Friday, May 10, 2019

Ignite by Donna Grant ~ Review




Every inch of him was molded as if from granite...and her blood ran like fire...

For centuries, V has waited to awaken from his doomed sleep and reclaim his destiny. But this Dragon King--one among a legion of legendary warriors sworn to protect the human race from darkness--must first find a way to win back his sword. Wield its power. And try not to fall prey to his own illicit desires.

Claire may possess the beauty and soul of a goddess but V knows better than to mess with a mere mortal. Still, he instinctively knows that Claire is The One who can help him regain the use of his sword and restore his place at Dreagan. But if she learns the truth about who--and what--he really is, her memories of him would be erased forever. How can V love Claire truly, madly, deeply...and protect her from the forces of fire and darkness that could destroy them both?




When I read Ulrik's book in this series, it felt like an ending.  Ulrik had been the bad guy for so long in this series that I was unsure how I felt about it.  The author did a great job redirecting things and I totally loved Ulrik.  As much as Torched was an ending, Dragonfire (the book before this one) was a beginning.  The world is expanded and the past is seen through new eyes.  It was a great way to kick off the next set of books.  But Ignite wasn't what I expected after that.  I did enjoy it a lot.  It was just a little out of the flow.

V was in Dragonfire a lot.  Roman's story revolves around them finding V's sword.  It was strange having two Dragon Kings have so much face time in the story but it worked well.  A new enemy was introduced and I expected that Ignite would focus on that new enemy.  Maybe follow the pattern of having two Kings center stage.  Neither happened.  

Ignite is a little slower than the books it follows.  V is struggling with issues surrounding his recovered sword.  Claire has a secret.  A huge part of the book is spent with these two falling for each other.  I loved that.  Really I did.  It just surprised me.  It's different than previous books.  

I enjoyed V.  He's got a lot of guilt over his sword and having slept so much time through the centuries.  I felt like Claire was a good fit for him.  She's been hunting for someone decent to date with very little luck.  There is some funny aspects to the story with poor Claire's dating success, or lack thereof.  There was a little more uncertainty about their relationship than I've seen in previous books.  He put off telling her his feelings longer than most Kings.  It left things unsettled for a really long time.

As for the story, I guess I'm disappointed that it took until 75% for the new enemy to even come up in the story.  And there was entirely too much time taken talking about doing things that they needed to do 20 pages ago.  That's not how the previous books were at all.  I may have expected too much from this one.  The series has been a solid 4 star read but then Torched was 5 stars.  The momentum just didn't hold.  

Of course I'll read more.  I have really enjoyed this series.  I do think this story needed just a touch more polish with some more about the series plot in this book.  Still good, but I'm hoping it's not a trend down in quality that holds for the next book.

If I was pressed, it would be 3 1/2 stars but I'm rounding up.

                                 

Love the world, hope for a little more in the next one.

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