rina vasquez – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 422 pages
Author: Rina Vasquez
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nara set out to kill dragons—now one dragon might be her only hope…

Wanted by the queen and her army, Nara and dragon shifter Darius embark on a dangerous quest. The Screaming Forests aren’t a place for the faint of heart; monsters, evil, and danger lurks in every shadow. They must reach the Isle of Elements, or forfeit everything they hold dear.
But the Elven King who controls these lands has other ideas. The couple must undertake puzzles, caverns, and wicked beings to fetch elemental stones hidden away. Tempers flare, tensions between the duo rise, and the stress and pressure threatens to tear them apart for good… or push them together in ways neither ever imagined. First, they must survive everything this adventure throws at them.

A LET DOWN.

I enjoyed book one so dang much, and then this one…I don’t think I’m going to finish this series now. I’m just not feeling it anymore.

Mostly because the plot went POOF. I’m still trying to find it honestly. And I get that it’s a romantasy, I love this genre, but I also need an actual plot to be happening to make the romance feel heightened and important. And it’s not that spice overwhelmed the story (though it did a little in the late second half), it’s just that the story meandered. I think they were supposed to be collecting stones? And it became so half effort attempt with a lot of arguing between Darius and Nara.

There were some good romantic reveals. Usually I’m obsessed with this kind of moments and that did help my enjoyment level. The banter was good and the swoon factor is there. I just got bored with everything else.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: multiple open door
Violence: moderate

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Rina Vasquez
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 31st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nara desires justice for her father’s murder; hunting dragons might bring her peace

Or pain as she learns the ugly truth.

When a fire dragon attacks her village, the perfect opportunity to take revenge on the creatures that killed her father arises. But the dragon she’s intent to capture seems fascinated by Nara, a detail not missed by those around her. The strange event leads to an invitation to join the venators—the order of people who slay dangerous magical creatures—like her father before her.

The offer is a dream come true.

After all, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to destroy the cruel, dangerous creatures that enslaved humans for thousands of years up until three centuries ago? But Nara is about to learn a dangerous secret; history is written by the winner. Those she hunts might not be her enemies, and those she thinks she can trust might just want to kill her.

CAN’T WAIT FOR BOOK TWO.

I randomly found this scrolling reels one evening and immediately downloaded it to start reading. And I was not disappointed. Bring on all of the dragon shifter romances.

Nara is a great FMC. I loved her tenacity and strength and how she was open to her world view changing as she learned new facts. Nara was easy to root for and I look forward to seeing her character arc in the next book.

I adored the snarky banter and light enemies to lovers vibe in the romance. There’s a bit of a love triangle that didn’t phase me much too. It all worked well into the plot and the reveals at the end lined up in a way that has me anxious to read the next book. I looooved that this was slow burn and not a rush to get to the spice just because. Showing that build in the relationship and actually giving time to it has me all the more connected.

Looking forward to following this journey to the next book!

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: light
Romance: make-outs
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle scenes, murder, weapons and creature violence