Review: Make your own decision
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 11, 2013
Reading the reviews before purchasing this, the first in the series, I was shocked at the negative responses.  I have always enjoyed Bianca's work, so it was out of character to see such reviews.Based on my past experience with her work, combined with my love of dragons, I decided to give the series a shot.  Granted, there is a lot of sex, but this is to be expected for the genre Bianca writes in.  This is an adult romance story & not for kids, which I read as a complaint in a few of the reviews.  How anyone could think otherwise, I have no idea, as it's obvious in the description this book contains sexual situations.Also, many reviewers commented on dragon-human sex.  I did not see this at all, rather the dragons matings affect their human-bonded warriors; I saw nothing untoward about this.  The reviewers made it sound as if the dragons and humans were having sex.  Nothing could be further from the truth.If you know this is an erotic story, with frequent sexual scenes, then you should know what to expect.  As for the story, I found I enjoyed the characters.  The dragons had a surprising amount of humanity, which I enjoyed.  The warriors were strong, capable, sexy men.  There were a lot of sex scenes, no question.  I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if there was more to the story than sex, as not much occurred beyond their meeting and mating until the very end.Bianca has always had wonderful world and character building, with a great plot.  This story lacked the complexity of her normal writing for me, thus the three star rating.  Other than this, I found the reviews to be unfounded.The best advice I can give regarding this story is, if you have enjoyed this Author's writing, you will likely like this, more for the potential as a continuing series than for this story specifically.  If you have no experience with this Author, I would recommend not judging all of her work based off of this story.  Her work, as a whole is incredible.As an Author myself, I know we don't always hit a home run.  It's not a bad story, it's simply not her best work.  However, I am excited for the future of this series, as I see the potential exists for amazing stories to come.  As I write this review, I believe she is on the seventh book of the series.I would suggest, if it sounds interesting, or like something that may interest you, give it a try.  Do not let the negative reviews alter your opinions of the Author, her work as a whole, or this story in specific.  To do so would be an injustice to a very creative and successful Author.As for me, because I see the potential in the series, I will purchase the next book and see for myself.  I have faith in this Author's writing abilities enough to spend three dollars and change for a chance to see where she takes the series.Also, there were several remarks made of the positive reviews being made all by paid reviewers.  To clarify, as an Author we do not pay reviewers, or pay for reviews.  People who review books are provided with an ARC (advanced reader's copy) so they can read & review prior to publication date.  This is done for many reasons, some being for the benefit of the reader (so they have an opinion to read on a new book), others for the Author (so they can get first-hand feedback early on from people who do nothing but read in their genre).Making an accusation of paying for reviews is harsh, unfounded and discredits the Author, reviewer, and the entire process.  We have no need to pay for reviews, and it would be a vast waste of (what little) resources and time we have.  After all, when the book hits the market, if the reading public does not like it, no amount of positive reviews from reviewers will change this.Also, I would like to point out the fact that most Authors have no say in which reviewers their book is sent to, as this is often a decision made and completely handled by the publisher.  As an Author, I am given so many copies of my book to distribute, but these are used for promotional purposes only (like a contest).  I am not allowed to distribute these books to reviewers.  This is in my contract.  So, to this end, making a claim of paying for reviews again has no foundation.I know this explanation has nothing to do with the story itself, but I felt it necessary to clarify, based off of some (poor) reviews, and their comments.  Especially given, if your profession is not that of an Author, you would likely not know how reviewers are handled.In ending, I'm off to purchase the next in the series; I know Bianca's writing, and I am confident she will take this series in great directions.Enjoy!  =)Shelbie Knightwww.shelbieknight.com