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Dragons & Druids: A Trio of Standalone Epic Fantasy Novellas
A hidden dragon. A banished queen. And a druid reborn.
Desdemona Orbaskier will do anything to reclaim her rightful place upon the throne, even brave the wilds to hunt down and kill the last dragon haunting Draykemire.
As fate would have it, he’s been waiting for her.
Yvayne’s wait is over as the signs foretell that the long-awaited druidic heir will soon be reborn. She knows all too well the dangers that will seek to destroy this fragile new life and must find and destroy them before they can strike.
Ridel is the first in this line of attack, given the sacred, deceptively straightforward task of ridding Azuria of this dangerously powerful lineage forever, the only being who can truly thwart her master’s plans. Lucien’s instructions couldn’t be clearer—the child’s life or her own.
And latest upon the threads of fate, a young nobleman stands watch over his dearest friend, trying to protect her from the cruel matches her stepfather foists upon her path. The situation grows desperate—exactly like his own hopes for intertwining his fate with hers.
Courtly intrigue meets sword & sorcery in this trio of standalone epic fantasy novellas set across the worlds of Azuria and Aurora, Stormborn, and Song of Parting.
Desdemona Orbaskier will do anything to reclaim her rightful place upon the throne, even brave the wilds to hunt down and kill the last dragon haunting Draykemire.
As fate would have it, he’s been waiting for her.
Yvayne’s wait is over as the signs foretell that the long-awaited druidic heir will soon be reborn. She knows all too well the dangers that will seek to destroy this fragile new life and must find and destroy them before they can strike.
Ridel is the first in this line of attack, given the sacred, deceptively straightforward task of ridding Azuria of this dangerously powerful lineage forever, the only being who can truly thwart her master’s plans. Lucien’s instructions couldn’t be clearer—the child’s life or her own.
And latest upon the threads of fate, a young nobleman stands watch over his dearest friend, trying to protect her from the cruel matches her stepfather foists upon her path. The situation grows desperate—exactly like his own hopes for intertwining his fate with hers.
Courtly intrigue meets sword & sorcery in this trio of standalone epic fantasy novellas set across the worlds of Azuria and Aurora, Stormborn, and Song of Parting.
- GenresDragons
274 pages, Paperback
Published January 3, 2025
About the author
Beth Ball
20 books75 followersBeth Ball is a weaver of words and worlds spinning stories of druidic magic and the power of nature that span the epic fantasy realms of Azuria and Eldura. If you enjoy lyrical tales of action and adventure, dragons, werewolves, fae, wily foxes, and more, then grab your enchanted amulet, flaming longsword, poisoned dagger, or other mystical accessory of choice, and let’s start our adventure!
When she’s not writing fantasy fiction, Beth is a tabletop RPG designer creating adventures and campaigns with her husband Jonathan as part of their work at Grove Guardian Press. She’s also working on her first foray into the LitRPG space with an epic story based on their home duet game. As you might imagine, her ttRPG adventures incorporate lots of druids.
You can find more of Beth’s work and the legends of Azuria and Eldura at bethballbooks.com. And if you’re looking for playable, immersive adventures in Azuria, visit groveguardianpress.com.
When she’s not writing fantasy fiction, Beth is a tabletop RPG designer creating adventures and campaigns with her husband Jonathan as part of their work at Grove Guardian Press. She’s also working on her first foray into the LitRPG space with an epic story based on their home duet game. As you might imagine, her ttRPG adventures incorporate lots of druids.
You can find more of Beth’s work and the legends of Azuria and Eldura at bethballbooks.com. And if you’re looking for playable, immersive adventures in Azuria, visit groveguardianpress.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 23, 2024
This world contains so many epic creatures, and I’ll always love a good lore drop. Mermaids, dragons, witches, reincarnation- this book has it all in spades. Most of all, these short stories explore both the great hope and great tragedy that love can bring. The writing style is very fairy tale-like as well, which adds to the book’s magical air.
April 2, 2025
TL;DR: If you've started the author's Azuria series and want to know the characters' origin stories via high fantasy romance and adventures, you'll love these prequels. If you haven't, there's still much to like in part 1, but parts 2 and 3 felt harder to understand without that extra knowledge.
Stormborn is a prequel to the Feather and Flame series. We follow the story of how a dragon hunter fell in love with a dragon while her kingdom was divided by war. The different POVs and narrative framing led me to really become immersed in the tale. A couple of excess lore sections confused me (e.g. a tale of a god and a sunken city; I wasn't sure the relevance to the present narrative), but it's a fast and fiery instalove (the kind of "they were meant to be/love at first sight" instalove that actually works) that sets up the world of Elduria nicely.
Aurora and Song Of Parting are both prequels to the Azuria series, and you can't really read one without the other. The first tells us of an elf and a noblewoman being fated to fall in love, despite her marriage to another (cruel) man while forces of evil watch from the sidelines. The second charts the tale of their child, Iellieth, and her best friend Theodric as they plan to escape from her restricted life. Both are full of sweet scenes and tasty lore, but both also include characters who I had no idea what their relevance was. Scenes with a conniving undead mage and his purple minion, or ones of dryads/saudads(?)/ myth seekers looking for a prophecy left me confused.
These 3 short story prequels to the Azuria and Feather and FLame series can be read as stand alone, but I believe they would be best read alongside their respective series. There are quite a lot of characters and concepts (fantasy races, gods, legends, politics ect) that need a bit of explanation, so readers without prior knowledge (like me) might find some parts harder to grasp.
Would I read more from this author? Oh yes. She's got that high romantic fantasy (not romantasy) way with words that'd suit any YA+ reader looking for an adventure in what looks to be a beautifully thought out world full of myht and legend. I would probably have chosen to start one of the main series books first if I'd known, but that's personal preference.
-I received a free copy of this e-book in a giveaway. This does not influence my review-
Stormborn is a prequel to the Feather and Flame series. We follow the story of how a dragon hunter fell in love with a dragon while her kingdom was divided by war. The different POVs and narrative framing led me to really become immersed in the tale. A couple of excess lore sections confused me (e.g. a tale of a god and a sunken city; I wasn't sure the relevance to the present narrative), but it's a fast and fiery instalove (the kind of "they were meant to be/love at first sight" instalove that actually works) that sets up the world of Elduria nicely.
Aurora and Song Of Parting are both prequels to the Azuria series, and you can't really read one without the other. The first tells us of an elf and a noblewoman being fated to fall in love, despite her marriage to another (cruel) man while forces of evil watch from the sidelines. The second charts the tale of their child, Iellieth, and her best friend Theodric as they plan to escape from her restricted life. Both are full of sweet scenes and tasty lore, but both also include characters who I had no idea what their relevance was. Scenes with a conniving undead mage and his purple minion, or ones of dryads/saudads(?)/ myth seekers looking for a prophecy left me confused.
These 3 short story prequels to the Azuria and Feather and FLame series can be read as stand alone, but I believe they would be best read alongside their respective series. There are quite a lot of characters and concepts (fantasy races, gods, legends, politics ect) that need a bit of explanation, so readers without prior knowledge (like me) might find some parts harder to grasp.
Would I read more from this author? Oh yes. She's got that high romantic fantasy (not romantasy) way with words that'd suit any YA+ reader looking for an adventure in what looks to be a beautifully thought out world full of myht and legend. I would probably have chosen to start one of the main series books first if I'd known, but that's personal preference.
-I received a free copy of this e-book in a giveaway. This does not influence my review-
March 12, 2025
Dragons & Druids is a wonderfully imaginative collection of novellas that introduce the reader to a variety of magical creatures and unforgettable settings. Each novella is very distinct in it's plot and has the feeling of it's own unique adventure. Despite the shorter nature of novellas, substantial lore was included in the stories and I felt that they were a great introduction to the larger series they belong to.
Thank you to the author, Beth Ball, for the copy of this book I received through Goodreads Giveaways!
Thank you to the author, Beth Ball, for the copy of this book I received through Goodreads Giveaways!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews