Descended from Dragons: An Urban Fantasy

By: Tricia Owens

Narrated by: Elizabeth Phillips

Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

Beneath the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas lies another city. A secret city in plain sight, full of warlocks and demons, shapeshifters and golems. A city that feeds off the chance magick that is generated by gamblers, and which is ruled by mysterious beings called the Oddsmakers.

It is in this strange underbelly of the occult that Anne Moody runs a cursed pawn shop for the desperate, the curious, and the magickally inclined. The job can be tricky, but it keeps her under the radar. None of her customers have any inkling that she is a dragon sorceress with a power that's been feared throughout history. One day, a visitor to her shop pawns a stone statue that is more than it appears. The statue is a gargoyle named Vale, who is shrouded in mystery and secrets. When she learns that Vale is possessed, and that the person responsible for cursing him plans to take over Las Vegas with a horde of demons from Hell, Anne realizes it is up to her to defy the Oddsmakers and save the city, and possibly the world.

Descended from Dragons is the first book in an exciting new urban fantasy series for fans of Patricia Briggs, Karen Moning, and Ilona Andrews.

©2016 Tricia Owens (P)2016 Tricia Owens

Wonderful book full of action and adventure

I like the way she read the book, a good flow between characters. The writer has a very good imagination and a balance of action, adventure, romance and humor.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

!Just shy of a teen novel

So young twenty something young lady ends up with a gargoyle. The conversation and her friends while entertaining was just shy of being teen ages. After starting the novel twice (it is only 4 hours), I just gave up.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun read with a few hiccups

I enjoyed the story, and the narrator is talented. But I kept getting hung up on her childish pronunciation of words such as "didn't" ("dinnent").

Fun

What did you love best about Descended from Dragons: An Urban Fantasy?

I liked the humor.

What did you like best about this story?

I thought the pawn shop with magical artifacts was a great idea. The cursed items only add to it.

Which scene was your favorite?

The bitchy cameos cracked me up.

Any additional comments?

Very formulaic, but fun.

Great start to a series

If you could sum up Descended from Dragons: An Urban Fantasy in three words, what would they be?

A young woman trying not to let her own power destroy her must save her friends and Las Vegas.

What about Elizabeth Phillips’s performance did you like?

I liked how well she handled the inner dialog, the main character thinks alot in this book, it's a very important part of the story and she made it flow well.

Any additional comments?

I can't wait for the rest of the books in the series!

Incredible

If you could sum up Descended from Dragons: An Urban Fantasy in three words, what would they be?

Magic, Mayhem, and Attitude

Have you listened to any of Elizabeth Phillips’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First time and loved her!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

excising the demon, no spoilers you have to listen.

Any additional comments?

Anne (do not be fooled by the mundane name) leads an “interesting” life. Living in a cured pawnshop in Las Vegas, she is possibly the last of her family and kind (sorcerer descended from dragons) she has the ability to summon a dragon familiar. Unfortunately, by feeding Lucky (her familiar) she risks being lost to her other self and becoming a dragon, then she would end up destroying everything in her path (and possibly a few that weren’t). Oh and her best friend Melanie is a monkey shifter. Despite the supernatural overtones Anne’s life is mundane, she runs the pawn shop (which is full of cursed items), hangs with her bestie, and wonders if she will ever find a date. That changes when an attractive man brings in a gargoyle statue that is not what it seems and sets her off on a mission to free the shifter inside from a demon. To accomplish this takes a slew of interesting friends, a lot of trouble, and some extreme dragon power; however, on the way she finds romance so it all seems worth it (even if she is convinced she is not getting the whole truth). This story pulls you in to a side of “Sin City” that is eerily plausible. Engrossing storyline with wondrously quirky characters that suck you in and hold until the end. I cannot wait for the next one!
Elizabeth Philips has a wonderful voice! Very clear diction and warm smooth tone, a great pleasure to listen to.

Dragons Rule!

I always worry about trying a new author and series but this was a huge success. The characters were strong and well developed. I can't wait to go on to number 2.

Dragons, and Demons, and Gargoyles OH MY!

Omg you have got to listen to this audio or read the book! I have to say, out of all the Urban Fantasy, this was unique. You know how most books have a lot of same principle with shifters and stuff? This has its own flavor. It's hard to explain. The characters are so very well developed. And I loved the world building. It's not a breezy read. I mean that in a good way. It's very meaty. There's never a dull moment and it sucked me in right away. There's a mystery to it. I loved the gargoyle and wasn't sure about him at first. I don't want to give anything away. Even when I wasn't sure of him, I had to laugh picturing him trying to attack with fangs and leathery wings. Vale is one hot dude! And there's also a water Fae. I think I got that right. And even the insufferable Orlatron (not sure of my spelling) I really liked him. His dry personality is amusing. I think deep down he really cares. He reminded me of what Ben Stein sounds like in a way. Ooh words just don't do this justice. It was great!

Great start to a new series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Copy of the audio book graciously provided by the author. Excellent story!

You have a gargoyle, wizard, water fae, witch, dragon, vampire, haunted cameos, ghosts, cursed pawn shop, shifters, demons and other beings that we don't know exactly what they are yet. A really good story with enough unanswered questions that makes me want to run out and actually read the next book in the series as I want more, lots more. Vale and Anne are going to make an amazing couple. Can't wait for the romance to start, cause you know it's coming :)

Thank you Ms Owens for creating another amazing world

A wonderful urban fantasy

5 plus stars for Descended from dragons by Tricia Owens
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Moonlight Dragon (book one)
Audience: Adults, NA and especially Fans of Patricia Brigs
Narrator: Elizabeth Philips
The book was given to me for an honest review

Synopsis:
Anne Moody runs a cursed pawnshop in the occult underbelly of Las Vegas. Here she caters to the desperate, the curious and the magical. It's a tricky job, but it helps hide the fact that she is a dragon sorceress. One day a customer comes in and sells her a statue of a gargoyle, only it turns out that it's really a possessed gargoyle shifter named Vale. At the same time she also learns that the person responsible for cursing him, wants to take over Las Vegas. Can miss Moody save Vegas? Read it to find out.

Audio/narration:
Elizabeth Phillips did an outstanding job at narrating the story. She really made it come to life, with different voices adding to the suspense and depth of the story.

Conclusion:
This was a brilliant spun story. I simply loved it from start to end. I especially loved all the funny side characters like Melanie the Monkey shifter. The books made me want to shout girl power out loud. Honestly there can't me many things more cool than a girl with a dragon familiar. The book has lots of action, funny episodes and drama. It's also non-predictable (is that even a word), anyway I loved how I could never be sure what would happen on the next page. So a good well spun story that made me long for cocktails, blackjack, dragons and hot shifter males. I would warmly recommend this story.

Kept my interest

I enjoyed this story, it was different to any I had previously read or listened to. The author was new to me but I will certainly be listening to more of Ms Owens work.

The mixture of characters was really good and I'm sure there is scope for more of Ann and Vale's story where this book leaves off. The descriptive writing was excellent, I could close my eyes and see the characters and places.

If you like fantasy then this book is a good one to buy.