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Valkyrie Bestiary #0.5 & 1
Three Half Goats Gruff & Dragons Don't Eat Meat
Length: 9 hours 12 minutes
Kim McDougall presents the prequel and first book in her Valkyrie Bestiary series:
Three Half Goats Gruff: Who is the mysterious captain of the Guardians? Kyra Greene, pest controller of fantastic beasts, takes on a rock troll and meets the man who will haunt her dreams for the next 321 nights.
Come sing around the campfire with satyrs, and discover how Kyra found one little lost cephalopod who will win your heart.
Dragons Don't Eat Meat: Someone is killing dragons. And the killings point to a civil war brewing among the fae. When Kyra Greene finds an abandoned baby dragon, she doesn't want to bring him home. But until she can hunt down his thunder and stop the dragon killers, she's on babysitting duty.
Along with a quirky cast of misfits and unruly critters, Kyra leaves the safety of Montreal Ward and travels through the dangerous Inbetween - the land beyond the protected city states, where magic is the only rule of law. Can she reunite the lost dragon with his thunder and stop a new and sinister force from invading their home?
©2020 Kim McDougall (P)2021 Tantor
Kim McDougall presents the prequel and first book in her Valkyrie Bestiary series:
Three Half Goats Gruff: Who is the mysterious captain of the Guardians? Kyra Greene, pest controller of fantastic beasts, takes on a rock troll and meets the man who will haunt her dreams for the next 321 nights.
Come sing around the campfire with satyrs, and discover how Kyra found one little lost cephalopod who will win your heart.
Dragons Don't Eat Meat: Someone is killing dragons. And the killings point to a civil war brewing among the fae. When Kyra Greene finds an abandoned baby dragon, she doesn't want to bring him home. But until she can hunt down his thunder and stop the dragon killers, she's on babysitting duty.
Along with a quirky cast of misfits and unruly critters, Kyra leaves the safety of Montreal Ward and travels through the dangerous Inbetween - the land beyond the protected city states, where magic is the only rule of law. Can she reunite the lost dragon with his thunder and stop a new and sinister force from invading their home?
©2020 Kim McDougall (P)2021 Tantor
- GenresFantasy
291 pages, Audiobook
First published April 27, 2021
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Kim McDougall
46 books358 followersIf Kim McDougall could have one magical superpower, it would be to talk to animals. Or maybe to shift into animal form. Definitely, fantastical critters and magic often feature in her stories. So until she can change into a Griffin and fly away, she writes dark paranormal action and romance tales. Kim is also passionate about fiber art, photography, children’s literacy, rescue animals, nature, and genre-bending fiction. She also writes for children under pen name Kim Chatel.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 25, 2023
3.5 stars
A fun start to an urban fantasy series. No spice, which isn't unusual. I enjoyed it and expect to continue the series over the next year.
A fun start to an urban fantasy series. No spice, which isn't unusual. I enjoyed it and expect to continue the series over the next year.
October 9, 2024
Love this new series! What a refreshing story line. The author does an amazing job of world building and character development. The critter blog posts are such a fun little bonus. Excited to read/listen to the next books. The narrative is superb too.
September 19, 2021
Three Half Goats Gruff:
At only 45 pages, this is was only a taster of the series to come. But it was enough to know I'd like the main character, Kyra, and the writing of the series at large. Plus, how cute is that cover!?
Dragons Don't Eat Meat:
I enjoyed this. I liked Kyra and her menagerie quite a lot. The world was interesting. I thought the writing readable and the narrator did a good job with the audio version. I didn't feel like I got to know Mason as well as I'd have liked and at times the adventure felt a little go here-do that random, while the overarching plot a little predictable. Plus, in a post-apocalyptic world where travel was dangerous and limited and fossil fuels were no longer allowed, there seemed to be an awful lot of people not from the area in the area (lots of individuals with Welsh or Irish accents for example) and I wondered how they got there. Magic, maybe, but it wasn't addressed. I still enjoyed the experience quite a lot though and will continue the series. Though not immediately, as I've other commitments to attend to.
At only 45 pages, this is was only a taster of the series to come. But it was enough to know I'd like the main character, Kyra, and the writing of the series at large. Plus, how cute is that cover!?
Dragons Don't Eat Meat:
I enjoyed this. I liked Kyra and her menagerie quite a lot. The world was interesting. I thought the writing readable and the narrator did a good job with the audio version. I didn't feel like I got to know Mason as well as I'd have liked and at times the adventure felt a little go here-do that random, while the overarching plot a little predictable. Plus, in a post-apocalyptic world where travel was dangerous and limited and fossil fuels were no longer allowed, there seemed to be an awful lot of people not from the area in the area (lots of individuals with Welsh or Irish accents for example) and I wondered how they got there. Magic, maybe, but it wasn't addressed. I still enjoyed the experience quite a lot though and will continue the series. Though not immediately, as I've other commitments to attend to.
April 8, 2024
What a great story. This has everything any fantasy lover would want. I especially loved the pygmy kraken. He was so adorable. That was 1 thing I loved was all the different creatures. I found myself laughing outloud sometimes.
ians?
Kyra Greene, pest controller of fantastic beastsThe Firsta part of the story was Three Billygoats Gruff. Kyra Greene is the pest controller of fantastic beasts and she is very good at it. She is also a foster parent for a lot of creatures. She keeps loosing her office assistants because of her creature collection. Kyra ends up getting a call about some Satyrs bothering school children. She packs her bags and heads out. She finds them but also finds an angry rock troll who is furious at being awoken. Mason, a gargoyle has also joined the fight. They end up putting the troll back into a deep sleep after the pygmy kraken/little squid saved them. That is how Hunter went to live with Kyra.
Then the story goes into Dragons Don't Eat Meat . After acquiring Hunter, she tried to re-home him but he kept getting out and appearing in strange places so he was returned to her. Then she learned about the dragons. They were collared and being controlled. The youngest one ended up eating a blood stone that belonged to Mason. He was now being hunted by somebody that wanted that bloodstone desperately because of what it contained. Kyra would not let that happen. She would fight many creatures trying to save the little guy.
Such a great read and I will be reading more from this series.
ians?
Kyra Greene, pest controller of fantastic beastsThe Firsta part of the story was Three Billygoats Gruff. Kyra Greene is the pest controller of fantastic beasts and she is very good at it. She is also a foster parent for a lot of creatures. She keeps loosing her office assistants because of her creature collection. Kyra ends up getting a call about some Satyrs bothering school children. She packs her bags and heads out. She finds them but also finds an angry rock troll who is furious at being awoken. Mason, a gargoyle has also joined the fight. They end up putting the troll back into a deep sleep after the pygmy kraken/little squid saved them. That is how Hunter went to live with Kyra.
Then the story goes into Dragons Don't Eat Meat . After acquiring Hunter, she tried to re-home him but he kept getting out and appearing in strange places so he was returned to her. Then she learned about the dragons. They were collared and being controlled. The youngest one ended up eating a blood stone that belonged to Mason. He was now being hunted by somebody that wanted that bloodstone desperately because of what it contained. Kyra would not let that happen. She would fight many creatures trying to save the little guy.
Such a great read and I will be reading more from this series.
August 1, 2022
I loved the world building. I lived in Montreal for a while and picked it up for that reason. The setting was wonderful. I love the concept of an post magical end times world going about its business with fay and godlings running the city.
It had so much potential. But it just doesn't live up to it.
The characters are meh. The main character feels very bland and stereotypical. She is utterly interchangeable with a thousand other supernatural heroines. The love interest is a little more interesting. He has a cool backstory but what we see of him never really lives up to it.
The plot doesn't make much sense. The worldbuilding is there, the plot and dialogue, not so much. Why the heck are they all going on an adventure through an incredibly dangerous wasteland just to return a baby dragon who can't fly to his thunder?
There is something discordant between the intense and dark world and the almost silly plot. I wish authors would have the courage to write books that hit hard and say something rather than another boring supernatural fluff peace.
It had so much potential. But it just doesn't live up to it.
The characters are meh. The main character feels very bland and stereotypical. She is utterly interchangeable with a thousand other supernatural heroines. The love interest is a little more interesting. He has a cool backstory but what we see of him never really lives up to it.
The plot doesn't make much sense. The worldbuilding is there, the plot and dialogue, not so much. Why the heck are they all going on an adventure through an incredibly dangerous wasteland just to return a baby dragon who can't fly to his thunder?
There is something discordant between the intense and dark world and the almost silly plot. I wish authors would have the courage to write books that hit hard and say something rather than another boring supernatural fluff peace.
February 6, 2023
Two Fabulous Stories For The Price Of One!
Kim McDougall is a new-to-me author and I really enjoyed these action-packed urban fantasy stories. The future world that she has created is a rich, fantastical tapestry that still feels real and believable. I enjoyed Kim’s pacing and the twists and turns in both plotlines. The humour in her stories was fantastic; it felt natural and had me smiling and chuckling out loud many times. There’s a varied selection of characters in both stories and I loved the personalities that Kim created for each one. There are some wonderful ones that warmed my heart and others that I would enjoy seeing eaten by a chimaera.
Kim McDougall is a new-to-me author and I really enjoyed these action-packed urban fantasy stories. The future world that she has created is a rich, fantastical tapestry that still feels real and believable. I enjoyed Kim’s pacing and the twists and turns in both plotlines. The humour in her stories was fantastic; it felt natural and had me smiling and chuckling out loud many times. There’s a varied selection of characters in both stories and I loved the personalities that Kim created for each one. There are some wonderful ones that warmed my heart and others that I would enjoy seeing eaten by a chimaera.
October 17, 2023
DNF - set aside, never went back. Not certain but this might be a romance book but written with mythical beasts and magic stuff. It was okay, just not a good fit for me - not every book is going to appeal to every person. This was just a wrong purchase on my part. I had already removed this from my iPod to make room for new audio books.
January 19, 2024
Pure fantasy, some flirting, but no real romance. A dash of funny here and there. There was a ton of world building, a lot of characters, and quite a bit of action. Based on my taste it’s a 3.5 bit giving it a 4 because it fits true to its genre.
October 5, 2022
These books are cute.
October 5, 2022
i like it
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December 4, 2023Part of Before Times: 3 Valkyrie Bestiary Prequels; see that review & Dragons Don't Eat Meat review
November 24, 2025
3.5⭐️
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews