Ariana of Clairmont is on a mission. After receiving information her brother is being held prisoner in France and will only be freed if she comes by herself with his ransom - his life work journals about the magical "Dragon Chalice"and where it can be found - she sets up for the journey. But before she even set sails across the sea her bodyguard is killed and her savior doesn't really feel like the "saving" type. Getting him to accept accompanying her to her destination is also a difficult task especially as she can't really tell what he WANTS from her or WHY is he really doing all of this for her.
Braedon "le Chasseur" ("The Hunter") is frustrated with himself getting stuck somehow in Ariana's business. While he acts as if he's helping her, he is mostly trying to return her back home, especially when he realizes what she is tangled in now is exactly what almost killed him (but DID kill some of his best mates) less than two years ago. He might be the best hunter with amazing instincts but what Ariana is after will need much more of that. There is dark magic involved and he would rather they both turn away from it before it's too late.
Yet Ariana is determined. She doesn't care about the legends of the "Dragon Chalice" and it's otherworldly powers, all she wants is her dear brother - and only living family - free of his prison, whole and safe. But though she is annoyed with Braedon's at times high handed behavior she comes to understand his reasoning aren't mean ones they might be selfish in a way but he means her no harm, on the contrary and as they become a sort of "team" together trying to get away from Silas de Mortaine - the big bad villain - and his strange enforcers, things start to change between them. The suspicion turns to trust, the mutual attraction turns into affection that's where it gets difficult for Braedon to do the right thing.
This book was mostly about their journey to saving Kenrick (Ariana's brother) as well as learning more truths about Braedon's past and though there was a lot of action of them trying to get away from their pursuers, as well as drama between the two of them - it wasn't as engaging as Lara's previous work (or her more current one actually). I was bored and annoyed at times, with both MCs. Braedon's high handed behavior, Ariana's silly and immature stubbornness. I just wanted to understand what's happening and for them to actually get going with their quest as well as finding more about the Dragon Chalice. I guess somewhere after the middle is where the story REALLY takes off and from there I was truly engaged.
The next book in the series will be Kenrick's and will follow the next adventures on the Dragon Chalice. I haven't written a lot about it in this review as I don't want to spoiler. I'll only say there are actually 4 pieces of the Chalice and to unleash all it's power you need to have all four parts. There is still much to uncover and villains to get rid of. That's enough work for more than Kenrick and his love interest in the next one.
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Rating:
★★★½ |
E-Book
Edition |
386
pages
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Read on:
19-21 October 2019
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ABOUT THIS SERIES
Dragon Chalice is a Historical / Paranormal Romance series by Lara Adrian. Originally written as Tina St. John.
Lara Adrian begun writing Historical Romance under the name Tina St. John. Her first books - "Lord of Vengeance" and the "Warrior" series were SUPERB reads. This series started her Paranormal writing, though this, like the previous ones, take place in Medieval times this series also has a "fantastical" element.
I gotta say I wasn't a fan of this series, the books were okay for me, nothing more. I liked the way the series was resolved, especially since I didn't see the way it was going or how it would conclude right to the very end.
For me, the problem was neither the romance nor the action part where "strong" enough. Though there is a big story about the Dragon Chalice - a powerful artifact promising immortality and unimaginable power - neither the chase after it's four pieces nor trying to stop / kill our main villain Silas de Mortaine before he himself gets his hands on it - takes more than a third of each book and is mostly condensed to the end of the book.
The other part of the story is the romance and though in truth that's why I'm here I found the characters a bit unrelatable. I'm not sure if it's the Medieval times or if it's just the characters themselves. The women felt somewhere between too innocent to silly in their actions and the men too detached and down right MEAN at times. They were too selfish and domineering though truth being told I'm not sure if it's just me being too modern in my concept of how a man "suppose" to act. Anyhow it really affected the way I perceived the books and the main reason they weren't a favorite.
I gotta say it's truly a shame as I absolutely LOVED the Historical Romance novels without the Paranormal aspect Lara wrote before these. But I'll admit thinking things through I DID feel both MCs in these were less to my liking that your "typical" modern heroes. I'm not sure why in those it worked for me and here it didn't. I don't even think I mentioned it in my reviews as I accepted the characters as "authentic" to "those times".
Books:
1. Heart of the Hunter [Ariana of Clairmont & Braedon le Chasseur "The Hunter"] (Published 1 June 2004) ★★★½
2. Heart of the Flame [Kenrick of Clairmont & Haven] (Published 1 March 2005) ★★★
3. Heart of the Dove [Randwulf of Greycliff & Serena] (Published 29 November 2005) ★★★★
Lara Adrian begun writing Historical Romance under the name Tina St. John. Her first books - "Lord of Vengeance" and the "Warrior" series were SUPERB reads. This series started her Paranormal writing, though this, like the previous ones, take place in Medieval times this series also has a "fantastical" element.
I gotta say I wasn't a fan of this series, the books were okay for me, nothing more. I liked the way the series was resolved, especially since I didn't see the way it was going or how it would conclude right to the very end.
For me, the problem was neither the romance nor the action part where "strong" enough. Though there is a big story about the Dragon Chalice - a powerful artifact promising immortality and unimaginable power - neither the chase after it's four pieces nor trying to stop / kill our main villain Silas de Mortaine before he himself gets his hands on it - takes more than a third of each book and is mostly condensed to the end of the book.
The other part of the story is the romance and though in truth that's why I'm here I found the characters a bit unrelatable. I'm not sure if it's the Medieval times or if it's just the characters themselves. The women felt somewhere between too innocent to silly in their actions and the men too detached and down right MEAN at times. They were too selfish and domineering though truth being told I'm not sure if it's just me being too modern in my concept of how a man "suppose" to act. Anyhow it really affected the way I perceived the books and the main reason they weren't a favorite.
I gotta say it's truly a shame as I absolutely LOVED the Historical Romance novels without the Paranormal aspect Lara wrote before these. But I'll admit thinking things through I DID feel both MCs in these were less to my liking that your "typical" modern heroes. I'm not sure why in those it worked for me and here it didn't. I don't even think I mentioned it in my reviews as I accepted the characters as "authentic" to "those times".
Books:
1. Heart of the Hunter [Ariana of Clairmont & Braedon le Chasseur "The Hunter"] (Published 1 June 2004) ★★★½
2. Heart of the Flame [Kenrick of Clairmont & Haven] (Published 1 March 2005) ★★★
3. Heart of the Dove [Randwulf of Greycliff & Serena] (Published 29 November 2005) ★★★★
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