Review: I Really Wanted to LOVE this Book
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2014
This was a total Must Buy for me. I'd never read this author before but when I saw it as a recommendation and the back blurb, I had to have it. Even though I was over my monthly book buying budget. How could I resist a high fantasy interracial romance with elves, black female dragon shifters and lots of daring-do? This was everything a high fantasy-loving geek girl could  ask for.Then the blinders were rudely ripped away, and a little past halfway with another instance of the heroine's magical private parts, I just couldn't finish this. The only reason I'm rating The Emperor's Treaty three stars despite all the massive fail is because it's totally creative. I'm the IR reader bored with bad boy billionaires and sexy mobsters.On a good note, the world-building is fairly decent, though the old school D&D;'er in me questioned the idea of bad-a** dragons being felled so easily by elves. My D20 says no way. Tiamat would have had the Phalbans for dinner and picked her teeth with their bones. There's plenty of swordplay too.I hated both main characters, Arryn the Emperor of New Phalba and Shann, the naive princess and treaty bride.Arryn's trying to live up to his warlike father's expectations and legacy. He's seen the ugliness and the waste of war and wants no part of it. Arryn kind of reminded me of the hapless Edward II sans the Piers Gaveston albatross. I might have had some sympathy for him but he was such an incredible jackass. I do not like jackasses as heroes unless they are one-upped every time by a feisty heroine. Worse, how is it this clown had NO IDEA on the state of his kingdom? Sure he married a princess from his people's enemy, the Moekans to keep them from forging an alliance with an even worse foe, but he seemed to be clueless that there was poverty in the towns he ruled. A true ruler is not only willing to sacrifice for his people, but behave with some decorum and treat even a former enemy with some sort of decency.Then. There's. Shann. I could write an essay on everything that drove me insane about her. I'm like, she was raised as royalty. Didn't she learn anything from watching her parents rule as to how to conduct herself or was she too busy warbling "Someday My Prince/My Emperor Will Come?" Seriously, she's a dragon princess, able to rip obnoxious elven lords into shreds. Arryn totally snubbed her when she and her brother landed on Phalban shores instead of escorting her to his castle. Shann took all the slights and insults simply because OMG Arryn's so hot and she can't wait to jump his bones, which of course would make him her lust-sock-puppet for EVAH. The only reason he decided to bed her the first time was out of jealousy. Shann throws that magical virgin thing on the aloof elven emperor and the next morning he's whistling 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'. Then it's back to being a jerk when she ventures forth an opinion, which makes her pine for him even more.I realize I'm ranting here, but wimpy heroines are non-negotiable. I hate them, and they have NO place in fantasy save as orc fodder. I wouldn't have minded Arryn's being a jerk if Shann had shown some serious backbone and made it clear she wouldn't tolerate disrespect. That's how TRUE female dragon-shifters would behave.The other issue I had was the modern language in a fantasy book. High Fantasy, which this was, has a certain cadence that needs to be adhered to. As a reader, I want to be transported to magical realms, not feel like I'm on that "three hour tour".I'm going to set this aside for awhile even though I'm 65% done. I just couldn't stomach the characters. Maybe later I'll go back and read this. In spite of the fail, there's a great story and incredibly imaginative. I think this author has a lot going for her, just not these characters.