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The Dragon Archives #1

Bound by a Dragon

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At twenty-two, Keira Carver needs to find a husband, but the prospects in her small medieval village are not pretty slim. So when Aaron Drake, a handsome stranger, takes up residence at Storbrook Castle, set deep in the surrounding mountains, Keira takes notice. Just as interesting is the fact that a fire-breathing dragon has also moved into the neighborhood, and is rumored to live in caves beneath the mountain fortress. What exactly is the connection between Aaron Drake and the dragon? And when the dragon rescues her from the unwanted attentions of some village boys, who will set out to rescue her from the huge, scaly, fire-breathing monster?

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2014

3619 people are currently reading
3963 people want to read

About the author

This author also writes under: Linda K. Froise

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5 stars
1,547 (29%)
4 stars
1,453 (27%)
3 stars
1,324 (25%)
2 stars
629 (12%)
1 star
250 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 449 reviews
Profile Image for Christine.
Author 16 books425 followers
July 21, 2014
This is a tough review to give because there *was* something about this book that kept me turning pages until the end. There was a spark of possibility here... something in the simple, inviting writing style or in the magic perhaps. I kept thinking I should put it down because by 1/3 of the way through I had identified too many weaknesses to give it an honest 3+ stars. But like I said, something just kept me going. There was so much potential here! I believe this is a new author and I can honestly say that I would consider giving future books of hers a try, after she's a bit more seasoned.

Here's the bottom line: The story lacks tension and there is little plot to tie it together. There was no defining story problem. Scenes came one after another, not advancing anything. Which is why it's so strange that I kept reading. Maybe I'm just really into dragons. (Okay, I AM really into dragons!)

Keira and Aaron fall in love very quickly. They say "I love you" to one another by about 1/4 of the way through. His dragon nature aside, two people meet, fall in love, get married, go back to his castle, and meet his family. Keira has some moments of doubt when faced with his dragon nature, but the doubts pass quickly as she repeatedly tells herself that loving him means loving all of him. A nice message but delivered in a tedious way.

I thought at first that the town's fear of dragons would cause problems and in the end it did, but this subplot was not woven into the fabric of the story very well. It was certainly not something I could point to and call a main story problem.

IMHO, this story desperately needed chapters from the dragon's point of view. Sticking with Keira's point of view gave it a limited scope and kept us from getting to know Aaron (the dragon) as well as I would have liked.

It is worth noting that while there is a lot of kissing, cuddling, and foreplay, the actual sex scenes are skipped. I am not a fan of curtain closing in the best of cases, and in a book with this much kissing, I find it particularly awkward.

There were a few other scenes that were skipped/skimmed over that would have been better if they had been fully expanded/explained. (Show, don't tell.)

Oh, and there were too many exclamation points!!! :)

But despite all that, I didn't hate this book. It just felt a little unfinished.
Profile Image for Zala.
580 reviews145 followers
October 5, 2023
A cutesy, simple-plotted romance set somewhere in the Middle Ages. There were two things that I didn't like about it, though. The first one was the insta-love and the second one was a particularly annoying thing the female lead, Keira, would do. Spoiler: The main conflict for her was that she loved the man but was afraid of the dragon. Whenever she got scared by the dragon, she faced her fear and accepted him as a whole, dragon and man, which I find a bit odd. It's the same person in both forms? Aside from that, she was a strongwilled, witty, and likable character, and it's a waste that she had to prove this one point to herself over and over again. 3 stars?
Profile Image for Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers.
1,181 reviews426 followers
April 9, 2019
It was nothing special. Kinda boring. No big issues. Pretty cover. I'm shocked I'm giving it 3 stars, since I gave one of my FAVE authors 2 stars for disappointing my expectations (this is what happens when you HAVE expectations). Since I didn't have any for this book, it didn't disappoint so much as wasted my time reading it.

Good for bedtime tho, since I can always put it down when it bores me half to sleep. On second thought, 2 stars.
Profile Image for Dianne.
6,815 reviews631 followers
January 9, 2019
The village knew the stories of fire-breathing dragons that once soared in the skies and they feared their return. When a handsome stranger moves into the mysterious Storbrook Castle, just as a dragon was seen in flight, Keira was intrigued, and most definitely interested in the Aaron Drake. Who is this man who peaks her interest and makes her heart pound? Refined, intelligent and something more…Aaron Drake is about to change Keira’s world, forever.

BOUND BY A DRAGON by Linda K. Hopkins is a wonderful dragon tale, touched by romance, adventure and while not a rapid-fire read, the pace is perfect for a fantasy escape from reality! I loved how refined Aaron seemed, calm in the face of conflict, self-assured. Krira was a woman ahead of her time, not willing to be the cowering wench who accepts her “fate” as a woman.

No explicit sex, just that feeling of fade to black and romance. Linda K. Hopkins has nailed the mystery of dragons without making them wild monsters. Besides this is fantasy, pure entertainment where anything can be however the author wants! I loved this story, the main characters and, come on, a castle and a dragon…not to mention a hidden lesson about acceptance of those who are different…because, yes, people can be a little closed minded to simple truths.

Series: The Dragon Archives - Book 1
Publisher: Linda K. Hopkins; 2 edition (November 8, 2016)
Publication Date: November 8, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Print Length: 242 pages
Available FREE from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Profile Image for Andrea Partee.
Author 9 books5 followers
June 3, 2014
I adored this book and can't wait for the next one. I seriously recommend this book to just about everyone. It's simply a very good story. It's not good vs evil but instead while enjoying the story unfold the underlying message is a reminder of the human condition of fear and how different people handle the same reality.

In short I found Bound By a Dragon to be both unique and intriguing. I love love (no that wasn't a typo) and romance and after contacting the author and finding out that someone was disappointed there were no explicit love scenes, I must comment. I'm not a prude and they're perfect for some books but here they simply aren't needed. I wouldn't have liked the book as much with them because it would have taken away from the story.

I liked so many of the characters I've got my fingers crossed I get to meet them in subsequent books.

I thank the author for providing me with a free copy to review. As a first book, Bound by a Dragon exceeded my expectations. With just a tiny bit of polishing which will happen naturally by her second book I am sure, my bet is that we will see Linda Hopkins moving up the ranks to a best selling author in no time. She has made me a fan.


33 reviews
May 15, 2016
I stopped reading this book halfway through. Yes, something kept me reading at some point, but the pace of the story was on one hand slow and not very exciting and on the other hand very quick regarding the development of ~feelings and stuff.

Don't get me wrong – I love dragons, Keira is ok (I guess), Aaron is ok (I guess) but I stopped reading when noticing I don't really CARE for them. Everything seems to fall into place so easy for them. Yes, there may be a bit drama in between but it's also very predictable what might happen next (and yes, of course it happened...).



Profile Image for Vanessa (bookfairy95).
1,305 reviews141 followers
August 2, 2019
Okay, so, I realise that this is probably not the best book out there and also the writing style is probably not the best.. but do I care? NO. Because I really loved this book! XD

Alright, this book is a romance. A very cheesy one. A romance that is kind of insta-love and where the male MC is just like "you are so pretty, so smart, so amazing; do you want to marry me?" and everything happened suuuper quick, but I kind of needed that right now :D

In the beginning I thought that the characters were all very flat, inlcuding the protagonist and surprisingly the little sister (who seemed to be such a brat) was the first one to show some depth. And from there on it went uphill I believe. The village people were all still very flat and dumb and ultimately weren't able to look past there very limited horizon (including Keira's parents), but Aaron and Anna were great.
Then Aaron's people got introduced and I liked them as well. It seemed they were all normal people that could also believe and think about things not obvious or rather uncommon. They were able to accept things they didn't believe to be true at first. (Actually I am mostly referring to Cathryn for this one.)
And in the end believe it or not, also Keira's mother gained some sort of understanding. She developed. She changed. That is something I really need to see in books. If there is no development in the people important to the story and/or main characters I am not going to enjoy these books. But it was the case for this one, so all good.

And while, yes, the fantasy aspect was also a bit cliché it was good! I read this so fast! I believe it does thouroughly deserve these 4 stars!!!
(And, I AM going to read the next books eventually!)
267 reviews40 followers
March 28, 2015
Bound by a Dragon is a sweet love story in its essence. It's about accepting someone for who they truly are even if no one else sees the beauty you do.

When it comes to the characters I enjoyed them but found them to be a bit unrealistic. Keira was too forgiving and accepting towards certain characters while Aaron was ridiculously sweet. I don't think this is a bad thing at all, on the contrary it sets this book apart from other "dragon themed romances".

As I was reading this book, I kept waiting for some catastrophe to happen but that never came. On the surface the book is pretty much a "good feeling" read, its a story that'll keep you reading till the end but it's not one that will get your heart pounding. I really believe the author was trying to get more important lessons across in this book rather than make it all crazy action.

Overall, I liked the story not sure I'd read the next one but it is a good book to check out.
I'd recommend this for adult readers, there is a almost rape scene in this book.
Profile Image for E.
35 reviews
January 15, 2015
Blah. I can't even. This book was so insta-love. No romance building, just BAM! Love. And the author couldn't have slammed you with a message any harder than she did. It wasn't a 1 star because it really takes a lot for me to rank a book that low, but this book was definitely not a good one.
A more detailed review to follow in the near future.
Profile Image for Jeanne Johnston.
1,590 reviews15 followers
November 7, 2017
Sorry, but is this a kids' fairy tale or a romance? If not for the allusions to sex, I'd say the former. The language is simplistic and stilted, the storyline wandering, and something just rubbed me the wrong way all through it. It was just... weird.
Profile Image for Lauren.
310 reviews12 followers
April 11, 2017
This is a difficult one for me to review. And that was largely because I had expectations going into this because it's about dragons and I love anything that has dragons in but it just fell flat. That being said there was something that made me continue with the book.

The problem was it was just a love story with just a sprinkle of dragons thrown in. The main characters fell in love so quickly that I, a huge fan of slow burning romances, just found it a little ridiculous.

Bound by a Dragon is a light and quick read, and I really would have enjoyed a book like this if I read it several years ago. But it just missed the mark for me.
Profile Image for Ashley Daviau.
2,262 reviews1,059 followers
August 13, 2016
While this book wasn't out of this world, I still did enjoy it very much nonetheless. I'm an absolute sucker for anything with dragons and the dragons in this book were great! I especially enjoyed the details we were given regarding the dragons, their habits and how they came to be. The insta-love was a bit much for me at first but they eventually grew on me as a couple and I learned to enjoy them. I thought some aspects of the story could have been fleshed out a bit more but all in all, this was quite pleasant and enjoyable to pick up between calls at work!
Profile Image for Ronda  Tutt.
863 reviews54 followers
March 17, 2015
Dragon-tastic!

What an enjoyable read. I loved Keira and her sister Anna. Her father was cool, but her mother well lets just say I wanted to slap her a few times and make her eat dirt and do tons of chores like a slave - LOL

Aaron Drake (Dragon) was a sexy dream, his past story line of his mother and father is of true love to die for and it was neat to see Aaron find the love his parents had had once before the loss of their lives.

The story is full of village drama with of course a jealous idiot who is a brute and bully that thinks he can get away with everything and make everyone's life miserable because he doesn't get his way. Yes the All-mighty Edmund and his father Reeve Hobbs are selfish pigs and bully-ing seems to run in their family. I seriously wanted to beat the crap out of them both because of the lies and the deceit they pulled over the village people. But the author doesn't disappoint the reader as the Hobbs get what they deserve in the end and the Dragon gets a feast of satisfaction - Woot!

The romance between Keira and Aaron was so sweet. There is no fire or erotic flames in this book, it is a sweet romance where the sexual encounter is described with kissing and then skipped to an after the fact ending. I think that's the only thing I didn't like about the book. I'm one who likes the erotic in my reads but the book works great with out it just as well.

It was really cool to meat Aaron's other dragon family and read about the ritual and life styles of the dragon. I ate all the dragon facts up and couldn't wait to know more about each dragon. Over all though the book was very entertaining and the story read smoothly. I had it read before I realized it and wanted more.

Great Read!
Profile Image for Jennifer Erwin.
1,323 reviews14 followers
January 6, 2015
Got this as a freebie download. It was an ok read. The premise of the story sounded great but there just wasn't enough in this story for me. It's a clean story, there's romance and it is alluded to but you aren't shown, which is fine and makes it suitable for younger readers, but there just seemed to be something missing from the story. I don't think there was enough drama to give you that gripping, gut wrenching, "oh em gee I have to turn the page" feelings. I wasn't as connected with this story as I would have liked.

It is still an ok read, and I would like to know what happens to Anna (the sister to the main female) but I'm not going to rush out and buy the next book immediately.
Profile Image for Blodeuedd Finland.
3,669 reviews310 followers
December 12, 2016
This was soooo cheesy. Yes there was drama, but it was never any danger.

So man meets woman....everyone is all he is dangerous. For sure. He shops so much here, he must be dangerous. And when he does make his intentions clear they are all, marry that stupid guy instead and live in our crappy village. Hello! He is a LORD!

But no one ever says anything about a lord marrying some peasant girl. In this magical kingdom people are happy.

He is also a dragon btw, and she seems to fancy the dragon before the man. Warning bells, lol.

But yes sooo cheesy and fun, and they were so happy and positive. Even when the creepy other guy is stalking her...
Profile Image for Regina.
437 reviews9 followers
July 24, 2014
I'm giving it a two star because its not a bad book , more like just not my cup of coffee. Its a very fluffy book on a girl who meets a shape shifting dragon and they have a romance together. I normally eat that stuff up but this book was just too bland for me. The characters react in ways that seem very unrealistic and theres not much character development to make them into well rounded characters. Long story short, I read up to the middle and skimmed the ending.sorry.
Profile Image for Sarah.
109 reviews11 followers
September 14, 2018
I really wanted to like this book more. I feel it had potential but was a tad too boring for me. It drives me crazy when I want to just hurry up and be done with a book instead of being wrapped up in what's happening. It didn't make me smile like a goofball, laugh out loud or feel much of anything at all.
Profile Image for Lyndi W..
2,042 reviews210 followers
February 20, 2017
A generous 3 stars. This was mighty predictable and I had a hell of a time not DNFing it because everyone but the H/h are kinda awful people. It was a bit too much.
Profile Image for OldBird.
1,835 reviews
February 15, 2018
First things first, this is not my nomal sort of read and I don't think dragon-shifter-romance is going to be my "thing". However I went for it with an open mind (I'm always interested in people's different twists on fantasy tropes).

I think this is to fantasy-romance what cosy mysteries are to thrillers. The goodies are good, the baddies are bad, and those poor dupes caught in the baddie's spell are pretty stubborn when it comes to admitting they're wrong. It's not a sweeping epic with deep characters. It does what it says on the tin.

Namely: girl Keira meets dragon-shifter Aaron whereby they fall instantly in love. People will try to stand in their way. People will naturally fail, because love overcomes all.

The writing is pretty consistant, the only niggles for me being the odd repetitions of both words and phrases. If this basic Beauty and the Beast premise is your cup of tea, I doubt you'll mind. You'll enjoy this light read for what it is.
Profile Image for Heather.
21 reviews10 followers
June 8, 2016
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I found it very simple and easy to read but it lacked details and conflict. I found my self going from one chapter to the next wanting more. The love story between Keira and Aaron was very quick. They fell in love instantly and got married almost as quick. It wasn't until the last three chapters that I actually was truly interested in the story and how things ended.

I truly wanted to like this book. I absolutely love the cover and title, but the story was lacking for me.
Profile Image for Cheri Varner.
145 reviews
July 23, 2014
This was a great book. Quick read. I enjoyed the characters. Biggest complaint? If he called her 'my sweet' one more time... And that's my only one- so that's not too bad. Keira is a pretty strong heroine and I liked her. I also liked Aaron. I was glad that Anna grew also and look forward to hearing more about her. Overall good read and looking forward to the next!
114 reviews1 follower
August 3, 2018
The idea for this book could have been very interesting, but the writing was weak and cheesy. I had a really hard time getting through this book.
Profile Image for Teresa.
611 reviews15 followers
February 1, 2019
I’ll leave it at 1.5 stars

This was really bad. Stilted prose, cringing dialogue, hard to believe insta-love, odious secondary characters and boring, boring, boring story line. There are too many flaws and shortcomings for a 2 star rating.

I kept reading a lot longer than I really wanted to, only because of the reading challenge, but I just could not continue past the 56%, because life is way too short to force oneself to persevere with pure drivel.

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019
# 27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature.


and

Around The Year in Books Reading Challenge 2019 # 11. A book related to the 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig
Profile Image for Jennifer Dale.
782 reviews15 followers
July 30, 2023
DNF.
I gave it two stars bc something kept me turning the page even though I didn’t like.
-The style it was written.. mostly in Kiera’s POV instead of dual. I say mostly Kiera’s bc I felt like the author was telling me the story more than the characters showing me.

- they were n love way to fast … and I mean way to fast

-it was all just so slow that I started to skim.
When I was skimming more than reading. I put the book down and DNF. Stopped about 38%

- honestly it was boring but intriguing bc something kept me turning the page. But at the end of the day . I felt my eyes drooping and new it was time to let the book go and move on.
Profile Image for Lizzie.
897 reviews56 followers
April 10, 2017
Sweet tale, romance without graphic lust

Most of the romance no else I read have really graphic steam scenes. Among the many little details I loved, that was one I appreciated the most. Many times authors write the story around the sex. This allowed the story to progress naturally without having to avoid graphic scenes, or lose itself to the imagination.
Profile Image for MyzanM.
1,337 reviews8 followers
March 30, 2019
I’ll not write a lengthy review on this..
I’ll just use a very handy Swedish word - Lagom.
Lagom means just enough. And that is what this story had. And frankly Lagom can be a bit boring so no soaring reviews for books that is just enough interesting to pique my interest, but not enough for me to wax any poetics about it.
Profile Image for Judi Easley.
1,496 reviews48 followers
May 7, 2020
First thoughts:The fair maid actually gets to marry the dragon and live HEA, or does she? The village is still a problem as is her former suitor. And then there's the black sheep in his family. A great beginning to what I hope will be a great series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 449 reviews

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