According to the author's note this was originally e-published in 2004 under the title "To Challenge a Dragon" (from Triskellion--which I'm sure many of us will curse for a long while yet for having interesting titles yet failing so bad), also you can purchase the e-book through Samhain Publishing, but there's no difference between the print and ebook version.

First off--I came upon this series after reading the novella in Everlasting Bad Boys about Fearghus' ancestor Ailean (the Wicked...or Whore depending on who you ask). I really enjoyed that story and rushed to find out if there was more. There was! Three more books in fact (with, if I understand the old news bit correctly, at least another 2 more on the way!). My joy, see it manifest.

Dragon Actually, like its novella cousin, is full of humor, sexy times and fun involving characters. Its pseudo-medieval fantasy (think Dragonheart!) which I would not ordinarily enjoy as a romance. Except I can't get enough of this Dragon family. They're ridiculously funny. The pranks they pulled on each other (cutting off the tip of a younger brother's tail and playing catch? shaving all the hair off their youngest brother?) were obviously done in affection and Gwenvael (whose adventures are chronicled in the latest release, What A Dragon Should Know) has managed to bring sibling irritation to a whole new level.

I love every single one of them. Including their icy mother (whose novella is included in the book). The humans, with the exception of Annwyl kind of get the short stick--Annwyl's army all being filled with just, loyal and battle hardened soldiers and her brother employing only gutless, despicable slimeballs--in development, but I was okay with that. There isn't a whole lot of time spent around the humans, most of the story taking place while Annwyl recovers with Fearghus, but I did find her second in command, Brastias, to be interesting, especially in his interest of Fearghus' sister the Dragon Witch Morfyd.

Heifadd-hen (these names, they kill me to remember how to spell them), I would have liked to learn a bit more about. Mostly the magicks he was using. He wasn't a good guy, he was a downright evil as evil does guy. Everybody--human and dragon alike--were pawns for his amusement and agenda.

Annwyl's brother, demon-spawnLorcan was pretty one-dimensional as a villain. He pretty was either intensely angry or intensely scared. That rounded out the issues he had. Though there is talk about how cruel and tyrannical their father had been, there isn't much detail given other then he hated being disturbed. And liked to sleep around. And he scared Lorcan and Annwyl equally. He was amusing however, with his petulant rages and 'KILL HER KILL HER' screeches.

Also, I'm still not convinced that Annwyl isn't a crazy crazy person. She says and does things no SANE person would even think of committing when stoned, drunk and blindfolded. She honestly doesn't understand why people repeatedly say to her 'Annwyl don't get yourself killed' and 'Are you crazy?'. ( )

Dragon Actually

The first book in the Dragon Kin series, Dragon Actually introduces Annwyl the Bloody and Fearghus the Destroyer. Annwyl the Bloody has earnt her name cutting through the legions of men her half brother, the Butcher of Garbhán Isle and King of the Dark Plains, has sent after her. Neither sibling can gain ground until Annwyl finds herself with a deadly wound.

Fearghus the Destroyer just wants peace and quiet when he stumbles across a battle being fought outside his lair. Proceeding to flambé the men, Fearghus is left stunned by the severely injured woman who stands her ground and refuses to fear him - even if that means meeting her death.

I adored this. Annwyl the Bloody is bloody fantastic. She's everything you want in your heroine. She's fierce and funny and ruthless. She's snarky and utterly unapologetic. Fearghus the Destroyer is her perfect match. The romance between them is hot and sweet and totally swoonworthy but as in all the best romances, it begins with friendship. Annwyl falls in love with the dragon she thinks he is and is in nothing more than lust with the knight. And it's just perfection.

The plot of Lorcan and Annwyl's quest to rid the world of her brother is interesting and I love the addition of Fearghus' family. Morfyd is kind and funny and undoubtedly Annwyl's best girl friend. I loved the friendship between Annwyl and Morfyd. Plus Morfyd is so supportive of Fearghus and his desire to pursue a relationship with Annwyl. Gwenvael is amusing and so hard to deter. I mean how often does Annwyl have to hurt him for him to get the hint? And omg, Queen Rhiannon. Fearghus' mum is hysterical. She and Annwyl totally meet their match in each other - both of them are totally ruthless and harsh in their remarks. I loved it. She clearly loves her family and wants the best for them but I love that she's also actually impressed by Annwyl's reign.

I was giggling my way through this entire book. It was just so funny. I adored it. I loved it. It's an absolute favourite. 5 stars.

CHAINS AND FLAMES (in Dragon Actually)

Addiena has always hated her daughter Rhiannon. As a white dragon and full of magic, Rhiannon is a threat to her rule and Addiena will do anything to get rid of her. And so, sapping her magic and forcing her into her human form, Addiena gives her over to Bercelak, the commander of her armies and the most likeliest dragon to break her. But unfortunately for her - Bercelak has been in love with Rhiannon since he first saw her - and he'll do anything to keep her.

I really enjoyed this. Rhiannon is mean - but that's just how Bercelak likes her. For all this was a novella, there was a lot of depth. Part of that was the world building, the Dragon Kin world is full of life - with a tonne of characters and backstory and humour. Part of it was that Bercelak and Rhiannon really did seem to be well matched. Honestly, having a mum like Addiena - it's a surprise Rhiannon is even half as well adjusted as she is. I liked that she got to experience what being part of a family felt like and having the love of a partner who'll have your back. Fun, flirty read. 3.5 stars.

Family Tree: Ailean and Shalin are the parents of fifteen children including including Hew, Adain, Cai, Rhys, Baudwin (named after Shalin's father), Ghleanna (#0.4: Dragon on Top), Maelona, Caerwyn, Addolgar (#0.2: A Tale of Two Dragons) and Bercelak (Chains and Flames found at the back of #1: Dragon Actually).

Bercelak falls in love with Rhiannon - a white dragon who is the daughter of Addiena. Rhiannon and Bercelek have Fearghus (#1: Dragon Actually), Morfyd, Keita (#4: Last Dragon Standing), Eibhear (#6: How to Drive a Dragon Crazy), Briec (#2: About a Dragon) and Gwenvael (#3: What a Dragon Should Know). ( )

Dragon Actually is the first full-length novel in G. A. Aiken’s Dragon Kin series and the first I’ve read by her under this or her Shelly Laurenston pen name. It’s about Fearghus the Destroyer, a fearsome black dragon who’s been content to live alone in his lair for centuries, avoiding humans. Then one day, he hears sounds of battle outside his cave. When he goes to investigate, he finds a warrior woman surrounded by enemies, still bravely fighting them off despite being mortally wounded and about to lose. Normally Fearghus doesn’t get involved in human affairs, but something about the woman impresses him, so he helps her out, and then with the assistance of his sister who is a witch, they heal her. Annwyl has been at war with her brother for quite some time and has earned the hated nickname Annwyl the Bloody for her penchant for lopping off the heads of her brother’s soldiers during battle. When she awakens in Fearghus’s lair, she has no fear of the dragon and instead befriends him. Annwyl finds it hard to trust men, but the dragon is easy to talk to. Fearghus knows that in order to best her brother, she’s going to have to learn control and rein in her temper, so he “arranges” for a knight to train her. Little does she know, though, that the handsome knight who lights her body on fire is actually Fearghus in his human form. She begins to fall in love with the dragon, while also falling in lust with the man, which confuses the hell out of her. When she finds out the truth about his duel identity, though, she may not be very forgiving. Then there’s also her brother whom she still must defeat if they’re ever to have peace in the realm.

Fearghus is over two hundred years old, and in all that time, he’s generally been content to stay alone in his lair. Of course, he occasionally pillages and eats a few people every now and then, but he avoids getting involved in human affairs. When he hears the battle being waged outside his lair, he knows he should probably just let them sort it out themselves, but since he’s bored, he figures what the heck, he’ll check it out. That’s when he finds Annwyl fighting like a madwoman at the mouth of his cave. Impressed with her skill and bravery, he decides to give her a hand by roasting the army of guys who are after her. Her lack of fear toward him afterward impresses him even more, so he saves her life by healing her wounds. After she’s recovered, he also offers his services to train her so that she can more effectively beat her brother. When he’s in his dragon form, they share an emotional and intellectual bond, but when he’s in his human form their sexual chemistry is off the charts. But no human has yet discovered that dragons can shape-shift, which makes Fearghus a little reluctant to reveal his secret. Overall, Fearghus is a great hero. Some alpha males can really push my buttons, but not Fearghus. Somehow he finds the perfect balance between being protective, dominant, and possessive without going over the top. I love that he respects Annwyl as a strong, independent woman. He never tries to tear her down or make her stop what she’s doing. He just gives her a little help and then let’s her do it herself, so that her people will respect her, too, and accept her as queen. He’s also an incredible lover, and I enjoyed all his little “challenge accepted” power play moves in the bedroom. That he’s also a dragon as well as a man is just the icing in the cake.

Annwyl was the bastard daughter of the king. She came to live at the castle when she was ten, and her life after that was filled with abuse from both her father and her brother. Now that her brother is king, he’s a sadistic monster who lives to defeat Annwyl in battle. But she’s gained the support of neighboring kingdoms who want to see him deposed, so she leads a formidable army of her own. However, one day the battle isn’t going her way. Knowing she’s been mortally wounded, she decides to take as many of her brother’s men with her as she can. Then a huge dragon intervenes, saving her life. Even when she awakens in his lair, she has no fear of him, and as they get to know one another, she finds someone she can trust in a way that she hasn’t been able to trust the men in her life. Then Fearghus arranges for the “knight” to train her, and although most of the time he irritates her, she discovers a connection with him, too, although one of a more primal sort. She spends her days training to control her anger issues so she can defeat her brother, but their sessions nearly always end in the most sensual pleasures she could imagine. Meanwhile she spends her nights having deeper discussions with the dragon. Her feelings for both man and beast confuse her and she fears the day she’ll have to choose between them. But when she finds out the huge secret Fearghus has been hiding, she might not be so forgiving. I usually relate better to softer, gentler romance heroines, so alpha warrior females like Annwyl can be a dicey proposition for me. But I ended really liking her. Maybe it’s because she’s a brave, fearless woman who still manages to embrace the feelings in her heart. She never comes off as irritating or abrasive, and although she can get her back up and can certainly give Fearghus plenty of sass, she eventually melts into his capable and loving arms. So even though she’s anything but a traditional romance heroine, I did still manage to relate to her pretty well.

Dragon Kin is a fairly lengthy series, and in Dragon Actually we meet several of Feargus’s wild and crazy family members, most of whom go on to get their own stories in the series. His oldest brother, Briec, seems more steady like Fearghus. He becomes the hero of the next book, About a Dragon. Their middle brother, Gwenvael, is the handsome, golden boy, and he knows it. His story is told in Book #3, What a Dragon Should Know. The youngest, blue-haired Eibhear, is the eager pup of the family, who acts a little more like a teenager. His book is #6, How to Drive a Dragon Crazy. Then their sister, Keita, who’s an interesting mixture of naughty and (maybe) nice becomes the heroine of Book #4, Last Dragon Standing. Fearghus’s parents, Rhiannon and Bercelak, very nearly kill Annwyl, but we learn that they have an interesting relationship. Their story is told in the novella, Chains & Flames, which is found in the back of my edition of Dragon Actually. Lastly, I think honorable mentions definitely go to Fearghus’s sister, Morfyd, who’s both a dragon and a witch, and Annwyl’s top general, Brastias. Each of them were instrumental to both the story and winning the war. There’s fairly strong sexual tension between them, so I thought they’d surely be the hero and heroine of the next book. However, after checking the entire series, it doesn’t look like they get their own story, which is a little disappointing as I greatly liked them both. By the end, Morfyd and Brastias are helping Annwyl run her kingdom, so they’re in close proximity to one another. But if the author wasn’t going to write a story for them, I would have at least liked to get some mention of them getting together by the end of this book. Then again, who knows, maybe they’ll be in one or more of the other books of the series, so I look forward to finding out.

Overall, Dragon Actually was a pretty entertaining read. It’s a more lighthearted paranormal/fantasy romance with plenty of humor interspersed with the romance/sexy times and brutal battles. One particularly amusing bit was Fearghus getting a little jealous of himself when Annwyl talks of the man to the dragon or vice-versa. Fearghus and Annwyl were both likable characters who fit together perfectly. Both respected each other and there weren’t really any silly misunderstandings. I understood where they were both coming from and thought they made a great couple. The love scenes are blazingly hot—a little erotic even—and very well-written, which was a major plus. However, as much as I enjoyed the book, it wasn’t quite a perfect read. At 217 pages, it’s definitely on the shorter side, so I couldn’t help feeling that a little bit more story and a little deeper characterizations certainly wouldn’t have gone amiss. The thing that really dropped the half-star, though, is all the places where the writing was a bit rough around the edges. There are lots of little errors, the most glaring of which was the author’s tendency to not properly conjugate her verbs. She frequently leaves out the “had” before action verbs that denote events that took place in the past, which was incredibly annoying. Otherwise, though, I found the book to be fun and enjoyable with lots of amusing moments and sexy times to spice things up. Happily, in spite of a few minor flaws, it’s left me very much looking forward to continuing the series.

Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, including a little light bondage and a bit of spanking. It also has quite a few graphic battle sequences involving blood and gore. Both of these things could be objectionable to sensitive readers.

Chains & Flames by G. A. Aiken – Bonus novella that's found in the back of some editions of Dragon Actually.

Chains & Flames chronologically precedes Dragon Actually in G. A. Aiken’s Dragon Kin series, but I’ve chosen to read them in the order in which they were written, which is also the author’s recommended reading order. It tells the story of Fearghus’s parents, Rhiannon and Bercelak who were seen in Dragon Actually. Rhiannon is a princess, while Bercelak is a commoner who has fought hard in battle to be raised to elite battle dragon status in the queen’s army. Bercelak has loved Rhiannon from afar ever since he met her seventy years ago, but feared that the difference in their stations would always keep them apart. He’s surprised when the queen gives her daughter to him as a mate, but Rhiannon is having none of it. As she’s trying to flee, her mother casts a spell on her that leaves her in human form, unable to shift back into a dragon. Bercelak, of course, couldn’t be happier and vows to win her over through a sensual assault that leaves her breathless. However, the queen feels threatened by Rhiannon and has wanted her dead for some time. Just as Rhiannon is starting to warm up to Bercelak and is willing to mate with him, it becomes clear that her mother engineered the betrothal in hopes that Bercelak would break her daughter’s spirit, and then, as one of her loyal battle dragons, be willing to kill her. Bercelak isn’t about to let anything happen to the female he loves, but getting close enough to the queen to defeat her will prove challenging.

Bercelak grew up in a large and unconventional dragon family. His father prefers to stay in his human form most of the time and lives among humans. He also had the strange habit of sneaking up on his children, scaring them or tossing them across the room, so that they’d learn to be more tuned in to their surroundings and never be caught unaware. Although it did hone his fighting skills, Bercelak hated it and finds his father irritating because of his rude, crude behavior. The first time Bercelak visited the queen’s court, he accidentally stepped on Rhiannon’s tail. The arrogant princess tried to stab him in the eye with the tip of that tail, but according to his father’s training, he reacted by throwing her across the room. Rhiannon has hated him for it ever since, but Bercelak instantly fell in love. Therefore when the queen offers her daughter to him, he doesn’t hesitate to accept. Rhiannon proves to be a feisty female who refuses to mate him, but he’s a dominant with a penchant for a little BDSM and uses all his sensual skills to persuade her otherwise. In Dragon Actually, Bercelak came off as rather gruff and even a little grumpy, but I really fell for him in his own story. He starts out with a reputation for never really smiling and being a fierce fighter. But in spite of—or maybe even because of—her venomous tongue, Rhiannon never fails to make him smile and even laugh on occasion. Dominant alphas can be hit and miss with me, but Bercelak hit that sweet spot where he’s dominant without being a jerk. He’s actually rather sweet, endlessly patient with Rhiannon and her barbs, and understands her in a way no one else does.

Rhiannon is the quintessential spoiled princess who has honed her dragonly arrogance to perfection. But her relationship with her mother is a deeply troubled one, with Rhiannon keenly aware that her mother is out to get her. When the queen declares that Rhiannon is to mate Bercelak, Rhiannon tries to flee to her den, but before she reaches it, her mother casts a spell that turns her human in midair, causing her to plunge to the earth right in front of Bercelak’s lair. Bercelak cares for her injuries and provides for her in her weak human form, later introducing her to his large, weird family. Rhiannon comes to like them, though, because she recognizes that in spite of them being a little crazy, they love each other, which is something she’s never experienced before. When it comes to Bercelak, however, she keeps trying to push him away, even though she’s really just angry with herself for succumbing to his passionate overtures. It doesn’t take long before he wins her over, but she never really loses her barbed tongue and that’s just fine with him. It would be easy for me to dislike Rhiannon because she can be pretty arrogant and even a little mean sometimes, but somehow I liked her anyway. She may outwardly fight Bercelak, but inwardly she slowly comes to care for him and realize that he’s not such a bad guy after all. She also has softer moments and I did sympathize with her carrying around the knowledge that her own mother is trying to kill her.

Overall, Chains & Flames was equally as fun to read as Dragon Actually. I enjoyed this little peek into how Fearghus’s parents got together, as well as how Rhiannon came to be queen and to love being chained by her mate. Bercelak was a much more appealing hero than I’d expected and I ended up loving him. Rhiannon may have some sharp edges but can turn into mush for her mate. They were a well-matched couple and their love scenes are smokin’ hot. I also enjoyed seeing them band together along with Bercelak’s family to defeat the queen. A few of those family members get their own stories in the series, including Bercelak’s parents, Ailean and Shalin (Can’t Get Enough), his brother Addolgar (A Tale of Two Dragons), and his sister, Glheanna (Dragon on Top). I liked all these characters and look forward to reading their stories, too. The only things that kept this novella from getting the full five stars from me are that a few things happen a little too quickly, although that’s often par for the course in shorter stories, and there were still editing problems surrounding proper verb conjugation. Otherwise, this was a very enjoyable read and one that, along with Dragon Actually, has earned G. A. Aiken a spot on my favorite authors list.

Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual content, including a d/s relationship, bondage, and a little spanking, which could be objectionable to sensitive readers. Star Rating: 4.5 ( )

A perfect sit-and-read while stuck at home. ( )

I really liked this story. It helps that G.A. is hilarious, but it was more than that. It was a semi-beauty and the beast tale with dragons, except you're not really sure who's the beauty and who's the beast. That was a nice change. I liked the twist of the heroine falling for the beast first before truly seeing the hero. I don't want to give away any spoilers. Just pick up the book. You won't be disappointed. ( )