Fallen Empire

Empire of Dragons Chronicles #1

by K.N. Lee

They say the Age of Dragons ended after the War on Magic, but hiding in the forgotten lands remains one clan.
While Kylan hunts firedrakes by day, he prepares for a journey across the Sea of Dreams where mermaids thrive and the key to his people's survival is prophecized to be hidden.

Amalia, a Mage, escaped The Brotherhood, a sect of monks who seek the descendants of the gods once. Now, unable to return to neutral territory where magic-users are safe, she finds herself fighting for survival amongst men who can turn into wolves, firedrakes, and a relentless monk who believes she can restore balance to the entire world.

For Amalia, the gods are not just a memory. They are her ancestors, and before she can learn to control her newfound gift, she will face the keeper of a forgotten empire.

A dragon.

In this sprawling epic fantasy novel with shifting wolf hybrids, dragons, and mermaids, Amalia's first battle is for more than her life. It's for the souls of every being born with magic. Join New York Times bestselling author, K.N. Lee on an adventure perfect for fans of Vikings and Game of Thrones.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Young Adult, Paranormal, Ebooks, Fiction, Fantasy Romance

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2017

About the author

K.N. Lee is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. When she is not writing twisted tales, fantasy novels, and dark poetry, she does a great deal of traveling and promotes other authors. Wannabe rockstar, foreign language enthusiast, and anime geek, K.N. Lee also enjoys helping others reach their writing and publishing goals. She is a winner of the Elevate Lifestyle Top 30 Under 30 "Future Leaders of Charlotte" award for her success as a writer, business owner, and for community service.

She is signed with Captive Quill Press and Patchwork Press.

K.N. Lee loves hearing from fans and readers. Connect with her!

www.knlee.com

www.WriteLikeAWizard.com

www.Facebook.com/knycolelee

www.twitter.com/knycole_lee

www.wattpad.com/user/KNycoleLee

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fallen Empire: An Epic Dragon Fantasy Adventure (Empire of Dragons Chronicles Book 1) by K.N. Lee is a good book that kept me interested and enjoying the flow. I like the setting, the characters, and the plot. What I didn't like is that it was a cliffhanger, ugh! Boy do I hate those! It is not that long of a book and it seemed a bit rushed. Why not finish the book and make it all one? I loved the cover, wow!

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I picked up this book mainly because the cover is stunning and because it's one of the shortest fantasy books around, and I seriously needed something quick yet entertaining to keep me out of a slump and in on this reading roll I've been lately.
I'm glad to say I didn't end up hating it despite its flaws.
And while Fallen Empire was a bit of a mess with its rushed plot, lack of background stories and sloppy editing, it was also very fast paced and interesting enough to keep me hooked.
I wouldn't say the characters are complex and well crafted, because we generally know very little of them, but if you're okay with just being told x is x rather than being shown, you won't have any problem with how they're presented.
It also gets pretty dark and grimey in some parts and I wish the author could have taken her time in exploring some parts of the story more than she did, because I feel like she'd have done 'em justice, especially considering how many species (Wolves, Dragons, Mages, Humans, the freaking Brotherhood) and clans there are and how little we get to know about them.
I can openly appreciate the effort the author put in trying to squeeze so many notions and ideas in such a short amount of pages, though. She did a rather decent job, overall, and even though this book wasn't excellent nor the most origial, I actually enjoyed it and will definitely read the rest of the series.


ACTUAL RATINGS 3,5/5

[Ola Adamska · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting and I was really surprised about some outcomes in the end.
I would give 5 stars if ending won't feel so rushed as it was in my opinion. I just needed more of it as it was really good but more would be appreciated!

[Anna lost in stories *A* · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 67% 2,5 stars… this one pains me mostly because I was really liking the writing style and the story itself had quite a lot of potential but the execution… *sighs* this is more like a novella than a full length book and we are thrown right into the middle of action in a fantasy world… and believe me, I have nothing against that sort of starts, but this time I was wondering for a while if I stumbled upon a spin off of a different series and that’s why nothing is really explained… but apparently that’s not the case… the pacing is all over the place and most of the time I felt like there were chapters missing, which could explain what was happening and rapidly forming connections between characters… I probably could have finished the book itself, cause I had about 30 minutes worth of reading left, but since I heard it ends on a cliffhanger I wasn’t about to waste more of my time on it… again, it’s a shame, cause the premise sounds promising and I think that with a longer book it could be really good… but this one felt very rushed and all over the place… I might give this author another chance in the future, but not soon…

XOXO

A

[Camillea Camillea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I went into this book with such high hopes considering the numerous positive reviews, the amazing cover, and it being described as an epic fantasy novel. The premise for the series sounded so good but in my opinion was poorly executed. The plot was rushed; for a few chapters we're following Amalia escape and then suddenly we're skipping two years ahead...? There's no time to know any of the characters and zero character development. This made the plot feel empty and not at all climatic. The book ended at 67% on my Kindle which surprised since the book didn't take me anywhere at all.

I'm really disappointed with this because there was a potential for the book's worldbuilding with Mages, shifters, gods, and The Brotherhood.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing fantasy tale of wonder, betrayal, love & discovery. Step into another world & watch the characters come to life. This book blew me away. I couldn’t read fast enough, yet I’m sad I finished it. I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys fantasy & paranormal. A must read book.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, amazing as usual. Loads of action to keep you going until the end. This fantasy has you in another world until you finally come up for air. Once you’ve finished you don’t really want it to end. Definitely ready for the next book, can’t wait. Received a free book but reviewing because I love the book.

[Lau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very confusing because we jump around in time and the book ends right after the world is properly set up.
It feels very rushed and the book is so short, I feel like we would've had the time to get a deeper understanding of the characters and all the different clans...

Also the love triangle is decided before it has properly started and it's fated love - where is the yearning, the build-up 🥲 they meet and that's it 🥱

Still going to read the next books because I got them for free lol

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quit at 43%
Never held my attention or made me like Amalia. I felt too much was put into tedious daily details, & not enough into actual world building. The cover is spectacular & the main reason I grabbed the book & put it at the top of my TBR list.

[Jeffrey A. Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrigue

Realms of different races fighting against the evils of one but deceit and betrayal befall the one only to be united with her lifemate...dragon.

[Judi Easley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Disclaimer:

I purchased a copy of this book at the current price. I am voluntarily providing an honest review in which all opinions are fully my own. I am not being compensated in any way.

~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review

What it’s about…

Father Marduk is impatiently pacing and Brother Dagan is falling over his words trying to get them out fast enough…” the Stones of Tarth… mage between two red rivers… and the Holy Cleric… a true descendant of the Erani clan… Skal…”

Amalia must run after Thomas is killed by the firedrakes. The whole village is overrun and there’s no help for it. She runs until the water where she hopes she won’t attract the mermaids. But the mermaids are already grabbing at her ankles. She uses her power and they scatter from her. As she climbs onto dry land she’s met by Aros who offers help and swears secrecy about her power. He’s a wolf and supposed to be her enemy, but he hasn’t had his first turning, yet. His pack takes her in and she is safe for a while.

Amalia meets Eris, God of Lost Souls and tells her not to trust Aros. Eris says that someday Aros will forget his promise and tell her secret. Aros meets someone, too.

Kylan is a wolf, but he is more than just a wolf. He is the son of the Alpha of his pack and the next big hunt is his to lead. This will be the hunt to reclaim the pack’s homelands, Kjos. Kylan meets Enit, Goddess of Fate, who gives him the Kiss of Enit Arue to awaken his rune spirit because he’s strong, loyal, and brave. Enit wants Kylan to go find Amalia.

What happens to Aros, Amalia, and Kylan when fate takes a hand?

Technical Tidbits…

The cover is absolutely gorgeous and what drew me to the book initially. However, as beautiful as it is, it’s wrong. Amalia is on the run and is dressed in clothes that have seen better days, practically rags. So, as lovely as she looks here in her armor, it’s all wrong. And that’s a half a star!

The storyline is really great! I loved it. Any story that gets me yelling at a character and telling another one to run or not to trust someone, that’s a good story. It means I’m really involved. Ms. Lee got me involved with Amalia.

The characters were done very well, too. We learn about Amalia from the beginning as it is her story being told. Then we learn about Aros when we meet him. Kylan is introduced very well, too. The only characters we really don’t know that much about are Eris, God of Lost Souls and Enit, Goddess of Fate. We do know they’re sneaky and working to plan.

The pace is good. You move right along. It’s not a flat-out race, but it’s nice and brisk.

The tension is not always so hot. At times it sort of drops you and you feel like you lose your way a bit. Tension should have been higher at the end, but it sort of just stopped, because this is a cliff-hanger.

And this is where you STOP if you don’t want to see any SPOILERS…

The good, the bad, and the ugly…and how much it lit up my life… ✰✰✰✰

The cover really is gorgeous. It’s too bad it doesn’t relate more closely to the story. If Amalia were dressed properly for the story this would be outstanding. The dragon is done so well. I love the way the colors make them blend together and create an almost transparent area.

Apparently, Amalia doesn’t know too much about her magic. Her parents seem to have downplayed it as a birthmark on her hands and not ever trained her how to use it other than how to hide it. She still isn’t that great at hiding it, since it keeps slipping out. But then she uses it to scare away the mermaids, so she knows at least how to do something with it. Something she learned by experimenting on her own most likely. There is no mention (yet) of any sort of training. Maybe Kylan can help her with it. That is if he wakes up to the seriousness of their situation now that his father is dead and they are caged.

Kylan’s airheadedness really surprised me since Enit chose him because of his strength, loyalty, and bravery. I just didn’t expect that sort of behavior from him. I thought he would be more levelheaded. I really hope he is up to the tasks ahead of him. Since he’s fated to be with Amalia, that should mean that the two of them are up to whatever task is ahead of them. I’m assuming it’s Father Marduk and his firedrakes that are the task. They seem to be the ones stomping around killing people at will. I don’t know if I’ll be reading the rest of the series. Right now I have books scheduled to read all the way into February. So, we’ll see. I’m trying to get away from YA and stay with more adult lit.

Recommended

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book one of the Empire of Dragons Chronicles series and follows a young girl called Amalia, who has to run for her life when the Brotherhood come and destroy her family’s village, searching for Mage’s. She is a Mage who has been hiding with her family in a neutral human area, all of her life, making sure she never used magic. Mage’s are hunted down by the Brotherhood who want all magic destroyed and wolves who are their mortal enemy. Her parents are taken by the father in charge of the Brotherhood and she never sees them alive again. All of the villagers ran from their homes, into the haunted woods, where normally none of them would ever go, to try and avoid the dragons, but these dragons actually have riders, the clerics of the Brotherhood.

Amalia has to head away from the lands controlled by the Brotherhood and the lands of monsters, leaving her only one direction to go, straight towards wolf country, where she hopes she can hide as a human amongst her enemies. Her journey through the woods is long and perilous, but not as dangerous as trying to cross the water between them, where another water based breed try to take her. She is saved by Aros, a young wolf shifter, who brings her into the protection of his family. He has been visited by a God and given a role in her future and ensures that she gets trained as a warrior, like all wolf children. A couple of years pass.

The Brotherhood have a dark elf girl that they make use of for her prophecies and visions and she leads them straight to Amalia, where she is betrayed by the one she thought she loved and thought of as family. She is taken prisoner and transported to their land and temple. On the way, Kylan, the son of the dragon shifter clan, who have kept themselves hidden for decades, is travelling by ship to claim powers from killing monsters, but is attacked by the Brotherhood. He ends up having to take over leadership much sooner than expected, but still ends up a prisoner himself. Amalia is from a long thought extinct line, who are the ones that are the key to re-entering their former kingdom, long lost to all. But Kylan is also key to entry to this lost kingdom.

The Gods have their own characters in the story, who they are giving advice to, but sometimes when they are in desperate need of assistance, their Gods are nowhere to be seen. Fate has brought some of the main characters together in what seem like the end of the line and place sin which they have no hope left, but they have to have the courage to believe that things happen for a reason and that they also have to work for what they have been shown could happen.

An intriguing and action packed tale of Mages, mermaids, wolf shifter, dragon shifters, dark elves, clerics and even Gods. All mixing together in a battle for the long lost kingdom and the survival of their own kind. Former enemies must join together to defeat the monsters and evil God, reborn as another, still with many of the powers of his former self. A great mix of magic and my favourite, dragons, but also a quest for the long lost kingdom all of the supernatural races originally came from and lived in. I can’t wait to read the next book to find out if they manage to get to the end of their quest and can stick together. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[James Hockley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a world where magic is being destroyed – and those that retain magic will suffer as a consequence. But as the end approaches, one final spark ignites, and the adventure begins. But it is only the beginning. This story is an interesting concept, but it is, in reality, the start of a story rather than a story in its own right. No doubt it’ll be an interesting story, but this is just a part.

This story is about Amalia, a persecuted mage, and Kylan, one of the last of his kind left in the land. It is a time when those with magic are hunted down and destroyed, and it is therefore a fight for survival. Darkness closes in, and through the forces of betrayal and cunning, Kylar and Amalia struggle to survive. Will they break free? Read on to find out…

I have to admit that this left me a little unsatisfied. It’s an interestingly conceived world, and the author has certainly gone to town with the fantasy elements (we have mages, mermaids, dragons, werewolves, and killer monks – all we’re missing is a fairy and a goblin for a full house). However, despite this, it didn’t really work as a story. Perhaps a quarter story, but not a whole story in and unto itself. A little unsatisfying.

That being said, it does end on a bang, and it will compel the reader towards the second book. I think this ties in with the above (i.e. we reach the first real plot point at the end of the novel), so that’s good. Just a shame we need to reach into our pockets to read on.

Tied to this, the book is a very easy and comfortable read (third person, which is my preference). The chapters are short and punchy, though perhaps they could have done with wiring together in places. Nice work.

The book also manages multiple points of view well (Kylar, Amalia, and a couple of others), and you are never left wondering who has the proverbial baton. However, even though the POV shifts are handled well, I do wonder whether there is actually enough here to sustain the POVs. Given that the story itself probably finishes prematurely, a lot of the POV shifts serve little more than an information relay. The tension may have been better maintained by a limited POV exposure (Amalia & Kylar).

Now, although this is an easy read, there are still a lot of editorial errors in here. A lot. They don’t break the flow too bad, but they are noticeable and in some cases glaring. It takes some of the polish off what is otherwise a well put together book, so a bit of a shame.

And my final comment is going to be about the end matter. And isn’t there a lot of it? When I finished the book, I was at 67%. 67%! That means that a full third of the book is advertising for the next book (or in this case books). Now, I have no problem with a chapter excerpt at the end of a book (it can be a nice carrot for the reader), but this is too much. No, we don’t have to read it, but it is still a bit annoying.

So overall this is a rather wide and fantastical concept with a seed of interest at its core. There are a few problems that left me unsatisfied with this as a standalone book, but I have no doubt that the series will bear fruit.

[Sammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this 2.5 stars, but we'll round up to three. I grabbed this because, let's be honest, the cover is absolutely gorgeous, and I am a shallow, shallow creature with too much time on her hands.

At 150 pages, I'm really not sure if this book can qualify as an "epic fantasy," and I feel like that shows in the way the book unfolds.

The premise of Fallen Empire is fascinating and holds so much potential, but overall, I feel like the delivery wasn't quite there.

My biggest feeling, after reading this book, is just that there should be more. More backstory, more character development, more time building the plot ... Just more.

The world seems fascinating and just rife with potential. There's Wolf shifters and mages and dragons and gods and seers and prophecies. I mean, it ticks all the boxes. The problem is that the worldbuilding is light. While all the puzzle pieces are there, they don't quite add up to a full picture. Part of that, I feel, is probably the length of the book. We're just not in it long enough to actually be immersed in this world, and it felt like things were popping up out of nowhere randomly.

The characters, while they seemed like they might be interesting, were too fleeting for me to really become attached to. Again, I'm sure this has to do with the length. Characters come and go so quickly, and I have the feeling like we're supposed to miss them and mourn for them (like Amalia's parents), but there wasn't enough screen time to really feel for them. Characters swept by on a conveyor belt with no real defining characteristics that make them stick out and seem like real people to me.

The plot feels extremely rushed, especially towards the end, where there's a random two-year time gap all of a sudden that came out of nowhere and isn't indicated anywhere until you've read a ways and it mentions that something that just happened in the previous chapter took place two years ago. There's quite a bit of jumping around in time with flashbacks and such and head-hopping between different point-of-view characters, so it made it a bit hard to follow along. I also wasn't really sure what was happening in some places. It felt like there were parts missing to flesh out the plot and have it flow together well.

This is really more of a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of instalove and especially not soulmates, and that was pretty much everywhere. It's particularly problematic when one character experiences instalove not once but twice. It just cheapens it and feels a little silly and lazy to me, especially when there would be a perfectly logical reason to slowly fall for this person. Maybe that was what was intended to happen, but because things felt so rushed, it seemed more like instalove to me.

Overall, Fallen Empire is still well written, has a pretty interesting world, and is just an easy, entertaining read. If you're looking for something that's just a quick, enjoyable read that'll hold your attention for a while, this did it for me.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was totally drawn to this cover and knew I would read this at some point. When it was picked for My TBR list I was rather excited. This book had everything and more, fantasy, magic, dragons, shapeshifters, etc. This is my first book from K.N. Lee and it wont be my last, I love how she tells a story. I can't wait to read the next book.

Amalia is a mage and a group called the Brotherhood is after her. She must leave the only place she has ever know and go on a journey to escape from these evil men. There is something special about Amalia the problem is we don't know what that is, apparently, she doesn't either. The story is a slow build and switches between a few POV but the Main POV are Amalia and a Shifter names Kylan. They might be destined for each other and the story is a build of these two and what is going to happen in, I assume the next book.

I liked Amalia a lot, living in a town she is very naive, I felt bad for her but I love how as the story goes on she gets a little stronger and how it ended I think we are about to see one badass woman. I really liked Kylan, I liked what he was and how he was an independent person but had his faults. His clan reminds me of vikings but I wont give it away. I was so excited when I found out more about it. The Brotherhood are just not nice men, like no, they have firedrakes and pretty much rip people apart. I can safely say I HATED Brother Marduk.

Here is my only issue, the book was a little rushed and some of the action scene were not bad but needed something more. I felt like the story could have been expanded a little more and I don't think it would have affected how much I enjoyed it or slow it down. It ended with a bit of a cliffhanger which I was fine with, the thing that bothered me, was it was at 67%. I want to call this a build up for the epic next book but I noticed it was also under 200 pages. I love the mix of characters and paranormal creatures and I want more of it. *stomps feet*

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, K.N. Lee has a lot of books I am now planning to dive into. I loved her writing and the story she tells is unique! I would totally recommend, please note, that there is a few gory moments in this story. Great Characters and a story I really did enjoy with a great mix of paranormal creatures! A must read, even if it ending at 67%. :)

Thanks for stopping by to check out my review.

Have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life

[R.S. Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book after signing up to K.N. Lee's newsletter and street team, which btw, is a great way to learn more about the author. The cover instantly drew my eye to it and then the blurb caught my attention that I knew I need to pick this book up and read it. So, I pre-ordered it and waited patiently until the release date.

This story definitely has an interesting concept but it's just the beginning, and therefore only part of the story. It's about where magic is being destroyed and those who manage to keep it, have to hide it from the world or risk being destroyed along with it.

There were multiple POV's in this story and we learn a lot about the characters Amalia and Kylan. Amalia is a mage, and Kylan one of the last dragon shifters left, and they both have to fight for their survival.

There were some things that I was expecting, mainly because one of the characters literally says, "this is going to happen" and then some chapters later, low and behold the thing happens and you're like, "well yeah, I knew that was coming." I feel like if there had been a cryptic message or something the character didn't quite fully comprehend it could have been a little more of an "omg what the hell?!" moment. Then there was a plot twist that I indeed went, HOLY CRAP, at. I loved it.

With ALL the different types of characters in this book I still got an odd reaction. I was unsatisfied. There was so much information, and action and really good writing but I still felt like there was something still missing from the ending. Because it did just that, it ended without any warning.

Of course, this is compelling me to read the second book because I need to know what is going to happen, but I felt that this book could have ended a little better, and still kept me wanting more. The chapters are on the short side, but I found that quite endearing and made the pace of the book seem a little quicker, thus, heightening my interest.

However, one of the biggest things that frustrated me is that this book ended at 67%. So, a full third of the book was just promotional material and chapter excerpts. Normally, I get like one chapter to tease me into the next book, or even another book written by the author but this was FAR too much at the back of a book. In my opinion.

Overall the story itself was interesting and has me wanting to read the second book.

[Cherry Mischievous · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Thoughts:
What drew me to this book is the fantastic book cover! Now that, I bought without even reading the book synopsis. I know, I'm superficial that way. Book covers matter to me. I have to say, that when it comes to sales pitch, the cover art department or whoever did the cover design, aced it! It sold the book to me! The other thing that got this book read is the fact that it got dragons in it! All hail the dragons!!! And then the world building is just fantastic!! The dragons are good, the elves are distant, the forest is dense, the rivers are cool, there is rugged terrain, violent seas, etc., etc., wonderful!! Additionally, I really like the voice of this author! It has a compelling quality. The character development though is a tinee, tiny effy... as in, the heroine has a tendency to be "too stupid to live" (TSTL). I'm kinda hoping that this will not bloom into a full TSTL in the subsequent books in the series. Now that, would be a real shame... However, it ends in a whooping, huge cliffhanger!! And here's the real kicker, I have a feeling that this author is a cliffie kind of author. So am not sure I'm buying anymore of her books... such a shame though, with that wonderful voice...

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 0.5
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 4
Plot = 3.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[Birgit · Rating 3 out of 5]

After The Brotherhood destroy her home, Amalia, a young mage, finds shelter in a village of wolf shifters. But she has to hide her magic abilities, as mages are despised, feared - and mostly killed in the Empire.
Not a bad plot at all, but more a coming-of-age story for younger adults, perhaps, than for a more mature reader (and I don't mean hot steamy scenes with "mature"). The main characters were likeable, always a plus, but the narration style itself sometimes used a simple language which I associate more with fairytales or stories for younger people and children.
What really annoyed me were the numerous spelling and grammar errors - if on page 5 I see "their" instead of the correct "they're", this really frustrates me.
So - cheers to the author, not a bad book at all, but a big Boo! for the editor.
Will I read the second book in this series? I might, because, as I said, the plot as such wasn't bad, and the protagonists interesting enough to make me want to know more - always hoping the author changed the editor of course, or made use of the variety of spelling and grammar helps available online.

[Linda Hamonou · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Brotherhood decide to attack the neutral/peaceful part of the world because they need to find the one Mage that is going to give them what they need.
You know that those guys are really up to no good. After the attack, Amalia is left alone on the run.

The world building was pretty good even though a bit confusing at time. There were supposed to be boundaries and separations between the mage, the humans, the dragon and the wolves but the more we get into the story the more we see that those boundaries aren't really fixed. People also don't actually hate each other like they are supposed to and we don't see much of the prejudice described at first.
I find that Amalia trusts people a bit easily. I can understand that she has no choice but her relationship with Aros develops a bit fast. Though I think she is a very nice character to follow.
I also like Kylan, I wish we would see a bit more of him and how his life actually developed to where he wants to fight the brotherhood.

This book was a fun read, it also has unpredictable twists that makes it a great read.

[Katheyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Fallen Empire“ by K.N. Lee introduces us to an epic fantasy realm populated by dragons, mermaids, shifters, hybrid and humans fighting for survival.

Amalia is a Mage on the run from The Brotherhood, in search of place where magic wielders can live safely. Unfortunately, the path to neutral territory is out of reach and she must fight for survival surrounded by shifters and against a monk investing in the destruction of magic. Until now Amalia has denied her own magic, she has never been trained and thus she is just playing it by ear. As the plot develops, the reader gets invested in the story, fighting, suffering, overcoming the odds at Amalia’s side until the very last page….

An intriguing plot, with interesting characters and a well-developed world setting whose only downside is its short length, that does not allow the narrative to be explored in more dept. It is nevertheless the first installment in the series; thus, it is reason to expect a more thoroughly incursion into this fantastic world in the next books.

[C. Erani Kole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 for me.

I thought this was pretty good. I really loved how epic some scenes were. Everything would go nice and good and smooth and them WHAM you're hit with an epic moment that kinda has your mouth dropping a little. A few times like this happened to me and it really made the first book in this series awesome. I really liked the writing and the people and build-up, but the two major things that didn't do it for me are the following: where and how it ended. I like looking at my percentage at the bottom that tells you how much you've got left of a book. When this book ended at 68% with pages from the author's other work, I won't lie. I was a bit disappointed, especially because the book felt like it ended so abruptly. I honestly felt like I only got the first half of the book. A few other things made me pause like little errors here and there but otherwise I'd read the next book. I can't not know what's going to happen.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been ages since I read a fantasy novel and after having just finished a harrowing, emotional novel, I thought I needed a change of pace. And this was pretty good. Loved the cover from the start and the characters and setting were fantastic. I’m calling it a novel – but more like a novella. Only 156 pages and I cannot understand why the next book could not have just followed on which would have made it into a story – especially because it ended on a cliffhanger and I have no idea how long I have to wait for the next one. Good start to a series that I just want to keep reading now and I want/need to know what happens to Kylan (the last of Dragon clan hunting firedrakes) and Amalia (a Mage who has escaped The Brotherhood after being hunted by them). Bring on the next one please......

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amalia is a mage in a land where being a mage is dangerous. The Brotherhood of dragon riders has decide to invade the one safe area for mages to live and enslave them all. Amalia flees and thinks she has found a safe haven but the gods have warned that she will be betrayed. No where is safe for her.

This is a fascinating land where there are mermaids, shifters, dragons, mages and humans. None seem to be able to live with the others. There is distrust and firm borders everywhere. Amalia just wants a place to live and be safe but it seems fate has other plans for her. Amalia seems smart and resourceful, all good qualities in a heroine. She does seem a little fearful but she hasn't realized her potential yet and she has a lot to be fearful of in this society. I am curious to watch her grow and change as time goes by.

[Raveen Vann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazong book.

I seriously loved this book. Have been waiting for this ome for a while and was so excoted to get to finally read it. I was totally hooked from page one til the end. Loved Amalia and Kylan. They were meant for each other and just waiting for the right time to meet although they did not know that til the end of this book. They are both very special and born to do great things together and bring back what had been lost and destroyed because of the Brotherhood. Even though its a cliffhanger it will still leave you loving this one and waiting on edge for the next book to come out. Absolutely can not wait for the next one and find out what happens with these two and everything else.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am liking the world building in this series where the Sky Brotherhood is searching for just the right mage to sacrifice for some, so far, murky purpose. When they attack the town of Skal which is located in formerly neutral territory, Amalia and her family are immediately targeted. Amalia's farther uses his magic to help her escape, but now she is on her own and must flee to the land of the enemy to avoid capture. The Wolves take her in, thinking her a simple human, but one knows her secret. Will he betray her in the end?

We also meet the last of the Dragons. They have been waiting for a prophecy to be fulfilled which will return them to their rightful home, the Erani Empire. Can Kylan find the lost heir to the Empire and bring his people home?

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Amalia's first battle is for more than her life. It's for the souls of every being born with magic”l

There was no way to avoid being drawn in once I read that line in the description - and I’m very glad I gave into temptation as this was a fabulous book on a grand scale. Indeed, the Kindle blurb is very accurate when it describes this book as a “sprawling epic fantasy novel”. Add to that wonderful leads in Amalia and Kylan, a great supporting cast, a superb example of world-building with it’s shifting wolf hybrids, dragons, and mermaids, and the excellent writing I’ve come to expect from this author. The result is a book that has to be labeled as fantastic.

Highly recommended.

[Victoria (nocturnalintimacy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kindle unlimited.
2.5 Stars

This is the worst part of Kindle Unlimited: reading books that had so much potential, but fall short.

There were problems with this. Grammatical issues aside, there was a major timeline discrepancy. Some places, things happened days apart, sometimes it said months, other tomes it said years. It made for very confusing chronology. There was also the feeing of incompleteness. The book ends at the beginning of the adventure, so this reads like a prequel. But most disappointing of all, was a lack of character depth. I didn’t know ANY of them by the end.

I think the idea, and the world are great...but this needs some good editing and development.

[Sue Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragons,Mage, Wolf Shifters, Firedrakes, Human and Gods

Love "Dragonriders of Pern" you will like this teen and young adult book. God's Eris and Enil give a gift to the last Erani descendant Amelia (15) and Dragon Shifter Kylan (24) who were born to be mates and save their people but they have never met before. Wolf shifter Aros befriends and betrays Amelia. There are two more books to this series that I don't have yet. I will . I will follow this author in this and other series she has now that I have found this first book . Her work is well worth keeping up with. Good for all readers at this point.

[Charlotte Hope Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fallen Empire

I loved the book. Amalia has had to his who she was all her life. She is of age to take a husband that he parents has chosen. During an outing, just before the vows, darkest being ridden by monks attack the village and her betrothed is killed. The villagers run to the cursed woods not thinking they would be followed.
Marduk, the head of the Brotherhood, tells the mages to come forward or he will start killing the villagers. Amalia and her parents are found out to be mages by a staff but Amalia's father tells her to run and he blows on her with a cold wind and it sends her far away.
Read the book to see what happens next.

[Cheri Winget · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book of 3 in this Empire of Dragons. I normally don't like books about Gods, whether Greek or Norse. There is always a sense of Gods playing, while the humans are the ones being hurt and killed. This is no different. The world is being well developed as you go, but it is long and arduous. This book ends in a cliffhanger, leading into the next book in line. The main characters are so young in age and maturity. Definitely Young Adult.
Reading this via kindle unlimited, but if you are into mythology with sorts of mystical creatures then this book is well worth your time and $$. For me not so much.