Earthbound

Dragons & Druids #2

by Leia Stone

After finding out about her unique heritage, Sloane is taken under the wing of an Earth druid. She's told she must learn to control both of her warring powers, or they will consume her. She needs a special staff, made just for her, to help channel her unique magic. The problem? It's only made by one very reclusive elf. She and her team set off to hunt down this elf in hopes of controlling the dangerous power within her. But what she doesn't know is that she, too, is being hunted.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Paranormal, Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2018

About the author

Leia Stone is the USA Today bestselling author of multiple bestselling series including Matefinder and Wolf Girl. She's sold over two million books and her Fallen Academy series has been optioned for film. Her novels have been translated into five languages and she even dabbles in script writing. Leia writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance with sassy kick-butt heroines and irresistible love interests. She lives in Spokane, WA with her husband and two children.


Follow her on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/leia.stone

Reviews

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Pet peeve #231, heroines with tears running down their cheeks

Just a gentle reminder, 99% of KU books are just full of shit. You are welcome.

Back to the review

I just couldn't take it, I overlooked the whole crying thing in book 1 because she had been through a lot in a short period of time and deserves some time to cry her heart out. It just got too much in this book, we get it, you are sensitive.

It made me enjoy the book way less than I already did. I'm not even interested in the next one at this point.

[vee · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great continuation to a fabulous story:)

[Grace A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cliffhanger! Now I need the third book to see how this almost impossible mission to defeat the druids will unfold.
I was hoping Sloane would have mastered her magic by the end of book two, but since she hasn’t, there’s clearly still more room for her character to grow in the next installment. The head Druid—the master evil behind the druids—is now fully in play, and I suspect we’ll see much more of him in book three.
Lots to look forward to! On to the final book in the series.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sh!t hits the fan so fast and non stop 😭

Everything is tense in this one and up in the air but still pretty fast paced.

Also some great things are revealed among the intense situations 😆

The cliffhanger at the end tho 🫠😩

[I.A. Cintron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did this end up like that?! you can't do that!

[Runningrabbit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bound Up

KU
I lost interest in this one about one third os the way in. It was not because it was terrible, but with so many books to read in the world it just did not seem to be worth anymore of my time.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earthbound

The second book in the series was a nice read. It was fast paced and there were no dull moments. I am anxious for the next book and how it will all play out.

[Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since this is the second book I was hoping for a little more depth...while we did get more information about the characters I can't say they grew as people. The end of this book ends in a cliffhanger and they next book isn't out yet.

The H/h finally get together but it's PG-13. I would've liked more showing how they fell in love not hey I love you. The author doesn't show you why they love each other that deeply.

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars!

Sloan just need to grow up... Her childish almost brat like atitude is so annoying! First book i let it slide because of all her life alteration! This book no...
So exclamations like "im not a girl to stay being" and "not liking to be told what to do" was just too much, because she is still so new in the all skyborn thing!

Logan, was doormat 101!!!

Still love the pack...

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t get enough of Leila’s books. She writes in a way that sucks you in and you don’t even want to come up for air. Now on to book three!

[J.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly addictive you’ve been warned !!

[Antoinette Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well was disappointed because she ran away and because of that the ganag had to come and save her and Cooper died.

[Ellie Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection perfection perfection

Gimme all her books

[Auchie (Chloe A) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 rating

[Claire Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

The staff

What an action packed book. Love rises between Slone and Logan it becomes more concrete . The druids get even more powerful then with a snap slone power is all gone . Defo need to read book a first.

[Kelly Fountain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another absolutely fantastic book by Leia! The second in this series, we continue to follow Sloane on her journey of discovering who and what she really is and how to harness those powers. With Logan, her mate, at her side, a pack of shifters willing to protect them and an ancient Druid master to guide her we get romance, action and new problems and issues that keep bubbling to the surface. This is a great series and one you won't regret digging into!

[J.A. Cintron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel empty I need so much more!!!!!!
I love Sloane, Logan and the pack and fyi Isaac is slightly crazy

[Ms. Cyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters

What a cliffhanger! Logan and Sloane are a great team and they get stronger together. I like their chemistry and growth. I feel like something is missing though. Perhaps alone time. They rarely get time to themselves. Between training and running from druids there isn't much time for romance.

Their teammates enhance the story well and I like the side dramas that occur throughout. My favorite part is the introduction of the other skyborn.

Sloane is getting easier to love as well. She is less whiny and less lazy. She has more determination and shows more spirit.

[Nereid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragons and Druid's fight for their lives.

How cool would it be to find out that you are a dragon as well as having magic. In a war that was a long time coming they will have to take a stand and fight for their lives. A classic tale of good versus evil and they will need to stand together if they want to make it out alive. Will the evil Druid's win this battle, I am hoping that they will be vanquished but time will tell

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

Great second book. I highly recommend this series. This book ends in a cliff hanger I guess I can wait for 3 months. LOL

[Katie Brisse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy crap. This is the perfect sequel to book 1. Earthbound picks up where Skyborn left off, and the action just picks up from there and doesn't let up, even at the end. Things go right. Things mostly go wrong because it's book 2 and things never work out the way we think they will or want them to in sequels. Sloane is increasing her badass status almost daily, and Logan is just his magnificent, confidant, and sweet self. I loved watching Logan and Sloane's relationship grow and develop as they became more comfortable being mates and learned more about each other. Logan still has an understandable need to protect Sloane, but Sloane proves that she can handle herself on more than one occasion. I, personally, loved the storyline in this book more than book 1, because it wasn't about teaching Sloane the basics of her new world. It was about her discovering who she is and who her mother was. Aspects of this magical world were reveled in clever and interesting ways that made me want to keep reading. I literally finished the book in 2 days flat.
I loved Sloane from the very beginning, but I especially loved watching her grow more confidant in herself while also maintaining a level of fear about her powers and what she can do. No one really knows the extent of her powers, so there's always a sense of lingering fear for Sloane when she uses them. Sloane's signature witty and sarcastic comments steal the show and make me love her more. She uses her wit and sarcasm as a bit of a shield to hide her fear, but other times, she's just purely hilarious and is great comedic relief. That being said, Sloane knows when to turn the wit and sarcasm off and be serious. Her inner-dialogue is one of my favorite things about her and Stone writes it so well. Sloane grows more as a person in this book and learns to accept who and what she is. The revelations about her mother move her in ways she wasn't expecting, and inspire her to try to finish the job her mother started. As a reader, I can see where Sloane might go in her character development and I can't wait to see if I'm right. She's strong, fiercely loyal, and would to anything to protect the people she loves. I'm excited to see her grow even more in book 3 and to see where her story goes.
I freaking love Logan. He has quickly become one of my absolute favorite book boys. He's protective of Sloane, but not so much that he becomes possessive of her (not that Sloane would ever let that happen). He respects her and the choices she makes. He may not agree with her 100% of the time, but no one in real life does, either. Even if Logan disagrees, he does his best to listen to why Sloane made the choice she did and to understand it. Logan grows as a leader in this book and it was nice to see him in that role. And, of course, he and Sloane share some steamy moments and swoon-worthy declarations of love. *sigh* I can't wait to see where Logan ends up in book 3. Honestly, if he and Sloane don't end up together in the end, I will probably lose it. :)
Overall, this was the best possible sequel to book 1. The stakes got higher. The risks got bigger. And the ending left me open-mouthed and craving more. I don't think I can wait much longer for book 3. I have a feeling I'm in for one epic conclusion.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

**********Contains Spoilers**********

I enjoyed this book way more than the first book. Sloane didn’t annoy me like she did in the first book either but that’s probably because she’s gotten used to what she is. The pack has just met Eva’s friend and good Druid Isaac when he shows up and offers to train Sloane since the Earth has chosen her so she’s now Isaac’s apprentice. Isaac also mentioned that there are a lot of skyborn in hiding and they’ll eventually show up. Logan and the pack of skyborn protectors are initially wary of Isaac as they’ve never heard of there being any good Druids as the only druids they’ve met have been tracking down and k*lling skyborn so they can steal their magic. When Sloane starts training with Isaac to be able to harness her Druid magic, he passes her his staff which doesn’t work as her magic is different, she needs her own staff specially made for her so they track down the last remaining elf, the twin brother of the elf that made Issac’s staff After some persuasion the elf agrees to make the staff, even though he’s been working for the other side by making Druid weapons that can k*ll skyborn and take their magic as he’s needed money to live.

Isaac told Sloane that she can’t use her purple magic until she has the staff to ground her as her magic is unstable and it’s warring inside of her so her Druid magic may end up destroying her dragon and taking her mate bond to Logan with it. Sloane also finds out some hard truths that her mother kept from her. Oh my gosh when Lynn and Tony’s baby transformed into an adorable orange and cream dragon, but also completely dangerous as it was a beacon for the druids to find them. I’m hoping that Gear and Nadine get their sh*t together, as it’s obvious that they belong together but Keegan will have to change his stance on inter-pack dating. I’m h also hoping that Keegan and Danny make up as it’s obvious that they’re still madly in love with each other. Danny’s just hurt that Keegan didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth about protecting Logan. Wow, what and ending. I’m really looking forward to reading what happens in the final book. I’d definitely recommend this book, series and author to everyone.

[Angela ReadingCave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second books tend to be filler books in a series. Which is what Earthborn was, a filler book. The reader gets a bit more background into what is going on and why the druids hunt dragons. The author also gives us a little more about how dragons were created, and why which is pretty on point.

There is a new mentor in town, Isaac and we learn more about Sloane’s hybrid status. She is embracing both sides of her, yet this addition is heavy on the druid side. Pretty sure this one has something going on with Eva.

Both Logan and Sloane have accepted that they are a mated pair. Their relationship progresses but man I still feel like there is a lack of chemistry between these two. Like it is forced or something.

Again, the best thing about this book is the secondary characters. Nadine, Isaac, Eva even the elf they are hunting for are all more interesting than the main two characters. Would love a story of all of their stories.

Yeah this one ends in a cliffhanger. Which is a great way to get a reader like me, one who is on the fence about the series to want to continue reading it. I hate when I review a book and basically say it was okay. That is really all I can say about this one...it was okay.

My Rating 3 out of 5 stars

Favorite Quote “You would make such a cool Disney princess. You have all the right ingredients. Orphaned, weird undiscovered powers, loves to be out in nature and of course, affinity for animals.”

Other People
Lynn & Tony- other dragon shifters
Keegan- alpha
Nadine- shifter
Isaac- druid, mentor
Eva- sorcerer

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, nothing extroadinary stands out. It took me forever to finish it. I was continuously taking breaks from this and reading other books.

I'm still not sold on the love aspect of this book. I mean, supposedly they're now mates or wtvr but other than that I don't see how they could possibly fall in love with each other. Then along the story, they come up with a theory. Something about how there's a possibility that her druid could kill her dragon and then she'd lose her connection with logan so they wouldnt be mates anymore. So now sloan is scared that if that happens then they won't love each other anymore.... Even that answered my question. I don't think they would love each other if they weren't dragon mates, tbh and that is depressing.

The story line is alright. Nothing amazing. I'm kind of debating on whether I should finish the series. If I'm being honest, I will begrudgingly continue this series only because the next book is the last one and my OCD doesnt want me to leave a trilogy unfinished. It'll probably take me another month to finish reading, I will try my hardest not to take anymore breaks.... We'll see.

Anyways, I don't know if my review helped lol I hope it did. Ultimately its up to u if u wanna read this book or not. In my opinion, however, I don't think you'll be missing out on anything if u do decide to skip this one.

Happy reads everyone!

[Colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was way better than the first.. It ends on a major cliff hanger, and luckily the next book is out and I don't have to wait! Even though it was super super good, I'm going to say 4.5 stars. Reasons below.

*kind of spoilers*

You have this relationship between Logan and Sloane, and as much as I love it it's just too perfect. Like no man in life is ever THAT good, to the point where they are always sensitive, but protecting.. never argues, always says the right thing, just a picture of a perfect relationship. It isn't quite believable. (even though I love it!) But the main reason why I would say only 4.5 stars, is because when they FINALLY do it in the book... you don't even get to read it! It's just "Oh and we did.. twice." It had such a good build up, and I was itching for that scene, only to not even get it. It's the first time I've read an "urban fantasy romance" without the smut.. and I was hoping for some smut.

Again, I still absolutely adored this book. I love the plot, and the story actually moves quickly. On to the final book! :)

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I liked this one less than the first book. There were larger continuity problems in this one, namely ignoring the time Sloane had known/lived as a dragon/druid. Sloane makes a comment about Issacs's innocence and how he isn't jaded by all of this yet, while she is, but he is at least a century old and she has only known about any of this for a month, but she is jaded and has lost her innocence? You also have Sloane acting like people she spent five minutes with are people who she spent months or years building relationships with. She didn't, she hasn't. I praised the first book for somewhat realistically developing the relationships but that is all thrown away in this book as we are talking babies and I can't live without you. If Stone writes one more time "but that's in the past, if I can't dwell on my thing neither can you," I'm going to scream. That is just lazy writing. Also the battle at the end and the climax weren't very climatic, and the mistakes the made to get them in that situations were stupid and easily avoidable.

[Payne’s Bookworm Reviews (Samantha Payne) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earthbound is book two in Leia Stone’s Dragons and Druids series. This book continues on from book one Skyborn. After making Ardan and Steven retreat, Logan, Sloane, the pack and Druid Isaac head to his home to tend to the injured and to bury Cooper. Sloane must learn to control her dragon side and Druid powers before she combusts from the powers inside.

Sloane Murphy is a hybrid Dragon shifter (Skyborn) and Druid, with the help from Isaac she must learn to connect with Mother Earth and learn control over her weird purple magic. But to be able to use her purple magic she requires a Staff so she is able to channel the power. Secrets are revealed about her mother’s past and more about who or what Sloane is.

This book was a lot more enjoyable the book one as I feel that Sloane has grown a little now that she has accepted the she is part Druid. I feel that with Logan she is able to get a better understanding of what they are trying to do and that the mate bond is something that she needs to help keep her anchored.

[Leanne Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I stumbled upon the first one in this series by accident and I couldn't wait to continue the series.
This picks up after Skyborn ends. Sloan, Logan and the gang have a new friend (the earth druid; Isaac) and are left with the conundrum of solving two problems. The first of which is Sloan learning control of her dual heritage and also of finding the hidden Skyborn.

What I liked about this book is that it didn't dally around and it got straight into the action. Sloan and Logan's relationship progressed nicely as did the various storylines (I won't be specific because I don't want to spoil anything). There's more dragons, fun and even a cute dog called Hemlock.

Supporting characters were just as epic as in the previous book, although I still get the urge to bitch slap Sophie for being bitchy and occasionally Gear for being an idiot. Overall, there's a lot to love in this book though it is a short read and I can't wait for the next in the series.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in this series and I found it less enjoyable than the first.

The biggest thing that bothered me was Sloane. The first book I found her enjoyable to read but in the second book I thought she was just complaining or wining. Also, I was hoping she would develop further bonds with her pack members but it all felt very stale.

Another thing that was really lacking was Logan. I was not really impressed by him. He didn't do anything or say anything that would bring me around to liking his character.

The people I did like were Nadine, Sophie and Isaac. I really like these characters because I felt like they brought some life to the story. Nadine the badass with a forbidden crush, Sophie the annoying but still strangly loveable character and Isaac, the kind and a bit eccentric character. These characters really made me enjoy the book.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
I wanted to like this book, but the second I saw the word "mansplaining" used not only in dialogue, but unironically.... I out the book down.

The first book was decidedly meh. Neither good nor bad, so I went ahead and started reading the second book and honestly, it was a waste of time.
The main character becomes "mates" with someone she has quite literally zero chemistry with (I've seen porn with better chemistry between characters).
There was so little "Dragon" in it, the series light as well be called just "Druids".
None of the characters got any more interesting, if anything it got worse.
... There are many more issues too but I've literally already forgotten them in the time it's taken me to write this.
This series had promise, at least a promising premise, but it was basically thrown in the bin by the author.