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Dragon Eye #3
Phoenix
Out of the ashes of a once-great dragon nation, a flame-colored dragon named Nia emerged. Alone for centuries, Nia is desperate to find more of her own kind. She indentures herself to the mad scientist Eudora in hopes of learning the whereabouts of her fellow dragons. But this information comes at a cost—if she flees, the mutant dragon-hunting yagi, trained on her scent, will hunt her down and destroy her.
When Felix, youngest son of the Melikovs, meets Nia, he’s smitten. Felix promises to help Nia in her quest to find more dragons, regardless of the danger.
But Ram, Felix’s brother, also falls in love with Nia. As they journey toward the mouth of a live volcano, death threatens—ahead, behind, and among them.
The Dragon Eye series books:
One: Dragon
Two: Hydra
Three: Phoenix
Four: Vixen
Five: Dracul
Six: Basilisk
When Felix, youngest son of the Melikovs, meets Nia, he’s smitten. Felix promises to help Nia in her quest to find more dragons, regardless of the danger.
But Ram, Felix’s brother, also falls in love with Nia. As they journey toward the mouth of a live volcano, death threatens—ahead, behind, and among them.
The Dragon Eye series books:
One: Dragon
Two: Hydra
Three: Phoenix
Four: Vixen
Five: Dracul
Six: Basilisk
213 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 10, 2015
50 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Finley Aaron
10 books189 followersFinley Aaron grew up reading books of all sorts and believes the best stories are in the ones in which things happen. And the best sorts of things to happen in books are the very things that so rarely happen in real life, for they christen the doldrums of our days with that spark of life that reminds us things can happen to us, too, if we are trained and ready when the adventures come to meet us.
Finley likes to laugh, and doesn't mind at all if readers laugh while reading these books, for in fact they were written with an impish, barely-suppressed humor that peeks out and winks at odd moments. If you're paying attention you'll spot them before they duck away
Finley likes to laugh, and doesn't mind at all if readers laugh while reading these books, for in fact they were written with an impish, barely-suppressed humor that peeks out and winks at odd moments. If you're paying attention you'll spot them before they duck away
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 16, 2023
Firstly, this book belongs in the 'romance' category. That's all it is.
But onto the review.
I really wanted to like this book, because the first book was SO GOOD. Seriously, I am promoting book one, full-tilt, in this review. Go read it. But I wish the author would have stopped there. Book two (Hydra) wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. This book, Phoenix, is even worse.
There's romance, and then there's blind infatuation disguised as romance. The main character in this novel is Felix, who, from the first page, makes it clear that he's only interested in competing with his brother when it comes to finding a mate:
"My older brother Ram always said that since he's the oldest, he'll get married before I do, and I always shot back, "Not if I find a she-dragon first."
So yeah, that's pretty appalling. This also sets up the entirety of the novel, where Felix is only interested in taking a mate, whether or not she's interested in him. Not once does he think to himself that any female dragon he finds might not be interested, or might not want to be wooed. (He uses the words 'woo her' many times, and this story takes place circa 2013)
On page 2: "It's not just because I want to outdo my brother... I want to catch a bride for the sake of getting married."
Yes, our hero, Felix, isn't interested in love. He wants to bed down a sweet, sweet dragon lady, and... later in that same paragraph, "dragons are nearly extinct. We've got to find mates, and that's why I'm here." Yes, he wishes to find a female dragon, and reading between the lines in this very spooky first chapter, Felix intends to sit in the cold, dark forests of Siberia, find a female dragon, and have sex with her whether she wants it or not.
We are then reminded 47,012 more times that dragons are nearly extinct, and it is absolutely vital that he FINDS A MATE AND HAS EGGS RIGHT NOW. Yes, folks, Phoenix is awfully repetitive. I have a feeling that if the author cleaned up the book and took all the repetitive stuff out, and the reminders that Felix really wants to get it on with a potentially unwilling female dragon, the entire novel would be about 40 pages long.
Further into this first chapter (But only a couple pages further, mind) the dragon Felix is staking out shows up, and he doesn't know if it's male or female, because it's not in human form.
Facepalm combo x2.
Because when a boy bear goes out to find a mate, it waits for the other bear to change into a human before it can tell whether or not it's a girl. Same with giraffes. And cats. And goats. Never mind that all these creatures have many ways of determining if their mates are male or female, like through scent. Dragons just have no ability to figure out the sex of a potential mate. All I could think of, while I rolled my eyes, was "No wonder these majestic creatures are almost extinct!" Precisely one line later, the book reminded me that dragons were almost extinct.
I need to pause here for a minute to remind everyone reading this review that, while it's a running theme through the story that Dragons Are Almost Extinct, the main characters keep tripping over new dragons. Once they realized that there were other dragons in the world, logic would dictate that they wouldn't be in such a hurry to mate with the first new dragon they met.
At this point, the author rehashes everything in prior novels in glorious exposition. He'll also go ahead and bring it up a few chapters later in conversation, in case the readers forgot.
As Felix waxes about whether or not this dragon is a girl, he also thinks that if it turns out to be a male, he can drag it, kicking and screaming, to one of his sisters, so THEY can have their way with it.
After all this, he manages to eke out the thought that this dragon might already be married, but he's okay with that if it is. Because if this dragon is married, it probably has babies somewhere that can grow up to be Felix's mate. So that's cool. (No, I'm not making this up. He actually says this.)
Eventually, Felix notices that this dragon is wearing a bra, so he's PRETTY sure it's a girl. YES, he is getting some action tonight! Felix says, "We should hang out together and maybe make babies, if possible."
Yes, that is another actual line, in this actual novel, which you can actually buy.
But then his brother, RAM JR., MOMENT KILLER, shows up, and apparently has the exact same thoughts as Felix, because he immediately starts displaying how sexy he is at this unknown female dragon.
Then, the female dragon changes back into a human, and proceeds to have absolutely no personality whatsoever. I mean, she has a personality, but it's like a vending machine personality. You can either get Stock Female, or Diet Stock Female. You remember those things from your childhood, where you pulled the string, and the little arrow in the middle went round and round, and eventually stopped on one of the pictures on the outside? I pulled the string, and these are the responses I got.
"I have always been alone."
"I don't want to endanger you."
"I've been hunted for many years."
"I won't endanger you."
"I am a harbinger of death."
Etc.
Then they all take Nia-the-Female back to meet the family, because that's what you do when you're trying to woo a female, and Felix's mom wants to know more about this female dragon. Except she only wants to know one thing--whether or not she's single.
And then Felix says, and I quote, "I want to woo her. Tell me how."
Okay, you can use the word 'woo' once and be serious, but this is woo #3, author. Come on.
This is about when my brain started checking out and I started skimming. There's more about the two boys showing off with swords. In the beginning of chapter 5, Felix starts doing math to figure out how to divide one female dragon between two horny brothers, which ends in the statement, "And Nia for me." There's some stuff about farts and fire-blowing glands (Still not making this up) and then I assume the brothers continued fighting over the lone female dragon for the rest of the excruciatingly long number of pages.
I wouldn't know. I couldn't read anymore after the description of how dragons use methane.
This review is angry and sarcastic because -- and I want to reiterate -- the first book was SO. GOOD. I can't even believe this one is in the same series. After I finished book one, I immediately bought the others, because I was sure I'd love them, too. I'm sure I'll eventually make myself finish this, since I spent the money on it, but the first five chapters of a book is pretty telling regarding how the rest will go.
EDIT: I ended up skimming the rest of the book. It truly was more of the same. While the boyz fought over her, Nia just kind of stood there and let them without asserting any personality. Ram eventually 'claimed' her and everyone just let him do that, despite the fact that a woman is not a toy.
After the story, the author decided to tell another story (which they say is 'more boring' but is initially much more interesting due to the fact that Felix isn't constantly thinking about having sex with Nia) and goes to China. Felix finds two dragons. Which he assumed are mates without asking. He spends the entire second half of this more interesting story thinking about how he could make excuses to mate with the female dragon he found, then he's elated when he finds out that the female dragon is only the male dragon's sister, but SURPRISE! the female dragon is apparently in love with Felix's grandfather. Bummer.
I feel like Felix would be the typical trilby-wearing 'nice guy' if there were enough female dragons around for him to complain about being constantly friendzoned.
But onto the review.
I really wanted to like this book, because the first book was SO GOOD. Seriously, I am promoting book one, full-tilt, in this review. Go read it. But I wish the author would have stopped there. Book two (Hydra) wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. This book, Phoenix, is even worse.
There's romance, and then there's blind infatuation disguised as romance. The main character in this novel is Felix, who, from the first page, makes it clear that he's only interested in competing with his brother when it comes to finding a mate:
"My older brother Ram always said that since he's the oldest, he'll get married before I do, and I always shot back, "Not if I find a she-dragon first."
So yeah, that's pretty appalling. This also sets up the entirety of the novel, where Felix is only interested in taking a mate, whether or not she's interested in him. Not once does he think to himself that any female dragon he finds might not be interested, or might not want to be wooed. (He uses the words 'woo her' many times, and this story takes place circa 2013)
On page 2: "It's not just because I want to outdo my brother... I want to catch a bride for the sake of getting married."
Yes, our hero, Felix, isn't interested in love. He wants to bed down a sweet, sweet dragon lady, and... later in that same paragraph, "dragons are nearly extinct. We've got to find mates, and that's why I'm here." Yes, he wishes to find a female dragon, and reading between the lines in this very spooky first chapter, Felix intends to sit in the cold, dark forests of Siberia, find a female dragon, and have sex with her whether she wants it or not.
We are then reminded 47,012 more times that dragons are nearly extinct, and it is absolutely vital that he FINDS A MATE AND HAS EGGS RIGHT NOW. Yes, folks, Phoenix is awfully repetitive. I have a feeling that if the author cleaned up the book and took all the repetitive stuff out, and the reminders that Felix really wants to get it on with a potentially unwilling female dragon, the entire novel would be about 40 pages long.
Further into this first chapter (But only a couple pages further, mind) the dragon Felix is staking out shows up, and he doesn't know if it's male or female, because it's not in human form.
Facepalm combo x2.
Because when a boy bear goes out to find a mate, it waits for the other bear to change into a human before it can tell whether or not it's a girl. Same with giraffes. And cats. And goats. Never mind that all these creatures have many ways of determining if their mates are male or female, like through scent. Dragons just have no ability to figure out the sex of a potential mate. All I could think of, while I rolled my eyes, was "No wonder these majestic creatures are almost extinct!" Precisely one line later, the book reminded me that dragons were almost extinct.
I need to pause here for a minute to remind everyone reading this review that, while it's a running theme through the story that Dragons Are Almost Extinct, the main characters keep tripping over new dragons. Once they realized that there were other dragons in the world, logic would dictate that they wouldn't be in such a hurry to mate with the first new dragon they met.
At this point, the author rehashes everything in prior novels in glorious exposition. He'll also go ahead and bring it up a few chapters later in conversation, in case the readers forgot.
As Felix waxes about whether or not this dragon is a girl, he also thinks that if it turns out to be a male, he can drag it, kicking and screaming, to one of his sisters, so THEY can have their way with it.
After all this, he manages to eke out the thought that this dragon might already be married, but he's okay with that if it is. Because if this dragon is married, it probably has babies somewhere that can grow up to be Felix's mate. So that's cool. (No, I'm not making this up. He actually says this.)
Eventually, Felix notices that this dragon is wearing a bra, so he's PRETTY sure it's a girl. YES, he is getting some action tonight! Felix says, "We should hang out together and maybe make babies, if possible."
Yes, that is another actual line, in this actual novel, which you can actually buy.
But then his brother, RAM JR., MOMENT KILLER, shows up, and apparently has the exact same thoughts as Felix, because he immediately starts displaying how sexy he is at this unknown female dragon.
Then, the female dragon changes back into a human, and proceeds to have absolutely no personality whatsoever. I mean, she has a personality, but it's like a vending machine personality. You can either get Stock Female, or Diet Stock Female. You remember those things from your childhood, where you pulled the string, and the little arrow in the middle went round and round, and eventually stopped on one of the pictures on the outside? I pulled the string, and these are the responses I got.
"I have always been alone."
"I don't want to endanger you."
"I've been hunted for many years."
"I won't endanger you."
"I am a harbinger of death."
Etc.
Then they all take Nia-the-Female back to meet the family, because that's what you do when you're trying to woo a female, and Felix's mom wants to know more about this female dragon. Except she only wants to know one thing--whether or not she's single.
And then Felix says, and I quote, "I want to woo her. Tell me how."
Okay, you can use the word 'woo' once and be serious, but this is woo #3, author. Come on.
This is about when my brain started checking out and I started skimming. There's more about the two boys showing off with swords. In the beginning of chapter 5, Felix starts doing math to figure out how to divide one female dragon between two horny brothers, which ends in the statement, "And Nia for me." There's some stuff about farts and fire-blowing glands (Still not making this up) and then I assume the brothers continued fighting over the lone female dragon for the rest of the excruciatingly long number of pages.
I wouldn't know. I couldn't read anymore after the description of how dragons use methane.
This review is angry and sarcastic because -- and I want to reiterate -- the first book was SO. GOOD. I can't even believe this one is in the same series. After I finished book one, I immediately bought the others, because I was sure I'd love them, too. I'm sure I'll eventually make myself finish this, since I spent the money on it, but the first five chapters of a book is pretty telling regarding how the rest will go.
EDIT: I ended up skimming the rest of the book. It truly was more of the same. While the boyz fought over her, Nia just kind of stood there and let them without asserting any personality. Ram eventually 'claimed' her and everyone just let him do that, despite the fact that a woman is not a toy.
After the story, the author decided to tell another story (which they say is 'more boring' but is initially much more interesting due to the fact that Felix isn't constantly thinking about having sex with Nia) and goes to China. Felix finds two dragons. Which he assumed are mates without asking. He spends the entire second half of this more interesting story thinking about how he could make excuses to mate with the female dragon he found, then he's elated when he finds out that the female dragon is only the male dragon's sister, but SURPRISE! the female dragon is apparently in love with Felix's grandfather. Bummer.
I feel like Felix would be the typical trilby-wearing 'nice guy' if there were enough female dragons around for him to complain about being constantly friendzoned.
February 11, 2015
Excellent read
If you love dragon stories, you must read this series of books. It promises more to come.
The scenes go from active volcanos to the gorgeous mountains in Europe to Siberia. The characters are so well described that it could be said that they remind you of good neighbors.
If you love dragon stories, you must read this series of books. It promises more to come.
The scenes go from active volcanos to the gorgeous mountains in Europe to Siberia. The characters are so well described that it could be said that they remind you of good neighbors.
March 22, 2015
Great book
Great story, the story flows from book to book. so you're not lost when you pick up the next one. the characters are engaging and interesting. definitely recommending
Great story, the story flows from book to book. so you're not lost when you pick up the next one. the characters are engaging and interesting. definitely recommending
June 16, 2017
Great story and storyline
With the family growing and new friends found. Things are starting to look good for the dragons. Following the last of the original family members will be an interesting read. I enjoy the adventurous mind set of Felix, it is what is needed with people today. The idea of a search for the impossible.
With the family growing and new friends found. Things are starting to look good for the dragons. Following the last of the original family members will be an interesting read. I enjoy the adventurous mind set of Felix, it is what is needed with people today. The idea of a search for the impossible.
February 26, 2018
Another great story and a bit extra
This was book 4 in a wonderful series and it had an additional surprise mini-story snuck into the back, further detailing Felix's adventures and discoveries. Read the book in order, and read on, after it says The End. Because, it's not really the end!
This was book 4 in a wonderful series and it had an additional surprise mini-story snuck into the back, further detailing Felix's adventures and discoveries. Read the book in order, and read on, after it says The End. Because, it's not really the end!
June 12, 2017
Great book
I love this book! It is really good. I feel bad for Felix since he doesn't find a mate, but also proud of wren since she is going to lay an egg!
I love this book! It is really good. I feel bad for Felix since he doesn't find a mate, but also proud of wren since she is going to lay an egg!
January 29, 2025
interesting
What a fun, clean, family friendly story! The world building is great and there was even an extra bit at the end that I found interesting!
What a fun, clean, family friendly story! The world building is great and there was even an extra bit at the end that I found interesting!
July 5, 2016
With Phoenix, the third book of the Dragon Eye Series, Finely Aaron makes a noticeable effort to change things up from the previous two books. The story begins before the explosive conclusion of Hydra, with Felix, the youngest of Ilsa's five children, being the first male protagonist to be the center of the story. This tale does feel a haphazard and frantic by it's very nature. It is largely a pursuit story with Felix, his brother Ram, and Nia (the new yellow dragon from the end of Hydra) trying to outrun and survive the hordes of relentless Yagi that are trained on Nia's scent.
With the introduction as Felix as the main character Finely quickly goes to work separating him from Ilsa and Wren by showing our hero's mindset and persona. While this does make certain facts obvious to the reader, as to the likely outcomes of the certain group dynamics, I does add an interesting twist from the perspectives we have had so far. What remains true in the story as with the previous two is that survival of the family, and its growth, is of the utmost importance.
It is a testament to the authors abilities that despite him showing his hand earlier on to those that are avid or observant readers the story was no less a page turner as we follow Felix on his journey. I do feel that this story was made to balance out the series, and in some regards to give us a different flavor to enjoy as opposed the same meals as before.
As with the previous books it a fast and fun read, but it was the hardest to review without major spoilers.
Note* There is a “bonus” story ( not a preview) in the Kindle version of Phoenix that is a must read following the conclusion of Phoenix. The bonus story was a surprising addition but a great way to fill in the year that passes by between Phoenix and Vixen.
With the introduction as Felix as the main character Finely quickly goes to work separating him from Ilsa and Wren by showing our hero's mindset and persona. While this does make certain facts obvious to the reader, as to the likely outcomes of the certain group dynamics, I does add an interesting twist from the perspectives we have had so far. What remains true in the story as with the previous two is that survival of the family, and its growth, is of the utmost importance.
It is a testament to the authors abilities that despite him showing his hand earlier on to those that are avid or observant readers the story was no less a page turner as we follow Felix on his journey. I do feel that this story was made to balance out the series, and in some regards to give us a different flavor to enjoy as opposed the same meals as before.
As with the previous books it a fast and fun read, but it was the hardest to review without major spoilers.
Note* There is a “bonus” story ( not a preview) in the Kindle version of Phoenix that is a must read following the conclusion of Phoenix. The bonus story was a surprising addition but a great way to fill in the year that passes by between Phoenix and Vixen.
June 8, 2015
My Favorite So Far!
By far my favorite book in the series. It's such a fun read, I can't put it down. It's clear in this book that he writes better as a male than a female character because the previous books took on the personas on boyish females, but as dragons it works. There is no deep romance, but there is love and family. Add these things with adventure and mystery and you have a solid series. This is a modern day series. They're dragons that hide from our world. There are no knights and craziness. In the end, it's about innocence, love, adventure from a good writer with a good idea, a good sense of what the story is doing and where it is going and lastly, and very important to me, good grammar and spelling, (that sells me 100%). Don't look for what's missing. Enjoy what is here and you will easily relax into another world.
By far my favorite book in the series. It's such a fun read, I can't put it down. It's clear in this book that he writes better as a male than a female character because the previous books took on the personas on boyish females, but as dragons it works. There is no deep romance, but there is love and family. Add these things with adventure and mystery and you have a solid series. This is a modern day series. They're dragons that hide from our world. There are no knights and craziness. In the end, it's about innocence, love, adventure from a good writer with a good idea, a good sense of what the story is doing and where it is going and lastly, and very important to me, good grammar and spelling, (that sells me 100%). Don't look for what's missing. Enjoy what is here and you will easily relax into another world.
August 11, 2015
Well written but disappointing
This series continues with the importance of family and continuing to add more dragons to the world. This story was, from my understanding, about Felix and his journey to find a mate. As a result, I was disappointed, (when you read the book you will understand). In addition, there was an excerpt at the end of the book that continued on with Felix's story. First of all, I thought that the most important part of the book was missing from the original story would occur, but again it didn't. (Sorry to be so vague, I just do not want to spoil the book.) Secondly, if I did not continue flipping through the pages at the end, I would have missed the excerpt. I really do not know why the author just did not include it as a separate chapter instead.
This series continues with the importance of family and continuing to add more dragons to the world. This story was, from my understanding, about Felix and his journey to find a mate. As a result, I was disappointed, (when you read the book you will understand). In addition, there was an excerpt at the end of the book that continued on with Felix's story. First of all, I thought that the most important part of the book was missing from the original story would occur, but again it didn't. (Sorry to be so vague, I just do not want to spoil the book.) Secondly, if I did not continue flipping through the pages at the end, I would have missed the excerpt. I really do not know why the author just did not include it as a separate chapter instead.
September 13, 2016
I read this series with a free trial of Kindle Unlimited. This is a pretty good series, in my opinion this is a YA read (I'm 54, & was not put off by them being Y/A), so would be good for young adults too. The first book was a little under-explained in places, which left you trying to figure out what was going on. But the rest of the books had more information, so you could understand better what was happening. Was definitely good reading, with a different take on were/shifter dragons than I've read before. I couldn't put these down, wanting to see what happens next. Each book has a conclusion to the main characters of each book in the series. I would definitely reccomend these to others who like dragons.
March 16, 2015
Another good book in the series. Dragons trying to find other dragons
and someone to love and their escapades in doing so. Can't wait for the
28th foe the fourth book. Hopefully 5 and 6 will be out soon, too.
and someone to love and their escapades in doing so. Can't wait for the
28th foe the fourth book. Hopefully 5 and 6 will be out soon, too.
March 5, 2015
Awesome
Best book ever, I loved is so much, I want the rest of the series on the kindle. PUT IT ON THE KINDLE!!!!!!
Best book ever, I loved is so much, I want the rest of the series on the kindle. PUT IT ON THE KINDLE!!!!!!
April 23, 2015
I'm so not a fan of triangles, but a decent read.
July 14, 2015
Very good story and series. Looking forward to more.
December 1, 2016
Continuation of a series about a family of dragons. Well plotted. Each book contains the romance of a diferent family member.
April 24, 2015
Really wish the books would follow up on the same set of characters, not change with each new book.
February 11, 2016
like his writting
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews