Reviewed by Nikyta
Title: Dra’Kaedan’s Coven
Author: Jessamyn Kingley
Series: D’Vaire #1
Heroes: Ayden & Brogan
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 287 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 30, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Dra’Kaedan of Leolinnia was born with a mark of Fate proclaiming that someday he would be the Grand Warlock. Standing in his way is Carvallius of Mallent who is desperate to rule the warlocks. His granddaughter Latarian has little magic so Carvallius concocts a plan to kidnap Dra’Kaedan to steal his power. After carving spells into Dra’Kaedan’s back, he begins life anew as Latarian’s familiar whom she calls Ayden. With no memory of his past, the pair are shuffled off to a cottage while Carvallius enlists the help of a brutal elven tribe to rob Dra’Kaedan of his future title. The tactic backfires, and the Coven of Warlocks is destroyed.
Minutes after Brogan shifts into a dragon for the first time, his best friend is banished from their court. Loyal to the core, Brogan follows Aleksander through the castle gates of their old home. Fate turns Aleksander into a king and Court D’Vaire is established. Considered cursed by dragonkind the D’Vaire’s are ostracized. After six centuries of loneliness Brogan leaves his family desperate to find his mate. He has no idea Fate has intervened and sent his other half right to Aleksander’s doorstep.
As a familiar Ayden struggles between a voice inside him that insists he is something more and Latarian’s stringent set of rules. He finds himself torn as he and Brogan try to find common ground. Can the pair find love and will Dra’Kaedan find out his true destiny before it’s too late?
Review:
I’ll be completely honest here, I picked up this book because of the cover. It’s absolutely amazing, IMO. I love the colors and the dragon drew my attention from the start. This author is also need to me so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As it is, I really enjoyed it! There aren’t as many dragon stories out there as I would like so I’m very glad I found this one. The underlying story is full of deceit but the romance between Ayden and Brogan is so worth reading. I loved them as characters but I adored them as a couple. I loved that Ayden struggled with wanting to be his own person and being a familiar. Latarian had a completely warped view of how familiars should be and, unfortunately, she had Ayden thinking he was completely useless, when he wasn’t. I loved the struggle he went through and the struggle Brogan went through when finding out who his mate was. I liked seeing them build a relationship before taking things to the next step. It was just too sweet seeing them get to know one another and really gave credence to their mate bond. Add to that, the second characters were amazing and I loved seeing them build a family.
While I enjoyed this one, I had a few issues with it. For one, I was not fond of the ending and how Latarian was handled. With how the entire book focused on her deceit, I expected more retribution for what was done so I was very disappointed with that. I also felt like the book was too long, a couple of chapters could have been taken out because they felt more like fillers instead of giving the book more depth. And, lastly, there was just too much smut for me. I loved that Brogan wanted to wait but once they finally do it, it was all they did. They didn’t get to know each other after that, they just had a ton of sex.
All in all, I liked this one. I enjoyed seeing Ayden before and after and I liked how Brogan handled having a ‘familiar’ for a mate. It was sweet seeing them get to know each other. I had a few issues but nothing that’ll stop me from reading the rest of the series if they’re being re-released. Although, based on the blurbs for the other books, it doesn’t seem as though Aleksander or Dre’Kariston, or really anyone mentioned in this book, have gotten a story which really saddens me 😦 Definitely give this a go if you’re looking for a cute dragon story with a ton of deceit but a lovely romance.
Overall Impression: I liked it
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
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