Oh, my… Who knew this flashy cover was hiding such a great story? ( )

Don't let the six...seven? POVs put you off this book. It's fantasy with humans and dragons, history and animosity between the two factions. Into this we have the hero of our story, Tris, half-human half-dragon and friend and confidant to the new king. There is jousting, murder, an elven ninja, courting, unrequited (or is it) attraction, a slow burn relationship, oh, and magic. And did I mention dragons. This is only book one and while it ends at a suitable point in the arc it is in no way the end of the story. And the relationship, while the attraction has been acted upon, is not going forward, although the heat and banter is still there. ( )

This is not going well. Too many characters, too many new names, too many POVs, too much politics. Just too much of everything and it's not even info dumps, it's just ... too much. In the first 5-6%.

I will try again. Soon-ish. -ish. Maybe. (Not really). ( )

Don't let the six...seven? POVs put you off this book. It's fantasy with humans and dragons, history and animosity between the two factions. Into this we have the hero of our story, Tris, half-human half-dragon and friend and confidant to the new king. There is jousting, murder, an elven ninja, courting, unrequited (or is it) attraction, a slow burn relationship, oh, and magic. And did I mention dragons. This is only book one and while it ends at a suitable point in the arc it is in no way the end of the story. And the relationship, while the attraction has been acted upon, is not going forward, although the heat and banter is still there. ( )

This was an interesting read! There's a lot of action in it and a fair amount of characterization. The cast of characters is varied and the author does a great job of giving them different voices. Sometimes, I found it a bit difficult to keep up with the switching narrators. There are seven separate narrators and while all of their viewpoints were interesting, it was confusing at times. I had to flip back a few times to remind myself of who was speaking. I feel as though the author was probably trying to introduce all the characters thoroughly as this is going to be a series. That works if you're George R.R. Martin and writing huge chapters and giving each character a dozen in a row. Overall, it obviously didn't dissuade me from reading, and I enjoyed the story.

I really liked the history of the feuding dragon society and the magical powers of the people in Llangard. As the magic of the people in Llangard has faded away... the possibility of all-out war with the dragons is less likely. At least, that's what the humans want to think. There's a lot of politicking in this. I thought it was a great idea that the powers and perceived-powers of the warring factions had been evolving and changing over time. That gave real life to this world and made it seem authentic.

The character I would consider one of the mains, and my favorite ... Lord Tristram Radcliffe has been living with a secret his entire life. Even though he is loyal to his friend and new King... Tris is half-dragon. His mother knows... and that is it. In order for him to remain safe and allowed to live his life he hides his ancestry from everyone. He's dedicated to his friend the King, he adores his mother and his family. Tris also finds himself intrigued by Bet... an assassin and friend to the king with as many secrets as he has dangerous skills.

Rhiannon is the queen of the dragons and she has come to Llangard ... with a personal mission. She seems to believe that humans and dragons are more alike than many others do. Sadly, she finds very quickly that she's not as safe or welcome as she thought. Of course, when she meets Tris, she recognizes that he is part-dragon and "outs" him.

Things get dangerous very quickly for Tris and he finds himself on the wrong side of his King's temper. When it's suggested that Tris is a dreaded dragon...he suddenly finds himself threatened by the friend he has always been loyal to.

I enjoyed this book in spite of my trouble with the varied narrators. I would have given it a solid 4-star rating if there were only a couple of narrators. I will gladly continue to read the series. ( )