. He does not let people become close to him and consequently confused over his feelings for Alys. He wants to keep her at a distance, but can't because of his growing feelings for her. Draegon never takes advantage of Alys. One thing, I really liked is when Alys first sees Draegon's face she is not afraid of him.

Alys fiancée Bastion of Worthingshire is a truly evil man who abuses and uses everyone around him. Alys was given to him by her father as a pawn. Bastion raped her and abused her which made her run away from him.

Eventually after a endless search, Bastion finds out she is at Greystone. Bastion shows up and Draegon will not hand her over. Secrets are revealed and destines are changed. Alys and Draegon do get their HEA and everything is resolved.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical romance and beauty and the beast themes in romance.

Nicole

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Really enjoyed this book. Good characters, didn't want the end to come. Well written will look for more by this author