Review: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! It had potential, but the end completely ruined it.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 06 7, 2011
LIGHT SPOILERS- I  don't give a plot summary or any major spoilers, but I do refer to a few things not mentioned in the product description, since that is only 1 line long. Recommendations included.HIGH LEVEL: Stand-alone dragon centric paranormal romance. As another reviewer commented, don't bother with this book unless it is turned into a series. I liked the writing style, but this story turned out terribly. Most of the book it was 3 - 4 stars, but the ending ruined it completely.PLOT & STYLE: Plot was a fun concept- the set up for potential erotic encounters and romance was hot, the mythology surrounding the dragons was heartbreaking and had depth. There was a TON of potential here, but it was never borne out. WAAAAY too much of the book was spent in Marlee's head. My eyes crossed there was so much of her thought process on the darn page. You get a little from other character perspectives, but it was just swamped with pages and pages of what was running through her mind. The action, when we got to it, was well done. It was well written and vibrant, just got muddled in narration. Not enough use of the dragon mythology or magic, however. Minimal shifting.CHARACTERS: Overall I'd say they were a fun cast of characters. The brothers spent too much time fighting, but it would have been ok if they had found harmony at some point. Some attempt was made to develop them a bit but only Marlee really took on much depth. The brothers were sympathetic and sexy when not shooting each other dirty looks.SEXUAL CONTENT: Considering the set up, it was lacking. There was LOTS of sex- explicit, lusty, and pulse racing sex, but it was all one woman with different partners. There was little variety or creativity- no true ménage, no voyeurism, no kink, no anal, nothing outside of basic passionate sex. What sex there was certainly was erotic, but it wasn't anything really interesting. There were 6 sexy brothers, for goodness sakes, which would have lent itself to all kinds of fun possibilities. But no, instead we were subjected to childish bickering around who got to "get her" next. Tiresome.MAJOR ISSUE: The ending basically made the whole book feel like a waste of time. There were a number of very specific things I can think of that would have made it more interesting and more satisfying. Instead, the whole thing feels like it was all a happy accident that will have no real way of working out long term. A number of very important plot points are not resolved at all:* no sense of lasting love or having a future as a family (she never even figures out she's pregnant with triplets- she still thinks it's just ONE kid at the end, even when all the brothers know better)* no harmony between brothers* no satisfying explanation for Marlee's involvement*  no explanation for how on earth she could have gotten pregnant with a third child after already being 4 weeks along with her first two* no resolution of the whole "we're the last dragons on earth" issue* no explanation for their suddenly being able to shift* no explanation for why the government got involved or why they were so interested in Marlee... or why we have any reason to believe they aren't still looking for her* no explanation of why they hadn't bothered to check out their mother's cave until the end of this book after hundreds of years of not knowing anything about being dragonsThe whole thing ends very suddenly as if the editor called and said "I NEED IT NOW" and the author took 15 minutes to whip together an ending. It felt like a cop out and was pretty darn irritating. The ONLY way this could be fixed is with a sequel that picks up where this leaves off, because it sure as heck wasn't finished.BOTTOM LINE: This reads like a one night stand that got complicated. There are better options available. If a second book comes out that finishes this story, I'll revise my review.RECOMMENDATIONS- go with these instead:1. Keri Arthur's spin on dragon romance inDestiny Kills (Myth and Magic, Book 1)2. Katie Macalister's humorous & sexy take on dragons, demons and more inYou Slay Me (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 1)this is urban fantasy more than romance3. Sydney Somers' gargoyle spin on romance:Primal Hunger: Pendragon Gargoyles, Book 14. G.A. Aiken'sDragon Actually (Dragon Kin, Book 1)- outrageous, funny and sexy dragon themed paranormal romance5. Marie Harte'sRachel's Totem- lighter, less developed para-erotica featuring a variety of shifters in a quirky little town- features ménage6. Marie Harte'sRoane (Circe's Recruits 1)- para-erotica around genetically engineered shifters who bond through sexual connections- features intense ménage7. Anna Leigh Keaton'sFalke's Peak- para-erotica featuring ménage with cat shifters, sweeter, more subtle story