Dragon Actually

Dragon Kin Series, Book 1

De: G. A. Aiken

Narrado por: Hollie Jackson

It's not always easy being a female warrior with a nickname like Annwyl the Bloody. Men tend to either cower in fear-a lot-or else salute. It's true that Annwyl has a knack for decapitating legions of her ruthless brother's soldiers without pausing for breath. But just once it would be nice to be able to really talk to a man - the way she can talk to Fearghus the Destroyer.

Too bad that Fearghus is a dragon, of the large, scaly, and deadly type.

With him, Annwyl feels safe - a far cry from the feelings aroused by the hard-bodied, arrogant knight Fearghus has arranged to help train her for battle. With her days spent fighting a man who fills her with fierce, heady desire, and her nights spent in the company of a magical creature who could smite a village just by exhaling, Annwyl is sure life couldn't get any stranger. She's wrong.

©2013 G. A. Aiken (P)2016 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Packed with bold adventure and sizzling sensuality" ( RT Book Reviews)

Dragon interesting

Story was entaining, just a little repetitive. Narrator just sounded like she wanted to be done. Not many pauses for accent and no emotion.

Finally a series I can sink my teeth in to!

I'm three books in and it's a great series. I love series. Black Dagger Brotherhood, Guild Hunter, New species...I've been trying to find another one to REALLY get into and here it is! Yes each book is about one main character but there is an entire underlying world with ongoing problems that intertwine the books. All books have been about finding their mate and all books have had some very hot scenes.

The narrator...I don't find her annoying, but she does have issues making her male characters sound dumb, like actually missing some brain cells dumb, with a cadence that is more fitting in a caveman setting. However, I can easily get past it because I SOOO want to know what's going to happen!

There is a King, an evil King (of course there is), and he is insane. His half sister has vowed to kill him to end his tirade over their people. This chick is dominant, fierce, and could care less if you like her or what the proper protocol is in situations. She has been named Annwyl The Bloody. She hates that name, as she explains when you cut off men's head and disembowel them you get bloody, it's just a side effect and nothing she strives for.

One day Annwyl is cornered by her brothers troops, she's fairly certain she's about to die. Fearghus The Destroyer is a centuries old dragon who is NOT happy to hear humans fighting outside his cave, but he figures he should get up and look and worst case scenario at least he can eat some of the humans for lunch. When he comes out he sees a woman, a beautiful woman standing against an army and taking half of them with her into death. Fearghus wants to know more about this woman so he kills all the soldiers and brings the woman to his sister, a healer.

The story that unfolds was touching, funny, and amused me greatly! I plan on listening to this entire series ASAP and was SO happy to finally find a series I could sink my teeth into!

more than I expected.

the reading was smooth and engaging the voice of the reader helped pull my mind into the story from every angle of writing. I thoroughly enjoyed Dragon Actually and am looking for the sequel now.

Not bad...but...

I usually stay away from 1-off novels & typically only read stories that are in a series. I love the storyline & character depth that is achieved in a series; so it's possible that some of my dissention stems from this not being a normal story for me. I did feel a partial connection with some of the characters, but it came at the cost of other areas (so is the way of a 1-off novel instead of a series). Either way, it was an okay story to listen to while I was cleaning.

I wish more of the chapters were about Annwyl & Fearghus; not about the Dragon Queen's backstory. There are 13 chapters about the Queen's backstory, I assume, as I didn't bother listening further once I realized chapter 21 started into her history prior to her ascending the throne.

Most of this story revolves around the revolution of a land that's ruled by a tyrannical King & the lead up to a supposed epic battle. While the end battle didn't equal the build up given, it worked out okay, for the most part. Not much info was given on how the kingdom would fair long after the battle (some info was given as a means to show all would be well but something felt lacking). My biggest issue is with no future info given about the Fearghus & Annwyl. I don't want to spoil anything so details are given below....but there is spoilers...

*** SPOILERS ***
...
...
...
So I am disappointed in the ending. I thought the amount of chapters meant more story, but clearly I was mislead.

1. What happened with their relationship? Any children? Can they have children together (that was never mentioned)?

2. What is the full extent of that necklace the Queen melted into Annwyl's neck? Some hints & info on it were given, but there seems to be more missing pieces.

3. There were so many subtle hints about Annwyl being "more than human" yet nothing indefinite was ever said. Her strength was clearly abnormal & it was hinted as her being more than a normal human many times, but nothing was for sure stated. That's just annoying since a person's imagination can only go off what an author has provided without being too far from the actual story.

4. Who was Annwyl's mother? Her backstory is so blank....only that she was from a poor village. That doesn't mean anything. Many stories have their supes & powerful people hide/live in poor or over populated areas. I still don't fully understand how Annwyl even came to live at the castle. Plus, where did the King's wife go (who is the mother of Annwyl's evil brother)? Too many important details were left out.

5. What happened to the kingdom later on? Did it eventually become prosperous under Annwyl's rule? What happened with the other 3 nobles (who ran after she killed another dissenter) that Annwyl was told would try to confront her leadership?

LOVE!!

omg, I love these books. they are so frickin funny and the "adult" scenes are glorious

Gretchen start to an epic series!

This is a funny, sparky beginning to a series that gets better with each book. This one is not my favorite but it is certainly enough to get anyone interested in this series. The dragons are awesome and the other creatures and humans just get better and better. This is a great escape from reality with laugh out loud comedy.

Dragon Actually

Fun, witty, escapist fare. Definitely a series worth following if you enjoy saucy and attitudinist dialog.

2 Books in 1

Chapter 21 is the beginning of the second book. It is the story Vargas's parents. So it is a prequel story.

There is no introduction or anything so you don't know context unless you recognize the two names. Other than that, the story is entertaining.

loved this story

So happy to find it in audio version. Distinctive voices and well read. nice inflection

Really good duo of stories :)

This book has 2 stories in it, #1 Dragon Actually (which is described in the blurb) and #2 Chains & Flames. Chains & Flames is the story of how princess Rhiannon got mated to Bercelak which really should be Dragon Kin 0.3 since Rhiannon and Bercelak are already together in Dragon Kin #0.4, Dragon on Top. The hero from this book's first story, Dragon Actually, is Fearghus, who is the oldest son of Rhiannon & Bercelak from Chains & Flames.


Dragon Actually
Audio start time: 0:00 - 6:34:41

4 stars

This story is about a dragon named Fearghus, who mostly just wants to be left alone in his cave. he's rather grumpy so most dragons leave him be. Fearghus gets pulled out of his cave when he hears fighting and he finds a warrior woman that's been gravely injured but still faces death bravely.

Annwyl the bloody is the illegitimate sister to the King...a very bad King. Her father didn't treat her well but he did bring her to live in the palace which caused her brother to hate her. When their father died, her brother tried to force her into a political marriage but she escaped and became the leader of a revolution. Now he's determined to kill her.

Annwyl is badly injured and would have died if not for Fearghus saving her. He allows her to stay with him while she's recovering and quickly discovers that she has no fear of him and she intrigues him. As she recovers, he offers to get her more training but dragons aren't supposed to show human they can shift so he when he turned human to train her further in swordplay, he didn't tell her it was him. This causes some problems because Annwyl finds her self extremely attracted to the Knight that's training her but falling in love intellectually with the dragon. So this causes some drama that obviously comes to a head but does get worked past. Annwyl is able to deal with her brother and win the Kingdom and after a bit more angst, Annwyl and Fearghus are together and starting a HEA.

Overall, this was a pretty good story. I really liked both Annwyl and Fearghus and liked seeing them get together. My only complaint it that there was some use of the "I'm leaving you for your own protection" plot tool...it annoyed me a bit but thankfully it was gotten past. Overall, I liked the story and characters very much.


Chains & Flames
Audio start time: 6:34:41 - 10:23:28

4-4,5 stars

This is the story of Rhiannon and Bercelak's mating. Bercelak has a high position in the Queen's army and has always had a thing for Rhiannon, the princess. When the Queen offers Bercelak Rhiannon as a mate, he accepts because it's what he's wanted and worked for for years. Unfortunately, Rhiannon isn't an easy dragoness to woo and Bercelak really has his work cut out for him. He makes good progress and Rhiannon does end up realizing that maybe they'd be good together. Unfortunately, the Queen is a bitch and tries to use Bercelak as a tool to control/break her daughter, not realizing that he's always wanted Rhiannon and would never follow that command. Action has to be taken and in the end, things are nicely settled and Rhiannon and Bercelak are starting and HEA together.

I really liked this one and almost gave it 5 stars. Rhiannon is a real bitch at times but I really loved seeing her soften little by little. I really loved the fact that she allowed herself to realize that Bercelak could be a good mate for her and not fight him just to be contrary or on principle. Bercelak was tough but he just knew what he wanted and was willing to do whatever was necessary to get it. Overall, I really liked the characters and thought the story was really good and engaging.