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The Bride Hunt #2
Water Dragon
Dragon Shifter Novel
Torrent took part in the much anticipated hunt. Luckily, he managed to secure himself a female. Although the human was not his first choice, she’ll do.
A fertile female is a fertile female after all. An heir is what he needs and an heir is what she’ll give him. In return, she’ll get to be queen of the water kingdom.
What more could a female wish for?
Candy is hunted like an animal and won by an arrogant shifter who doesn’t even want her. She doesn’t care that he’s a king. So what if he’s really good looking and that underneath all that bristling, alpha male is a sweet guy. Although sweet is probably not the right description for the savage, water king.
The only thing he’s interested in, is mating her, so that she can pop out lots of dragon shifter babies. Well, no thanks! She’s not interested. As soon as she’s able to get that through his thick skull, she’s out of there. Torrent promised her she could leave if things didn’t work out between them and she plans on holding him to his word.
This book can be read as a standalone but would be best enjoyed as a part of the series (Start with Chosen by the Vampire Kings). No cliffhanger!
The story contains strong sexual themes/language and is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
Torrent took part in the much anticipated hunt. Luckily, he managed to secure himself a female. Although the human was not his first choice, she’ll do.
A fertile female is a fertile female after all. An heir is what he needs and an heir is what she’ll give him. In return, she’ll get to be queen of the water kingdom.
What more could a female wish for?
Candy is hunted like an animal and won by an arrogant shifter who doesn’t even want her. She doesn’t care that he’s a king. So what if he’s really good looking and that underneath all that bristling, alpha male is a sweet guy. Although sweet is probably not the right description for the savage, water king.
The only thing he’s interested in, is mating her, so that she can pop out lots of dragon shifter babies. Well, no thanks! She’s not interested. As soon as she’s able to get that through his thick skull, she’s out of there. Torrent promised her she could leave if things didn’t work out between them and she plans on holding him to his word.
This book can be read as a standalone but would be best enjoyed as a part of the series (Start with Chosen by the Vampire Kings). No cliffhanger!
The story contains strong sexual themes/language and is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2016
1708 people are currently reading
641 people want to read
About the author
Charlene Hartnady
113 books1,705 followersCharlene lives on an acre in the country with her husband, three children and an array of pets including a snake.
In her spare time you can usually find her typing away franticly on the computer completely lost in worlds of her making. She is an avid believer that it is the small things that truly matter like the feeling you get when you start reading a new book or a particularly beautiful sunset.
Charlene likes to write bite stories her readers can sink their teeth into. Sign up for her latest release newsletter for more information http://mad.ly/signups/96708/join
In her spare time you can usually find her typing away franticly on the computer completely lost in worlds of her making. She is an avid believer that it is the small things that truly matter like the feeling you get when you start reading a new book or a particularly beautiful sunset.
Charlene likes to write bite stories her readers can sink their teeth into. Sign up for her latest release newsletter for more information http://mad.ly/signups/96708/join
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
August 26, 2022
I don’t know why I love dragons so much. I blame Game of Thrones!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️
Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 😤😠😳😚
The heroine: Candy - she worked as a high class escort who had a bunch of rules for what she would and wouldn’t do. When her boss tried to force her to ‘date’ a new client who requested her specifically, she was abducted by a dragon and taken to participate in a hunt. The male dragons wanted mates and she was one of the humans chosen to participate.
The Hero: Torrent - King of the water dragons, he was looking for a strong mate. He wanted the dark haired one who was curvy and got furthest in the hunt, Julie from Royal Dragon. However, when he got too cocky about his chances of winning her, Coal, the fire dragon blindsided him and Torrent was forced to choose the blonde human instead. He thought she was too thin and small but felt protective of her.
The Story: Candy and the other human women were misled about the hunt by some jealous female dragons that took care of them before the hunt began. They feared what would happen and that the male dragon shifters would be dangerous to them. So what was supposed to be just a fun tradition took on the appearance of the women having to run for their lives from men who wanted to rape and hurt them.
I’ll admit I was curious about this one since after reading the first book, I knew that Torrent first wanted Julie and that at some point he lets Candy go and tries to take Julie away from Coal, but only does it because he is pining for Candy. Though I was surprised at how well these two got along early on in the book, so I was waiting for that to happen.
I was also surprised and didn’t really like how much of a prude Candy turned out to be, especially considering she was a prostitute and freely admitted she had been with many men. So when she balked at sleeping in the same bed as Torrent even after he promised not to touch her, I thought that was a bit too much. Then she gets mad that he does immediately accept the fact that she used to be a prostitute. That is just being stupid, of course a man will take a while when he learns something like that.
This book was told in dual points of view via dual narration. The narrators were Stella Bloom and Sebastian York who often narrate the same books together. They both have great voices for narration and I like both of them. I just love Sebastian’s deep gravelly voice and Stella shows her emotions well through her voice.
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The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️
Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 😤😠😳😚
The heroine: Candy - she worked as a high class escort who had a bunch of rules for what she would and wouldn’t do. When her boss tried to force her to ‘date’ a new client who requested her specifically, she was abducted by a dragon and taken to participate in a hunt. The male dragons wanted mates and she was one of the humans chosen to participate.
The Hero: Torrent - King of the water dragons, he was looking for a strong mate. He wanted the dark haired one who was curvy and got furthest in the hunt, Julie from Royal Dragon. However, when he got too cocky about his chances of winning her, Coal, the fire dragon blindsided him and Torrent was forced to choose the blonde human instead. He thought she was too thin and small but felt protective of her.
The Story: Candy and the other human women were misled about the hunt by some jealous female dragons that took care of them before the hunt began. They feared what would happen and that the male dragon shifters would be dangerous to them. So what was supposed to be just a fun tradition took on the appearance of the women having to run for their lives from men who wanted to rape and hurt them.
I’ll admit I was curious about this one since after reading the first book, I knew that Torrent first wanted Julie and that at some point he lets Candy go and tries to take Julie away from Coal, but only does it because he is pining for Candy. Though I was surprised at how well these two got along early on in the book, so I was waiting for that to happen.
I was also surprised and didn’t really like how much of a prude Candy turned out to be, especially considering she was a prostitute and freely admitted she had been with many men. So when she balked at sleeping in the same bed as Torrent even after he promised not to touch her, I thought that was a bit too much. Then she gets mad that he does immediately accept the fact that she used to be a prostitute. That is just being stupid, of course a man will take a while when he learns something like that.
This book was told in dual points of view via dual narration. The narrators were Stella Bloom and Sebastian York who often narrate the same books together. They both have great voices for narration and I like both of them. I just love Sebastian’s deep gravelly voice and Stella shows her emotions well through her voice.
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November 24, 2017
BUYER BEWARE!! This might be one of the WORSE stories I have read all year.
The Water King Torrent captures Candy the Dragons Bride Hunt. Candy's profession is a Upscale Prostitute. Candy refuses to commit to mate with him and become his Queen. Mating involves having sex. Which they don't do until nearly 75% into the story. She won't commit to this Loyal, Handsome, Respectful, Rick, King who dotes on her. But prefers to go back to a life of prostitution/call girl. Which she does and is almost raped and killed. The end of the book Candy is pregnant Yes Pregnant and both her and the King thinks its a Royal Heir. But NO the baby girl is a Human which means she is a full term 9month baby born of two Human Parents. So her father is one of Candy's paying sexual Clients. But she has picked up some of Torrents the Water Kings DNA, so its alright that the baby isn't really his. The books ends with Candy screaming giving birth to her Afterbirth sack. What a mess of a story!!!! I don't like stories where the Heroine has passed off her child as the Hero's. It no way you will convince me that Candy was so ignorant she didn't know for 9 months that she was pregnant. This was on badly written story!!
The Water King Torrent captures Candy the Dragons Bride Hunt. Candy's profession is a Upscale Prostitute. Candy refuses to commit to mate with him and become his Queen. Mating involves having sex. Which they don't do until nearly 75% into the story. She won't commit to this Loyal, Handsome, Respectful, Rick, King who dotes on her. But prefers to go back to a life of prostitution/call girl. Which she does and is almost raped and killed. The end of the book Candy is pregnant Yes Pregnant and both her and the King thinks its a Royal Heir. But NO the baby girl is a Human which means she is a full term 9month baby born of two Human Parents. So her father is one of Candy's paying sexual Clients. But she has picked up some of Torrents the Water Kings DNA, so its alright that the baby isn't really his. The books ends with Candy screaming giving birth to her Afterbirth sack. What a mess of a story!!!! I don't like stories where the Heroine has passed off her child as the Hero's. It no way you will convince me that Candy was so ignorant she didn't know for 9 months that she was pregnant. This was on badly written story!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2019
This book is absolute garbage. The "heroine" has been a paid whore most of her adult life, sleeping scores of men for money but refuses to sleep the hero for most of the book, as if her soiled self has anything to offer of value. Her "rules" with Torrent were asinine considering she gave it up legions of men for money, for years. I detested this stupid skank and can't believe the author would write such an unlikeable female and try to pass this off as a heroine. No heroine of quality would show more respect for her abusive pimp and paying customers yet treat a kind, considerate, and caring man as the hero like dirt.
Candy is the epitome of the type of heroine that I despise. It's such a shame that due to a grave shortage of females, an honorable and ancient race of dragon males have to settle for bottom of the barrel, garbage heap of human females.
Then to add insult to injury, after refusing to sleep with the hero for 80% of the story, it turns out ole Candy is already pregnant by her rich, deceased, octogenarian client. The author must have thought she was coming up with some clever plot bomb but it exploded in her face. This was nothing but a cheap and nasty plot turn to further piss all over the hero. Not only was he forced to mate a whore, her kid was not his but one of her paying customers.
I suspect the plethora of five-star reviews are courtesy of free ARCS and the author's family/friends. This author will go on my never-again-to-buy list.
Candy is the epitome of the type of heroine that I despise. It's such a shame that due to a grave shortage of females, an honorable and ancient race of dragon males have to settle for bottom of the barrel, garbage heap of human females.
Then to add insult to injury, after refusing to sleep with the hero for 80% of the story, it turns out ole Candy is already pregnant by her rich, deceased, octogenarian client. The author must have thought she was coming up with some clever plot bomb but it exploded in her face. This was nothing but a cheap and nasty plot turn to further piss all over the hero. Not only was he forced to mate a whore, her kid was not his but one of her paying customers.
I suspect the plethora of five-star reviews are courtesy of free ARCS and the author's family/friends. This author will go on my never-again-to-buy list.
January 2, 2018
Well, like the first one, this one was awesome as well! Though this time with the Water Dragon King! Who seriously had some fucking issues.... Well, they both did, but at least Candy accepted herself as she was considering her type of job she was in due to reasons. And lets not forget about her nice fake lovely -
Like seriously, the way the men were going on about these biddies, you'd think they were made of gold.
Torrent on the other hand. There were a few moments and one at the end that had me like - DUDE!? WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DOOOOOOO!?!??!?!
DON'T READ SPOILER UNLESS YOU WANT TO KNOW SOONER ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END. DON'T DO IT. I JUST PUT IT HERE BECAUSE IT BUGS THE FUCK OUT OF ME AND I NEEDED TO BITCH ABOUT IT.
I wanted to kill that mother..(&*^&%$^%&*(. *ahem*
But you know I don't get to into these things because, REASONS. And the fact that these books are so fucking short, I would spoil the damn things.
September 10, 2016
2.5 Stars
(Spoilers ahead)
I am generally a huge fan of Charlene's and her writing is still superb in this story. That being said the book as a whole just wasn't good. Candy the h was completely off her rocker, she is a high paid escort and wants to get out of the game. I understand that 100%. On that same token she is stolen and placed into the bride hunt. I get that was scary. But once she is taken by Torrent he is nothing but nice to her. He treats her well. Is patient beyond my belief. All the while, Candy, who slept with men for money, won't sleep with Torrent because she doesn't want to be mated quite yet. Although she's constantly turned on by him, attracted to him, and genuinely likes him. So it's not like the attraction and companionship isn't there.
At one point he moves her into his bedroom and willingly sleeps on the couch without protest. While the selfish woman snuggles in his over-sized king bed. I tried to put myself into her shoes. To try and comprehend her logic and I found NONE. She was... self serving and selfish.
However, she'll have oral sex with Torrent, just not actual sex. Even though she screwed men that were old enough to be her grandfather on multiple occasions for money.
Let's just say this story was not redeeming in any way.
Candy never stops being ridiculous.
In Charlene's books there are a few of the females I haven't cared for. Becky being the main one until Candy.
Torrent was the savior of this story. He's the only reason I kept reading on. He was fantastic. Sexy. Sweet. Caring. And even offered Candy jewels as payment to sleep with her because he was craving her so much. He couldn't hardly stop himself. Then he has to go and apologize later. Grovel a million times. All the while she's not at fault at all. She's just princess selfish and can do no wrong. What a joke.
To say I wasn't pleased with this story is putting in mildly. I didn't love the first book of this series. But it was far better than this one.
Then... don't even get me started on the rest of the book...
Let's just say one of her clients dies and leaves her a bunch of money... That she doesn't seem to have an issue with.
And
She is pregnant already by this dead old man, who now has Torrent's traits because they've been sleeping together for so long while she was pregnant.
They had a girl. Who now has slitted eyes and possible scales.
I actually kinda liked that part. Not that she was pregnant with another mans child. But at least they had a girl and she is part Torrent. Does it sound over the top? Yes. Very. Although, it's nice that there will be another female with the dragons. I just pray that this female is not as selfish as her mother and grows up to be caring.
Overall this book has no real romance.
The sex was meh. I didn't like Candy enough to enjoy it.
Torrent is too good for his queen by a lot. And that has nothing to do with her previously being an escort. That part doesn't bother me at all. It's her character and selfishness that does. She's appalling as a character with zero redeeming qualities. It's hard to love a book like that.
Sorry.
This was not a win for me.
I pray the 3rd book is much better.
(Spoilers ahead)
I am generally a huge fan of Charlene's and her writing is still superb in this story. That being said the book as a whole just wasn't good. Candy the h was completely off her rocker, she is a high paid escort and wants to get out of the game. I understand that 100%. On that same token she is stolen and placed into the bride hunt. I get that was scary. But once she is taken by Torrent he is nothing but nice to her. He treats her well. Is patient beyond my belief. All the while, Candy, who slept with men for money, won't sleep with Torrent because she doesn't want to be mated quite yet. Although she's constantly turned on by him, attracted to him, and genuinely likes him. So it's not like the attraction and companionship isn't there.
At one point he moves her into his bedroom and willingly sleeps on the couch without protest. While the selfish woman snuggles in his over-sized king bed. I tried to put myself into her shoes. To try and comprehend her logic and I found NONE. She was... self serving and selfish.
However, she'll have oral sex with Torrent, just not actual sex. Even though she screwed men that were old enough to be her grandfather on multiple occasions for money.
Let's just say this story was not redeeming in any way.
Candy never stops being ridiculous.
In Charlene's books there are a few of the females I haven't cared for. Becky being the main one until Candy.
Torrent was the savior of this story. He's the only reason I kept reading on. He was fantastic. Sexy. Sweet. Caring. And even offered Candy jewels as payment to sleep with her because he was craving her so much. He couldn't hardly stop himself. Then he has to go and apologize later. Grovel a million times. All the while she's not at fault at all. She's just princess selfish and can do no wrong. What a joke.
To say I wasn't pleased with this story is putting in mildly. I didn't love the first book of this series. But it was far better than this one.
Then... don't even get me started on the rest of the book...
Let's just say one of her clients dies and leaves her a bunch of money... That she doesn't seem to have an issue with.
And
She is pregnant already by this dead old man, who now has Torrent's traits because they've been sleeping together for so long while she was pregnant.
They had a girl. Who now has slitted eyes and possible scales.
I actually kinda liked that part. Not that she was pregnant with another mans child. But at least they had a girl and she is part Torrent. Does it sound over the top? Yes. Very. Although, it's nice that there will be another female with the dragons. I just pray that this female is not as selfish as her mother and grows up to be caring.
Overall this book has no real romance.
The sex was meh. I didn't like Candy enough to enjoy it.
Torrent is too good for his queen by a lot. And that has nothing to do with her previously being an escort. That part doesn't bother me at all. It's her character and selfishness that does. She's appalling as a character with zero redeeming qualities. It's hard to love a book like that.
Sorry.
This was not a win for me.
I pray the 3rd book is much better.
August 23, 2023
3.5 “Forget it, dude ”- stars.
If it weren’t for the last 50 pages I would have gone with 4 stars. It held a steady and thrilling “pulse/pace” doing the entire book, but it dragged on a bit in the end.
The book was really really good though. Candy was legit the most awesome, “You are an asshole and I won’t have it, “ -woman ever and I LOVED how she didn’t just let him (Torrent) push her over. How she needed him to prove and accept that “there is no way I will be your mate and pop out your babies before I figure out if I like you or not” . I LOVED that. Strong women are the best!
Torrent was a solid character. The King over the water dragons. Didn’t really get the biggest “King” vibes, but I found him very interesting to follow, and when he found out he truly cared about my girl, Candy! So sweet!
The writing style is so pleasant. It’s funny. It’s light. The plots are always interesting and the pace in this book was so good! I was just completely entertained!
Read: 05/12/2018
Cover: 3.5 stars
Genre: Paranormal/shifter/dragons
1st rating: 3,5 stars
Will I recommend: Yes
If it weren’t for the last 50 pages I would have gone with 4 stars. It held a steady and thrilling “pulse/pace” doing the entire book, but it dragged on a bit in the end.
The book was really really good though. Candy was legit the most awesome, “You are an asshole and I won’t have it, “ -woman ever and I LOVED how she didn’t just let him (Torrent) push her over. How she needed him to prove and accept that “there is no way I will be your mate and pop out your babies before I figure out if I like you or not” . I LOVED that. Strong women are the best!
Torrent was a solid character. The King over the water dragons. Didn’t really get the biggest “King” vibes, but I found him very interesting to follow, and when he found out he truly cared about my girl, Candy! So sweet!
The writing style is so pleasant. It’s funny. It’s light. The plots are always interesting and the pace in this book was so good! I was just completely entertained!
Read: 05/12/2018
Cover: 3.5 stars
Genre: Paranormal/shifter/dragons
1st rating: 3,5 stars
Will I recommend: Yes
December 19, 2017
This book did not work for me on so many levels:
- a high paid prostitute who didn’t want to be with a man that she was attracted to. She was perfectly capable of having sex for money not for pleasure. But oral was fine.
- the couple doesn’t come together until the last few chapters. The book is a push/pull story.
- the child who was not the king’s child is born to a mother who had no clue she is pregnant. And the bloody pregnancy was created by an old man who was so potent that he broke the glove.
- the immaturity of the heroine is what killed the story
- lack of a plot
- lack of character development
I guess I need to stop here because this story doesn’t work for me on any lèvel
Ps: I skipped chapters to reach the end...this annoying the story and heroine were
The best thing: the hero.
- a high paid prostitute who didn’t want to be with a man that she was attracted to. She was perfectly capable of having sex for money not for pleasure. But oral was fine.
- the couple doesn’t come together until the last few chapters. The book is a push/pull story.
- the child who was not the king’s child is born to a mother who had no clue she is pregnant. And the bloody pregnancy was created by an old man who was so potent that he broke the glove.
- the immaturity of the heroine is what killed the story
- lack of a plot
- lack of character development
I guess I need to stop here because this story doesn’t work for me on any lèvel
Ps: I skipped chapters to reach the end...this annoying the story and heroine were
The best thing: the hero.
September 13, 2016
I gave it a 2.6 stars. It was ok, but the flow of the story didn't always work for me & the ending was left with too many unanswered questions in my opinion.
June 13, 2024
Awful!! 🙈😂
The fmc Candy (hideous name btw) is a high end prostitute who refuses to sleep with the mmc Torrent (a dragon KING) who is head over heels in love with her! She also has feelings for him, but because she developed a guilty conscious all of the sudden, she didn’t want to be physical with him! Ok, I understand that she wanted to turn her life around, but when you encounter the love of your life, you don’t tell him to only be friends, you don’t forbid him from touching you almost entirely because…you need time! Girl, be for real!!!😒
You let hundreds of men be intimate with you for money, but you won’t let anything happen with the man you supposedly have feelings for?! Such bullshit!
AAAAAAAND…to make matters worse….I’ve read some reviews (because I didn’t have the patience to finish it) where I found out that towards the end of the book, she finds out that she is actually pregnant with one of her clients, an OLD MAN!!!!!! Who is already DEAD!!Bruuuh!!!💀😂
Don’t get me wrong, the mmc was an idiot as well….but I won’t even waste my time writing about him!
Trust me, just…don’t read it! 😂
The fmc Candy (hideous name btw) is a high end prostitute who refuses to sleep with the mmc Torrent (a dragon KING) who is head over heels in love with her! She also has feelings for him, but because she developed a guilty conscious all of the sudden, she didn’t want to be physical with him! Ok, I understand that she wanted to turn her life around, but when you encounter the love of your life, you don’t tell him to only be friends, you don’t forbid him from touching you almost entirely because…you need time! Girl, be for real!!!😒
You let hundreds of men be intimate with you for money, but you won’t let anything happen with the man you supposedly have feelings for?! Such bullshit!
AAAAAAAND…to make matters worse….I’ve read some reviews (because I didn’t have the patience to finish it) where I found out that towards the end of the book, she finds out that she is actually pregnant with one of her clients, an OLD MAN!!!!!! Who is already DEAD!!Bruuuh!!!💀😂
Don’t get me wrong, the mmc was an idiot as well….but I won’t even waste my time writing about him!
Trust me, just…don’t read it! 😂
April 20, 2017
Book was okay until at the end turns out the heroine is pregnant from a seventy year old man. Even though she was ovulating when she was pregnant. This was yet another case of an author trying to be artsy and creative. It didn't work. It annoyed me when authors shock their reader and think it's creative. I didn't buy your book to be pissed at the end. When you write romance novels you don't get to have crappy endings like that! I didn't buy your book to be left in a pissy mood and that is exactly what happened hate to say it but if that's the best she can do I will have to put her in the banned author list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2016
The ending was left to be desired...
It was great until the ending and then I kind of rolled my eyes because she was pregnant by an old 70 year old man who died. What's worse is that she had a human daughter that somehow got dragon genetics. It was a lot and the HEA was most definitely lacking. The time frame didn't make sense. She ovulated before the dragons abducted her but months before she got pregnant. How can one ovulate while pregnant? No sense.
It was great until the ending and then I kind of rolled my eyes because she was pregnant by an old 70 year old man who died. What's worse is that she had a human daughter that somehow got dragon genetics. It was a lot and the HEA was most definitely lacking. The time frame didn't make sense. She ovulated before the dragons abducted her but months before she got pregnant. How can one ovulate while pregnant? No sense.
February 20, 2017
Ok~who does not love the call girl trying to turn her life around and the stubborn??? It is a story told many many many times. And sadly this time is just not that great!!
Just blah and bad blah at that.
Just blah and bad blah at that.
August 5, 2017
Ok, here's the thing....
Didn't love this one as much as the first. I'm over the same formula where the guy has to change totally and accept all the faults and excuses of the human to be loved by them. In this one you have Candy the prostitute with a heart of gold, who unknown to her is pregnant by her 70 year client, who dies and leaves her everything. She makes Torrent jump through hoops, but won't have sex with him. After telling him what she does for a living he offers her jewelry in exchange for sex, she's offended and leaves him. Of course he finds her, saves her from her pimp and a bad john and takes her home to try to win her again, all while she doesn't recognize that she's pregnant. Later she assumes the baby's his after finally having sex, to only realize at birth that its not. But it's OK because he begs again to be allowed to be the father. At some point the h should be made to feel guilt, even if its internal, and she shouldn't be forgiven just because.
Didn't love this one as much as the first. I'm over the same formula where the guy has to change totally and accept all the faults and excuses of the human to be loved by them. In this one you have Candy the prostitute with a heart of gold, who unknown to her is pregnant by her 70 year client, who dies and leaves her everything. She makes Torrent jump through hoops, but won't have sex with him. After telling him what she does for a living he offers her jewelry in exchange for sex, she's offended and leaves him. Of course he finds her, saves her from her pimp and a bad john and takes her home to try to win her again, all while she doesn't recognize that she's pregnant. Later she assumes the baby's his after finally having sex, to only realize at birth that its not. But it's OK because he begs again to be allowed to be the father. At some point the h should be made to feel guilt, even if its internal, and she shouldn't be forgiven just because.
September 12, 2016
I am disappointed in the heroine-- a prostitute. No thank you.
November 19, 2016
Stiff dialogue; awkward, ridiculous narration; every character was flat, and their voices basically all sounded the same. I just couldn't do it. DNF at 17%.
May 14, 2017
I hated Candy, sorry,
March 26, 2017
CAPTIVATING, SEXY AND FABULOUSLY ENTERTAINING !!!
Title: Water Dragon
Series: The Bride Hunt
Designation: Book Two of Series, Full-Length Standalone Novel, NO Cliffhanger
Author: Charlene Hartnady
Genre: #ParanormalRomance #DragonShifter
Reading Platform: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: FIVE SINFULLY DELICIOUSLY STARS
And the hits just keep on coming! Charlene Hartnady has knocked it out of the park again with Water Dragon, the second riveting release in her sexy new The Bride Hunt Series, and I have another new favorite! lol... Yeah, yeah, I know I say the same thing every time but this series just keeps getting better and better! I loved, loved, loved this book! It's no secret I've been a diehard Charlene Hartnady fan for years and devour everything she writes. And just why do I love her writing so much, you ask? Well, I'm so glad you asked. First, it's quite evident that Hartnady invests a lot of time and effort into every book she writes, but it's even more obvious that she pours her very heart and soul into each and every story. Hartnady's books are always original, unique, and imaginative as well as exceptionally well crafted, written and edited, and Royal Dragon is no exception. Second, some people are simply born with an instinctive, ingrained talent as a storyteller and Hartnady has been abundantly blessed. She's also a skilled wordsmith with an incredible imagination who excels at creating imaginative and vividly depicted worlds with intriguing and highly engaging characters. You know, the kind that immediately draw you into the story, grab your undivided attention, engage your emotions, and completely capture your heart. And third and most importantly, she's not afraid to tackle controversial or taboo subject matter and certainly never shies away from putting a little gritty reality into her fictional paranormal romance. I not only admire that aspect of her writing, I also appreciate and like it a whole heck of a lot.
But I digress, let's talk some specifics about this book. Water Dragon is an exciting, intense, seductive, fast-paced, exceptionally well crafted and edited full-length standalone paranormal romance, beautifully written in the third person with alternating his and her perspectives. I became instantly smitten with the two protagonists of this story, handsome, hunky, stubborn, arrogant and very opinionated royal water dragon King Torrent, and beautiful, feisty, strong-willed and very human former professional escort Candy. I felt Torrent and Candy were a perfect pairing and played off each other brilliantly. They were both intriguing characters and their sexual chemistry was smoking hot! Torrent may have been a little cocky and entitled, okay a lot...lol... but he was also kind, loyal and dedicated to his family as well as his people. My heart broke for Candy's character. Her childhood was far from ideal, having been abandoned by her father as a small child and basically ignored by a mother who sought solace in alcohol and multiple affairs with men of questionable morals. Although abandoned and unloved, Candy refused to become a victim and was determined to somehow make a better life for herself. I truly admired Candy's strength and convictions. The dialogue is smart, seductive, well executed and at times, laugh out loud funny. You just gotta love the raw sexy comments that always seem to spew out of a shifters mouth. *Rawwrr* Love it! Water Dragon is one of Hartnady's longest novels to date coming in at a whopping 370 jam-packed pages which brings me to another reason this book is my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy all of Hartnady's characters but the hero and heroine of this story were extremely well-developed and fleshed out, even more so than usual, and I really love that aspect of this book. This story is completely different than anything Hartnady has written in the past. It's not your typical paranormal tale where beautiful girl meets handsome guy and instantly falls head over heels in love, immediately gives into his charm and suddenly finds herself in his bed with the two of them making mad passionate love. In this story, Torrent has to really work for Candy's love and affection, and it was fabulous! Hartnady skillfully combines every single one of these elements to craft a deliciously cute paranormal saga filled to the brim with heart-stopping danger, heart-pounding drama, spine-tingling suspense, heart-wrenching angst, hilarious humor, heated attraction, fiery passion, heartwarming romance and of course, dreamy sex! After all, this is a Charlene Hartnady story and we all know she writes some of the steamiest sex scenes - ever!
Premise: The Bride Hunt Series is basically a spin-off from Hartnady's earlier series, The Program which featured a captivating cast of vampires seeking human mates. It seems the vampires aren't the only species encountering reproductive problems. All the non-humans are experiencing the same dilemma - no females to procreate their species and the very few dragon births have been all male and apparently it's the same with the other non-human species as well. For no known reason, female children have just stopped being born. Unfortunately, the dragons have been the worst affected. Several months ago, the vampires instigated their 'breeding program' whereby they advertised in the paper and recruited human females to participate in a dating program for their elite vampire males. Of course, the wolf shifters have been secretly taking human females for years. The elves, who seem to be the least affected, prefer to isolate themselves completely, which is pretty much what the dragon shifters have also preferred - until now. In the entire four dragon tribes, Fire, Earth, Air and Water, there are only two unmated fertile dragon females remaining and hundreds of male dragons. Scratch that....there were two but since Ruby, the fire dragon princess, recently mated a vampire (oops), the deal for Blaze, King of the fire dragons, to secure the available fertile female dragons is null and void. Oh no! Ruby was promised to Thunder, King of the Air Tribe, and when their mating didn't happen, Thunder gave his two sisters to the earth and water princes. Uh-oh! Now there are no fertile royal and very, very few unmated female dragons left, and four tribes of unmated males. If their species is to survive, they need a plan...right now! And like the vampires, it seems their future will also depend upon human females. But they have no way of knowing whether a mating between a human female and a dragon of royal blood will produce a royal offspring and there's only one way to find out.....a royal male must mate with a human female and impregnate her to see if the infant will be born with golden markings. But first, they need willing human females. So, where will they find these willing females, although classifying it as willing may actually be stretching the truth just a little, but it's really just semantics, right? And exactly how do they intend to procure them? Well, I'm so glad you asked. First, they will abduct...I mean rescue five human females who are impoverished, abused or in some kind of trouble, and then force...um...I mean offer them a mutually beneficial deal to participate in the Hunt. Wait...What? The Hunt??? As tradition dictates, hundreds of dragon males from all four tribes will assemble for the Hunt and all of them will be vying for a chance to capture, win, and claim one of the five human females. What could go wrong??? Don't ask!
What's a water king willing to do to ensure the continuation of his people??? He can start by participating in The Hunt, capturing the strongest of the human females and then mate her, impregnate her and produce an heir. Yes, being king of the water dragons means making sacrifices for his people. But humans are small, frail, weak creatures so Torrent must have the strongest and bravest of the five human females. He wanted the voluptuous dark-haired beauty. He didn't really care that she was beautiful, although she was very easy on the eyes with lush curves in all the right places. He had decided on her simply because she appeared to be the strongest as well as the most intelligent. She had given them all a run for their money. Unfortunately, the Fire Prince got to her first leaving him with only a small, skinny, and very bedraggled looking female. He could wait until the next Hunt but he wanted a female now. He didn't really care how she looked. It's of no importance. It's not like he would ever love her. Love has nothing to do with it. He could never fall in love with a human. He just needed an heir so she would just have to do. She's not much to look at but she did have an enticing scent, eyes the color of the deepest ocean, hair the color of the sun and she did seem to have some spunk. She certainly was determined to escape. Maybe, this female would do after all. Besides, he'd be doing her a favor, right? What female in their right mind wouldn't want to be mated to him...the Water King? Apparently, this female because she wants nothing to do with him...at all. Huh? What the heck? He has to have sex with her to mate her and if she refuses, then any of the other dragons can still claim her. Never going to happen! Once all the mud and dirt had been washed away, Torrent suddenly realized just how beautiful this Candy truly was and now found himself more than just a little attracted to her. No, make that more than a lot attracted to her to the pale skinned beauty. She's, hands down, the most gorgeous creature he's ever seen and she belongs to him! Well, sorta. As long as everyone thinks they've sealed the deal, no one will question the validity of their mating and that will give him plenty of time to convince her. What's a dragon king to do? Lie like a dog, of course, and possibly omit a few key details that may mislead her into thinking they're already mated. He's bedded hundreds of females, and they all wanted him, but he's never felt this way about a single one...until Candy. What a fiasco! Apparently, he wanted the only female who didn't want him. And worse, he kept acting like a complete idiot around her, saying and doing all the wrong things. But he could be charming, right? He'd just have to try harder. At least he'd talked her into giving them a chance to get to know each other. Surely, he could find a way to convince her to have sex with him before anyone finds out or before he loses her for good, right? Well, maybe, but only if he manages to save her first. Oh dear!
Candy just couldn't seem to catch a break. She'd run away from home at only seventeen and found herself broke and homeless. After Ellis found her that first night with no place to go and no one to turn to, she'd thought he was her savior. As it turns out, he was just the opposite and only wanted to use her to make money acting as an escort. And for seven long years, she'd allowed it, but she was done with that life. She had scrimped and saved her money. Hopefully, she finally had enough to see her through medical school. She'd had enough of having sex with men for money. She intended to change her life and make a better future for herself. Ellis had refused to let her go and would probably have hurt her badly. She definitely needed saving... but by a dragon shifter??? Oh dear! Funny how a few hours can change a person's life. Twenty-four hours ago, she didn't think her life could get any worse...until it did! One minute she was being manhandled by Ellis, and the next she was being kidnapped by a dragon. And that's not even the worst of it. They'd dumped her and four other women in the middle of nowhere and informed them they were part of The Hunt. They were supposed to run, and if they could escape, they would be free. But there was a catch...a very big catch. Scarlet and Ash, the two female dragon shifters who'd been their guards, had explained in graphic detail what would happen. They would be chased by hundreds of dragon shifters who wanted to capture and mate them against their will. They would be forced to have sex with their captor and become nothing more than brood mares. The female dragons had also said if they survived the mating, which was doubtful, they would probably never survive the pregnancy or birth. Oh dear! Over her dead body which seemed more than probable since every single one of them was at least seven feet tall and built like a tank! There was no way she intended to surrender peacefully. She might have sold her soul to the devil but she would no longer be a victim. She wanted to live. She had dreams...she wanted to become a doctor and help others. She was meant for greater things than being raped or dying as some dragon's brood mare. These dragons were nothing but more rich men who wanted to take advantage of her. No way! She had been abducted, hunted, chased, manhandled, treated like a prisoner and thrown into a dark room which was little more than a cell, then captured and told she was married... mated... whatever... to a complete stranger... who's not even a member of her own species. If the big lug who had captured her thought she would acquiesce, comply and completely surrender her body to him, he better think again. Heck no! She would fight to her dying breath! Yes, there were plenty of women willing to have sex at the drop of a hat but she'd never been one of them. Not really, which was pretty ironic considering she made her living by having sex with men, but she'd had no choice. She just never counted on him being so handsome... and really kinda nice. Yes, he's arrogant and cocky, but he could also be rather charming. Maybe she could give this thing a chance, at least for a few weeks. After all, she had nothing and no one waiting for her back home. It might be okay as long as he didn't force her to have sex with him, and he said he wouldn't, but could she trust him, and more importantly, could she trust him with the truth about her past? Would he understand that she'd been a paid escort? We'll see! Buckle up, my lovelies! Here we go again! No spoilers from me but I will say this... Handsome arrogant royal dragon shifter king who acts and speaks before he thinks-check! Beautiful former human escort determined to change her life-check! A plug for animal awareness and two adorable little puppy dogs-check! Danger, drama, heartache, angst and a couple of very bad men-check! A few tears and a whole lot of chuckles-check! Heated attraction, fiery passion, dreamy romance and steamy sex-you bet! That and a whole lot more!
Did I like this book? No, I loved it! As a matter of fact, I think it may be Hartnady's best work to date. I truly loved the first book but this story didn't just tug on my heartstrings, it ripped my heart right out of my chest. My heart broke for Candy who may have made a few bad decision in her life, but she did the best she could under the worst of conditions and was desperately trying to change her life. I truly admired this girl. How can any of us say what we would have done had we been in her situation? I also understood why she was so hesitant to have sex with Torrent even though she was very attracted to him. She had already made up her mind to change and make better decisions before she was abducted. She wanted a better life for herself and was determined not to continue the easier destructive path she'd previously taken. She was desperately trying not to make any more mistakes. She'd had no choice at the time but she was still ashamed of her past. I admired her for telling him the truth. She didn't have to honest about her past but she decided to be a better person and confide the truth to Torrent. Although he'd already said, nothing she'd done before they met was important and didn't matter to him, he still reacted badly, and it hurt her tremendously. It would have hurt me, too. I laughed with these characters, cried for them, and sincerely empathized with them. The hero and heroine were both stubborn, strong-willed characters but as the story progressed, both of our two protagonists matured tremendously, and not only learned to love, but also learned to trust. They become so much more than they ever thought possible. Some folks may not have liked Candy but I fell in love with her instantly. Please don't let a few negative review comments (especially about Candy) convince you not to read this book. Without a doubt, Water Dragon, in my opinion, is one of the most emotionally intense stories Hartnady has ever written. I giggled, snickered, sniffled, snuffled, sobbed and outright ugly cried through the entire book. But by the end, I was happy, satisfied and completely entertained. Would I recommend this book? You bet and I am, but only for adult readers since it does contain explicit language, graphic violence, and steamy sex. Also, please be aware there could be triggers involving rape and abuse but not by the hero. However, I will say the villains of the story were very bad men. Will I read this author again? Absolutely! Just as soon as she releases her next book! Was I entertained? Completely and totally entertained! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read! Bring on Book Three!
Title: Water Dragon
Series: The Bride Hunt
Designation: Book Two of Series, Full-Length Standalone Novel, NO Cliffhanger
Author: Charlene Hartnady
Genre: #ParanormalRomance #DragonShifter
Reading Platform: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: FIVE SINFULLY DELICIOUSLY STARS
And the hits just keep on coming! Charlene Hartnady has knocked it out of the park again with Water Dragon, the second riveting release in her sexy new The Bride Hunt Series, and I have another new favorite! lol... Yeah, yeah, I know I say the same thing every time but this series just keeps getting better and better! I loved, loved, loved this book! It's no secret I've been a diehard Charlene Hartnady fan for years and devour everything she writes. And just why do I love her writing so much, you ask? Well, I'm so glad you asked. First, it's quite evident that Hartnady invests a lot of time and effort into every book she writes, but it's even more obvious that she pours her very heart and soul into each and every story. Hartnady's books are always original, unique, and imaginative as well as exceptionally well crafted, written and edited, and Royal Dragon is no exception. Second, some people are simply born with an instinctive, ingrained talent as a storyteller and Hartnady has been abundantly blessed. She's also a skilled wordsmith with an incredible imagination who excels at creating imaginative and vividly depicted worlds with intriguing and highly engaging characters. You know, the kind that immediately draw you into the story, grab your undivided attention, engage your emotions, and completely capture your heart. And third and most importantly, she's not afraid to tackle controversial or taboo subject matter and certainly never shies away from putting a little gritty reality into her fictional paranormal romance. I not only admire that aspect of her writing, I also appreciate and like it a whole heck of a lot.
But I digress, let's talk some specifics about this book. Water Dragon is an exciting, intense, seductive, fast-paced, exceptionally well crafted and edited full-length standalone paranormal romance, beautifully written in the third person with alternating his and her perspectives. I became instantly smitten with the two protagonists of this story, handsome, hunky, stubborn, arrogant and very opinionated royal water dragon King Torrent, and beautiful, feisty, strong-willed and very human former professional escort Candy. I felt Torrent and Candy were a perfect pairing and played off each other brilliantly. They were both intriguing characters and their sexual chemistry was smoking hot! Torrent may have been a little cocky and entitled, okay a lot...lol... but he was also kind, loyal and dedicated to his family as well as his people. My heart broke for Candy's character. Her childhood was far from ideal, having been abandoned by her father as a small child and basically ignored by a mother who sought solace in alcohol and multiple affairs with men of questionable morals. Although abandoned and unloved, Candy refused to become a victim and was determined to somehow make a better life for herself. I truly admired Candy's strength and convictions. The dialogue is smart, seductive, well executed and at times, laugh out loud funny. You just gotta love the raw sexy comments that always seem to spew out of a shifters mouth. *Rawwrr* Love it! Water Dragon is one of Hartnady's longest novels to date coming in at a whopping 370 jam-packed pages which brings me to another reason this book is my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy all of Hartnady's characters but the hero and heroine of this story were extremely well-developed and fleshed out, even more so than usual, and I really love that aspect of this book. This story is completely different than anything Hartnady has written in the past. It's not your typical paranormal tale where beautiful girl meets handsome guy and instantly falls head over heels in love, immediately gives into his charm and suddenly finds herself in his bed with the two of them making mad passionate love. In this story, Torrent has to really work for Candy's love and affection, and it was fabulous! Hartnady skillfully combines every single one of these elements to craft a deliciously cute paranormal saga filled to the brim with heart-stopping danger, heart-pounding drama, spine-tingling suspense, heart-wrenching angst, hilarious humor, heated attraction, fiery passion, heartwarming romance and of course, dreamy sex! After all, this is a Charlene Hartnady story and we all know she writes some of the steamiest sex scenes - ever!
Premise: The Bride Hunt Series is basically a spin-off from Hartnady's earlier series, The Program which featured a captivating cast of vampires seeking human mates. It seems the vampires aren't the only species encountering reproductive problems. All the non-humans are experiencing the same dilemma - no females to procreate their species and the very few dragon births have been all male and apparently it's the same with the other non-human species as well. For no known reason, female children have just stopped being born. Unfortunately, the dragons have been the worst affected. Several months ago, the vampires instigated their 'breeding program' whereby they advertised in the paper and recruited human females to participate in a dating program for their elite vampire males. Of course, the wolf shifters have been secretly taking human females for years. The elves, who seem to be the least affected, prefer to isolate themselves completely, which is pretty much what the dragon shifters have also preferred - until now. In the entire four dragon tribes, Fire, Earth, Air and Water, there are only two unmated fertile dragon females remaining and hundreds of male dragons. Scratch that....there were two but since Ruby, the fire dragon princess, recently mated a vampire (oops), the deal for Blaze, King of the fire dragons, to secure the available fertile female dragons is null and void. Oh no! Ruby was promised to Thunder, King of the Air Tribe, and when their mating didn't happen, Thunder gave his two sisters to the earth and water princes. Uh-oh! Now there are no fertile royal and very, very few unmated female dragons left, and four tribes of unmated males. If their species is to survive, they need a plan...right now! And like the vampires, it seems their future will also depend upon human females. But they have no way of knowing whether a mating between a human female and a dragon of royal blood will produce a royal offspring and there's only one way to find out.....a royal male must mate with a human female and impregnate her to see if the infant will be born with golden markings. But first, they need willing human females. So, where will they find these willing females, although classifying it as willing may actually be stretching the truth just a little, but it's really just semantics, right? And exactly how do they intend to procure them? Well, I'm so glad you asked. First, they will abduct...I mean rescue five human females who are impoverished, abused or in some kind of trouble, and then force...um...I mean offer them a mutually beneficial deal to participate in the Hunt. Wait...What? The Hunt??? As tradition dictates, hundreds of dragon males from all four tribes will assemble for the Hunt and all of them will be vying for a chance to capture, win, and claim one of the five human females. What could go wrong??? Don't ask!
What's a water king willing to do to ensure the continuation of his people??? He can start by participating in The Hunt, capturing the strongest of the human females and then mate her, impregnate her and produce an heir. Yes, being king of the water dragons means making sacrifices for his people. But humans are small, frail, weak creatures so Torrent must have the strongest and bravest of the five human females. He wanted the voluptuous dark-haired beauty. He didn't really care that she was beautiful, although she was very easy on the eyes with lush curves in all the right places. He had decided on her simply because she appeared to be the strongest as well as the most intelligent. She had given them all a run for their money. Unfortunately, the Fire Prince got to her first leaving him with only a small, skinny, and very bedraggled looking female. He could wait until the next Hunt but he wanted a female now. He didn't really care how she looked. It's of no importance. It's not like he would ever love her. Love has nothing to do with it. He could never fall in love with a human. He just needed an heir so she would just have to do. She's not much to look at but she did have an enticing scent, eyes the color of the deepest ocean, hair the color of the sun and she did seem to have some spunk. She certainly was determined to escape. Maybe, this female would do after all. Besides, he'd be doing her a favor, right? What female in their right mind wouldn't want to be mated to him...the Water King? Apparently, this female because she wants nothing to do with him...at all. Huh? What the heck? He has to have sex with her to mate her and if she refuses, then any of the other dragons can still claim her. Never going to happen! Once all the mud and dirt had been washed away, Torrent suddenly realized just how beautiful this Candy truly was and now found himself more than just a little attracted to her. No, make that more than a lot attracted to her to the pale skinned beauty. She's, hands down, the most gorgeous creature he's ever seen and she belongs to him! Well, sorta. As long as everyone thinks they've sealed the deal, no one will question the validity of their mating and that will give him plenty of time to convince her. What's a dragon king to do? Lie like a dog, of course, and possibly omit a few key details that may mislead her into thinking they're already mated. He's bedded hundreds of females, and they all wanted him, but he's never felt this way about a single one...until Candy. What a fiasco! Apparently, he wanted the only female who didn't want him. And worse, he kept acting like a complete idiot around her, saying and doing all the wrong things. But he could be charming, right? He'd just have to try harder. At least he'd talked her into giving them a chance to get to know each other. Surely, he could find a way to convince her to have sex with him before anyone finds out or before he loses her for good, right? Well, maybe, but only if he manages to save her first. Oh dear!
Candy just couldn't seem to catch a break. She'd run away from home at only seventeen and found herself broke and homeless. After Ellis found her that first night with no place to go and no one to turn to, she'd thought he was her savior. As it turns out, he was just the opposite and only wanted to use her to make money acting as an escort. And for seven long years, she'd allowed it, but she was done with that life. She had scrimped and saved her money. Hopefully, she finally had enough to see her through medical school. She'd had enough of having sex with men for money. She intended to change her life and make a better future for herself. Ellis had refused to let her go and would probably have hurt her badly. She definitely needed saving... but by a dragon shifter??? Oh dear! Funny how a few hours can change a person's life. Twenty-four hours ago, she didn't think her life could get any worse...until it did! One minute she was being manhandled by Ellis, and the next she was being kidnapped by a dragon. And that's not even the worst of it. They'd dumped her and four other women in the middle of nowhere and informed them they were part of The Hunt. They were supposed to run, and if they could escape, they would be free. But there was a catch...a very big catch. Scarlet and Ash, the two female dragon shifters who'd been their guards, had explained in graphic detail what would happen. They would be chased by hundreds of dragon shifters who wanted to capture and mate them against their will. They would be forced to have sex with their captor and become nothing more than brood mares. The female dragons had also said if they survived the mating, which was doubtful, they would probably never survive the pregnancy or birth. Oh dear! Over her dead body which seemed more than probable since every single one of them was at least seven feet tall and built like a tank! There was no way she intended to surrender peacefully. She might have sold her soul to the devil but she would no longer be a victim. She wanted to live. She had dreams...she wanted to become a doctor and help others. She was meant for greater things than being raped or dying as some dragon's brood mare. These dragons were nothing but more rich men who wanted to take advantage of her. No way! She had been abducted, hunted, chased, manhandled, treated like a prisoner and thrown into a dark room which was little more than a cell, then captured and told she was married... mated... whatever... to a complete stranger... who's not even a member of her own species. If the big lug who had captured her thought she would acquiesce, comply and completely surrender her body to him, he better think again. Heck no! She would fight to her dying breath! Yes, there were plenty of women willing to have sex at the drop of a hat but she'd never been one of them. Not really, which was pretty ironic considering she made her living by having sex with men, but she'd had no choice. She just never counted on him being so handsome... and really kinda nice. Yes, he's arrogant and cocky, but he could also be rather charming. Maybe she could give this thing a chance, at least for a few weeks. After all, she had nothing and no one waiting for her back home. It might be okay as long as he didn't force her to have sex with him, and he said he wouldn't, but could she trust him, and more importantly, could she trust him with the truth about her past? Would he understand that she'd been a paid escort? We'll see! Buckle up, my lovelies! Here we go again! No spoilers from me but I will say this... Handsome arrogant royal dragon shifter king who acts and speaks before he thinks-check! Beautiful former human escort determined to change her life-check! A plug for animal awareness and two adorable little puppy dogs-check! Danger, drama, heartache, angst and a couple of very bad men-check! A few tears and a whole lot of chuckles-check! Heated attraction, fiery passion, dreamy romance and steamy sex-you bet! That and a whole lot more!
Did I like this book? No, I loved it! As a matter of fact, I think it may be Hartnady's best work to date. I truly loved the first book but this story didn't just tug on my heartstrings, it ripped my heart right out of my chest. My heart broke for Candy who may have made a few bad decision in her life, but she did the best she could under the worst of conditions and was desperately trying to change her life. I truly admired this girl. How can any of us say what we would have done had we been in her situation? I also understood why she was so hesitant to have sex with Torrent even though she was very attracted to him. She had already made up her mind to change and make better decisions before she was abducted. She wanted a better life for herself and was determined not to continue the easier destructive path she'd previously taken. She was desperately trying not to make any more mistakes. She'd had no choice at the time but she was still ashamed of her past. I admired her for telling him the truth. She didn't have to honest about her past but she decided to be a better person and confide the truth to Torrent. Although he'd already said, nothing she'd done before they met was important and didn't matter to him, he still reacted badly, and it hurt her tremendously. It would have hurt me, too. I laughed with these characters, cried for them, and sincerely empathized with them. The hero and heroine were both stubborn, strong-willed characters but as the story progressed, both of our two protagonists matured tremendously, and not only learned to love, but also learned to trust. They become so much more than they ever thought possible. Some folks may not have liked Candy but I fell in love with her instantly. Please don't let a few negative review comments (especially about Candy) convince you not to read this book. Without a doubt, Water Dragon, in my opinion, is one of the most emotionally intense stories Hartnady has ever written. I giggled, snickered, sniffled, snuffled, sobbed and outright ugly cried through the entire book. But by the end, I was happy, satisfied and completely entertained. Would I recommend this book? You bet and I am, but only for adult readers since it does contain explicit language, graphic violence, and steamy sex. Also, please be aware there could be triggers involving rape and abuse but not by the hero. However, I will say the villains of the story were very bad men. Will I read this author again? Absolutely! Just as soon as she releases her next book! Was I entertained? Completely and totally entertained! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read! Bring on Book Three!
August 20, 2019
WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT? I DIDN'T WANT THE HEROINE TO BE PREGNANT WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD!! ZZZZZ!!
HERO may have started off arrogant and cocky but he sure mellowed into a sweet softie who bumbled a lot around claiming his mate. Torrent was cute in a goofy way because he has never experienced love or had a relationship. When he claims Candy as his, he's going to go through a lot of FIRSTS and it was fun to watch his reactions and sort of experience it all with him.
HEROINE took awhile to warm up to. It's something about the author's heroines I realised about. Candy can be bitchy at first and she withholds sex from Torrent, wanting to familiarize herself with him and also come clean about her past as an escort who of course fucks aged men. Most people will judge her for her profession and I honestly don't give two fucks about her past until the author ended the story with her giving birth to a daughter whose father was the dead old man she fucked.
OVERALL would have given this a four stars if the kid ended up being 100% Torrent's because it was such a buzz kill to root for them and then some other guy's kid falls out of her vagina. Sighhss.
HERO may have started off arrogant and cocky but he sure mellowed into a sweet softie who bumbled a lot around claiming his mate. Torrent was cute in a goofy way because he has never experienced love or had a relationship. When he claims Candy as his, he's going to go through a lot of FIRSTS and it was fun to watch his reactions and sort of experience it all with him.
HEROINE took awhile to warm up to. It's something about the author's heroines I realised about. Candy can be bitchy at first and she withholds sex from Torrent, wanting to familiarize herself with him and also come clean about her past as an escort who of course fucks aged men. Most people will judge her for her profession and I honestly don't give two fucks about her past until the author ended the story with her giving birth to a daughter whose father was the dead old man she fucked.
OVERALL would have given this a four stars if the kid ended up being 100% Torrent's because it was such a buzz kill to root for them and then some other guy's kid falls out of her vagina. Sighhss.
March 27, 2018
I don't have a problem with Candy's past, not at all. My overall issue with this series so far is the outlandish level of stubbornness of the first and second heroines.
I'm not annoyed with Torrent at all about his idiot insult - to be fair to him, we are constantly reminded that these guys are shifters, warriors, with little to no long term contact with human women and practically no insight into human customs. I understand his logic - if this was her profession, and she actually likes him (alot) but still won't come around, he was under extreme physical stress and weak (due to his lack of "activity") - I can completely understand why he came to this conclusion to further progress the situation.
I'm just annoyed as hell that so far Julie AND Candy are very annoying, whiney, extremely pigheaded and self centred. Considering how this book ended, after all the stress, drama and BS - Torrent deserves a medal.
Maybe I'm too level headed and practical a woman to understand the mentality of these heroines. I haven't decided if I'll continue to read the series.
I'm not annoyed with Torrent at all about his idiot insult - to be fair to him, we are constantly reminded that these guys are shifters, warriors, with little to no long term contact with human women and practically no insight into human customs. I understand his logic - if this was her profession, and she actually likes him (alot) but still won't come around, he was under extreme physical stress and weak (due to his lack of "activity") - I can completely understand why he came to this conclusion to further progress the situation.
I'm just annoyed as hell that so far Julie AND Candy are very annoying, whiney, extremely pigheaded and self centred. Considering how this book ended, after all the stress, drama and BS - Torrent deserves a medal.
Maybe I'm too level headed and practical a woman to understand the mentality of these heroines. I haven't decided if I'll continue to read the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2016
This wasn't the read I was expecting. I knew it would be a challenge with the /h's background from Royal Dragon (book 1 Bride Hunt). I want to say that I have read many Charlene Hartnady books and love the smutty paranormal reading they provide. That being said and I apologize if this is a huge spoiler but having to wait until 78% of the book for sex between the H/h irritates me. I don't read these books for deep abiding cuddling. (I have called out Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarian series for the same thing) Ok rant complete.
This is still well written paranormal romance. The H/h have chemistry and angsty interaction. You get additional detail of what occurred between Torrent, Julie, and Coal from Book 1.
This is still well written paranormal romance. The H/h have chemistry and angsty interaction. You get additional detail of what occurred between Torrent, Julie, and Coal from Book 1.
December 28, 2016
No. No. No. Just didn't care for this book. Didn't like Candy. I feel that Torrent wasn't well developed. I liked Coal's character much, much better. And what was with this ending? It felt rushed and more of an afterthought in order to add some life to a weak ending. Oh, and I was completely unsatisfied with having to wait until a little more than 75% of the book for those sex scenes.... which were entirely uneventful. It's a shame because Book 1 had THE BEST. I really hope Book 3 is better... because with all that said, I will probably complete the series.
January 21, 2025
Water Dragon is the thrilling second installment in The Bride Hunt series. The story follows characters who must run for their lives from creatures they never knew existed.
While each book can be enjoyed as a standalone, it's best to read them in order to fully appreciate the rich paranormal elements and exciting themes they offer. The characters just need to stay alive, but what they discover is more significant than they ever imagined.
I love the strong, sexy alpha males in protective roles!
While each book can be enjoyed as a standalone, it's best to read them in order to fully appreciate the rich paranormal elements and exciting themes they offer. The characters just need to stay alive, but what they discover is more significant than they ever imagined.
I love the strong, sexy alpha males in protective roles!
September 22, 2016
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and could not wait for the second book to come out however the ending of the book I was kind of disappointed in. I really wanted something else to happen but it didn't which kind of threw me off. The Water King was great and I actually related to him more than the female calendar.
March 4, 2017
SPOILER
I just don't get why the author had to make their baby "not Torrent's". You hype up this romance with twists and turns but in the end you write the heroine as being pregnant the whole time with another man's baby and try to rectify by giving the baby some dragon DNA she (baby) supposedly got from Candy's mating with Torrent. Like wtf.
I just don't get why the author had to make their baby "not Torrent's". You hype up this romance with twists and turns but in the end you write the heroine as being pregnant the whole time with another man's baby and try to rectify by giving the baby some dragon DNA she (baby) supposedly got from Candy's mating with Torrent. Like wtf.
September 13, 2017
Love it!
It is very well written and you can stop until is finish. However the ending just wasn't necessary!!! After everything they gone through specially Torrent having to get over what she used to be to have to get over as well that the baby that he been waiting for is not his but a almost 80 years old man she used to sleep for money!!!!
It is very well written and you can stop until is finish. However the ending just wasn't necessary!!! After everything they gone through specially Torrent having to get over what she used to be to have to get over as well that the baby that he been waiting for is not his but a almost 80 years old man she used to sleep for money!!!!
January 23, 2017
This should have been advertised for young adults. Since I am not one, I found this to be boring.
September 19, 2018
Yay Torrent! I knew when I started reading this author’s work that I had stepped off in the middle of an ongoing saga! I like how the character’s stories are happening simultaneously and how our old characters are still around. I did not however like rereading parts from the last book in the new book it seemed repetitive even reading it from a different persons perspective.
Candy our FMC is great. Candy is saved/kidnapped from her life of an escort being forced into the job by her boss. These 2 characters had great chemistry and had to overcome a hell of a lot to get their HEA. The end was shocking and a little heartbreaking and heart warming at the same time.
I sense that there is an underlying story in these books but we are only getting snippets here and there. I love how things are really coming together for our shifters and can’t wait to read more stories about them all finding mates.
Candy our FMC is great. Candy is saved/kidnapped from her life of an escort being forced into the job by her boss. These 2 characters had great chemistry and had to overcome a hell of a lot to get their HEA. The end was shocking and a little heartbreaking and heart warming at the same time.
I sense that there is an underlying story in these books but we are only getting snippets here and there. I love how things are really coming together for our shifters and can’t wait to read more stories about them all finding mates.
May 7, 2021
I'm mixed with this. I can understand what the author was trying to create with this book but she didn't do a fantastic job.
The male MC was a bit of a tool. I get that hes not got human niceities and that sort of thing but why was he so rude to her and then just assumed she needed money to put out. Completely threw me from the story.
Also the ending, please. Just make it one or the other no this blending bull.
The male MC was a bit of a tool. I get that hes not got human niceities and that sort of thing but why was he so rude to her and then just assumed she needed money to put out. Completely threw me from the story.
Also the ending, please. Just make it one or the other no this blending bull.
November 7, 2024
Water Dragon King is Awesome !
I didn’t think book 2 could get better than book 1… but it is !! Candy and Torrent’s story is awesome. It has everything you want in a paranormal romance and then some ! The ending will make you squeal in wonder and excitement. 5 ✨’s and I’m starting book 3 right now !
I didn’t think book 2 could get better than book 1… but it is !! Candy and Torrent’s story is awesome. It has everything you want in a paranormal romance and then some ! The ending will make you squeal in wonder and excitement. 5 ✨’s and I’m starting book 3 right now !
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