Claiming the Dragon King

The Elite Guards #2

by Amelia Hutchins, Tenaya Jane (Cover Art and Design)

The Horde took everything from him.
He’s honor bound to avenge his people and take back his palace by any means necessary.
Blane has kept his people hidden from the Horde since the day they came in and wiped out the dragon race, but they didn’t kill them all. Now he’s back, and making a move against the Horde. He’s going to take back what’s rightfully his in a step to wage war against those who took everything from him. The one thing he didn’t expect was to find her instead of the Horde King’s offspring.
Ciara has lived in the shadows and survived torture at the hands of her own father. She’s trained hard to find her place among the Elite Guard. Until she is captured by him…changing her destiny along with it in one fateful night.
Now, she will taste unbridled passion at the hands of her captor, and she isn’t sure she’ll survive the heat of the Dragon King.
Not suited for anyone under 18. If you don't like alpha a-holes, this book isn't for you. Trigger warnings and adult content. I write a-holes who get knocked down by strong, sassy females that earn and demand the respect from the men.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Dragons, Fae, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Enemies To Lovers

410 pages, ebook

First published July 9, 2018

About the author

Amelia Hutchins is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of the Monsters, The Fae Chronicles, and Nine Realm series. She is an admitted coffee addict who drinks magical potions of caffeine and turns them into magical worlds. She writes alpha-hole males and the alpha women who knock them on their arse, hard. Amelia doesn’t write romance. She writes fast-paced books that go hard against traditional standards. Sometimes a story isn’t about the romantic aspect; it’s about rising to a challenge, breaking through them like wrecking balls, and shaking up entire worlds to discover who they are. If you’d like to check out more of her work, or just hang out in an amazing tribe of people who enjoy rough men, and sharp women, join her at Author Amelia Hutchins Group on Facebook.
Books by Amelia Hutchins along with reading order for the series.
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/12402...

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authoramelia...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.amel...

LEGACY OF THE NINE REALMS

Flames of Chaos
Ashes of Chaos
Ruins of Chaos
Crown of Chaos
Coming Soon
Queen of Chaos
King of Chaos 2024
Reign of Chaos


THE FAE CHRONICLES

Fighting Destiny
Taunting Destiny
Escaping Destiny
Seducing Destiny
Unraveling Destiny
Embracing Destiny
Crowning Destiny
Finished Series

THE ELITE GUARDS

A Demon’s Dark Embrace
Claiming the Dragon King
The Winter Court
A Demon’s Plaything
Standalones, which can be read alone.

A GUARDIAN’S DIARY

Darkest Before Dawn
Death before Dawn
Midnight Rising -TBA

MONSTERS SERIES

Playing with Monsters
Sleeping with Monsters
Becoming his Monster
Revealing the Monster
Finished Series

WICKED KNIGHTS

Oh, Holy Knight
If She’s Wicked
Book Three -TBA


MIDNIGHT COVEN BOOKS
Forever Immortal
Immortal Hexes
Midnight Coven
Finished Series

BULLETPROOF DAMSEL SERIES
Bulletproof Damsel
Coming Soon
Silverproof Damsel 2024
Fireproof Damsel

Alpha’s Claim Standalone

WITHIN THE DARKNESS
Moon-Kissed
Book 2 TBA
THE DARKEST FAE
King of the Shadow Fae
Coming Soon
King of the Night Fae
Queen of the Stars

Fate Series
Whispers of Fate (Intro to Kahleena’s book)

If you’re following the Fae Chronicles, Elite Guards, and Monsters series, the reading order is as follows.

Fighting Destiny
Taunting Destiny
Escaping Destiny
Seducing Destiny
A Demon’s Dark Embrace
Playing with Monsters
Unraveling Destiny
Sleeping with Monsters
Claiming the Dragon King
Oh, Holy Knight
Becoming his Monster
A Demon’s Plaything
The Winter Court
If She’s Wicked
Embracing Destiny
Crowning Destiny
Revealing the Monster
Whispers of Fate

Reviews

[Blue · Rating 1 out of 5]

So.... It's a no for me.
(DNF around 55%)

I'm disappointed. Angry too.

I enjoyed the first book (the Ristan's one) and I'm also a follower of the The Fae Chronicles' series. So what could go wrong? I did like it when Blane showed up in the last The Fae Chronicles' book. And I was excited to see a new Hutchins' book! WHAT COULD GO WRONG?



Come on. They already had the perfect plot for a love story. Enemies and meant to be together. How could it turn out so fucked up?

But well, we have Blane. Screwing everything up. He could do it once, twice at most. Not Blane, Blane'll only screw up things farther and farther.
Claire is cool, she's strong and badass, but she's also dumb here and there. And too "nice". She's not a thing, and for the most parts I had read, that was how she was treated.
The parts I enjoyed: When Synthia showed up and then the rest of the horde (I read in some of the reviews that their part was good/saved a little bit, and it was indeed good, so I totally jumped to it and fuck the rest).

To me it's kind of sad to read such book, when one of my favorites parts of this series is when Synthia stands as one with Ryder's Elite Guards. Showing how badass and powerful she is. Showing that their society sucks and mostly treat women as if they are inferior and coins to be used for gain through marriage.

And (THE SPOILERS COME, BEWARE)

here Claire is raped.

It was rape. Even though she didn't say it with these words, she said it. "It wasn't given"(...) "you took it".
And the worst part is: why? She was into him, why did it need to be forced? She didn't want it that way, she said it, and Blane? 'Ehhh, I'm a little drunk and you're a whore anyway' : yeah, it was all based on it.

Okay, I was > overlooking < it, not because Blane did something to fix it, or Claire kicked his fucking ass for it. Mostly because of the context, she was his enemy and he didn't believe a word she said. Does it make it right? No. Did it make me feel a bit better when I was reading the scene? Not at all.

But he would fix it. Come on. He needed to fix it. (Not even pointing out that he basically humiliated her after forcing her to have sex with him)



No. Blane can't say he's sorry and try to fix things up (I literally don't think he said he was sorry, but he was like "it was wrong, but lemme fuck you again").
Then he has a brilliant plan: Let's get her drunk and force her to marry me! YaY! Brilliant!
"Got ya, wife," Blane purred. Isn't it funny? Let's all laugh together because now she's married without even knowing that it happened and she doesn't have a say in it.
Why? Because she's a thing. A gift that doesn't have feelings or opinions.



AGAIN. It didn't need to happen that way. Because when they mated (HER FAULT, CLEEEEEEARLY.), if he had talked to her, she'd probably say yes to marry him.
But no, first he needed to go spend the night with a different woman, then to see Claire almost dying and violate her mind (But yeah, should anyone be surprised by now? I'm not) and after that, why not a forced marriage? Sounds just perfect.

"I survived him. I will survive this too." That's how Claire felt after getting married without knowing. Isn't it lovely? She was abused and used by her father, then Blane finds her and abuses and uses her.
And people.... For what I gathered, he'll fucked it up even more after that!

Btw, that dragon wish was bullshit.

I really hope that the next book will be very different than this one, because I like Hutchins' work and I wouldn't want to see it as a bunch of shit. And that's what I got from this book.

[Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 "excrutiating Dragon King" stars

Blane , the last of the true blooded, semi-God, Dragon king is driven by hate and revenge towards the Horde, its King Ryder, his brothers mostly for having participated in the slaughter of the women and children of his caste.

Blane spent his whole adult life building his people again, creating an army that would eventually avenge the crimes of the past. The Horde will pay and they will die.

So, he plans to steal the Royal Horde babies and make the King and Queen kneel as they give their lives in exchange for the lives of their kids.

BUT, the plan failed and instead of the Royal babies, he took Ciara , the Royal Horde princess, King Ryder's sister....

"You're a means to an end."
"That's all you are, and all you will ever be to me, princess."

BUT what he never thought or expect was for her to streighten her spine and strike back, slowly entering his sphere, his inner being, and his mind and what happens, firstly, on a physical level, - as she is Fae, and they feed on sexual energy and emotional release during the very act - slowly and painfully hard, grows into smth they can't quite define BUT it's primal, it's strong and inevitable...



and Blane's broken human is fighting hard against it, denying it, casting it aside in fits of anger and rage and yet he can't stay away, he's pulled in by Ciara's strength and spirit inspite of the horrific and vile things he endured in torment by her own father. The very same monster that orderd the extermination of Dragons.

Whilst Blane's inner Dragon, driven by the ancient wisdom and clarity, sees Ciara for what she truly is - THEIRS.

Even when I hated you, I wanted you more than I ever have another woman. I fought it, Ciara. i fucking fought it hard. You won; you slew the dragon and made me want you more than I wanted revenge.

I'm going to leave no part of your soul intouched by mine. I'm going to claim you in ways that you won't understand and hell, you may never fully want to. Tonight you become mine in every way a man claims his bride.

BUT inspite of their unconventional love story with so many ups and downs, backs and forwards, they still need to fight the inner enemy within Blane's ranks, threatning to destroy the Dragons for their personal gain of throne and for that, Blane and Ciara will have to trust each other which just might be the most challenging and the hardest sacrifice of them all...


I have to admit that even though I was aware of Amelia Hutchins' warnings at the beginning of the book, about the kind of heroes and heroines and storylines she writes, I never expected to have such a strong connection to the heroine Ciara, the only other female character that utterly won me over was/is Synthia, now the Horde's queen and even though there were moments with Ciara that I felt she should have/could have done things differently cause I believed she had the strength and witts to do so, and yet she didn't, I accepted her whole.

As oppose to Blane, the Dragon King. Goddammit, that man just made my mind blow with excrutiating pain LOL, he has driven my patience to the utmost final frontiers, I don't think I have any left...

and yes, Amelia said "I might not even like the hero, at the end of the book" and I can't really determine wether I like him enough NOT to dislike him in fullest LOL

I certainly can't say that I love Blane, he was just too stubborn, too pigheaded, too resiliently stuck up in the one blank emotion - hatered that he couldn't see farther than his own hatefull ass, and then there were moments he had shown such a sensible vulnerability that he melted my iron cast mode of conduct in just a tiny crack...but then, he would diminish it all, in the very next instant, with that one-sided mind...urgh,

he gave me such whiplash of emotional slaps, I couldn't make my head look straight ahead and that pissed me off, this push and pull, yes/no shit just made me angsty and itchy and and the end of the deal, I was ready to burst and shout: "oh, come the fuck on, get your ass out of the gutter and man the fuck up!!!"

which was kinda redundant, cause he was, in fact, a true male the full time LOL only an excrutiating frustrating ALPHA specimen...

BUT what I can and will say is, that I understood him and where he was coming from, nearing the end, he is the kind of characters that will grow on you and you will develop an empathy for him, of a sort, cause you might even doubt that it's the right thing to feel LOL, so all in all, he is most certainly a man hard to like, or love, and yet, to hell with it all, I accept him, still. *sigh*



But this story deserves the praise I give, merely cause Amelia knows what she's doing, so if you are up for meeting two stong-headed characters, each in his/hers own right entering the verbal and physical banter in a captor/captive darkish vibe, that develops into the enemies-to-lovers unconventional and unlikely romance action filled drama set in the most extravagant, absolutely stunning an captivating imaginary scenery of the Faery land, then this is the perfect story for you.

I hope you enjoy. *wink*

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before you read this book, I think you should read my review. As a reader, I'm always skeptical of one-star reviews. I prefer to judge books myself, and I find that one-star reviews are often overblown hate-spews by irked readers. But I wish I'd known what I was getting into before I read this book, so I hope you'll give me the chance to simply shed some light on some aspects of this book.
I'm a big fan of romance. Whatever else I'm reading, I almost always have a romance novel on my Kindle so I can get my fix. I've also explored the genre enough to know the tropes, the cliches, the good parts and the bad, so I hope you'll pay attention to what I'm about to say.
When amazon sent me a suggested reads list with this book on it, I saw no reason not to drop the $4.00 and read it. I regret that. I could say something snarky at this point, but I'd rather just explain why.
This book is not a romance. It may think it is, but really, its a story of repeated, and often violent rape. The 'hero' of this story, Blane, repeatedly rapes and sexually assaults the heroine, Ciara. He also physically assaults her and at one points uses his power to cover her entire body in severe burns. He ties her to a pole and leaves her to be stoned and beaten, on more than one occasion, and he binds her with an enchanted artifact that cuts into her when she struggles. This artifact at one point causes her to be nearly cut in half. It is admitted at one point that the 'hero's' intention was in fact for her family to attempt to rescue her and to have her be cut in half as a result. He berates her with vile language and hateful words, and never prevents any of the other characters from doing so as well. For the majority of the book, he keeps the heroine tied naked to a pole in his tent. When the couple have a child, which was conceived on the night that Blane raped Ciara and took her virginity, he threatens to take the child away and not allow her to see it, as punishment for the heroine running from him. Throughout the novel, Blane's behavior changes very little. He spouts rhetoric about how the heroine and her family are monsters who rape and murder, yet he repeatedly rapes her and abuses her. His apologies, which are almost nonexistent, tend to downplay his behavior and lay fault on the heroine. Even late into the novel, its clear the Blane intends to murder her entire family in vengeance, using her as a means to do so
and keep her prisoner to "serve his needs and carry his children." The overarching theme of the novel is that it is somehow the herione's destiny to 'heal' and 'fix' Blane, despite his repeated abuse of her. Though Blane makes some claims about protecting her and 'cherishing' her, his actions do not support his words. Furthermore, and in complete honesty, the book isn't very well written. The plot is garbled and at points nonsensical, a disjointed backdrop to multiple scenes of sexual assault and verbal abuse.
To be explicit, over the course of the novel, Blane (I've spoiler blocked the following but most have little to do with the actual story plot) ;
-- Sexually assaults the heroine, fingering her while she begs him not to while calling her a slut and whore and taunting her, telling her to "fight" him. He holds her down when she does struggle. He even explains that if he wanted to rape her, nobody could stop him, but he could never want someone like her.
-- Brings multiple men into the tent to hold her down while he strips her naked and puts the aforementioned deadly artifact on her while she sobs. The object tightens and causes her to scream in pain. Shortly after, it draws blood as it cuts into her.
-- Ties her naked to a pole in his tent and gropes her while washing her sex, telling her she reeks too much to sleep beside.
-- Sexually assaults her, preforming oral on her while she begs him to stop. He then jacks himself off against her and comes on her stomach, laughing at her discomfort.
-- He again has her tied to a pole and 'cleans' her while she protests.
-- In the night, he pulls her out of bed and ties her to the pole, forcing her to stand there naked in the cold rather than sleep.
-- Drunk and angry, he holds her down and forcefully takes her virginity while she begs him to stop. She screams in agony and sobs, and Blane tells her she should have tried harder to explain that she was a virgin, despite the fact that he called her liar and whore when she attempted to tell him before. Blane then pitifully attempts to excuse his behavior, saying he wouldn't have raped her if he'd known she was a virgin. He also claims that since he's taken her virginity, she now belongs to him. and tells her that it shouldn't matter anyway, since her race are known to be promiscuous. He then proceeds to fuck her raw, explaining that he has to show her what sex is 'really like.'
-- The next morning, he thanks her, as he "always wanted to know what fucking something like (her) would feel like." When she is noticeably hurt, he ties her to the pole and leaves her, later returning to wash her sex with icy water. He suggest that she not bring attention to herself, such as not to attract other men to come rape her.
-- He gets her extremely drunk and tricks her into marrying him. On their wedding night, when she attempts to preform oral on him to appease his anger, her savagely face-fucks her and hurts her. He calls her a lying bitch. He then proceeds to brutally rape her, leaving her alone sobbing and inconsolable.
-- Shortly thereafter, the heroine completely disassociates as he forces himself on her again
Honestly, the list goes on. Even late into the book, Blane is often brutal and abusive towards Ciara. It made me sick to my stomach. I'm not telling you not to read it; do what you want. I'm just hoping to spread the word and ensure that nobody else goes into this novel blind as I did. I was hoping for an interesting and sexy romance. Instead, I was nauseated and on the verge of tears as I read a story of repeated assault.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dragon made me do it…

***4.5 Stars***

My heart was pumping in excitement…the tears were pouring from my eyes with devastation…I squirmed from the heat jumping off the pages…my mind was overwhelmed with anger, grief, frustration and fear. THIS IS WHY I READ PARANORMAL ROMANCE!!! I absolutely LOVED Claiming the Dragon King. I was sucked in from the first page to the last. It wasn’t the easiest of journeys to forever kind of love, but it was what I have come to expect in an Amelia Hutchins story.

Now, some truths…I DNF’d my last Amelia Hutchins story. I didn’t write a review, I actually wiped it clean from Goodreads. So, going from my very bad memory, I remember being frustrated, angry and very squinty-eyed…for some reason or another. This made me hesitant to buy another from this author. BUT…DRAGONS!! I am a sucker for dragons. It’s like they call to me. I mean seriously, they growl, they're muscley, they can fly and they are bossy. How’s a paranormal romance lover supposed to deny herself? Well, I sat there with my finger hovering over the “Buy now with 1-Click” button. Do I take a risk? Will I love her dragons? Am I going to be frustrated, angry and squinty-eyed?

I took the risk, loved her dragons and was frustrated, angry and squinty-eyed…in a good way. Well, maybe not a good way, more in a way that left me on a great reading high. Because in true Amelia Hutchins fashion we have to hate our heroes before we love them. We also have to see our heroines grow into the strong, determined and fierce women they were always meant to be.

Some readers would question how you could love a book where hate, humiliation and abuse are used to make the heroine suffer. Sure, all of these things make me uncomfortable, but I manage to somehow be patient to see the whole picture unfold. Yes, Blane should never have left Ciara defenceless and open to abuse. The people throwing the stones felt justified and blamed Ciara for her family’s atrocities. Blane was struggling with his own hate and need for revenge against Ciara. And, some of it was justified…if you didn’t have the whole picture.

I ran the gamut of emotions when it came to this read. I loved it and I hated it. I liked her and disliked him. I admired her strength to persevere while I also struggled that she persevered too long, to get hurt even more. But, this is a paranormal romance. The rules, people and worlds are different. What we would judge as abhorrent here, is everyday living there. I’m not expected to accept these horrors as OK here, so I find it hard to judge by my own rules. Claiming the Dragon King is a very trigger happy book. This is my way of saying that people who are sensitive to physical and verbal abuse should steer clear. Readers who loved the Fae Chronicles in the first few books, will find this very similar.

I found myself at a bit of a quandary when it came to rating Claiming the Dragon King. I went in expecting the worst and was pleasantly/horrifically/excitedly surprised. The storyline is fantastic but again I find myself frustrated at the finished product we are presented with and pay for. She writes a disclaimer at the front accepting that there are mistakes in her work and we’re all human and it happens. But, she uses an editing/proofing service that should be held accountable. One or two mistakes I have no problems with but there were a lot that should have been picked up by a decent proof-reader.

So, my problem with rating Claiming the Dragon King is that I loved the journey but struggled with the execution. The story left me on a high but deep down I know it wasn’t perfect. How do I rate it down when I was left satisfied? I guess, Goodreads helps with this one. My rating will show 5 stars, but I’m giving it 4.5 stars. It was almost perfect…for me.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful for a lot of reasons, but by far the biggest culprit is because the hero is an abusive arsehole and he never truly gets his comeuppance or redeems himself in any way.

Trigger warnings and adult content. I write a-holes who get knocked down by strong, sassy females that earn and demand the respect from the men.

See, I thought I knew from the disclaimer and the revenge-abduction premise what I was getting into. I was prepared to accept that the hero, Blane, was a jerk and that I would dislike him, but that the goal of the story would be to eventually show some sort of redemption arc to the point that it would be plausible for Ciara, the heroine to fall in love with her abductor.

The problem though, is that it never happens. He never gets 'knocked down', he constantly abuses her or leaves her open to abuse both physically and mentally from others, he manipulates and lies to her repeatedly, and never showed her much kindness or affection, besides a few scraps of remorse; and even the remorse never lasts long because as soon as he finds some common ground with Ciara, he blows it all over by abusing her again in a constant cycle.

Some might argue that the rules of our world in real life don't apply because it's a paranormal romance, and the characters can't be judged according to human standards of behaviour. And normally, I'd agree. I kept reading despite the rape, despite the constant humiliation and abuse inflicted on the heroine, because I accepted that that's the world the author created and I wanted to see how she'd make us root for the romance in the end.

BUT usually these kinds of stories feature the heroes learning and changing their behaviour as they get to know the heroine or learn the truth about certain events that changed their perspective, and here it doesn't really happen up until the last chapter. I can buy the reasons Blane hated Ciara so much and his terrible treatment of her in the beginning , but once he found out about halfway through the book that she was blameless and a victim of her evil father too, he still continued to treat her with disrespect and continued doing things like drugging her to trick her into marriage or planning to backstab her and kill her brothers, and just generally not treat her much better or soften in any way that made it believable for her to have fallen in love with him. . He acknowledged that she's innocent and that he was wrong, but after magnanimously deciding to 'keep' her, he goes back to his shitty behaviour. In fact, their relationship was based purely on lust (and on her part, the fact that he was the first person she could stand touching) and there was nothing else to show the development of their relationship beyond the physical; he didn't attempt to court her or make up for his abusive behaviour, they didn't have a talk that didn't end in sex or hostility, they didn't work together towards a goal, etc. NOTHING.
At the end of the book, he was still the same abusive arsehole he was at the start, and I felt cheated out of him actually being dragged down to hell and made to regret all he did.

But as horrible as Blane was, I still found it easier to read his parts than Ciara, who for some reason, couldn't talk to anyone without monologue-ing at them:

Blane: Do as I say or else.

Ciara: what are you gonna do i'm not afraid of death in fact i've been through hell and worse death doesn't scare me you know nothing i am princess of ice you know nothing about me kill me or shut up i am innocent i was a child but i'm a badass bitch now you bore me do what you want my brother is super powerful he will destroy you all and do you know his wife is a goddess she could be right here and you don't stand a chance and anyway i've been through worse nothing you do can scare me i'm not scared at all and yes i'm a whore and no i've not touched anyone but yeah i'm worse than what you've heard but don't believe the rumours you are terrible i'm sorry for your loss but i'm not afraid of pain bring it on sugar tits asgjhdkjsljldskdlskdlksldkldsklsk bla bla bla bla
ON AND ON AND ON

Not verbatim but omg so much of the dialogue went like this and I kept picturing characters in the book all stuck in a freeze frame while someone (usually Ciara) answers everything like a damn lecture. It was a drag to read and a lazy way for the author to dump info and tell us about the character and plot instead of showing.

SETTING

None. The majority of the book takes place inside tents where the heroine is confined as a prisoner. I still don't understand why Ciara's people are called the Horde, how many fae castes are there, what other species looks like, what the hell are the different realms and worlds, how do their societies function, what do Ciara's brands mean, what are fae powers, etc. So many unanswered questions. But I also stopped caring at one point.

I can't even tell you how big the bloody dragon king is when he's in dragon form or much details of how he looks like. Or how any of the other characters look like really. This was just a terrible book overall and I'm only giving it two stars instead of one because there was still something addictive in the writing that made me stick with it to the end.

Edit: I forgot to add that I changed mind upon revisiting some parts of the book afterwards (I was bored and vaguely masochistic that day I guess) and changed the rating to one star to better reflect how awful it was.

[itsmeesahara❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Sometimes we have to fall before we fly, brother. You can’t always protect us from everything. Life is about falling and getting back up, it’s about learning to fly and knowing when we can and when we can’t. It’s about living through the pain, and finding the rays that enter through our broken cracks.”

Dragons!!! Yes, they have dragons!!🐉 Faery wouldn't be complete without them.
Some may not like Blane for what he did but I guess I’m in the minority, I like Blane & I love their story. I think he was just naive & was very stubborn 😂. You didn’t even notice that you already like him just like Ciara did. As for Ciara, she’s my next favorite after Synthia (sorry Lena 😉) after what she's been through from her father and came up being the bad ass she is, who wouldn't like her.
Great addition to the series and another stellar book by Amelia 🥰

[Paula (In & Out)]

I will never understand what is so entertaining about rape - or a "Hero" who is a rapist!
Is it "romantic" to read about a Hero who rapes & tortures heroine - or anyone else for that matter?
Is that what is entertaining these days?

To each their own I guess, but if this book was at all enjoyable for anyone, I seriously have no words!

[Roxana · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Rosebud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blane, king of the Dragons, was a small child when the Horde King systematically slaughtered all dragons, including his own family, in front of his eyes. Able to escape, he's succeeded in resurrecting the dragon nation though it means being continually on the run as, if the Horde knew they didn't complete their genocide of all dragons, they'd return to finish the job.

Finally ready to seek his revenge, Blane acts on a drastic plan of action to steal the Hoarde King's infant children to bait the king in a one on one combat to death. Getting his hands on the Hoarde King's only sister instead, Blane feels she will equally serve his purpose to flush out his prey.

Ciara has been a victim all her life to her father until she and her siblings were able to finally end their father's reign of terror. Now trying to right the wrongs of the past, Ciara discovers that the dragons her father had thought exterminated survive. More than that, they want their death wish curse to be fulfilled which can only happen with the death of Ciara's brother, the Hoarde king which she might have helped happen as she's Blane's prisoner.

* * * *

Warning: This isn't a fantasy fairy tale romance. It is a dark themed story that includes elements of violence, dub-non con, abuse, disturbing scenes of captivity, and is intended for fans who appreciate this sub-genre. It will be a trigger for those sensitive to rape scenarios. Consider yourself warned.

I've wanted to read this author for a while but haven't for whatever reason. Seeing this book featuring dragons pretty much made it a no brainer as my #1 passion is dragon lore. Throw in the epic fantasy sword and sorcery mix and there was no way I wasn't going to pass it by.

Main characters. The author developed these characters in a way that really worked. She didn't put it all out there to know the past and present about Ciara & Blane for the reader to know. A simile would be dating. You only get to know a person after a period of time - which is basically the same here. First impression of Blane is that he's a jerk and a-hole of the first degree making excuses for his own poor choices and bad behavior that, while have a basis of fact, don't give me the whole warm fuzzy feelings. Ciana, I feel, is like an egg whereas she's got a tough impenetrable exterior that hides her fragile interior. She knows one wrong crack in her shell would break her so she doesn't allow which is why she's training to be one of her king's Elite Guard, the ultimate bad-ass warriors of the realm.

The romance aspects of the story are on the darker side. The author very succinctly addressed, prior to the start of the story, the whole non-dub con scenes and rape references and content so reader forewarned, especially those with triggers to rape scenarios. In my opinion, yes, the dub-non con scenes are an accurate tag but I didn't feel the actual content crossed into taboo territory. More like a fantasy kidnap sort of thing where consensual sex evolved between the main characters. Anyway, that's my take. Other than that, readers will and should expect intense down and dirty scenes galore. One last comment. Ciana's feeds and gathers strength through sexual means and needs this to survive and live.

The secondary characters. There are varying degrees of interaction with characters from this author's other series as this series occurs in the same universe. Not a deal breaker if reader hasn't read anything other than this book - I haven't but will rectify that soon. The other characters unique to this actual story shine in their own right. Remy & Frya grew on me and that's not easy to admit as it's not often antihero personalities redeem themselves. Zahruk. I could literally feel the chemistry between him and the character I'm crossing my fingers is HIS match. Ms. Hutchins - please make it so....

My issues are minor and nit picking as I overall loved this story inhaling it from cover to cover. I was semi disappointed in the unspoken evil/bad guy elements. Yes, I always root for the under dog and yes keeping this whole side of things in stealth mode until needed was devious but spectacular, but the final reveal and all scenes related to that really didn't float my boat.

I'd recommend that fans of epic fantasy paranormal romance check this book out. For the price and length it delivers a punch reading experience that delivers scene after scene of changing action-adventure content topped off with erotic intimacy scenes galore.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!
Loved this one! Can’t wait for more of this series.

[Samantha K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rec - 5 stars & now a top favorite! I LOVED it!

H - An a*s! He's strong, opinionated, stubborn, controlling, possessive, mean, smexy, absolutely appalling at times and MAJOR alpha-hole! He's also the classic juxaposition of a "tortured" H with morals and yet an anti-H who seems morally reprehensible at times.
h - Strong, not a B but she does argue with the H when warranted. Trust me, she's completely justified. You'll wish she argued/fought more. At times, she seemed like a push-over. I loved her but wanted her to kick the H's a*s. (She does a little.) I also felt sorry for her. She's an admirable character.
3rd person POV with POV's from the H and h
Smex - open door and very steamy!
Triggers - h was abused/tortured by her father & you witness some of it in a nightmare she has; cheating that's hinted at strongly but I don't think it happened & dub-con/r*pe of h by H.
Major OW storyline - in the end I was OK with it but you'll hate the H for a time. I promise.
Hea for the couple HFN for the overall story with the Fae world.
I think you would enjoy this more if you read the Fae Chronicles first but I don't think you have to.
This is a darker story and is not for everyone. Be warned. (It's classic Amelia though so if you've loved her other books, you should be fine.)

Oh my goodness, where to begin??? I loved this book so much and pretty much devoured it! Amelia Hutchins is such a gifted writer! This H took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions and I loved it. I hated him and loved him at the same time. He was such an alpha-hole! :D

The h is kidnapped by the H. He hates her people but especially her as she's the daughter of the man that murdered his parents and his people. He wants to kill her brother, Ryder and the Fae. His plan is to kill them by using the h to lure them to him. The h has no intention of being used but she sees something in the Dragon King and thinks she can help him (and his people). She valiantly tries but my hell the H was stubborn with his prejudices. One moment, I thought he was falling for her and the next I learned he was even more of an a*s than I thought. He sounds horrible but wow! It made for an exciting book! I had to take a breather a few times because yeah he's that hot! (He really did take my breath away!)

Regarding the OW and possible cheating - I don't think anything happened. The h sees the H with the OW around camp. She sees how comfortable they are together and it's obvious they were intimate at one time. She thinks they have recently been intimate. The OW at first hates the h but once she sees the h for who she is, the OW becomes her friend and ally. She's loyal to the h even before the H stops being an alpha-hole. There's another OW issue that creeps up towards the end but I don't want to spoil it. It's riveting & shocking and you'll be stunned thinking how can this work out?! It does though. I promise! You will be happy. :D

This book was soooooo good! Amelia is a genius at her craft! I absolutely love-love-LOVED this and highly recommend it to those who enjoy a darker, more intense (& smexy) book.

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part of the Fae chronicles and needs to be read as part of the series as it contains interconnected characters that form part of a bigger picture and things just won't make a lot of sense if read as a standalone as there's a lot of backstory involved. 

This focuses on Ryder's sister Ciara whom we were introduced to previously and involves the dragons who have also been mentioned. When Blane the Dragon king attempts with his men to abduct the horde king's heirs it is instead Ciara who ends up kidnapped to use as leverage against her brother. Blane and his people are after revenge for the horrors and atrocities carried out by Ciara's father and he's hoping she will be the tool for her brother's downfall.

This had a real enemies-to-lovers vibe and Blane does start by hating Ciara for the blood that runs through her veins. He isn't kind to her and treats her absysmly even when he learns of her father's treatment towards his own children and how she has suffered at her father's hands he doesn't want to let go of his anticipated revenge leaving Ciara with little choice but to attempt to leave. 

But Blane's dragon is a separate entity than his host has claimed Ciara for his own marking her as his now Blane just needs to catch up with his beast in the feelings department and also let go of his revenge if he wants a future with the woman he has come to crave. Something he is struggling to do. There are also additional forces at work that want this peace to fail putting Ciara directly in danger.

This was well-written captivating and such an easy read. I adore this series and it was great to be back in the heart of Faery where this takes place. I loved seeing all of the familiar faces and this was a fabulous addition to the series that I enjoyed a lot.



Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

[Mai · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked my asshole ex better than this hero. Just saying.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off as a 5 star read for over half the book but turned turning towards 4, 3, and *almost* a 2 star read. And its all because of the hero. Goddam this man was cruel. I enjoyed his character for most of the book but closer to the end he made me sick to my stomach. at 90% he still had not said "I love you" to the heroine and makes her believe she will become his mistress while he marries someone else AND will separate her from their new born son just so he can snuff out the villain. It all just seemed so cruel and unnecessary, and it made me sad for heroine. This was one of the few books where I wished better for the h.

Lets talk about her for a moment. She was fucking AMAZING. Yes, she did forgive the hero way to easily each and every time he hurt her (and it was quite often) but she still stood up for herself and let the hero know she would not be a cowering woman in the corner. I wished she ended up with a hero that loved her unconditionally, that would get on his knees and BEG for forgiveness. There needed to be grovel to end all grovels. There was zero grovel and zero begging for forgiveness.

I'm ranting about all this, because despite being disappointed with the ending and the hero, I really enjoyed it. Books that get a reaction from me are always welcome. I read the whole thing in one sitting and couldn't put it down and definitely interested to read more of the series. *not the first one though cause theres sex with OW*

Safety:
Extreme virgin h with manwhore H but its not flaunted in the readers face.
No other people before or after they meet.
Slight OW drama in the form of the H's long time friend who he used to hook up with
Lots of off and on page violence. Quite a bit of it done to the h by the H.
Emotionally distant H that hurts the h with words and actions (I.e. pushing away for almost entire book)

[Tanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a standalone and not so relevant for The Fae Chronicles storyline, in case you are reading it solely to get to the next sequel in the series. The only valid information for that storyline is that the Dragons join the Horde forces for the upcoming war.
The story follows Ryder’s only sister Ciara and Blane the Dragon king. We learn that the dragons are not extinct as we believed and a bit about their lives in the past few centuries. And we learn a lot about Ciara, about her past, and all the monstrous and vile ways her father tormented her by as well as the reason why her brothers, especially Ryder, Ristan, and Zahruk are so protective of her.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amelia took us on a ride with this dragon 😍🐉

Could not put it down! Be prepared for a binge read lol. Blaine is the man you love to hate. Ciara is determined to mend the damage done by her father, but Blaine is steadfast on his quest for revenge. As soon as you think they have come to terms and achived peace Amelia thorws in another plot twist to keep you on your toes. Loved it!

[✨Kayla of The Court Of Dreams✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I flew through this and devoured it. I loved Blane and Ciara ❤️ I’ve been really interested in Ciara and I’m happy we got this snippet in what it’s been like for her in the horde, getting to see her heal and find love.

A sexy man, fae and dragons. I mean need I say more lol?:).

[Melissasfandomworld · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a freaking FANTASTIC read this was, OMFG!!!
Amelia at her best, sigh.

Loved everything about this book. The story-line, the characters, and the romance.. Damn!
And I love how Amelia always hovers on the edges with the romances and the sex scenes as in; so intense and not going too far with things, but she's definitely close to go over the edge and I really like this dark writing.

Ciara was such an amazing bad-ass female lead and Blane was a-maaaa-zing as well. One of my favorite male characters she's written about so far. He was so damaged and I loved his character development. And those two together in a room; FIREWORKS of the best kind!! holy shitballs, there was some chemistry going on between these two and I loved the haters-to-lovers trope in combination with the daring edges Amelia 'walks upon' when it comes to the romance development and the intense sex scenes.

I loved coming across familiar characters and meeting new minor characters who I came to love as well. New settings and of course; THE DRAGONS! Damn, I need more Dragon books by this author because they were freaking amazeballs!

This was yet again such a great and addictive read and it's definitely become one of my favorite books by her so far!! LOVED IT and I'm sad I'm done with this book already. I crave MORE.

[Anso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I’m on a reviewing spree, I’m gonna make this short.
This author has no idea how to or when to end a book. Moreover, when I read her vague and jumbled up work, I feel as if a dimmed yellow light is lit in front of my face. In short, it’s boring. She loves to stretch everything out. Must I remind her that the number of pages filled are much less important than the quality?
I will say that the story did have somewhat of an interesting element. It really did. But the writing style and vagueness really kept me from picking the book up again.


That’s it for this.
Until next time,
Tata x

[Laura..devouring books like crumpets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that was as Hot as a Jalapeno!!!!

Ciara is Abducted by the believed extinct Dragon king, as hes holding her hostage i think he forgot Fae need to feed, it a very intimate way... ensuing much sheet fuffling!!!

I loved it along with all Amelia Hutchins stuff, but felt it was a condensed book of Syn and Ryders story with a few variations... but yea the main Gist of the Fae chronicles till book 3 is this book....

A few spoilers to follow

Heroine is forced to spend time with Hero

Hero has an ex in the background to stir things up

Heroine ends up shagging hero and getting claimed by his inner beast, who knocks her up and marks her.

Has sexy times on a horse.

Hero has inner self battles that he cant really be in love....can he???

A close friend or brother of the Hero's that flirts and makes Heroine feel safe and gives her the basics of the situation

A big obstacle to overcome, that puts lives at risk making couple realize their true feelings....

I still loved it, still a 5 star... just don't read it straight after fae chronicles........

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You know, fighting for peace and going to war for it is like fucking someone and then hoping they’re a virgin again afterwards. You don’t fight for peace, you ask for it.”

I was so surprised with how much I liked this book. I like Ciara and my hat is off to how strong she is considering what their father did to her.

I liked Blane, a LOT but there were so many moments where I wanted to smack him. I enjoyed watching how both he and Ciara learned about one another and realized what they thought to be true, wasn't the case at all.

There were quite a few predictable moments, like the "big betrayal" towards the end. I loved seeing how protective Ryder, Ristan and Zahruk were over Ciara her baby.

I definitely wouldn't mind reading more about the Dragons and Ciara's story.

4/5 🌟’s

[Alaina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm feeling the vibes...



...and by vibes I mean the ghosting ones.

Claiming the Dragon King was a struggle for me. From the very beginning, I knew that this was going to be rough ride because I hated absolutely everything. Blane? Loathed him entirely. It was actually quite easy to do so. Now I love a good asshole every now and then but I just wanted to punch him.. a lot. Then there's Ciara who was okay but, uh, I still didn't like her either.

There's this one thing that really frustrates me the most and that's communication. If one can not talk about their feelings, emotions, the day, what they ate for a meal, or basically anything else in the entire fucking world - then I will not be able to believe that you will get a happily ever after with someone else. It actually hurts my brain to even begin thinking that way because if you can't talk about your love of grilled cheese and tomato soup on a cold ass day.. how am I going to think you can say 'I love you' to an actual person?

It will not happen people.

So, please talk about your feelings or I will scream and pull out my hair. Bald Alaina is not a great look people.

In the end, it's safe to assume that I disliked this entire book. I will admit, though, that the almost death experience made me feel a little bit better. 😈😈😈

[M.J. Linsee · Rating 2 out of 5]

When the author has to start off the book with a few pages apologizing ahead of time for the book you know something is wrong. And not to say it was totally not worth my time because the infant god angle is actually really cool.
Too bad the Alpha in this book is basically irredeemable. I love Amelia’s men and though they may be calculating and ruthless to get what they want at least they’re not stupid. And Blane is pretty much a dumbass. On top of him being stubborn to the point of idiocy he lets other people disparage and humiliate the MC and he is directly responsible for injuring her multiple times “on accident”. Plus we never really get to see how he’s this badass demigod dragon. He doesn’t fight unless it’s to abuse Ciara so we never actually get to witness what makes him such a force to be reckoned with. He does not deserve Ciara and he never suffers for what he did to her.
I didn’t find Ciara overly submissive but she definitely wasn’t vengeful enough for my taste. What happened to the Horde Princess? When he tricked her into marriage instead of agreeing to a honeymoon she should have tried to slit his throat in his sleep.
Other people have mentioned the poor editing (even the author in the apology pages) so I won’t harp on it but c’mon...
Overall, a regrettable volume of what is an awesome series.

[Princess J. Antoinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Amelia, never disappoints... this was another one of her awesome books that I just couldn't put down. I just love the way she put a book together... Well done Amelia!

Overall rating:
5*~ A Great read

[Jac K · Rating 4 out of 5]

** This will all have spoilers from the previous books (Fae Chronicles 1-5) and some spoiler-y stuff. I’ll try to be vague but proceed with caution and 🛑if you want to go in completely blind. **

4 Dragon Queen Stars

This is Ciara and Blane’s story, and it gets a fair amount of hate… so it shouldn’t be shocking that I loved it… because that’s how I roll. Seriously though, I think it’s because I’m growing weary of this monstrosity that is the Fae Chronicles, Playing with Monsters, Elite Guards trifecta… and I needed something different. And although A.H. threw in another set of characters and “species” to add to the never-ending list to keep track of, we get a break from the FC gang which was AWESOME.

Claiming the Dragon King overlaps with Unraveling Destiny, but since you should’ve read that first… you know what the deal is. As I write this, I have read everything up to the last PwM book, and this (IMO) is probably your best bet to read as a standalone in you’re curious about dipping your toe in the A.H. writing pond… but are hesitant about the commitment of reading three series simultaneously. You’ll be missing some of the backstory, but it’s not a hard one to grasp. Basically, the previous Horde King (Alazander- Ryder & Ciara’s dad) was crazy and ordered/forced Ryder and brothers to attack/kill off all the Dragons. Blane is one of the few survivors, and he is jonesing for revenge.

This is amazing if you like a cruel H unfairly blaming an innocent h and being a total ASSHOLE…. But… not so much if that’s not your thing. Without going into spoiler-y details, I can say he never straight out physically abuses her in a hit, kick, punch, starve, sort of way … BUT… He does put her in situations (like leaving her tied up and accessible to an angry mob, etc. etc. ) that causes her injury… AND… a couple dub-non-con situations.

This includes stripping her naked to attach a torture/anti-escape apparatus, delivering brutal punishing kisses, forcing orgasms via cunnilingus & dry humping, and a deflowering in anger. These are softened with her “fuck to feed” Fae requirement (he can’t let his bait starve to death), him thinking she’s a ginormous whore, her constantly taunting him, and actively participating. I think the actual deflowering is the biggie, so I’ll put those deets at the end. I give fictional relationships and especially PNR a lot of leeway, so this wasn’t an issue for me.

My issue was more writing specific. Specifically, the repetitive filler and preachy, lecture monologue responses that have plagued the last several books. The same stuff is repeated over and over and over again. Her dad was a psychopath, she’s not afraid of dying, he’s a victim, she’s a victim, Ryder was a victim, they all are victims, she’s broken, he’s broken, everyone’s broken, she was abused, Ryder was abused, they all were abused… again and again and again. Basically, this speech (which repeats within the repeating speech) every couple of chapters…. Which I agree with, but I got it- the first time.

You all hate me for being born, literally. You act like I had a choice of which caste I was born into, and guess what? I had no more choice in the matter than any of you guys did. I get that my father fucked you guys up, I do. However, I have done nothing but try to right his wrongs from the moment he ceased to exist. Now I’m here, [spoiler info] because I had the unfortunate luck to be born the child of a murderous bastard. You guys are exhausting. You’re no better than we are because while we try to fix what Alazander did, we do nothing but get called dirty names and treated like shit, and for what? Because we were born. Seems fair, right?

And the wordy responses, bloody hell, can anyone have a normal conversation??

“If Ryder dies, Blane, there will never be peace for any of us. I will never forgive you either. He saved us. He took the abuse because he knew we were not strong enough to. Faery chose him to hold his beast for a reason. He is just but can be harsh when it is warranted. He cares about the people, all of us, where other kings and queens wouldn’t bother to. They brought all of Faery together to kneel at the tree, to share their magic to heal his children and others. He’s done things for this world that no one else can or cared to. Remember that when you think about calling in your death wish, because they will come for me. You remind me of him. You’re both proud men thrown into a cruel, unforgiving world that didn’t care about you. You didn’t deserve what happened, but he didn’t want to do it either. He carries dragon brands, Blane. He carries the guilt to this day by choice, as a reminder of what can never happen again.”

“Ciara, I’m not going to lie. I want him dead, I want them all dead. But I want my people to be safe, and being a king means I have to do right by them first. They have to be the priority in my world. I want my family’s lands back. I want to see it flourish with life instead of death. I want to watch my children run through the halls and hear their laughter echo in them.”

Who talks like this??

Bottom Line- This review might not sound like it, but I really liked it. It wasn’t perfect, there’s an abundance of repeating/soap-boxing filler with the usually plot holes… but… if you can overlook that, this has action, heartache, angst, and betrayal. I can’t say I LOVED Blane, but he wasn’t too bad, and I genuinely loved Ciara… hence 4 ⭐’s for the Dragon Queen.


The Deflowering…. MAJOR SPOILERS

If you’re already reading these, this shouldn’t be too shocking. I can’t think of another dub-con situation (except maybe Rristan last book & the Adam aphrodisiac from the last PwM book) but these series are all violent and very sexual. The ladies always get onboard, but if your tolerance is low for dicey consent… I wouldn’t suggest reading anything by this author.

You know, unless I’m too much of a cock- monger for you to handle. You know, with all the dick I get on the side and all,” she laughed.

“Especially how you are a lady pleaser, and yet here I am, aching because you couldn’t find the hole.”

“Blah, blah, blah. Your lips are flapping, and all I hear is your aim sucks,” she laughed throatily. “You don’t deserve to know what I feel like on the inside.

***************

“I’m showing you that I can aim just fucking fine,” he growled huskily as he parted her thighs and knelt between them.

“Not like this, not angry,” she whimpered as panic reared its ugly head, and she eyed the flap of the tent.

****************

She arched into his body, and all it took was one thrust. One calculated thrust and she screamed as he battered past her maidenhead, ruining any chance of a marriage that she’d forged based on her purity. Her entire body tensed as pain tore through her. A screamed bubbled in her throat as her centuries of sacrificing and maintaining her purity were ruined just like that.

His head lifted and stared down at her in bewilderment. “The fuck, Ciara? That’s impossible!” he demanded as he pulled out a little, staring down at the blood that covered his thick base. Tears formed in her eyes as pain burned through her body. Her limbs trembled, shaking with the pain he’d created from not readying her body. A soft sob exploded from her lips, and a tremor tore through her as he pulled out. “Get off me you bastard,” she demanded as she lifted a foot and booted him from the bed.

****************

“You’re my prisoner,” he whispered as he touched her shoulder, pulling her closer. “You’re mine now, Ciara. You’re right, I didn’t deserve to be gifted it, but I wasn’t, was I? I took it.

“It wasn’t given,” she said, turning to look at him with glowing eyes. “You took it. I remained pure for myself, because I’d earned it. I transitioned without feeding for weeks alone and lived. I survived what no other Fae could have, and I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to give it to someone worthy of it. You’re not worthy, dragon whelp. You’ll never be. Now get away from me, please.”

***************

This is followed by a warmed-up redo with passion and multiple O’s, and….

- if I had to choose again for my first time, I’d choose you,” she admitted. “I don’t know why, or how, but I think this was always meant to happen.”

[Amy J RAREtte4Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

[Christy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not only is he a rapist but he's also abusive.

Don't get it twisted - I fully realize that some of my books have dubious consent to say the least. Sometimes it works. A lot of times it really doesn't.

Ciara, our MC, is the only daughter of the previous Horde King that slaughtered Blanes whole village. Ciara gets captured by Blane and through a series of events they begin to fall (?) for each other. The reason I put that question mark is because even after finishing this book I am LEGITIMATELY unsure if Blane is in love with Ciara.

When we first meet him, he's under this impression of Ciara that she's basically a slut and apparently even has sex with her brothers. So... that was nice. Really enjoyed that. This line of accusations doesn't even really even make sense since Ciara's race lives off the energy that comes from having sex. That means that she needs to have sex to live... Its like eating 3 meals a day and some nobdoy demands to know why you can't go for a walk and get the same benefits. But this logic is apparently above Blanes IQ because he treats her like a whore for over 50% of the fucking book. Including after HE HIMSELF has sex with her and discovers that she's actually still a virgin.

Which brings us to the first time that he rapes her. After she pushes his buttons a little bit he takes her virginity... by force. Yeah. He's... he's a fucking peach. Whatever - he apologizes and she accepts. Moving on. This is about 40% through I think? At this point I would assume that he would stop chaining her to posts and leaving her to be beaten by the rest of his clan but hey, I'm a good person so idk.

So after he rapes her (because I don't really give a fuck how many orgasms he gave her after he penetrated her without her consent, while she was crying and begging him to stop. It's gross. It grossed me out. And just because he felt bad doesn't mean he didn't rape her. He did. And then he love bombed her until the next morning when he tied her to a post again like a fucking dog.) After he rapes her, they fight because he treats her like a worthless piece of trash the next morning. He then makes the room so hot that she gets third degree burns. Then he doesn't heal her. He leaves her in the tent for AN ENTIRE FUCKING DAY before one of his crew comes in and is an actual human being and shows her a sliver of compassion.

This is only the first of many really just barfy situations.

He gets her drunk and then marries her without consent.

On their wedding night, he rapes her again. 😐

So yeah, like 70% in we're stilling raping her. Thats..That's... mmm, a choice. And you know what? Even though she didn't say no, she definitely didn't say yes. He hurt her. She was crying and he still continued. So yeah Blane's a fucking bitch and I would do anything to cut off his balls.

Then... woo, boy. So things calm down. Blane finds out that she's pregnant. He forbids her to leave him which is hawt. Love that manipulation, honey. After this display of heartwarming ownership, Ciara discovers that he's still planning on killing her entire family so she leaves- the first good decision she's made honestly.

He gets angry and throws a little tantrum and brings his entire army to her home. And after a very, very brief exchange in which he didn't apologize, didn't grovel and simply demanded that she get back on that pole immediately, she goes back with him. To his brand spanking new palace that her family gave him. What a fucking mooch.

There he threatens to take the baby that she just gave birth to away because she ran away from him before...

I can't think of something more agregious in my whole entire life. You're gonna take a baby away from a mother that just gave birth to him. What a fucking beast of a man. This is 80% through. We are at 80% and he's still a fucking disgusting piece of shit.

He then sends her to a dungeon where he shackles her in iron which is poisonous to her kind. It's ends up being some kind of misunderstanding because he didn't trust her to be in on a plan to overthrow the evil faction of his clan. The fact that he can't even tell her the bare minimum is all I really needed to know.

Also. The name Blane sucks.

[Seffra · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars...or is it 4.5??

Okay, well to say I was excited to read this was an understatement. Dragons.....muthaf*ckin' DRAGONS! Also, Amelia knows how to weave a tale with an unloving hero who does so many unspeakable things in order to reach his end goal of revenge. He's brutal and cruel until you feel disgusted with what he says and does to our amazing heroine.

Ciara surprised me to know end. She was flipping amazing, I love her and her strength. She had it all, inner and outer strength, awesome sass, funny and could hold her own against her dragon.

I just didn't like how rushed the ending was and I wished we got more time in Blane's head to fully understand him. I didn't fully accept his love for Ciara and I really wanted to, he was just so nasty to her and so cruel.

I kind of skipped book 5 and the second book with Lucien and Lena and I wasn't that lost.

[Rubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the Fae Chronicles and the spin-offs but I didn’t love this one. For me this was 2,5-3 stars...
It was okay but not my favorite. I just found it really frustrating that they took 1 step forward and then 2 steps backward on their relationship every other page..
That said I will continue the series

[Sarah Bay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hells to the fricken YES 🙌🏽 man was this amazing! I love a strong female lead 🥰