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Gothic Dragon
Sometimes you can make your dreams a reality. Stuck in an uninteresting job and settled in a safe but vaguely unsatisfying relationship, the only bright spot in Esther's life is her writing. She's fascinated by colorful life of her ancestor Margaret Marsden, a nineteenth-century Gothic romance novelist. A woman who mysteriously disappeared without a trace. A weekend away turns into a hunt for clues when Esther stumbles across Margaret's "lost" novel, The Prince of Costanzo. Though desperate to read it, every time Esther opens the book, she falls asleep-and headlong into amazingly vivid dreams about Costanzo. But in this dream world where war, magic and poisoning are commonplace, nothing is as it seems. Least of all the supposed villain of the novel, the enigmatic sorcerer Prince Drago. She finds herself kidnapped to his castle and subjected to a seductive interrogation that curls her toes. As their feelings for each other grow more powerful, she begins to wonder.is he the real villain, or a hero who only wants to save his kingdom? All she knows is that now that she's had a taste of Costanzo-and Drago-her real life troubles seem insignificant. Until they come crashing around her, threatening to cut her off from the man she loves. Forever. Warning: As well as explicit and delicious sex, this book contains the secret of ultimate escapism which could be highly dangerous in the wrong hands. The reader experiments at her/his own risk.
215 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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About the author
Marie Treanor
82 books202 followersMarie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.
You can find out more about Marie and her books on her website: www.MarieTreanor.com.
Catch all her latest news on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-T....
or subscribe to her Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietr....
Join the party on her new blog: Marie Treanor's Romantic Theme Party
http://romanticthemeparty.blogspot.com/
You can find out more about Marie and her books on her website: www.MarieTreanor.com.
Catch all her latest news on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-T....
or subscribe to her Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietr....
Join the party on her new blog: Marie Treanor's Romantic Theme Party
http://romanticthemeparty.blogspot.com/
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 8, 2011
Great Concept But Has Problems With Execution
Esther has a mystery far back in her family tree. Her ancestor Margaret Marsden was a Gothic novelist in the early 1800's, until her husband, concerned over the commonality of that profession for a member of the upper class, forbade his wife her passion. Not long after, Margaret succumbed to an unknown illness before disappearing off the face of the earth with nary a trace. Almost two hundred years later, Esther, an aspiring author in her own right, intends to write a novel about Margaret's disappearance, and her research takes her to a Lord's home to study extensive and rare book collection. There she finds the final book Margaret ever wrote, The Prince of Costanzo. The book is so rare, Esther's only ever read reviews of it and has never even seen a copy before. Excited to experience this story, she opens the cover...and finds herself transported into the world of Costanzo. She comes face to face with the villain of the story, Prince Drago, but it's when she meets the ancestor she'd been researching that Esther realizes that there's more to The Prince of Costanzo than fiction, and maybe more to her destiny than she'd ever believed.
I thought everything about the concept of the story was imaginative and fabulous. An average woman leading a rather humdrum life but with a dream to be an author tumbles headlong into a rare book and finds that fiction and reality have merged in confusing and sometimes terrifying ways. The man of her dreams is also the source of nightmares and her hope for forever. I loved the concept of the plot.
I was less enamored, unfortunately, with the way the story was written. I felt that the beginning of the book was muddled and the characters very scantly developed and two-dimensional. The narrative throughout was choppy, but most notably in the transitions between 'reality' and Drago's world. I didn't like the story surrounding Esther's fiance and thought the book really would've been better off without it. In lieu of that, I would've preferred more time given to the character development of Esther and Drago and the evolution of their relationship, which is where this book shined brightest. There was a lot of potential for a slow, satisfying crescendo to their affections that ultimately went unrealized. One of my absolute favorite plot devices in romance is when the male lead has loved the female lead for years and years and the woman is completely unaware of it, and I would have been thrilled had that been given more than just a cursory nod in this book. The setup for it was there but then very little was done with it.
I also had significant issues with the lack of cohesion in the development of Drago's world, the mishmash of modern colloquialisms that everyone understood with no reason why they should, and the absence of sufficient explanation of the scope of Drago's sorcery and the extent of magic in his world. The last created more than a few weak points in the plot when just the fact that he was a sorcerer was used to explain odd plot turns and unusual happenstance. The plot got muddied and confusing again through the book's denouement and conclusion, with things going on that seem to contradict what few bits of mythos that had been previously defined. All these issued combined left me feeling that the execution of this book was lacking in the level of sophistication and polish of a top romantic fantasy.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
Esther has a mystery far back in her family tree. Her ancestor Margaret Marsden was a Gothic novelist in the early 1800's, until her husband, concerned over the commonality of that profession for a member of the upper class, forbade his wife her passion. Not long after, Margaret succumbed to an unknown illness before disappearing off the face of the earth with nary a trace. Almost two hundred years later, Esther, an aspiring author in her own right, intends to write a novel about Margaret's disappearance, and her research takes her to a Lord's home to study extensive and rare book collection. There she finds the final book Margaret ever wrote, The Prince of Costanzo. The book is so rare, Esther's only ever read reviews of it and has never even seen a copy before. Excited to experience this story, she opens the cover...and finds herself transported into the world of Costanzo. She comes face to face with the villain of the story, Prince Drago, but it's when she meets the ancestor she'd been researching that Esther realizes that there's more to The Prince of Costanzo than fiction, and maybe more to her destiny than she'd ever believed.
I thought everything about the concept of the story was imaginative and fabulous. An average woman leading a rather humdrum life but with a dream to be an author tumbles headlong into a rare book and finds that fiction and reality have merged in confusing and sometimes terrifying ways. The man of her dreams is also the source of nightmares and her hope for forever. I loved the concept of the plot.
I was less enamored, unfortunately, with the way the story was written. I felt that the beginning of the book was muddled and the characters very scantly developed and two-dimensional. The narrative throughout was choppy, but most notably in the transitions between 'reality' and Drago's world. I didn't like the story surrounding Esther's fiance and thought the book really would've been better off without it. In lieu of that, I would've preferred more time given to the character development of Esther and Drago and the evolution of their relationship, which is where this book shined brightest. There was a lot of potential for a slow, satisfying crescendo to their affections that ultimately went unrealized. One of my absolute favorite plot devices in romance is when the male lead has loved the female lead for years and years and the woman is completely unaware of it, and I would have been thrilled had that been given more than just a cursory nod in this book. The setup for it was there but then very little was done with it.
I also had significant issues with the lack of cohesion in the development of Drago's world, the mishmash of modern colloquialisms that everyone understood with no reason why they should, and the absence of sufficient explanation of the scope of Drago's sorcery and the extent of magic in his world. The last created more than a few weak points in the plot when just the fact that he was a sorcerer was used to explain odd plot turns and unusual happenstance. The plot got muddied and confusing again through the book's denouement and conclusion, with things going on that seem to contradict what few bits of mythos that had been previously defined. All these issued combined left me feeling that the execution of this book was lacking in the level of sophistication and polish of a top romantic fantasy.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
January 30, 2012
Book Description:
Sometimes you can make your dreams a reality. Stuck in an uninteresting job and settled in a safe but vaguely unsatisfying relationship, the only bright spot in Esther's life is her writing. She's fascinated by colorful life of her ancestor Margaret Marsden, a nineteenth-century Gothic romance novelist. A woman who mysteriously disappeared without a trace. A weekend away turns into a hunt for clues when Esther stumbles across Margaret's "lost" novel, The Prince of Costanzo. Though desperate to read it, every time Esther opens the book, she falls asleep-and headlong into amazingly vivid dreams about Costanzo. But in this dream world where war, magic and poisoning are commonplace, nothing is as it seems. Least of all the supposed villain of the novel, the enigmatic sorcerer Prince Drago. She finds herself kidnapped to his castle and subjected to a seductive interrogation that curls her toes. As their feelings for each other grow more powerful, she begins to wonder.is he the real villain, or a hero who only wants to save his kingdom? All she knows is that now that she's had a taste of Costanzo-and Drago-her real life troubles seem insignificant. Until they come crashing around her, threatening to cut her off from the man she loves. Forever.
My Thoughts:
I loved the premise of this story.
Esther, our heroine, is an aspiring author writing a story about Margaret Mardsen, a great, great, great...something relative. At the home of Sir Ian and Lady Hay she is thrilled to actually investigate Marsden's last published work, The Prince of Costanzo. But something funny happens every time Esther touches the book. She is drawn several hundred years in the past where she meets the villain of Marsden's book, Prince Drago. Only, the enigmatic man that Esther meets is not the villain portrayed in the book.
Esther and Drago are instantly drawn to each other. Upon her initial trip to the past, Esther meets a young Drago, burgeoning on manhood. But their meeting quickly ends when Esther is snatched back to the present. Finding that she is asleep in the Hay's library, Esther believes the encounter a dream. Several more instances occur where Esther is drawn into the past and flung back into the present. Each time she returns to the past her desire and love for Drago grows and does his for her.
The book has an interesting cast of characters Matilda-Margaret, Cosimo, and Fortune are Drago and Esther's nemeses throughout the entire story. They make the story interesting with their machinations on trying to take the throne from Drago. Esther and Drago were interesting but not particularly complex. Even as a sorcerer, Drago too easily accepted Esther's story of time travel. That portion of the story line fell short because it wasn't particularly believable. The other thing that fell short...and flat...was the climax of the story. It caused minimal ripples of change from the current pace of the story. It was in fact anti-climactic. They story pacing at the end seemed rushed and the end of the story came too abruptly. It was odd...and not in a good way. These issues knocked the story down from four stars to 3.5 stars.
Overall it was a decent story. It only took a few hours to read and I relatively enjoyed what I read.
Sometimes you can make your dreams a reality. Stuck in an uninteresting job and settled in a safe but vaguely unsatisfying relationship, the only bright spot in Esther's life is her writing. She's fascinated by colorful life of her ancestor Margaret Marsden, a nineteenth-century Gothic romance novelist. A woman who mysteriously disappeared without a trace. A weekend away turns into a hunt for clues when Esther stumbles across Margaret's "lost" novel, The Prince of Costanzo. Though desperate to read it, every time Esther opens the book, she falls asleep-and headlong into amazingly vivid dreams about Costanzo. But in this dream world where war, magic and poisoning are commonplace, nothing is as it seems. Least of all the supposed villain of the novel, the enigmatic sorcerer Prince Drago. She finds herself kidnapped to his castle and subjected to a seductive interrogation that curls her toes. As their feelings for each other grow more powerful, she begins to wonder.is he the real villain, or a hero who only wants to save his kingdom? All she knows is that now that she's had a taste of Costanzo-and Drago-her real life troubles seem insignificant. Until they come crashing around her, threatening to cut her off from the man she loves. Forever.
My Thoughts:
I loved the premise of this story.
Esther, our heroine, is an aspiring author writing a story about Margaret Mardsen, a great, great, great...something relative. At the home of Sir Ian and Lady Hay she is thrilled to actually investigate Marsden's last published work, The Prince of Costanzo. But something funny happens every time Esther touches the book. She is drawn several hundred years in the past where she meets the villain of Marsden's book, Prince Drago. Only, the enigmatic man that Esther meets is not the villain portrayed in the book.
Esther and Drago are instantly drawn to each other. Upon her initial trip to the past, Esther meets a young Drago, burgeoning on manhood. But their meeting quickly ends when Esther is snatched back to the present. Finding that she is asleep in the Hay's library, Esther believes the encounter a dream. Several more instances occur where Esther is drawn into the past and flung back into the present. Each time she returns to the past her desire and love for Drago grows and does his for her.
The book has an interesting cast of characters Matilda-Margaret, Cosimo, and Fortune are Drago and Esther's nemeses throughout the entire story. They make the story interesting with their machinations on trying to take the throne from Drago. Esther and Drago were interesting but not particularly complex. Even as a sorcerer, Drago too easily accepted Esther's story of time travel. That portion of the story line fell short because it wasn't particularly believable. The other thing that fell short...and flat...was the climax of the story. It caused minimal ripples of change from the current pace of the story. It was in fact anti-climactic. They story pacing at the end seemed rushed and the end of the story came too abruptly. It was odd...and not in a good way. These issues knocked the story down from four stars to 3.5 stars.
Overall it was a decent story. It only took a few hours to read and I relatively enjoyed what I read.
June 27, 2010
3.5 Stars
Esther is an aspiring authoress about to start a novel on her mysterious ancestor Margaret Marsden, who in her time (the 1800’s) was an author of gothic romance novels. This leads her to a private library where she find the last existing copy of the The Prince of Costanzo , Margaret Marsden’s last novel before she disappeared. However, whenever Esther tries to read the book she falls asleep and finds herself having a very vivid dream of Costanzo, and all the characters in the book, but especially Drago, the villain of the story. However, things aren’t quite as they appear, least of all Prince Drago.
I couldn’t quite bring myself to give this 4 stars, so I think 3.5 stars is a fair assessment. I liked the whole idea of the story, I marked it a time travel romance, but what actually happens is slightly different, I won’t say more otherwise it might spoil the story.
The character of Prince Drago, was sensual, funny and charismatic, I couldn’t help but like him, even when I thought he was evil. Esther didn’t stand out as much as Drago, but she was a likeable character, even if she didn’t quite have the reactions that I think a normal person would have. If I was in her position I believe I would have freaked out a bit more (and probably a very irritating heroine I imagine!) Their romance was hot and there were a few very steamy scenes that had a good sensual lead up. But there was more to this book then just sex, although the main focus is on Drago and Esther.
But there were some very odd moments, for example, when Drago (who lives in 15th century in Italy) says things like “Taking candy from a baby” and “rock your world” It just didn’t seem in keeping with the setting that he lives in. I can’t imagine a 15th century Italian Prince using those phrases! Also the ending is rather abrupt, I turned the page expecting more, even though nothing is left unresolved, it just felt sudden.
All in all it was a solid read, and I think fans of fantasy romance or paranormal romance will probably enjoy this story for a quick light read.
Esther is an aspiring authoress about to start a novel on her mysterious ancestor Margaret Marsden, who in her time (the 1800’s) was an author of gothic romance novels. This leads her to a private library where she find the last existing copy of the The Prince of Costanzo , Margaret Marsden’s last novel before she disappeared. However, whenever Esther tries to read the book she falls asleep and finds herself having a very vivid dream of Costanzo, and all the characters in the book, but especially Drago, the villain of the story. However, things aren’t quite as they appear, least of all Prince Drago.
I couldn’t quite bring myself to give this 4 stars, so I think 3.5 stars is a fair assessment. I liked the whole idea of the story, I marked it a time travel romance, but what actually happens is slightly different, I won’t say more otherwise it might spoil the story.
The character of Prince Drago, was sensual, funny and charismatic, I couldn’t help but like him, even when I thought he was evil. Esther didn’t stand out as much as Drago, but she was a likeable character, even if she didn’t quite have the reactions that I think a normal person would have. If I was in her position I believe I would have freaked out a bit more (and probably a very irritating heroine I imagine!) Their romance was hot and there were a few very steamy scenes that had a good sensual lead up. But there was more to this book then just sex, although the main focus is on Drago and Esther.
But there were some very odd moments, for example, when Drago (who lives in 15th century in Italy) says things like “Taking candy from a baby” and “rock your world” It just didn’t seem in keeping with the setting that he lives in. I can’t imagine a 15th century Italian Prince using those phrases! Also the ending is rather abrupt, I turned the page expecting more, even though nothing is left unresolved, it just felt sudden.
All in all it was a solid read, and I think fans of fantasy romance or paranormal romance will probably enjoy this story for a quick light read.
February 16, 2018
I didn't really get all that into this one. The characters weren't really all that likable, and the plot jumps around quite a bit. Even the romantic scenes seemed forced and lacked real chemistry. I had to push myself to finish it, because I kept hoping it would get better. It never really did.
December 31, 2014
I like the idea of the reader to be sucked into a book. However, usually you’d expect to experience the story described in that book. Here the story that Esther was transported into was quite different from the contents of the book. The explanation that was given as to why that was and how Esther could be drawn into the book in the first place was a bit far fetched and too complicated for my simple mind. But I’m a romance reader willing to overlook almost everything, from inconsistencies to illogical reasoning to incomprehensible explanations as to the why and how of the story, if only the chemistry between H and h is right and the connection strong.
The dreamlike, gothic atmosphere was quite compelling, you could picture Drago’s castle, the whole country Costanzo, its peasants, everything. It was like looking at one of those vivid paintings of some medieval scenery.
The fact that Drago, who was introduced as the super villain, turned out to be the hero was a nice touch.. He was as great a hero as you could wish for in a romance. Esther realistically didn’t fall for him the second she set eyes on him, but slowly came to care for him.
However, there was a connection between H and h that started 10 years ago – or yesterday depending on the POV - and no idiotic misunderstandings based on lack of communication (one of my pet peeves).
The real villains (there are some in either timeline) added the necessary suspense. They were dealt with effectively at the very end, so nothing to worry about.
I’m a sucker for the "waited all my life for you" sort of story, so this was a very enjoyable read for me. This couple is one of the few I did not get pissed off at at one point or another, which says a lot.
Oh yes, and for once the guy on the cover fit my image of the hero perfectly.
The dreamlike, gothic atmosphere was quite compelling, you could picture Drago’s castle, the whole country Costanzo, its peasants, everything. It was like looking at one of those vivid paintings of some medieval scenery.
The fact that Drago, who was introduced as the super villain, turned out to be the hero was a nice touch.. He was as great a hero as you could wish for in a romance. Esther realistically didn’t fall for him the second she set eyes on him, but slowly came to care for him.
However, there was a connection between H and h that started 10 years ago – or yesterday depending on the POV - and no idiotic misunderstandings based on lack of communication (one of my pet peeves).
The real villains (there are some in either timeline) added the necessary suspense. They were dealt with effectively at the very end, so nothing to worry about.
I’m a sucker for the "waited all my life for you" sort of story, so this was a very enjoyable read for me. This couple is one of the few I did not get pissed off at at one point or another, which says a lot.
Oh yes, and for once the guy on the cover fit my image of the hero perfectly.
July 6, 2012
My rating is based mostly on personal taste. The book as a romance is great but I was left unsatisfied with unsolved and unanswered issued and conflicts on the book. Like, will the created world forever be dependent on a book?
I do not mind putting down a book with ending where the H and h is still facing troubles as a couple. What left me unsatisfied with this book is that the created world of the story is so unstable that instead of being happy for the H and h (and the rest of the great characters) at the book's end, I was left thinking they are better in real world than where they are.
Like I said my rating is purely subjective.
I do not mind putting down a book with ending where the H and h is still facing troubles as a couple. What left me unsatisfied with this book is that the created world of the story is so unstable that instead of being happy for the H and h (and the rest of the great characters) at the book's end, I was left thinking they are better in real world than where they are.
Like I said my rating is purely subjective.
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June 1, 2011The first chapter is stilted and choppy and seemed to be all over the place. Very hard to follow where the story is supposed to be headed to. After reading some other reviews which agreed with me and then some, I'm relegating this to the "did not finish" list and moving on to something new.
Too many books, too little time for bad editing.
Too many books, too little time for bad editing.
March 6, 2016
I was very disappointed in this book. I was looking for a dragon. There NEVER was one. The book as an erotica Romance is okay with a bit of paranormal in it, but was not what I thought by the Title.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews