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Dark Affliction
A dragon rider. An imprisoned elf. A deadly affliction.
When Calder Becket is assigned to the dungeons instead of the skies with his beloved dragon Ash, he’s disturbed by the torture he discovers in the darkness of Fangward. As he tends to the elf prisoner and learns about a missing princess, duty and conscience begin to war for control of his heart.
Meanwhile, something is driving the dragons mad. And it may not be a natural affliction. Calder’s sister, Maeve, will do anything to save her dragon flight, but what if discovering the truth means she must leave her husband?
When Calder and Maeve try to unravel the mystery of the deadly affliction preying upon their dragons, oaths will be broken and family bonds tested. Duty demands they do nothing…but how many dragons will be consumed before they embrace the truth?
Between Blood and Sand is a romantic fantasy series with a hint of spice and lots of magic that will enthrall fans of Elise Kova and Sarah J. Maas. If you enjoy strong heroines, tragic heroes, and clean romance, discover Dark Affliction today.
When Calder Becket is assigned to the dungeons instead of the skies with his beloved dragon Ash, he’s disturbed by the torture he discovers in the darkness of Fangward. As he tends to the elf prisoner and learns about a missing princess, duty and conscience begin to war for control of his heart.
Meanwhile, something is driving the dragons mad. And it may not be a natural affliction. Calder’s sister, Maeve, will do anything to save her dragon flight, but what if discovering the truth means she must leave her husband?
When Calder and Maeve try to unravel the mystery of the deadly affliction preying upon their dragons, oaths will be broken and family bonds tested. Duty demands they do nothing…but how many dragons will be consumed before they embrace the truth?
Between Blood and Sand is a romantic fantasy series with a hint of spice and lots of magic that will enthrall fans of Elise Kova and Sarah J. Maas. If you enjoy strong heroines, tragic heroes, and clean romance, discover Dark Affliction today.
102 pages, ebook
Published July 23, 2021
4 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Everly Haywood
10 books182 followersEverly Haywood imagines herself to be a shieldmaiden of great prowess…but you’re more likely to find her in a dusty library than on the battlefield slaying monsters from the underworld. She seeks to combine dark fantasy worlds with clean, sweet romance. She loves strong but sweet leading ladies and smoldering, tragic heroes, and if a dragon is thrown into the mix? That’s nearly perfection.
When she isn’t writing, Everly creates lovelies for her cover design business, homeschools her prissy Princess-in-the-Pea, and advocates for her special-needs Warrior Princess. She and her Knight in Shining Armor live in the country with their two daughters and their protective dog nanny.
Happy reading, and may your dragons fly true.
When she isn’t writing, Everly creates lovelies for her cover design business, homeschools her prissy Princess-in-the-Pea, and advocates for her special-needs Warrior Princess. She and her Knight in Shining Armor live in the country with their two daughters and their protective dog nanny.
Happy reading, and may your dragons fly true.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 10, 2021
This author debuts her first romantic fantasy/fantasy adventure with this prequel book where a dragon rider needs to decide what he will do when he learns that an elf is being horribly tortured in the dungeons. His sister works to figure out what is making the dragons sick.
This is a great set up for what is shaping up to be a fun series featuring dragon riders, elves, and magical mayhem and adventure! And is that a romance between a certain dragon rider and an elf princess that I see being set up for future books???
If you like clean romantic fantasy or fantasy adventure featuring elves, you'll want to check out this book!
This is a great set up for what is shaping up to be a fun series featuring dragon riders, elves, and magical mayhem and adventure! And is that a romance between a certain dragon rider and an elf princess that I see being set up for future books???
If you like clean romantic fantasy or fantasy adventure featuring elves, you'll want to check out this book!
April 28, 2021
A good old fashioned fantasy prequel involving dragons, elves, magic, and dark dealings. It's one of those unresolved, open-ended prequels designed to pull you in, but unlike many it has plenty of time to build up the characters and the world so that you'll actually be invested rather than feeling rushed into things.
We're introduced to the Becket siblings, loyal servants of their lord ruling over the lands from his mountain-based fortress of Fangward. Calder Becket is of the Hyrrin - a dragon rider scout - who one day finds himself tasked with escorting an elven prisoner from the dungeons to meet with his lord. What he overhears disturbs him. His sister Maeve is mistress of the dragons, yet she fears for her charges. A mysterious sickness afflicts them randomly, turning them from friendly creatures to monstrous beasts. Between the two of them, they start to put the pieces together that links the strange goings on and the dark legends of their land's past.
There's something Young Adult-y about the simplicity of things: bad guys bad (because bad is good?), and info getting dropped in at just the right moment in conversation (though the legends felt a little late for me maybe ). A couple of times I was bothered by fragmented sentences and repeated words close together in the writing, but otherwise it flows nicely.
That's not to say it's bad in any way; it's a well-told narrative that keeps up the pace and drip-drips little hints of intrigue throughout to snag your attention. Our protagonists are interesting and well-rounded characters (Maeve is married! Happily! To a nice guy! And no one is described as a beauty queen/buffed up hunkazoid! In fact they're pointed out to be... normal), and I really liked their connection with each other as well as their empathetic dragon charges. It's more than enough to make you want to know more about them and their world, not to mention what the ramifications of what they learn will be for them all.
Overall, an engaging and cozily familiar fantasy style read that draws you in and leaves you wondering what comes next without feeling ripped off. A great toe-dipper kind of prequel.
-I received a free copy of this e-book in a giveaway. This does not influence my review-
We're introduced to the Becket siblings, loyal servants of their lord ruling over the lands from his mountain-based fortress of Fangward. Calder Becket is of the Hyrrin - a dragon rider scout - who one day finds himself tasked with escorting an elven prisoner from the dungeons to meet with his lord. What he overhears disturbs him. His sister Maeve is mistress of the dragons, yet she fears for her charges. A mysterious sickness afflicts them randomly, turning them from friendly creatures to monstrous beasts. Between the two of them, they start to put the pieces together that links the strange goings on and the dark legends of their land's past.
There's something Young Adult-y about the simplicity of things: bad guys bad (because bad is good?), and info getting dropped in at just the right moment in conversation (though the legends felt a little late for me maybe ). A couple of times I was bothered by fragmented sentences and repeated words close together in the writing, but otherwise it flows nicely.
That's not to say it's bad in any way; it's a well-told narrative that keeps up the pace and drip-drips little hints of intrigue throughout to snag your attention. Our protagonists are interesting and well-rounded characters (Maeve is married! Happily! To a nice guy! And no one is described as a beauty queen/buffed up hunkazoid! In fact they're pointed out to be... normal), and I really liked their connection with each other as well as their empathetic dragon charges. It's more than enough to make you want to know more about them and their world, not to mention what the ramifications of what they learn will be for them all.
Overall, an engaging and cozily familiar fantasy style read that draws you in and leaves you wondering what comes next without feeling ripped off. A great toe-dipper kind of prequel.
-I received a free copy of this e-book in a giveaway. This does not influence my review-
April 7, 2021
This is a great little series starter! I enjoyed the introduction to a new world with its own unique rules, species, politics, and geography. I'm eager to follow the characters' adventures into the next book!
May 3, 2025
There were just three factors.
A dragon rider
An imprisoned elf
And
A deadly affliction
Calder Becket has been assigned to the dungeons rather than the skies with his dragon Ash, while there he becomes rather disturbed by all the torture that he sees happening in the darkness of Fangward Tending to the Elf prisoner, he is told about a princess who is missing, and suddenly, his heart is warring with itself between duty and conscience.
In the meantime, something is going on with the dragons. There's something driving them mad, and no one can figure out what it is. All that anyone knows is that it might not be natural. Calder's sister Maeve drives herself mad, doing anything in her power to save her dragon flight. Nothing is off the table. The question becomes, what if saving the flight means that she has to leave her husband?
While Calder and Maeve work together to figure out what is causing the affliction that is praying upon the dragons, oaths are going to be ripped apart, and family bonds are going to be tested to their limits. Duty demands that they hold firm and not act rashly and do nothing at the moment. They just don't know how many dragons will fall to this affliction before they can figure it out and find the truth.
Between Blood and Sand is a romantic fantasy series that has swoony-sweet romance, lots, and lots of romance. Fans of Elise Kova and Sarah KL Wilson are swooning and wanting more enthralling them from page one. If you love strong heroines, tragic heroes, and epic magic battles, pick up Dark Affliction ASAP.
This felt like slipping back in time to a time when we got good old fantasy prequel novels. Dark Affliction is such a great novel involving dragons, elves, magic, and even dark dealings. The ending is unresolved, leaving the novel open to continue the series. This prequel was perfectly written to pull you into the series, introduce you to the characters, the world so that you would be invested in them and you wouldn't feel like the first book was rushed like so many fantasy books are these days.
In Dark Affliction, we are introduced to the Becket siblings, and I loved them so much. They are loyal servants of their lord who rule over the land. Of course, he rules his mountain compound of Fangward. Calder Becket, one of the Hyrrin. Calder is also a dragon rider, one of the scouts. His duty is switched, though, and he suddenly finds himself with the duty of escorting their elven prisoner from the dungeons to meet Calder's Lord. While doing his duty, Calder overhears things that leave him unsettled.
Maeve, Calder's sister, is the overseer of the dragons, and at the moment, she is fearful for those she cares for. There is something wrong with the dragons. There is a random sickness affecting the dragons. It's turning the once friendly dragons into monstrous creatures. And they don't know if it is manufactured or if this is something that is natural and new. But, between Maeve and Calder, they work to put everything together that ties everything together, tying all the bizarre events and pit black legends they have all heard over the years. Things that the entire land knows.
This book does have a YA'y feel to it. It is kind of simple at times, but that's not a bad thing. Even young adults need a well written great fantasy series that even adults can enjoy. Dark Affliction is the start of the series. This is a great book. You get all the information at the perfect moments through conversations, and I did love that aspect. It was so well thought out and planned. And this book flows rather nicely.
This is a great narrative that is perfectly paced and drops the perfect hints at just the right hints of intrigue to grab and hold onto your attention. We have protagonists who are interesting and really very well-rounded and well developed. Maeve is married to a really nice guy, who I like, there are no beauty queens, hunks, everyone is rather normal like you or me and I loved the connections that they all had and they had so much empathy for the dragons. All of this makes you want to know more. It makes you want to know more about each and every one of the characters, more about the dragons, and more about the world in general.
This is such a beautiful and warm fantasy read that keeps your attention and leaves you wanting more and wondering what's going to happen next, You never feel like you are being denied anything. This was such a great introduction to the series, and I want more, and I can't wait to read the next book.
A dragon rider
An imprisoned elf
And
A deadly affliction
Calder Becket has been assigned to the dungeons rather than the skies with his dragon Ash, while there he becomes rather disturbed by all the torture that he sees happening in the darkness of Fangward Tending to the Elf prisoner, he is told about a princess who is missing, and suddenly, his heart is warring with itself between duty and conscience.
In the meantime, something is going on with the dragons. There's something driving them mad, and no one can figure out what it is. All that anyone knows is that it might not be natural. Calder's sister Maeve drives herself mad, doing anything in her power to save her dragon flight. Nothing is off the table. The question becomes, what if saving the flight means that she has to leave her husband?
While Calder and Maeve work together to figure out what is causing the affliction that is praying upon the dragons, oaths are going to be ripped apart, and family bonds are going to be tested to their limits. Duty demands that they hold firm and not act rashly and do nothing at the moment. They just don't know how many dragons will fall to this affliction before they can figure it out and find the truth.
Between Blood and Sand is a romantic fantasy series that has swoony-sweet romance, lots, and lots of romance. Fans of Elise Kova and Sarah KL Wilson are swooning and wanting more enthralling them from page one. If you love strong heroines, tragic heroes, and epic magic battles, pick up Dark Affliction ASAP.
This felt like slipping back in time to a time when we got good old fantasy prequel novels. Dark Affliction is such a great novel involving dragons, elves, magic, and even dark dealings. The ending is unresolved, leaving the novel open to continue the series. This prequel was perfectly written to pull you into the series, introduce you to the characters, the world so that you would be invested in them and you wouldn't feel like the first book was rushed like so many fantasy books are these days.
In Dark Affliction, we are introduced to the Becket siblings, and I loved them so much. They are loyal servants of their lord who rule over the land. Of course, he rules his mountain compound of Fangward. Calder Becket, one of the Hyrrin. Calder is also a dragon rider, one of the scouts. His duty is switched, though, and he suddenly finds himself with the duty of escorting their elven prisoner from the dungeons to meet Calder's Lord. While doing his duty, Calder overhears things that leave him unsettled.
Maeve, Calder's sister, is the overseer of the dragons, and at the moment, she is fearful for those she cares for. There is something wrong with the dragons. There is a random sickness affecting the dragons. It's turning the once friendly dragons into monstrous creatures. And they don't know if it is manufactured or if this is something that is natural and new. But, between Maeve and Calder, they work to put everything together that ties everything together, tying all the bizarre events and pit black legends they have all heard over the years. Things that the entire land knows.
This book does have a YA'y feel to it. It is kind of simple at times, but that's not a bad thing. Even young adults need a well written great fantasy series that even adults can enjoy. Dark Affliction is the start of the series. This is a great book. You get all the information at the perfect moments through conversations, and I did love that aspect. It was so well thought out and planned. And this book flows rather nicely.
This is a great narrative that is perfectly paced and drops the perfect hints at just the right hints of intrigue to grab and hold onto your attention. We have protagonists who are interesting and really very well-rounded and well developed. Maeve is married to a really nice guy, who I like, there are no beauty queens, hunks, everyone is rather normal like you or me and I loved the connections that they all had and they had so much empathy for the dragons. All of this makes you want to know more. It makes you want to know more about each and every one of the characters, more about the dragons, and more about the world in general.
This is such a beautiful and warm fantasy read that keeps your attention and leaves you wanting more and wondering what's going to happen next, You never feel like you are being denied anything. This was such a great introduction to the series, and I want more, and I can't wait to read the next book.
October 26, 2023
‘Bring me the Dragon’
This story totally reminds me of a scene from GOT that popped up in my Insta feed last week. Something about the truly loyal servant serves the king only if the king serves the kingdom rather than himself.
Good morals.
Some sage advice from the author:
Trust people who ‘have a propensity for helping those who cannot help themselves.’
Fave line:
‘To tame a goddess, a man must simply learn to love her.’
When you see a wrong, right it. Take a stand, set your course, then let the northern winds howl at [your] back…
Definitely want to read more by this author.
This story totally reminds me of a scene from GOT that popped up in my Insta feed last week. Something about the truly loyal servant serves the king only if the king serves the kingdom rather than himself.
Good morals.
Some sage advice from the author:
Trust people who ‘have a propensity for helping those who cannot help themselves.’
Fave line:
‘To tame a goddess, a man must simply learn to love her.’
When you see a wrong, right it. Take a stand, set your course, then let the northern winds howl at [your] back…
Definitely want to read more by this author.
January 10, 2023
Received as a review copy from Story Origin, this is an honest review. This is a heart breaking, enthralling story of how deep Calder's oath is to his king as her discovers Lord Guldemar's obsession to wield complex magic through the prolonged torture of the elfin king for a haunting agenda will force Calder and members of his family to take sides of either standing with a madman or become a threat to their homeland. This may be a short read but the author truly accomplishes to create a thought provoking, character driven journey that's poignant and greatly memorable. Highly recommended.
April 20, 2023
Magical systems, dragons, political intrigue, sibling bonds, romantic relationships. I love it already.
This series prequel eases you into the Rhuin through the eyes of Calder and his sister, Maeve, who find their lives changed forever by the dark desires of a lord who who wants to release demons from an ancient prison. The story was well-paced for its length and easy to follow, which is important when introducing your reader into a fantasy world. I'm eager to read the books of the series and check out other Haywood reads!
This series prequel eases you into the Rhuin through the eyes of Calder and his sister, Maeve, who find their lives changed forever by the dark desires of a lord who who wants to release demons from an ancient prison. The story was well-paced for its length and easy to follow, which is important when introducing your reader into a fantasy world. I'm eager to read the books of the series and check out other Haywood reads!
March 11, 2023
When Calder gets assigned to the dungeons instead of his normal duty, patrolling the skies with his dragon Ash, he is very unhappy, When he meets the Elf prisoner he gets drawn into something he is reluctant to believe, what happens next you should read.
Its a great read with credible characters, very easy to read very hard to put down.
Its a great read with credible characters, very easy to read very hard to put down.
December 17, 2022
captivating and intriguing—I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
March 2, 2023
This leaves you wanting to know what happens next! Excellent world building, great characters.
This is worth the read.
This is worth the read.
March 21, 2024
I got this as a freebie, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Everly is a fantastic story teller!! This is a little dark, but I can’t wait to see what happens next.
July 11, 2024
Loved this book so much! Perfect mix of dragons, danger, and elves! Only complaint is that it was too short! Now how do I get the next one?
March 20, 2024
With the name having the work "dark" in it, it's no surprise that the story is rather dark. It's also multiple viewpoint, which is my least favorite. I gave up on this very early on, though what I read about the characters, I liked.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews