Drako

Reviewed for Lovers of Paranormal, A Goodreads Group
I was provided a copy of the eBook by the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are honest and my responsibility.

The war you won’t hear about on ABC news…

We are introduced to the worlds of the gods, the ancients that populate our mythology, to those born at the beginning of the world. This story starts with an introduction to the main character, Andreas, eldest surviving son of Jarel, God of the Black Dragons. Andreas is a dragon immortal, possessed of superior fighting powers, the ability to transform into a dragon, and a hole in his heart. His soul mate, Kazarian, a Spartan warrior and his friend and lover, and his “sanity” in the insane world of the Spartan warrior. I should mention here that if you have an issue with love and sexual relationships that are not strictly heterosexual, you will see a tastefully created sex scene between the two, as well as a more tentative and testing relationship with teenagers. Personally, I found the relationship far outweighed the fact that it was two men – the characters were that well defined and described with great use of craft and care.

I don’t want to start getting into a ton of spoilers, so the premise is this: Andreas is tasked with the care of Cassandra (a healer) who is being hunted by a rogue band of vampires. Along the way, two more are entrusted to his care: Demun and Brandon, twin boys who are Andraes’ nephews, and newly motherless. We meet gods who are petty and grasping, and gods who seek only to create a chaos and change the world as we know it. And Andreas is the gathering point for the beginning of the end.

The writing was straightforward and descriptive; the characters are well defined and completed with a complexity and sense of humor that appears in sarcasm, offhanded comments and even sly looks. While I didn’t at first understand the detail afforded the fighting scenes, it was illuminating to see the characters protecting and defending without using a myriad of supernatural powers. This choice by the author also allowed me to better see the capabilities of the characters when in the mortal realm, and I think it was a wise choice in the writing.

As I mentioned before, the relationships are portrayed as loving and complete, subject to uncertainties, petty jealousies and complete contentment. And there is a bonding, which any reader of paranormal stories knows is a unique bond of soul mates, that is condoned and coerced by some bending of situations and rules to bring to fruition.

As the first of a series – it’s a great kick off book. Although there are a significant number of characters, the main characters are memorable and will be easy to reconnect with in the next book. The ancient gods: Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, all are similar in character to the stories that are familiar from mythology, and there are nice tie-ins to Fenrir, Loki, Demeter, and Lucifer.
I most certainly will recommend this to friends who appreciate a well-crafted story with plenty of action, intrigue and the glamor of dragons.

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