Prince Elijan has spent his life protected by castle walls, prevented from fully experiencing the world outside. He longs to see the empire he will one day rule, but his only view is from the safety of the windows in his suite. He yearns to find out what life has to offer. When he’s given the chance to work with the dragons, and a desire to learn their language flares to life, he is finally granted some freedom. Aldren's life has always been about the dragons. As a Rider, he is dedicated to the protection of the kingdom. He’s always been willing to step up when he is called upon, but his latest orders come directly from the king, and for once, Aldren isn't sure he the right man for the job. Protecting the king's only son is not something to be taken lightly, and when Aldren meets Elijan, the instant attraction he has for the man complicates matters even more. Still, he's never refused a job before and he isn't about to start now. Working and living side by side brings Elijan and Aldren together, forcing them both to admit to the emotions stirring inside them. It only takes one kiss and no matter the risk, the two of them refuse to ignore the chemistry between them. When danger comes calling, and Elijan experiences strange visions that manifest in his drawings, Aldren worries. How does he protect the prince from an enemy he can't see? With friends, both man and dragon, by their side, the two must learn who seeks them out and what the information they’ve gained from Elijan’s drawings might mean, but at the same time, they must protect the dragons. Evil lurks around them, but so does salvation. Drawn into a dangerous destiny, Aldren and Elijan find that love and friendship really can conquer all.
I LOVED this story tons. It was fun and entertaining and very cute.
I mean, hello! BABY DRAGON ALERT !!!
BUT...
Remember in the movie "Independence Day" how Bill Pullman's character gave like THIRTY-SEVEN of those "you guys are great, you mean the world to me, here's why, go team" inspirational, pat-on-the-back speeches?
Oh, wait. That's right, there was only gave *one*.
Maybe *two*.
But my point is this. Peppering a story with frequent"huge emotion dump" scenes, to the tune of every few chapters, is way too much.
You can only do that so many times before the scenes lose all meaning, leaving readers feeling preached at, told what they're supposed to think, and rolling their eyes.
Or wanting to skim past said repetitive extoling of character virtues.
The reader had *already* decided that the characters were kind, loving, loyal, true, brave, handsome and caring. During the convincing story telling process.
So please, for the love of God, stop trying to convince us again. And again. And again. We believe you.
So, as I previously mentioned in my review of book 1: And I'll say it again, because I *really* want this to be heard and taken to heart for future stories: I've adored the two stories in this series; however, I will eventually tire of this author's current writing style and head for the door, which I'd honestly rather not have happen. : (
I'm still giving this book 3.75 stars, because I loved the story line and characters, especially Frode, but there's definitely room for improvement in the crazy-making writing style.
Or maybe just room for one heavy-handed content editor, to pare down some of the (many) "you're my everything, love you, mean it" speeches.
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A great sequel to the first book. The second book was even better. My heart belongs to Frode. He was so precious. Too much happens for me to be able to explain it all. Just know I enjoyed it.
(Originally reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews. Rated 4.5 out of 5.0 Love Bytes.)
I was super happy when I saw a Facebook post about this new release. Those of you who like fantasy books might remember that I reviewed Booker’s Song back in August of this year and I really enjoyed it. When I found this one, I’ll be honest, I rearranged my schedule so that I could get to it within our two-week ‘Recent Release Review’ guidelines. And I’m glad I did!
I again thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Walker’s writing. If I’m being honest I’m going to have to tell you that this one was really long at 481 pages. I did get a little bogged down in the middle, but it made me put the book down (at 1:30 this morning), and when I picked it back up when I got up, the story moved fast enough that it kept me entertained and reading straight through to the end. When I did get to the end, with 16 minutes still showing on the ‘time remaining’ thing on my Kindle, I growled. 481 pages and I was grumpy that the character list and glossary took up that remaining time! Now I will have to wait for the next book!
Let’s talk about this one first though. Seeker’s Portrait picks up the very same day, I believe, that Booker’s Song ended. The MC’s of that story are off on their quiet week long getaway and the story now turns to Con’s best friend and second in command, Aldren. We met Aldren in the first book, and I was happy to see this book focus on him.
The other MC in this one is Prince Elijan, or Eli as he prefers to be called. We had a mention of him in the first book, but never met him. He is somewhere around twenty years old, but has been sheltered by his domineering mother, the Queen. She is a piece of work, not liked by much of anyone in the Kingdom. Luckily the King has overruled her and Elijan is sent to study with the dragons and dragon riders.
I don’t want to do any spoilers, so I’m just going to say that there is magic, there are dragons, there are fights and battles between good and evil, and there is a blossoming romance. All the important things in a fantasy novel!
I highly recommend this one. I think you need to read the first book first though. Otherwise you won’t get who the characters are, and how it all fits together. Start at the beginning. If you’re a fantasy lover, you will love them. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the story of “The Summoner”…which I believe is next!
I tried a number of times to finish this book before giving it up. The writing is really cheesy, the love is instant, and the dragons are insufferably cutesy. Imagine a book where you have the innocent and lonely young prince, the dashing dragon rider captain, a love which happens in less than 48 hours. Add to that that the prince is suddenly beloved of everyone he meets and praised for working hard, fitting in, and any number of other things within about 24 hours of his introduction to everyone. There is just love and happiness and tons of cuddles everywhere. There is zero depth to these characters. They are just frosted cookies in some kid's make-believe story. If all that weren't irritating enough you have the dragons who are just *so cute* (blech!), playing pranks and giving puppy dog eyes to everyone. I call this "cute kid syndrome" where you have kids or animals who act precious and nauseatingly adorable and nearly become bigger characters in the story than the leads. If you want gushing prose and amateur writing (strange from someone who's written so much) then this is for you. If you want something with the sole aim of making you go "awwwwww", then read on. If you are looking for a fantasy with some substance or a realistic relationship then steer clear. Things can be sweet without being sappy or saccharine.
While overall I enjoyed this book more than book 1 ( Booker's Song ) I was still quite frustrated by the writing. The whole thing felt like a draft rather than a finished work. With the length it is a lot more action could have occurred. I expected some questing given we have the seeker. The entire seeking was over very quickly. The length of the book was made up of several long winded scenes that could have done with heavy editing. And with all that length one rather expects a proper ending even if it is not the final book. Sadly it just stopped.
The dragons are better drawn and for the most part lack the babyspeak that was part of book 1. Frode is an exception but as Frode is a baby dragon that is mostly okay. Plus Frode is freaking adorable. But by the end I was tiring of his speaking style. I also liked the couple much better in this book. Eli and Aldren feel good together and thankfully lack the bickering and internal dialogue found in book 1.
I will read book 3 when it comes out because Dragons :)
I can't wait for the next book! This series is keeping me on the edge of my seat! Highly recommended especially if you like fantasy aka Mages and Dragons!!!
This Second book is the story of Eli and Aldren Eli mentioned in the first book of the series, but never appearing is as hinted one of the primary characters. Aldren of course is an old friend from the first book. It is a rare author who can captivate me enough to bring tears to my eyes. Hannah Walker has managed this with this truly AMAZING story. The relationship starts and feels organic, the bonds feel real, and the book brought me nothing but pleasure. I will not go into details of the story, I leave that for anyone reading this review to discover for themselves.
I have loved every book by this author. She is a talented writer. Great storylines, excellent characterization, strong world building. I like that her stories are about the story, and the beautiful love that builds between her MCs is not quite incidental, but also not the be all and end all of the plot. Totally worth reading anything by Hannah Walker.
Seeker's Portrait is an excellent read!! Hannah never disappoints me. Eli & Ren are great characters, but little Frode steals the show!! Cannot wait for the saga to continue.
After rating book 1 2.5 stars, I probably should not have started book 2, but it's on my reader and I could not settle on another book. I do love dragons, but even they could not save this story.
There's the insta-relationship between the very innocent and sheltered barely adult prince and the 32 year old dragon rider. And no one blinks an eye other than a few random comments that the King and Queen may not like it (ya think?!). Sometimes I can get behind an age-gap, but everything about this one was cringey to me.
Also, most of the story thus-far is telling rather than showing and it's so superficial I just can't keep going with it. I'm putting a pin in it.
This books seemingly picks up right where the first book ended in timeline. Prince Eli is a great main character. The relationships he builds with the Dragon's, their Riders and the support teams lends a depth a story that makes it difficult not to get carried along with the story. His interaction with his father and peeking more into Wilen's life was heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. Frode steals the show almost every chance he gets but what I really enjoyed was how the interactions with him showed more of the dragon culture and family/group relationships. Definitely not a short story but it never drags and all the parts seem important to the whole. Very much looking forward to the next story...well, all of the authors next stories really as she has yet to disappoint in any of her series.
I liked this one better than the first one. Maybe because there was an actual baby dragon and I could therefore focus on his absolute cuteness. Also, most of the adult dragons (Neela) thankfully did not speak that much so I didn't have to deal with that grating dialogue. I loved the conflict Anyways, I am look forward to the next book!
★★★★☆ ~ 4 Stars As we continue our grand DRAGON adventure, Con's second-in-command, Aldren, is put in charge of Prince Elijan, and as our story continues, Eli can talk to the dragons too. And Neela has her baby dragonling who attaches to Eli like glue. Frode is quite the star of the book.
More secrets unfold, treachery is exposed, love blossoms and now I'm anxiously awaiting #3. DRAGONS!
This was a wonderful addition to this series...I loved the 2 MC's together..and the plot just keeps getting better...the dragons are just as loveable....I can't wait for the next adventure!!
20 stars Hannah the next book will be eagerly awaited. I read this one in 2 days. Almost couldn't put it down, hated to see it end. Everyone read this terrific book and find e how important love, family and friends are in ones life. Linda
So many declarations and explanations und most of them are completely unnecessary because Ms.Walker is totally able to make me feel the connection between the characters without explaining it afterwards again and again. This time it came to a point where I automatically turned the page to check if the declaration ended there and I can go on with the story.
As far as the romance is concerned this is a cheesy kind of fantasy, an entertaining, cheesy kind of fantasy. There is too much understanding and no real conflict, not even a misunderstanding that is not immediately solved.
As enjoyable as the romance and friendship part is written, it's the interactions with the dragons that makes this story special. The baby dragon steals nearly every scene it's in. On the other hand there's the family part. The king often talks how important family is and how much he is proud to have his sons mate and dragon as part of his family - while he and the author completely ignores that he also has 2 daughters. They are mentioned in part one but that it. Strangely women are a weak point in the story. Except the female dragons there is no positive female figure but even the queen as a villain-y kind of character is cold hearted. I might be forgiving on that topic if she would be a badass villain but she's only self-centered and badly plotting. Politics, intrigues and war logic is a weak topic anyway in this series so far.
So at the end of the day it's the dragons and the interactions with them that kept me reading but it seems I need a break now before I continue with part 3.
The storyline is intriguing. And that’s why I keep reading them. But gosh, the characters annoy me! Yes, the dragons have their own language but argh...they all sound like children. Which, ok, I guess I can somewhat understand. And dragons are possessive so I guess it only stands to be seen that everything has “my” tagged to it - my Eli, my Rill, etc etc.
While I can overlook the dragon language, I still can’t get over the characters’ voices. Mushy and possessive and rather quite immature. Am I expecting too much???
I waited 7 months to read this book because I didn't think I'd like it nearly as much as I liked the first book. I can not believe how wrong I was! I adored Rill and Con but Aldren and Eli are so beyond perfect, especially when you add Frode and Grith, this book is just beyond perfect. I wish I waited until right before book 3 comes out to read this but I'm just as excited to do a re-read in the future .
I loved Seeker's Portrait even more than the first book.
Eli and Aldren were so cute together. And let's not forget little Frode. Frode, the baby dragon, is so adorable and pure.
This too, like the first book is a magical fairy tale to bring back Dragonis the land/town of the Dragons that was lost to the Dragons thousands of years ago.
There's so much happening, that I couldn't put the book down for just a minute. I couldn't stop reading, I wanted to know what would happen next.
To my ratings: A 3,5* is clicked with a 4* but in review marked as 3,5*:
5* - very very good and rare (it would be a Blow-Away-book like ‘Jesse's Smile’ or ‘Joey’ from Angelique Jurd, ‘Save the the kids’ series from EM Leya, ‘Love’s Tethered Heart’ from C.L. Etta or ‘Liberty’ from Seth King), it's like an A+
4* - very good and will be often reread and is a WOW-book with interesting plot and surprises (like most of Andrew Grey books and Davidson Kings 'Haven Hart'-series) it's like an A
3,5* - a really good book, which will be reread a few times (most romances where you can enjoy for relaxing and during waiting times in hospitals). I can recommend them definitively! It's like an B+
3* - it could be more then a one-time-reader (2-3 times a year), it's like a B
2* - it was ok to read, but it's more a one-time-reader (I wouldn't recommend it heartily, but it was ok) It's like a C-, D
1* - sorry, but that isn't really a book for me (too many mistakes, not nice plot, illogical, so an absolute NO-GO). It's like failure in the whole line, dismissed, repeat the class
Rating: 4.5 stars I absolutely loved this book. It was even better than the first one in the series. I loved both Elijan and Aldren as the MCs. Even though they both fell in love at first sight, I thought that it fit the story perfectly. I must say that I really love all the dragons but Frode was especially endearing to me. The little dragonling was a bit spoiled but was so cute and fun to read about.
There were quite a few parts to the story that I found especially touching. A few brought tears to my eyes. All in all, the story was a bit sappy and heavy on the cutesy, but I thought it fit the story perfectly. Sometimes, you are just in the mood for super sweet fantasy story.
If you enjoyed the first book in the series, then I highly recommend this one. If not, I think you need to read the first one in the series before starting this book. If you don’t like cute dragons and super sweet romance than this book is not for you.
So the plot picks up with all the loose ends left from the first book which is good. It's an interesting story. Although I'm not big on stories with men with babies, men with baby dragons is like OMFG. Frode is the best character in the book. The Once and Future King, I'm thinking. The romance is a little lackluster to be honest. There's not much passion behind it, and for some reason HW decided to fill this book with so many epic speeches and declarations of love it was particularly long winded and dragged. Once again, there were so many things that HW put in that don't seem to go anywhere. Why is it important that Eli is adapt with water magic? Eli's two younger sisters, why were they even created if they are not part of the story? King Wilen I have trouble seeing as anything other that a venerable character even though he's probably only in his 40's. I still have hope he finds love with Vistrix. On to the next book!