Kenyons Minions discussion

SYNOPSIS TAKEN FROM OFFICIAL SITE:

Centuries ago, Illarion was betrayed– a dragon made human against his will, then forced to serve humanity as a dragonmount in their army, and to fight for them in barbaric wars, even while he hated everything about them. Enslaved and separated from everyone he knew and from his own dragon brothers, he was forced into exile in a fey realm where he lost the only thing he ever really loved.

Now he has a chance to regain what’s been lost— to have the one thing he covets most. But only if he gives up his brothers and forsakes the oaths he holds most dear. Yet what terrifies him most isn’t the cost his happiness might incur, it’s the fact that there is just enough human in his dragon’s heart that he might actually be willing to pay it and betray everything and everyone– to see the entire world burn and the Were-Hunter clans fall– to sacrifice his own brothers– for his own selfish desire.

Long ago, Edilyn saved Illarion’s life and almost tamed the feral beast. Now she must stop him from fulfilling the Dragonmark prophecy or do what she was trained to do. Slay the dragon who spared her life to save the rest of humanity. Something that should be easy for a dragonslayer of her skills, yet nothing is ever as simple as it seems. And sometimes, just sometimes, the key to salvation lies not in the hands of your most trusted friends, but in those of your worst enemies.

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Please remember to use spoiler tags as appropriate, at least for the first week or so. At some point I will announce that it's okay to drop the spoiler tags, but until then ...

And as always, please be courteous and respectful in your posts.

So ... yes, I'm putting this a couple of days early. =)

And I'll be sitting on pins and needles until Tuesday morning, when I can finally start reading it. Really looking forward to this one, it's been a while since we've had a heroine with a Rubenesque build. And from the sneak peeks, Edilyn sounds awesome. =)

Also, if I interpreted a certain review correctly ... it seems that a wild idea of mine, might have crashed. XD

My hold is in place for tuesday pickup. Although what to read first... or ?

If comes in, it'll definitely be the last book of the week for sure. I'm having to read as YCoM didn't come in last week and I need a fluff book after a month of medical mysteries.

My copy won't be delivered until Thursday T.T

I cant wait until tomorrow. ^_^
Sooo excited. Was gonna start Born of Legend but decided I'd rather wait for this.

I was disappointed :( can't wait for someone to finish need to chat with someone!!
Really shocked at it :(

Oh no. I'm starting when I get home. Did it not live up to your expectations!?

Not really. It's not really a spoiler but just in case SPOILER - a large chunk of the book is copied from previous books with a few very small changes.
The length of the actual story is much shorter....so if you go into it thinking of it more as one of her novellas it probably stands up.

....A novella for $15. Nuh uh!!!

Exactly why I'm disappointed, I'm a student with a child, I have very little money and I bought this straight away and I'm annoyed at myself.....not that I could have known otherwise.....and wish I had waited for the price to drop a bit.
This could possibly be seen as a SPOILER - I'm sure not everyone will feel like I did but at 45% on kindle it starts with the copied sections and that goes on till 92%!!
There are small adjustments, but they really are small and it's basically like a re-read :(

Too bad you didn't see my review, I added that fact.

~***Spoiler-ish**~






But it makes sense since so much of his time was spent in the SONO setting and then Dragonbane. I would have been ok with a more detailed look at his time in that LOA realm. But we have seen a lot of DH stories where we go over large time frames that we have seen in other character's plots, but in a different character's perspective for their story. It felt like that, but maybe a little rished since those events were not hashed your so long ago.

But I feel your pain. I would have liked a bit more, and I paid more than $15. I just am not taking issue with it b/c I really liked the characters and the story was not too heavy to put me in a book hangover like some other books have..lol I thought it a perfect pararomance summer read. I also got it in advanced and got to spend 2 days with Sherri again, so that was worth the extra $$ ;)

Darn, yeah wish I had seen your review.

Again I say - possibly small SPOLIERS so beware




I think this case of copying is a bit more extreme than in other books though. In Styxx we see a lot of scenes but they are done from Styxx's perspective and show his reasons for acting in certain ways. In this the scenes are almost 100% copied with an odd thought from Illarion, leaving Cadegan and Max being the main characters for almost 50% of the book.

It's a shame, and I don't know about you but it seems to suffer from a bit of insta-love again. I liked Edilyn and I liked Illarion but there was no build up (that we saw) and they had known each other for a very short space of time before declaring they loved each other.....

I do like Illarion and Edilyn and of course I still love the world and want to know more.....always want to know more......but given this books status as a full novel and the continued wait to get back into things more.....I'm going back to my original word - disappointed.

It makes me disappointed to read this. I've been wanting a story on Illarion for years and couldnt wait for his backstory. Wanted it more than Max.

possible spoiler-ish....???




@ally yes I agree with your issues of the perspective not always being 100% Illy and the Insta. I did have to stop and think about the time frame and also wondered if a person didn't read LOA or the last two DH books would they understand what was happenening. That's why I shrugged away the perspective.
And I guess I was in the mood to jump straight into a romance, after that crazy weekend I had at work, that my usual disdain for instalove didn't bother me this time. I think if I was not in need of that reprieve, I would feel exactly like you are feeling now.
:( So sorry. As a single mom, I completely understand that let down and frustration of spending a nice little chunk of your money and not trully getting your money's worth. I honestly never buy DH hardcovers (for any book really, until they are on sale) b/c of the price, this was a huge splurge in the excitement of Comic Con and being able to walk away with it so early.

It's definitely still worth reading, but yeah....and given the fact that we are all menyons we will still read them....but don't go into it expecting too much

SPOILER AGAIN

There is a lot of Illarions backstory left untold. You sort of hear about parts briefly but nothing like a real telling of it.
I don't feel like I know him very well after reading it. I like what we do know and Edilyn is interesting and doesn't make you want to slap your forehead (mostly) which is good.
There is a new character who I think might well be Urians HEA.....and she looks like fun.
There are of course a few hints and bits of information that get you thinking but I would have liked to hear more about Illarion, there is a lot of interesting stuff there (one bit in the last 2% of the story) that I wish we knew more about. I suppose by the end of Urians story it will all be clearer :)

D - :D if I could go to comic con and meet her etc I don't think I would care either lol. I would be too busy fangirling all over the place! Honestly I think I'm too 'into' this series I keep expecting more and more but lately....I don't know the DH world seems to just be plodding along waiting for more information or for something else to happen.
Thankfully I adore the League and the last book was far from disappointing ;)

Shari - having said all this you might adore this book....you never know ;)

@Shari His back story is super sweet IMO. I think if you are excited to see more of Illy, you will enjoy his journey. I really liked him to begin with, and when he took off in Dragonbane I just had to know what happens next. I have a feeling not too much extra is given becasue it may spoil the next two books. It feels like Falcyn will be intertwined but with much more detail to move the story forward (I hope) and somehow Urian will eventually be too...seeing as how his story is the third in the dragon trilogy.. (?)

Only my guess though. Sherri said she is 3 books ahead of us, and she had so much excitement about what was to come, that she had to be careful not to blurt it out. So I foresee a lot coming with this Dragon trilogy.

I'm on chap 19 and I'm witnessing all that you're talking about. I was expecting it since I knew much of Illy's story was from SoNO but this is more similar to a novella than a full book.

Also (view spoiler)[ all hail the insta love?
"I hate dragons, they killed my father! I wish they were all dead!"
*ten minutes later*
"Oh, look a dragon. Oh, I'm flying on a dragon."
*in the afternoon*
"oh, I like the dragon. Oh, let's go swimming with the dragon. Well, let's sleep with the dragon as well!"
*three days later*
"Ok, let's mate the dragon. Let's stay together forever."

.... ok? (hide spoiler)]

@ally. Yeah it was an amazing Con this yr. I almost never get to go on the floor, and they usually never sell the newest DH book there. And Sherri doing a signing at her booth is new too (i guess she started last yr??) it was surprise after surprise. Totally made my crazy long weekend and blistered feet worth it. lol!

Her crew was also so friendly and a joy to hang out with... they really love these worlds and fangirling/fanboying with us.

Definitely some interesting thoughts here.

Just finished the book myself, really liked it.

Ladies, I do see your point about parts of the book looking like some serious rehashing. I got that jibe about halfway through the book, though it ended for me at about 62% or so.

The part that overlapped with SONO ... (view spoiler)[yeah, it looked to me like it was almost word for word straight out of SONO, with an occasional Illarion thought thrown in. I did like the initial meeting with Jo and Cadegan--Illarion's thoughts made me laugh out loud. XD But now that I think on it, some of Jo's words did change a bit. (hide spoiler)]
I can also see BookPusher's point about the perspective. There are likely many readers who have quite forgotten many of the details that took place in SONO (or else didn't read the book). To me, though, that section was still worth reading because there were a few important details that didn't crop up in SONO. =)

As for the part that overlaps with Dragonbane ... (view spoiler)[Now, THAT grabbed my interest. It seemed to me that we had a LOT more of Illarion's perspective in that section, even if some of it seemed identical to Max's and Sera's perspective. (hide spoiler)] And we only got the parts of Dragonbane that Illarion was directly involved in.

MAJOR spoiler alert ... (view spoiler)[ Did y'all catch the bit where Thorn mentioned Aeron "and his two friends"??? Or why Thorn had battled against him before?? =D =D =D (hide spoiler)]

Ally, I do believe you've hit upon something I myself was thinking, (view spoiler)[about the sister. My first thought when I read about her, was that she is likely going to be Urian's mate. =D (hide spoiler)]

The insta-love didn't really bother me, I've come to almost expect that from paranormal romances.

Just a few thoughts I have for now. =)
Of course, I have many more thoughts on the book. XD

Started it while eating lunch today, which was actually breakfast but eaten at lunch time.

Not very far in, and can't stay up late reading tonight since I have to be at work at 7:30 in the morning. Ugh. But I can stay up too late tomorrow!

I'm terribly disappointed in this book.
First, it should not be a book but a novella.
Second, there are entire paragraphs and chapters that are copied from previous books and not even in Illarion's point of view, but following the thoughts of the original characters.
Third, the ending is short and rushed. We left Dragonbane at a certain point and the situation was solved in a chapter, barely explaining what Dragonmark means and just rushing to end to make the story go forward an inch.

I feel cheated, this was a terrible read.

I am disappointed tooo!!! OMG!!! Look the first half was good ALTHOUGH I feel that she did not reveal enough secrets about Illarion. The second half...........can be summarized in the following sentences: "WTF?! Slow down! How did it jump from A to Z?! That's it?!"
I never thought I would say this but this book was worser than Son of no One .........:(

I got hooked to the Dark Hunter series by starting with CON, so I basically follow it just to how what is happening with Nick. I've gotten attached to other characters of course so over the years I slowly made my way through most of the books. The end of Dragonbane (view spoiler)[(OMG! The end of the world is coming! Mother of monsters and weird psychotic army! This is gonna be wild!... oh, and whatever is happening with Illarion) (hide spoiler)] was exciting enough that I immediatly wanted to see what happened next. But the thing that excited me the most about it wasn't even mentionned and the other situation was resolved in, like, 20 pages. (view spoiler)[And seeing as read mostly for Nick, I went straight to where he was mentionned (once) and was really weirded out that Illarion, who never met Nick, had any (let alone exactly) the same thoughts on him as Maxis did in Dragonbane. Though I'm intrigued at the tidbit that was added: why is the Malachai a natural enemy of the Greeks? (hide spoiler)]

I'm so conflicted about whether or not I should get this book!
I just want to know about Sav and Thorn at this point.
Please send spoilers. Kthnxbai xD

blackd0vey wrote: "I'm so conflicted about whether or not I should get this book!
I just want to know about Sav and Thorn at this point.
Please send spoilers. Kthnxbai xD"

I went ahead and got mine from the library. I had it on my wishlist on amazon and was planning to buy the day it came out but thankfully read thoughts on it before hand. I dont like the idea of paying $15 for Illarion's actual story is more or less a novella.

Ok so I've started reading this and so far I'm enjoying. Yes I see what yall were refering to when it copies from previous books but it didn't happen until chapter 14 of the hardback. I'm now on chapter 20 and it's almost caught up with the present.

Ah and I just got to the part about Thorn and Cade in a fight with Aeron. (view spoiler)[ Aeron was on the side of Thorn and Cade but they left him to fight Ares and the gallu. They had to go back to him so he didnt get bit by the gallu. Him or his two friends, which I'm guessing are Vawn and Kaziel. We know how badass they are together. If they were converted by the gallu, that would not be good for anyone. Thorn didnt wanna be in the figbt if that happened. lol (hide spoiler)]

Hahaha (view spoiler)[ Apparently Thorn has fought Aeron before. He doesnt want to again. I knew I loved Aeron and his badassness. (hide spoiler)]

Glad your enjoying it Shari :)
For me the saddest part was exactly what Marie said, I want to know what happens next? Which of course is normal for a Kenyon read...but normally we get a bit more for a year of waiting.

I guess it is because the next two books are gonna be more in depth but that seems like a bit of a cop out to me still.

At least it was a quick read and I'm back to studying now :( :)
Next books not till CON in April I believe.....quite a wait, fingers crossed the next DH book will be worth the wait

Gonna test this from my phone cause I wanna write some real spoilers and don't want to ruin anything for anyone (view spoiler)[ testing....trying to think of something funny to say.....failing (hide spoiler)]

Yay! So.....
About the first chapter (view spoiler)[ anyone else notice that Falcyn basically said that he isn't biologically related to Max and Illarion. He talks about his mother (as opposed to theirs) and we know they don't share a father...and then says that he considers them brothers......so I wonder who his parents are!! (hide spoiler)]

The new character (view spoiler)[ love Xyn, she seems very fun and it's nice to have what could be a true female badass as a central character again. I know seraphina was supposed to be an awesome fighter but that didn't exactly come across much and Edilyn was great in those games and fought hard but there are far more male badass characters. Here's hoping Xyn kicks some serious ass.
I do think she would be a good HEA for Urian :) (hide spoiler)]

And as for him... (view spoiler)[ I think two potential characters could be his future snuggle bunny ;) either Xyn or Merlin!
I thought Xyn at first because of the whole dragons rising but then remembered that early on in the series (think its Wulfs book) Stryker turns into a dragon so maybe Urian has inherited more from his adopted daddy than we realise? Either way I think his book has me the most excited! (hide spoiler)]

one more (view spoiler)[ anyone else disappointed that we didn't find out more about what's going on with Thorn and the others? I know he's been keeping an eye on the Gallu and Apollo but there is more there....I think (hide spoiler)]

And I'm done for now....really hope they all work ;)

Alright now that I've finished, this definitely isnt worth spending $15 for. Highly recommend to wait until the price drops. As soon as I get off of work, I'll share my thoughts about the story.

I think Falcyn's dad was a demon. He talks about how he's the opposite of Max (Arel dad), and has so much darkness inside of him.

And how in the heck is this Illy's book when at least 1/3 to 1/2 of it isn't even from his perspective? You'd think there was more details of him as a dragonet being mutated into the WH (this is SK after all, and we've had more than our fair share of abuse through Styxx/Ash's books). Or how about more time in the Avalon setting? Or at least Illy's thoughts on how Cade/Max's book events unfolded instead of copy paste text?

I'm up to the events of Max's book, the kids have just been brought back.

I'm enjoying it, but I don't really see the point of all of the copied stuff. It's not adding anything to Illy's story. It's still good, but compared to most of the series it's bordering on a dud. But I'll reserve final judgment until I'm finished.

I finished it a few hours ago...the copied stuff really doesn't add anything until they're up in Olympus...

If Sherri needed to pad the book, why not explore the kiko whatever demon race? Or get more history about Morgen Le Fay from Illy's (or girly's brother) perspective.

Shari-amor wrote: "Ah and I just got to the part about Thorn and Cade in a fight with Aeron. [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, that particular bit caught my interest too, Shari. Because it was NOT worded quite like that in Dragonbane. (view spoiler)[ The "two friends" bit was left out in the earlier book. And yeah, I'm pretty sure those two friends were Vawn and Kaziel. =)

And in Dragonbane, Thorn did mention that he'd fought Aeron before, but he'd never mentioned why. So apparently Aeron is quite protective of Brigid. =) (hide spoiler)]

Ally wrote: "Yay! So.....
About the first chapter [spoilers removed]

The new character..."

In regards to that fourth spoiler you posted ... (view spoiler)[ you know, about Thorn, Apollo, and the demons (hide spoiler)] ... I think we're going to see a lot more about that in the upcoming books. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. XD

Charlotte wrote: "Shari-amor wrote: "Ah and I just got to the part about Thorn and Cade in a fight with Aeron. [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, that particular bit caught my interest too, Shari. Because it was NOT worded ..."

Exactly!! (view spoiler)[ You've got a better memory than me when it comes to the series so I'mglad you confirmed my suspicions. It didnt seem like it was quite worded that way and I couldnt remember if Vawn or Kaziel were mentioned. (hide spoiler)]

Shari-amor wrote: Exactly!! [spoilers removed] ..."

Yeah, SK definitely left out that information in Dragonbane. (view spoiler)[ Otherwise, it would have been a HUGE spoiler for Invision. =) (hide spoiler)]

Charlotte wrote: "Ally wrote: "Yay! So.....
About the first chapter [spoilers removed]

The new character..."

In regards to that fourth spoiler you posted ... [spoilers removed] ... I think we're going to see a lot..."

I think we will given that Medea is supposed to be all over one of the upcoming Dragons Rising books.

Charlotte wrote: "Definitely some interesting thoughts here.

Just finished the book myself, really liked it.

Ladies, I do see your point about parts of the book looking like some serious rehashing. I got that jibe..."

About Xyn, at one point she (view spoiler)[ said to Edilyn : "Wise up. Get a girlfriend. Men are so not worth the effort, most days.” Which I assumed meant she was a lesbian, but I guess she could be bisexual and fit as Urian's mate like you believe. Personally, I think we haven't met her yet. I think she'll be a new character in Falcyn's book that might explain some of his more criptic comments (like when he thought at the beginning of Dragonmark he wasn't the only one of his kind that had a human form) or that she'll have something to do with the whole Echidna mess. (hide spoiler)]

About Savitar in Dragonmark: (view spoiler)[

- Illarion called him "protector of Atlantis"! Sav is close to Apollymi and feels guilty about failing her in the past! And Apollymi sunk Atlantis after her son was killed! My radar is beeping like crazy. There's a link! There's a link!

- Sav can bind souls (or is it just their lifeforce?) together like the Fates do when they mate too Were-Hunters!

- He can see every outcome, every possible future, all the time.

- Hey, Sav talked about thorns and roses. wasn't that Thorns trigger phrase while we were reliving SONO?

Oh man, oh man, so many theories, so many thoughts...

(hide spoiler)]

We've seen Sav bind weres before. Wren and Maggie I think?

But he can't see which future will be the 'true' future.

Anyone else with Artemis? Let's just kill Apollo already. God I hope something epic happens in the next book. I feel like I'm being set up for something big, but seriously I miss the action. I'm due for a good show down DH style.

Ok, I m on my tablet. How do I read the spoilers or is there somewhere that explains it? I also don't know how to make them. Please help me out.

Now I was really upset that most of the book was previous stories. I would have been fine if it had been his view of what happened. But I really like the rest of the book.

@Ally -----good luck with your studies

Jane wrote: "Ok, I m on my tablet. How do I read the spoilers or is there somewhere that explains it? I also don't know how to make them. Please help me out.

Now I was really upset that most of the book was p..."

Jane, are you viewing GR on an app, or are you viewing the regular webpage? I honestly don't know if you can view spoilers when using the app, but on the regular webpage, you should be able to click on the spoiler like you would a link.

To put text in a spoiler tag, type <$spoiler> (but without the $) at the beginning of the text, and then type $spoiler> (again, without the $) at the end of the text.

Hope that helps. =)

Jane wrote: "Ok, I m on my tablet. How do I read the spoilers or is there somewhere that explains it? I also don't know how to make them. Please help me out.

Now I was really upset that most of the book was p..."

If you're using the GR app, there is a known issue with the spoiler tags not working of you try to click to show spoilers.

Marie, the Malachai is an enemy to the Olympians because he's Atlantean and Source in origin.

Finished it last night, and I'm conflicted. I loved the parts about Illy and Edilyn, but the repeating of stuff from SONO and Dragonbane I just don't understand. I've even been coming it from an author's perspective, and I still don't get it! There was so much new ground she could've explored, and didn't.

I still haven't figured out how many stars to give it. At this rate, it may take me all weekend to figure it out.

Just found on FB! https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSherri...

"Sherri sent this over for me to post for the handful of readers asking about Dragonmark:
I wanted to write a quick note addressing a few fans who’ve commented on Dragonmark and why I chose to write it the way I did. First, let me assure everyone that no “short-cuts” were taken with the novel. I took my time and extreme care with each and every word. I put just as much sweat and worry into it as I have with every novel I’ve ever written.

The “redundant” scenes are not redundant, but were chosen with great care as they were when I used such a writing device with Night Pleasures. Night Embrace. Dance with the Devil. Kiss of the Night. Acheron. Styxx. Bad Moon Rising, and countless other novels I’ve published in the past. Anytime an author writes books that are intimately tied together, you have to show the same scene in several books, otherwise those readers who might have missed previous books won’t have pertinent information.
Each scene was rewritten from Illarion’s point-of-view or if not, for a purpose from another character’s, and shows pertinent details for Dragonmark. Nothing that didn’t belong was put in there. But I knew if I didn’t show how Illarion and Edilyn met and how they were sucked into Avalon that readers would feel cheated. That the number of flashbacks we would have needed would have been awkward and distracting. So I thought the best way to tell the story would be to start at the very beginning (as I did in Styxx and many, many other novels), including Fang and Aimee and then show the way the story flowed naturally. The handful of scenes that I used from Son of No One and Dragonbane were necessary to show how Illarion escaped from Avalon to Sanctuary and how Edilyn returns. To not have those scenes in the book would have left a hole (I made that mistake in Styxx when I thought fans/readers would be okay with the omission of the Acheron wedding scene from Styxx’s story because diehard fans would have read it and known it and new readers wouldn’t miss it– as I result we’ve been answering years of emails wanting to know why those 60 “redundant” pages were removed). And upset diehard fans asking to read, what to me would have been unnecessary pages. Likewise, I can’t change certain dialogue or actions because, again, I’ve learned that if so much as one word (even a comma) of dialogue or action is changed, diehard fans become angry that I “changed” something and then question why I “forgot” what I’d written previously or what I changed it. Then they began posting that I forgot or making many other unfounded speculations about why content was changed.

I am sorry that anyone feels disappointed by the fact that I told the entire story of Illarion, including a handful of previously published sections that had to be in the book. I can assure you that it was not my intent to disappoint anyone and that I sweat and bleed for every single word. I adore Illarion and Edilyn and think that they have a beautiful and are one of those extremely special couples that live long in the heart. The way he needs and adores her and her special ability to see what no one else does make them one of the top couples I’ve written (in mt opinion) and I can’t wait to unleash Dragonsworn with Falcyn and Medea. But the scenes that are in Dragonmark are extremely necessary and not a single thing is in the book that wasn’t needed to make the story whole and complete and to show Illarion’s journey from start to finish. Thank you all! Love y’all much!"


As an author myself, I still don't see how most of that was necessary. Some of it yes, but almost half the book NOT being in Illy or Edilyn's POV? Not kosher. I'm still conflicted and disappointed, and didn't see any evidence of POV changing in the SONO scenes, with one exception.