The Dragon of New Orleans (Treasure of Paragon, #1)

by Genevieve Jack

[kimbacaffeinate]

Narrated by Rock Engle, Jack quickly pulled me into this tale and held me spellbound. Engle was the perfect voice for a dragon. His dialect and female characters had charisma. I will definitely look for more audiobooks narrated by him.

At twenty-three years of age, our heroine Raven, is in the final stages of cancer. Gabriel, a dragon from Paragon, saves her under the condition she help him undo a curse. Thinking him a dream she accepts….

Crimson, a Voodoo Witch has cursed Gabriel. Crimson wants to sleep with Gabriel to perform some magic ritual. His refusal(s) provoke her into cursing his life ring. Crimson, like NOLA is over the top from her attire to her actions, and I adored loathing her. But, beware she bites!

They’ve got until Fat Tuesday to save Gabriel. Only, Raven doesn’t have a clue what to do. Her premonitions were a fluke caused by her illness. Or were they? During, that time their attraction will intensify and Raven will learn she is so much more. I loved that we saw trust, and character growth as their story progressed.

The attraction, back-and-forth banter and smoldering chemistry shared time with the suspenseful angle. I came to care for Gabriel and Raven, but also enjoyed secondary characters and loved hating our villain.

The book contains mature scenes and my headphones melted. Their relationship and chemistry felt genuine. I loved that the author allowed me to feel connected to them and the story as it unfolded.

Talks of food, curses, Casket Girls, old lore and more grounded the tale and kept me listening. The New Orleans setting, antiquities shop, and history added to the atmosphere.

As for world-building the listener was left to discover things alongside Raven and this worked well. The author provided the key elements, but kept the pace fast and smooth by avoiding info dumps and leaving room for further discovery. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer