Blood

Scales 'N' Spells #3

by A.J. Sherwood, Jocelynn Drake

Secret identities are hard to keep.

Sora finds this to be doubly true after meeting the struggling Burkhard Clan and the mischievous Ravi. The wind dragon has stolen his breath, and heart, away. Sora suspects he might have found his mate.

But his inability to be truthful with Ravi eats at Sora. When the Jaeggi attack, Sora can’t keep his secrets any longer. Not when Ravi is in the center of the war raging around them.

He has to reveal who he really is. It’s the only way to be with Ravi and give the Burkhards the help they need.

Sora’s secret could tip the scales to save them all.



Tags:

There’s tropes, and then there’s this book, Ravi has impulse issues, in Ravi’s defense he was left unsupervised, you’re only in trouble if you get caught, secret identity, only Ravi could have a meet-cute like this, Ravi attempts romance, it's bad, no its really really bad, thank god for it, bored mages get into stuff, mothers with an agenda, hurt/comfort, somehow the comfort part involves tacos, Ravi is a corruptive influence, Sora is a willing corruptee, chaos incarnate, protective mate, bad guys ramp it up to the next level, Sora has an ace up his sleeve, and is not afraid to use it, Bat-Ravi

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Paranormal, M M Romance, Romance, Magic, Shapeshifters

410 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2021

About the author

AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.

She currently resides in Tennessee with aforementioned cats, dogs, and her editor/best friend/sister/partner in crime.

Reviews

[Jilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the series!
This is one of those books where the main character has been a hilarious side-kick throughout the series and finally gets his own story. Sometimes those books fall short because the person becomes less funny in their own book and filled with angst. That didn't happen here. Ravi, the dragon, was just as funny, energetic, and playful as he found his own mate. What a relief!

As the story begins Ravi, a blue dragon, accidentally outs the existence of dragons in a spectacular way. He thinks he's rescuing a plane in trouble, but is actually making his movie debut on accident. So, big dragon on film, lots of people, uh oh...

He can totally fix this:

"This is not the dragon you were looking for," he said in his most hopeful tone.

One woman's mouth fell open, and she lowered her phone a little.
"Did - did you just try to do a Jedi mind trick on us?"

Ravi: "Did it work?"

Lady: "No."

Ravi: "Damn you, Obi Wan. You made it look so easy."

Yeah, any book that references Star Wars in a fun way is always going to win with me. Unless it's Jar Jar. You know how I hate him!


Why couldn't we have had baby Yoda instead? Fucking Jar Jar.

Anyway, there is a bigger story going on throughout the series and the bad guys are still trying to mess things up. Of course, I have to say that they aren't the smartest tools in the shed, so I'm feeling like the dragons will probably win. Maybe in the next book. Which, by the way, I want now.

[Cæsar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar!!!

This book is the most comical of the Scales 'N' Spells Series so far, I laughed several times, the romance was exquisite, the action scenes were spectacular, I was at the edge of my seat! The main characters are so lovable! I just adore all the characters! Congratulations to A.J. Sherwood and Jocelynn Drake!!!

I had such a joy reading this book, I believe is the most funny of the series!
Right at the beginning I laughed so hard, Ravi tried to prevent a plane from crashing only to discover that he was in a movie set, exposing himself to the world, so funny!
There were so many other laughable moments, the pranks were priceless, I had a blast!
Ravi and Sora are so sweet together, all the moments together were absolutely marvelous, the love making, the humorous situations and jokes, on the other hand they interacted perfectly together in the serious bits!

I was so apprehensive when Ravi was carpeted, I was really worried with the potential rape, I was relived when it didn’t happened, that is not that kind of book and I was grateful!

So satisfying when the dragons and mages saved the day, clashing at the evil lair!

I have this book on Audible as well,Joel Leslie was fabulous, the acting was on point, really committed as always!!! High praise to the amazing performance!!!

Congrats to Katie Griffin, great art cover!!!

6🌟

[Cadiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hit full of fun and dragons!

Ravi is one of the sweetest, and most mischievous dragons in this series and his romance is a delight.

It also serves to move the overall plot massively as a whole host of things happen in rapid succession which all lead to him finding his mate.

The sex is on point, the humour is solid and the action adventure elements get a good workout in the final quarter.

Can't wait for Gunter's book and hopefully for the Jaeggi clan to meet their just deserts.

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok. I think this one is my favorite of the series yet! Ravi the mischievous lone wind dragon finally finds his mage mate and it was such a fun ride. This time the mage comes to the Burkhard clan himself and he is fully aware of who he is. In fact, Sora is a very accomplished mage and finds it shocking to see how few mages are part of the dragon clan and what limited knowledge they have been surviving with. It was interesting to hear about the lives and works of a real mage clan. This is what is used to be like for the Burkhard clan before the war, and what it should have stayed if not for going into hiding.

Ravi and Sora were very cute together. Sora is known to be a serious mage, yet Ravi has no problem bringing out the fun in him. He pushes Sora to enjoy his life and it is a gift Sora doesn't take lightly. Ravi makes him feel cherished, and Sora looks at Ravi like he hung the moon just for him. It was truly a sweet courting between these two mates.

Things are picking up with the Jaeggi. They are becoming bolder and more impulsive in their plans. With Sora's help and influence the Burkhard clan may finally have a chance to end this once and for all, which is perfect timing because once learning about the new plans the Jaeggi have I almost wanted to be sick. We also meet a new face; Nikki. They are a nonbinary mage and just so happen to have taken a liking to our resident researcher Gunter. I cannot wait to read about those two next.


* This book was provided to me by GRR. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.*

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole I’m enjoying this series. And I really wanted to like this one. After all my main complaint about the last book was that it didn’t move the story forward. It was purely a romance. Well this one does move the story forward.

So what’s the problem?

There’s a good little story here but it was way too long for the amount of content. The pages could easily have been halved. It felt like I was reading pages and pages of filler and repetition at times.

I liked both Ravi and Sora and the whole set-up around them. But it got lost under the weight of all the pages.

Still I’m eagerly awaiting Gunter’s story.

[Layla]

I'm bored to death.

Too long. Nothing really happening.
Here's the thing with this series...
I kept reading because I wanted to see what would happen in the end.
But honestly, the plot has been moving in a snail's pace.
Pages upon pages of nothing.
Ravi and Sora lusting over each other secretly, and descriptions of nothing important.
I give up.

My second DNF of the day. sigh

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 This is probably my favorite book in the series!! I am so happy Ravi got his HEA, Ravi took care of everyone and wanted his family happy and healthy, but he played the clown to do it. The only problem was some of the clan didn't take him seriously, don't get me wrong they all loved him, but they thought he was a goofball.
Sora was just what Ravi needed, he was serious and felt like an outsider at home, but Ravi welcomed him with open arms and made sure to include him with everything. It took Ravi a little time to figure out they were mates but once that happened the word vomit he said to Alric was hilarious!!! Ravi was a ball of fire even though he was a wind dragon with so much energy and enthusiasm for life and so much love for Sora! Sora gave Ravi a gift that he knew he'd been craving his whole life, it made me cry I was so happy for Ravi. Even though he got sidetracked a bit with his gift, he still never forgot his mate Sora.
Sora brought so much knowledge of healing to the clan and was a huge help with training the other mages without acting superior or wanting the other senior mages to feel inferior because of their lack of healing knowledge. I just loved this this book and all the characters!!!!!!

[Kathreadsall · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED this dragon shifter m/m romance!!

I've been WAITING for Ravi's story since book one, I loved his character so much, and this book did not disappoint!!! Ravi is a super hyper joker type, and his mate Sora is such a great match for him!

I love the secret identity plot, it was really laid out well, and the secret was a really interesting world building moment. I enjoyed all the ridiculous flirting and wooing that happened, it was laugh out loud hilarious! And there was a good balance of funny moments with sexy times, and I really enjoyed both.

Definitely check out this series, and especially this book for hilarious dragon shifter m/m romance fun!

Thank you GRR for this ebook arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Len Evans Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book of the series so far!!!

Not sure how these authors have managed it, but book one was 5 stars and each and every book since has gotten better! This is one of my very favorite series of my many many years of voracious reading. It saddens me that there is just one unread book left, though I will definitely be rereading this series again!

[⭐Toonasa⭐ •Romance Book Lovers' Haven• · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ravi is such a fun dragon! Sora is a great match to him. This book was comedic & emotional, such a great combo!

Short bursts kinda read: 4 July 2022

[Kk · Rating 3 out of 5]

KU Read

Ohhh so very bland!! Its like a beige book of beige blah feelings.

Sure Ravi & Dora had hot sexy times but its like eating badly mixed ice cream...you get a hint of flavor but its mostly cream that leaves you cold.

I expected more from a duet because they should be bouncing ideas. This is a very sanitized reading with slightly boring characters

[Nici Nodop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich muss gestehen, auf Ravis Geschichte war ich ganz besonders gespannt. Ravi ist der einzige Winddrache unter lauter Feuerdrachen und wurde im Drachenkrieg vom Burkhard-Clan adoptiert, nachdem seine Eltern von den Jaeggi getötet wurde. Nicht nur, dass Ravi als Winddrachen andere Gaben besitzt als die Feuerdrachen, auch hat er ein völlig anderes Temperament: Ravi ist stets zu einem lustigen Spruch oder albernem Streich bereit, sehr gesellig und loyal, aber auch manchmal auch ein wenig zu begeisterungsfähig. Wir Leser haben schon das ein oder andere Mal erlebt, wie er sich und einen der neuen Magier im Clan mit seinen halbdurchdachten Ideen in Schwierigkeiten gebracht hat.
Wer ist also Ravis Partner und gelingt es ihm, Ravis impulsive Seite ein wenig zu bremsen?
Auftritt Sora!
Was ich an Sora so toll finde, ist, dass er er nicht nur sympathisch, ein kompetenter Heiler, sondern zudem auch der erste neue Magier ist, den der Clan kennen lernt, der bereits sein magisches Handwerk beherrscht, aber nicht zu den Jaeggi gehört. Wir haben also weniger Magie 1.0-Lektionen in diesem Band und wenn dann unterrichtet Sora eher die Burkard-Magier über die Feinheiten fortgeschrittener Heilmagie. Was ich übrigens sehr spannend fand.
Die Jaeggis haben es natürlich auch in diesem Band wieder auf die Burkhards abgesehen und greifen erneut den Clan an. Was jedoch komplizierter geworden ist, seitdem die Welt erfahren hat, dass es noch Drachen und Magier gibt. Ich weiß nicht mehr, wie ich mir vorher die große Enthüllung des Geheimnisses vorgestellt habe, aber sagen wir mal so: Ich bin froh, dass es anders gekommen ist, denn die beiden Autorinnen haben einen Weg gefunden, der ungewöhnlich ist und absolut zu Ravi passt.
Die Liebesgeschichte selbst hat mir ebenfalls gut gefallen - ich habe noch keinen Roman von A.J. Sherwood gelesen, der mich nicht begeistert hätte - und ich fand auch, dass sie natürlich in ihrer Entwicklung wirkte. Und ohne Humor, Missgeschicke und kleine Streiche sowie ein wenig Jaeggi-Drama ging sie natürlich nicht vonstatten. Schön dargestellt und sehr unterhaltsam geschrieben - der 4. Band (oder ist es offiziell 3. Band?) aus der Reihe hat mich wieder restlos überzeugt.

[Ronie Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

More mages yea!

2023, July 24th. - Well of course I had to re read this one before delving into the final book "Embers". Maybe one of the same sex couples will start the birthing process. (Fingers crossed)

Anyway our adorable speedster finds his mate. While on a mundane trip to the grocery store, for some milk. The trip ended in a fast getaway. Reporters can be hostile! Especially when the world now knows of dragons, being real.

Of course the neighboring magic sucking Jaeggi are here to ruin the day. Their nefarious plans this time....not to take over the world. Nope.

Just not get over losing a war. That was started by a spurned lover. Because, "I can change him!"

I mean what else can they do? What could be worse than kidnapping mages, killing dragons, and taking away mages magic?

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my time with this one as I wanted to savour it. It was totally worth it. This is certainly my favourite of the series.
Ravi is so fun! I had such hopes for his book and they weren't disappointed.
It would have been too easy to have him being silly all the time but we get to see the many sides of Ravi. Sure he's mischievous, hyper and fun, but he's also charming, dedicated, loyal and smart. He does so much more than I'd realised.
Sora is perfect for Ravi and Ravi for him. They bring out each others best qualities.
Obviously there is a little conflict, Sora isn't upfront about his motives and the Jaeggai (I'm sure that's not the spelling lol) feature heavily. There's also quite a few new characters and revelations. Scenes with Alaric and Sora got me a little teary I'm not going to lie but there were laughs to be had

[buwan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, folks, I hope you enjoyed the last book because it only goes downhill from here. Blood and its following successor: Embers are easily the worst books in this series. Blood has everything the first book in the series had wrong with it and more: transphobic rhetoric, racism, fetishization, and scenes that I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry or laugh through. Warning: just like my review of book 1, this one will be pretty long.

This book follows relatively the same formula as the previous books. Our mage MC for this installment is Sora, a Japanese mage with a serious countenance whose experience far outweighs any of our previous mage MCs. Our dragon MC is Ravi, the bubbly and energetic "younger brother" of the series' main group whose penchant for mischief is second only to his love for his clan brothers.

1. The Japanese Characters Have to Remind You at Every Turn That They are Japanese™
Something that grated my nerves throughout this book like a cheese grater against a chalk board was the excessive use of Japanese words, untranslated and some just incorrectly used. Compared to the first book, which used minimal Korean (I'm assuming from lack of knowledge), this book uses so many words that seem like they're picked up from watching anime. Normally I don't mind a character using non-English, and translating vs not translating is mostly a style choice. However, the way it's done in this book feels so ignorant and like an amateur fanfiction that I couldn't help but roll my eyes every time it came up. It becomes confusing on whether or not the characters are speaking English or Japanese to each other. Why would you write part of the conversation in English then other parts in Japanese? Is this Japanese family speaking English to each other and then occasionally breaking out into Japanese? Is it there "just because"?

There's also the use of words that just... they're not necessarily wrong but they also are. The two times this happened that stood out to me the most were the use of "shimatta" and "aishiteru."

In the case of shimatta, let's first look at one of the scenes it appears in. Sora contacts his mother to update him on the status and observations he's made of the Burkhards. He wants to arrange to send help to them to fight off the Jaeggi, while his mother believes he should come home and avoid another clan's mess. As they're discussing the better option, she curses and says, "Kuso." In the glossary at the end of the book, this is translated to "shit." This isn't really wrong, it's a general curse that's used often enough in casual company. However, on the next page, Sora is pushing his point of helping the Burkhards due to their lack or resources. Sora's mother responds with, "Shimatta. How have they survived this long?"

In the book's glossary, shimatta gets translated to "damn." This isn't necessarily wrong, but it also isn't correct and the connotation is lost. "Shimatta" isn't really a curse word, it can be more accurately translated to, "Oops!" or "Oh dear!" Even children sometimes use this word. It's a fairly "friendly" exclamation that can come off as vulgar depending on the person and the context of the situation. Furthermore, even if it is used in lieu of a curse word, the connotation of the word is that the speaker has done something regrettable or failed to do something. For example, you might say, "Oops, I broke it!" or, "Oh dear, I forgot my wallet." In this case, you might hear "shimatta" over another word like "kuso." Obviously though, Sora's mother is not at fault for the Burkhard's hardships, nor is she trying to take responsibility for them, so this doesn't really make much sense. In summary:

1.) kuso (くそ): shit/fuck/damn, vulgar
2.) shimatta (しまった): oops/oh dear/etc. in response to a mistake, not vulgar

The next word, "aishiteru," is used a little over halfway through the book when Sora and Ravi have established their new relationship and they're confessing their love for each other.

"I love you, too."
Joy exploded over Ravi's face. "You do?"
"I do." Sora kissed him gently, reveling in the freedom of these shared feelings, so glad their hearts were one. "Aishiteru."
"You know, I watch a lot of anime, I know what that means."

I want to get this out of the way: I understand that this is a "fated mates" situation, aka a soulmates trope, where these two characters are destined to be in love with each other forever and always and blah blah blah. Even so, the use of "aishiteru" here feels so ignorant and thrown in, especially with that line about anime. Anime usually translates this word to, "I love you," but it means a lot more than that.

To break it down, in Japanese, there is a sort of tier list of ways to express interest or love to someone. It may seem a little confusing at first, but there is a lot of cultural implication and connotation to how these words are said and received in turn.

1.) suki da (好きだ / すきだ) or suki desu(好きです / すきです): I like you.
2.) daisuki da (大好きだ / だいすきだ) or daisuki desu (大好きです / だいすきです): I really like you.
3.) aishiteru (愛してる / あいしてる): I love you.

Obviously, that's a little confusing. But it's important to remember that in Japanese culture, it's really rare to say things like this out loud to each other. Love is shown through actions more than words, and even couples tend not to say these things so freely to each other the way American English speakers do. A lot of the meaning behind these words comes from the speaker's intent. For the sake of keeping this as clear and concise as I can, I'll only be referring to these words with romantic context in mind.

"Suki da!" can mean, "I like you!" from someone who might have a crush on you, or from your partner who you have a budding and developing romantic relationship with. While the translation is rather literal, the meaning behind it can also become something akin to, "I love you!" depending on the person's intent. Same with "daisuki da" which translates to, "I really like you!" This phrase is more direct and stronger than "suki." There's even a Kansai-ben variation, "suki yanen" (好きやねん), that comes off as a little more slangy and less serious.

"Aishiteru" is used in anime for theatrics and drama, but in real life, people rarely say this to each other because of its depth; even couples hesitate to use this word in public and sometimes even in private since the meaning is so heavy and serious. Though this gets translated as, "I love you," I would argue a more accurate translation would be, "I am deeply in love with you." It has a deep meaning that implies that the relationship is one that has been built and cultivated over a long time, and the relationship is very serious. This couple plans to spend the rest of their lives loving each other.

You could argue that this is appropriate considering Ravi and Sora are essentially soulmates bound to be together by fate, but this falls a little flat since, at this point in the story, they met maybe a month ago. If Sora was presented as a more frivolous and flippant person, then I might believe he'd say something like this so quickly into a relationship, but that would come off as insincere and immature more than it would a declaration of new love. He is Japanese before he is a mage and dragon's boyfriend, and I expected his culture to shine through even just a little bit. The safest and probably most appropriate choice for this scene would've been to just use suki, daisuki, or a variation of either.

Outside of this, there's just random words thrown in the middle of conversations like "nani" or anytime Sora says, "Kami-sama." Like I said, it makes it confusing to differentiate when the characters are speaking Japanese versus English to one another when it's just sprinkled in. Besides, why would two Japanese people from Japan whose first language is Japanese be speaking to each other in English if they're trying to keep a secret from the English-speaking castle? It doesn't make sense either way.

2. Point Blank, Plain and Simple, This is Racism
I don't believe there are any POC people in this series. There's just a bunch of white people wearing POC's names and masks to cosplay diversity. I complained quite a bit about the arbitrary references to Korean pop culture, lack of knowledgable use of the language, and racially ignorant undertones in book 1 a lot. This book is everything I hated about all of that and more. Right off the bat when introducing Sora and his family, who are watching the media coverage of the recently exposed Burkhards from... somewhere in the world (this is never established), we're back at it again calling Cameron "distinctly Asian." Then in the next chapter, we're at the Sora/Ravi meet-cute scene in Ravi's POV where he describes Sora as the following:

"The features were distinctly Asian, the face sculpted and narrow, eyes so dark as to be almost pitch black, his inky hair falling in a smooth glide down his back in a ponytail. Really, if he'd donned a kimono and been handed a katana, he'd look like a samurai in search of an enemy to slay."

Then on the next page, Sora explains that he's in Germany to meet the Burkhard clan and that he needs to meet King Alric. Ravi then responds with: "Like a dojo challenger?" to which Sora just laughs off. I don't know which East Asian people y'all are speaking to for this to feel like it's an appropriate thing to say to someone. The only laughing I'd be able to do here is uncomfortably while waiting for this person to leave me alone. This was so unnecessary. If the description you were going for was maybe the air of regalness, stone-cold composure, or maybe even that he was just an ethereal sort of handsome that had a warrior's fierceness to it, you could've just said that. The most infuriating downfall here is that instead of expressing a true talent for the art of writing and articulacy, which I choose to believe the authors could be completely capable of, they chose to rely on racist stereotypes to do their descriptions for them.

In this book, we also learn more about Ravi and his background. Ravi was orphaned when he was a baby and was taken in by the Burkhard clan who happened to be friends with Ravi's late parents. Since then, he's been raised with the fire dragons as one of their own. Sora just so happens to know Ravi's estranged family and arranges for Ravi to get to meet them. It was in this book that I realized Ravi was Indian.

From the beginning in book 1 to even the beginning of this book, Ravi has been described as "Middle Eastern in appearance" (Origin) and "distinctly Middle Eastern" (Blood). I mentioned in my review of book 1 (and forward) that Cameron (and now Sora) being described as "distinctly Asian" was very problematic and racist in the way that it shows what the authors think Asian people should look like, despite the fact that Asia is made up of 48 countries, all very different from one another in appearance and culture. One of these countries is India. It is an outdated and racist idea that India is not part of Asia because the general idea of what Westerners think Asia consists of is East Asia: specifically Japan, Korea, and China. The Middle East region, sometimes referred to as MENA (Middle East North Africa), is made up of 18 countries, none of which include India. Ravi is South Asian, but in this book, he isn't because the authors were too caught up in their fetishization of East Asian men to recognize their own ignorance.

3. Things Happen for Reasons Maybe
Things happen in this book (I think). Why? Who knows. I sure don't. Doesn't seem like any of the characters do either. Things that happen in this book for reasons (maybe):

1.) Ravi for some reason didn't know the fire dragons and ice dragons weren't friends for like 500 years up until they were like a few months ago. No one thought to tell him I guess.

2.) There's a suicide bomber for some reason. I feel like this was meant to be a catalyst for the plot to move forward, but that's kinda pointless considering they were already going to do the thing that this caused them to do.

3.) There was apparently a mage public school. Which implies that it was government sanctioned. Which implies that there was government knowledge of a hidden mage clan for nearly half a millennia and there is no explanation of how that was kept under wraps. Literally the only thing you had to say was that it was a private school. Even Hogwarts was a private school. I'm dying.

4.) The Jaeggi ambush the main characters and their visiting mage/dragon group at a local cafe for some reason. It obviously ends as comically terrible as it usually does. I think this was supposed to be a scene where the visitors to Burkhard castle are supposed to "see the Jaeggi threat" but tbh if I saw this piss-poor display of "evil" I would wonder why I flew halfway across the world to defeat Team Rocket. It's almost embarrassing how non-threatening these villains are because of how threatened everyone else seems to be by them.

5. The Writing.
As with the last books, the writing is... the writing. However, this particular book had some moments that genuinely had me torn between laughing through the scenes or crying through them because of the cringing and second-hand embarrassment I had reading them. There was a lot I highlighted in my book but I'll cover only a few here:

1.) This one isn't so bad but it actually made me laugh out loud. After not even a month of hiding his identity, Sora reveals himself as a member of the Lost Clan, the Sodalicium. His clan was in hiding for 500 years and Sora couldn't lie about his surname for a month. I'm screaming.

2.) Ravi (to Sora, referring to his level of sexual experience): "Mostly, I've had heterosexual sex. Once with a trans woman." FYI, sex between a man and a woman is heterosexual sex. Since trans women are women, this is heterosexual sex. I'm not sure if this is meant to come off this way, but this sounds really TERF-y by othering the one trans woman in this scenario.

3.) Sora (to Ravi, referring to Ravi asking Sora to top): "I see." Sora looked as if he were doing high-level calculus in his head. It was probably hard to think since all of the blood had gone south. "And I take it from your earlier comment that you want to have anal sex with me, but you want me to top?" Who talks like this? In what world is this considered sexy? I'm all about communication, but there are so many ways that are sexy and effective without sounding like two lizard people in a low-budget porn.

4.) Ravi (to Sora, referring to his ass): "Need this, I hope?" The cheek was too much.

5.) Ravi (to Sora): "Whoa," Ravi exhaled. "That is one extremely sexy ass."

6.) There is an attempted rape scene at about the 85% point of the book where Ravi is kidnapped by a group from the Jaeggi clan and held captive in one of their settlements. This would make the Jaeggi seem like an actual credible threat if the tonal dissonance in this scene wasn't so frustratingly large. This scene is treated so comically and ridiculously that it actually feels a little insulting. The Jaeggi, according to what's in the series, have literally killed people in cold blood. Hell, Ravi hears two people get killed in the next room over right before the Jaeggi walk into the room to (attempt to) rape him. And yet what we get in this scene is Ravi simply shit-talking his way out of the situation (like Cameron in book 1) and using words like "Jerk Face" and "pee-pee." These men have murdered people, Ravi. This is also where the tag "Bat-Ravi" comes in because he just... hangs upside down. To avoid the rape. Or something.

6. As Usual, I Should Also Point Out the Good Stuff
Now I'll give credit where credit is due, there are a couple of things that I actually thought were cool or just good ideas in this book. Sora being a part of the Lost Clan mentioned in book 1 was actually a really cool twist that I was genuinely surprised by. I dislike how it was done and the lack of building up to it, I feel like it could've had more payoff if it'd been held off a little longer, especially since one of the big plot points in the book's blurb is that Sora is eating himself up over this secret. It's not even halfway through the book that this twist happens. Still, the concept is cool and I do like that the Lost Clan wasn't just some gimmicky throwaway in the first book.

We're also introduced to the other clans and their specific powers in this book. I would've liked to see more building on this, since the ice dragons seem to have the ability to control and "read" water, the earth dragons can track people through the vibrations of the earth, and wind dragons seem to be intrinsically tied to the wind. However, these are sorely lacking in worldbuilding and expansion that could've made the overall world richer.

There were a couple scenes here and there that were actually very sweet, like Ravi connecting with his long lost family and having a heart-to-heart with Alric, his de-facto older brother. We also get a cute little filler scene where the absolute legend of the series, North "I Want My Back Blown Out For Christmas" Burkhard, is in wonderful loving bliss with his husband Warin. Good for them, keep it up, king.

TLDR: This book suffered the most in this series due to a seeming lack of putting care into sensitivity reading, attentive research into the cultures displayed, and relying too much on tropes and fetishization for characterization and plot. The few good things in this book are heavily and frighteningly outweighed by everything wrong with it. The suspension of disbelief must be strong in this series or the holes will turn this entire story to Swiss cheese in a matter of a few chapters.

[Aster* · Rating 1 out of 5]

oh man. i've loved this series, and i loved ravi. but this book is so disappointing. lots of stuff is rushed and doesn't make sense. there is zero description of what anyone looks like so hundreds of pages in when ravi is lusting after sora's hair, i'm like what hair?? i have no idea wtf this man looks like.

and i DO NOT feel their chemistry. we get a rushed meeting and then kind of insta love, but no slow burn, no build up, no chemisty.

ravi is so 2-dimensional in this book. his 'inner monologue' is just him being bored. no thoughts, nothing deeper. just 'i'm bored'.

god it dragged on and on, and then i looked and i was only 28% in! wtf?!

listen, i read hundreds of MM romance each year, and again this series has been great up until this book. i'm so pissed. i have waited so long for this and i've tried 5 times to read it and i have to either dnf at 30% or just skip through to glean enough details about the plot so i can read the next book.

here's the other thing. I only read these because there are 2 authors. I cannot stand AJ, i think their books are terrible. so only because it's tempered with an actual writer who knows how to tell good stories that this series is even worth reading, but now it seems like the inconsistency is back.

[SC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to 2 than 3

Out of the 400 pages in this book, I think you could easily move all the repetitive stuff, and all the unnecessary details, to a 100 of those pages, then cut them out, you would have a better book.

I thought Ravi came off a little immature, but still likeable. I didn't dislike Sora, and I thought their relationship was fine. Could it have been written better ? Sure. I mean I'd rather have more interactions between the two main characters than you know, the 4-5 s£x scenes we are given. Which really, by the second one I was just skimming through them. I also feel like there is an issue with the way info is delivered. I mean, you have Ravi, in trouble, meeting someone, in a place surrounded by the bad guys, and he basically tells this person their whole life story. Like - and ok, this might just be too clever I suppose for these books - but what if oh, they're the enemy too ? Yes, it might help set the stage for the next book, but it could have been done BETTER. And that right there is the crux of this whole series thus far. More (pages) is not more. And OMFG, really, we’re still on “gev adi”????

I can honestly say - I will 100% NOT READ any more of these books. I love Drake, I love her paranormal books so I know I’ll read her books, but I don’t think this collaboration works well for me.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Least favorite of the series. Cute spots and I liked Ravi as a side character in previous books, but a full book with him didn't work quite as well.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those series where you don't think the next book will be better than the one you read before but then you read it and it is beyond expectations. Blood is amazing not only on the characters (Sora is a sweetheart and Ravi is a joy and they deserve all the happiness) but the plot is upping the stakes!
I love it!

[SFBookReviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood is the third book in the series and follows Ravi and Sora's story. The series is full of dragons and mages and has an excellent storyline. This book is energetic, fun, and full of mischief. Overall a very good read and an excellent addition to the series.

[Badh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Ravi is so adorable! I love him so much. His attitude and joy just make everyone happier. And yeah, no coffee ever for him. Ever.

I felt like Sora was a very good man. I like how he thought long and hard about what he did and what his choices were.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sept 2023
Fun story ... love this series

First review
4,5 stars for this story. I have to say I was not really a fan of Ravi in the previous books as he was a bit too much over the top for me. But in this book I absolutely loved him. He and Sora together are great.
This series is fun

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading any book from these authors is a comfort rabbit hole. Since I know there isn’t anymore yet, I want to fall back on Healing Aiden or the duct tape duo, I want to re-read the assassin trio. It’s just so easy and if I wasn’t about to drop I’d do just that.

Ravi has been my favourite character from the start. He adds the mischief to the family and keeps everyone smiling with his pranks, so it was nice to see him get his own story and his own mate.

I liked that Ravi didn’t change. He stayed light hearted and the prankster, but also proved how essential he is to the family and how responsible he could be. It was nice to see others realise that too.

Sora was more level headed but still an accomplice and I liked how adorable they were together from the first motorcycle meeting. It’s sweet and more of an intro to another clan, showing just how outnumbered the bad guys are. I liked how just like Ravi, Sora is a necessity. It’s good to see the king heal.

Another clash with the bad guys, as well as the opening for Gunter. Poor guy didn’t know what hit him. So adorable. I felt sorry for Ravi with his romance fails, they were entertaining though. I’m looking forward to the next one.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

Blood is the third novel in the Scales ‘n Spells series and gives us the story for one of the most fun dragons we have met so far in Ravi. He is enthusiastic and full of life, and a bit of a mischief maker, and so it was nice to see his story here. This book features new MCs in Ravi and Sora, but the overarching threat from the Jaeggi, as well as the general world building elements, continue across the series. So I think while you could read this as a standalone, you will enjoy it more following the other books.

This story takes a little departure from the first two that had similar themes of somewhat naive mages entering the world of dragons. In this case, it is the mage who is more knowledgeable about their shared world and the dragons that are somewhat behind. So it is a nice change and provides some new challenges as this time it is the dragons who are getting exposed to new ideas and a new understanding of their world.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this chapter in the series!

In this fourth book of the series Ravi the wind dragon finds his mate and an important discovery in the world of mages and dragons makes a huge difference in the fight against the Jaeggi.

This book brings several new developments to the Burkhard clan and a huge change for dragon relations. It starts out with a bang as Ravi does something with tremendous implications. That sets in motion the steps that ultimately bring Sora to Burkhard castle. Sora, a healing mage, is tasked with checking out the Burkhards for his clan. As such, he goes in under somewhat false pretenses which, after he falls for Ravi, is just untenable. Secrets are revealed and huge changes are afoot for dragons and mages.

I loved the relationship between Ravi and Sora and the way we see the strong family bonds within the clan. There are some interesting parallels to things going on in our culture and politics today.

The ending is sweet and I am looking forward to the next, and final, book.

[Skywalker · Rating 4 out of 5]

After suffering through book 2, with basically the same story as book 1, I did not read book 2.5. Warin did not strike me as interesting und the first two books. Ravi made much more of an appereance, so I gave book 3 a shot. And I really did like it. It was the expected shallow story arch, but the MCs had a nice development. The overall story also progressed a bit more interesting than in book 2.
However, the encounter with the bad guys was pretty lame. Again. Abduction as usual, rescue, not very scary bad guys who never posed a real thread.
I will not read book 4. The first glimpse of Nikki did not catch me and I cannot suffer through another round of the same repetitive storyline…

I like the idea of the whole series and the characters could have been so intriguing. But it was not well executed and always the same over and over… sadly enough.

[Ash’s reading corner ✨🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

So. I’m so glad I didn’t drop this series

I absolutely loved the 1st book, but then the next books were just meh and kinda boring. I only picked this book up because it’s Ravi’s story and I really really love him so I needed to know more about him and see what kind of mate he’d get.

I don’t even know why but I caught myself almost crying at some parts, and the book isn’t even sad, I think I just love Ravi so much that seeing him makes me wanna cry.


We are having hot, blistering sex first. And then we’re playing Mario Kart.” “Oooh, talk dirty to me, baby.” If Sora hadn’t already known, he knew it now. Life with Ravi would never be boring. 

Im def curious about Gunther and his mate so I’ll read the next book! I hope it’s as good as this one I would hate to drop the series.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm starting to get super frustrated with series. This book is basically a repeat of all the other books just with different characters and a slight difference.

Let me give you a rundown...the dragon finds a mage. They feel drawn to the mage, but don't want to be selfish so they let other dragons around, but we all know that's their mate. Then we have a conflict with the Jaeggi. But depending on the book, let's add in hundreds of pages of filler to get to a large book but with the same basic info as all the prior books.

Seriously, let's kind something different to write about. Let's change up the books instead of using the same damn setup. UGH!!

And what makes it worse, is I feel like I have to read the next book because it's the last one and I've made it this far. The last one has to be different, right?!?!?!? Let's hope.

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magically delicious mm series

Dragons and mages as true mates finding each other. Oh yeah and bad guys trying to steal the magic. That is this series essentially, but it’s so much more and so much fun to read. The beginning of this story is particularly fun to read. I keep trying to think of what I can say without giving away parts of the plot and I’m a bit stumped as the plot is so intertwined and continues on from the other books. Basically if you like mm fantasy romance then I highly recommend this series but make sure that you read the books in order as there is a definite plot arc that goes through them.

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood is the 4th in the series (there is a 2.5) and it was a fun read. As with the others in this series, characters, world, and conflict are all developed enough to make it a satisfying meal if not a banquet.
Sherwood has deftly used foreshadowing in this book starting with a delicate hand and slowly dropping broader hints. If you catch the mention of Ice Dragon tears you can follow the trail of breadcrumbs to find what is lost. There - that sounds mystic and mage-like. The dragon of this tail is Ravi and the overall tone of the story matches the dragon - fun, light-hearted, and joyful. Again a comfy read.