Awaken The Dragon
By: A.C. Arthur
Genre:Contemporary Fiction,Sci-fi, Fantasy
Rating: It was ok
Publisher: HARLEQUIN – Carina Press

Release Date: Nov 4, 2019

IndieBound | Amazon |

Synopsis:

He’s sworn to protect the very entity she was born to kill…

Next in line for the Drakon throne, Theo Masters is the most powerful half human, half dragon in the world. Royal power is the last thing he wants, however. He lives as a human and runs the Legion Security Company. But his new client—a mysterious, beautiful human from a small African village—and the unknown danger she faces may forever change the quiet life that he’s chosen.

Shola N’Gara exists to kill the dark spirit that is attempting to demolish her people. It’s her purpose and her destiny. The gorgeous protector who taunts her with his sexy voice and body is not—especially after he shifts into a magnificent black dragon with turquoise eyes.

A rise in demon activity and the brutal murders Theo’s agents have been reporting start to add up. Someone is making a play, and it’s big enough to change the course of the world as they know it. Now Shola must choose between her destiny and her heart. And Theo must decide if standing by the woman he’s fallen in love with is worth facing his father in a battle to the death.

My Overall Thoughts Were Split:

WHAT I LIKED:

Hands down, the best thing about this book is the concept of these supernatural begins and Dragonlike-demigods being in the human realm, the concept of between realms and soul identities(?!! so cool). Moreover, the fact that the characters are mainly made up of people of color and African descent with this blended incorporation of contemporary and older cultural traditions in the story represented mainly with one of the main protagonists, Shola.

All in all, it was definitely something new to me in terms of context and creativity but a lot of the time the book seemed hard to follow because key details were revealed in spotty locations or broken up by Theo and Shola’s clearly palpable, however, oddly random, sexual attraction for one another.

Romance books are still a bit of a learning curve for myself in terms of breaking down the ratio of how much context/story there tends to be in terms of the attention put towards the main couple’s relationship.  This is why I have been trying to read more of them lol,  but the attempt at these two establishing a connection that quickly with just glances felt rushed every time. If it stemmed from general curiosity or a mutual appreciation for the other’s fighter instinct perspective, for instance, then I might have been on board, but the ship seemed to sail without me.

WHAT PUT ME OFF:

While I liked the mixed elements of the supernatural world and beings coming into play within this story, by the end of the book I did not think the mixing of magic, vampires and Dragonlike-demigods/beings worked well together.

I understood Theo’s worry to reveal too much of himself and his team to Shola but why was he so hesitant when he was sure she wasn’t just a regular human? All the time wasted keeping that secret affected his team in the end. Sure, tension and obstacles to keep the story consistent but the reader isn’t given enough background details that actually support his worries or hesitation.

Another piece of the story that I didn’t understand was the fact that his character was originally built up to be the only one of his kind at his security company while everyone else was human, but a quarter of the way through the book we are told that those in his inner circle and members of the company were just like him? I am aware that I was given an arc to read so maybe this bit was changed but it didn’t make things any clearer.

Likewise, Shola’s need for secrecy for the “mission” she was sent to the States to do to protect her people from Warrick had to be kept a secret from her parents and Theo and his team because things had to go to plan, fine. It’s an element I was able to accept because unlike Theo, her reasoning and backstory eventually lead us to some answers.

BUT reading her actions and thoughts in this book made it appear like her character wasn’t fully aware of what her mission and connection to Warrick were about. And honestly, it made me cringe seeing Shola seem so utterly in the dark about what she was chosen and sent there to America to do. Because her character was interesting, skilled, smart, strong and beautiful. But her purpose and role in the story contradicted/canceled each other out.

I am not saying that the heated tension between Theo and Shola needed to be taken out, but the story felt like it suffered too much with the amount of tiptoeing we see between them. I went into the book expecting a complex and layered story that had action, magic, mystery, fighting, and romance, but reach the end of it feeling like I got one and a half of those from the list.

I will attempt to stop my ranting here to prevent spoiling any more of the story as a whole but would encourage other romance/supernatural fan readers to look into the book themselves to develop their own interpretations of this story.

 

Book received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Thank you all for coming over and checking out my thoughts on Awaken The Dragon. If you’ve read the book and have a different take on it, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

And again, to all those readers who like dragons, tribal magic, demigods, supernatural romances and a bit of the unexpected, Awaken The Dragon might be the next book for you.

 

Until the next post,

Gia.