I enjoyed this one so much more than the last few - it was so good to see a lot more of the original characters, not to mention a few of the recent ones. And a dragon! I knew I was going to love that. Full review to follow
Felicity Heaton never fails to amaze me with her awesome writing and characters. I expected nothing less when I got the chance to read the 7th installment of the Eternal Mates series. What a ride it was. Taken by a Dragon is an engaging read from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed the world of dragon shifters.
The story which picked up from where Claimed by a Demon King left off tells the story of Anais and Loke. Anais is an Archangel huntress and Loke is a dragon shifter. They were both in the midst of a heated battle against each other when Loke made the decision to kidnap Anais. This decision would prove to be life changing for both parties.
Loke was basically a loner. He lives a simple life. He alienated himself from the dragon shifter society as he could no longer abide by their lifestyle. Anais is a strong, determined and independent woman. All the characteristics one would expect from a huntress. This, however, was not enough to protect her from Loke. She tried to resist, but he did not give her a chance as he is willing to protect her at all cost.
The romance between Anais and Loke developed quite nicely. It was intense, passionate and sweet. Just like a typical relationship, there were misunderstandings and betrayal, but this did not stop them from gaining their happily ever after.
The story is filled with romance and action as one would come to expect from Felicity Heaton’s books. It is well paced and will keep you wanting more. If you have not started reading this series, I suggest that you rectify this oversight. It keeps getting better. It should be noted that each book can be read as a stand-alone, but it would be good if they were read in order.
Taken by a Dragon was definitely my favorite out of this series so far. With it’s “stranded together” premise, Loke and Anais have time to get to know each other and build a relationship. There is plenty of action before and after the get to know you’s to keep it exciting.
The author recommends reading Book 1 in the series, Kissed by a Dark Prince, before reading this story. (It’s still on sale for $.99, if you want it.) I purchased a copy, but I never got a chance to read it first. I can see why she suggests that since near at the end most of the characters who have been introduced so far will be showing up. I didn’t get a chance to read Dark Prince. Although I didn’t feel lost, I didn’t have the connection to the characters that you normally would by Book 7.
In Taken, as a dragon Loke has some magic and premonitions is one of his abilities. When he foresee’s Anais’s death, he doesn’t understand why it is so important, but he knows he must save her from her fate and kidnaps her from the battlefield where the Third and Fifth armies of Hell are fighting.
For her own protection, he takes her away to his dragon cave to keep her safe. He intends to keep her until the premonitions of her death cease, and Anais can’t escape since Loke’s cave of up a sheer cliff in the mountains, surrounded by more mountains and she doesn’t know which way to go if she could escape. Loke’s promise to return her to her friends once she is “safe” and his premonitions stop keeps Anais from trying too hard to get away and she relaxes enough to let down her guard with Loke. Like all the stranded together tropes, this gives Loke and Anais plenty of time to get to know each other and work out their “I’m a human, you’re a dragon” issues until nature takes it’s course and Loke realizes that his need to protect her comes from her being his one fated mate.
Loke and Anais are good together once she gets over the “my new boyfriend really does live a man cave” issue, and it is only once they are forced out of the cave that issues arise.
Once the other dragons find out Loke’s been hiding Anais, there is a battle for the fair maiden so that Loke can keep his “war prize” which keeps the excitement up.
And of course, once love starts to bloom, someone has to come along and mess it up. Mistakes are made and hints of betrayal start to fester as our lovers are torn apart.
It was an enjoyable story that held my attention and left me wanting more.
THOUGHTS:
This was the last book in the recent Eternal Mates spotlights that I was working with Felicity Heaton on and I falsely presumed it would be the final of the series. No. No. No. That is definitely wrong since there was a lot of set up in this books for characters whose stories we will want to hear. There’s Cavanagh’s (Craved by an Alpha) brother. There is Anais’ fellow hunter, Emelia, who was kept as a war prize, raped and broken by one of the other dragons. There is the elf Bleu, former fiance of Iolanthe (Hunted by a Jaguar). In Bitten by a Hell Cat, there was a captured dragon running from an elf who I had presumed would be the main character in this book. She does show up as a friend of Loke’s but there are so many unanswered questions, including what’s between her and the elf and what’s up with her twin brother?
There is still so much still to tell in this series, and I am looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.
Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.