Adrianne Brooks

~ 2.5 The Dragon King and I Stars ~

The Dragon King and I is book one in the Fairest of Them All series by [a:Adrianne Brooks|7339242|Adrianne Brooks|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1404124121p2/7339242.jpg]. This is my first time reading Ms. Brooks and I’m not sure what to make of this one. I’m a little confused and conflicted. A little surprised I finished it, since it had so much weirdness too it.

The Dragon King and I gives us a different spin on fairy tails. I think the whole series is a bunch of fairy tails, but it is all completely befuddling. It felt like the author was not sure where to go with this, which fairy tails to entertain, and what supernatural creatures to have. It was a hodgepodge of weirdness. It got to be a little to weird at times. I also noticed that the transformation from one scene to another is fast and things where introduced, but not really. If you understand what I mean. Also at one point the character said she had a lunch and then on the next page she is saying she hasn’t had anything since cake the night before. Uh, I think someone forgot to edit this. So it just adds more to the confusing atmosphere.

As for the characters I’m a little confounded. Alexandria Greyson, Alex, is cursed or is it blessed? She has became a hermit. When her friend offers her a way to get help, she does not take her up on it until it’s to late, which leads her to a fairy godmother of sorts and a quest. Uh, this girl has so many panic attacks and I just wanted to throttler her at times, she acted more like a little child then a grown women. Sam, our dragon was a likable character. I would have liked more character development and background on him. As for the growing relationship between Alex and Sam I did not feel the attraction between them and this story falls into the ‘instalove’.

I was mildly entertained enough to finish The Dragon King and I. I’m conflicted in whither I want to read more or not. This one left me going, what the ……

… (mais)

There were things about this book that I really liked, but so much more that I didn't. I want to give it 2.5 stars, but it's not good enough for 3 so I've given it 2.

First off, I want to give a warning that wasn't given in the blurb. This book contains a lot of references to rape: fear of rape, attempted rape, possible rape. It wasn't clear if Alex was ever actually raped, but the threat is there on nearly every page. See, Alex is cursed: every man she comes in contact with falls under her spell and wants to be with her. This affects them in different ways: some want to protect her and just be near her, while others want to possess her, body and soul. This means that some of them want to rape her. At least one tries to do so in the text, and there is reference to this happening to her in the past as well.

Now, for what I liked. [a:Adrianne Brooks|7339242|Adrianne Brooks|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1404124121p2/7339242.jpg] sometimes really has a way with words. I really feel a connection to lines like "The main thing that I loved about living alone was the silence. Sometimes simply talking to people was like listening to white noise." I'm an introvert, so I strongly relate to this.

Unfortunately, even though I started off relating to her, I didn't like Alex very much. I can understand why she is antisocial and hates leaving her house—every time she ventures outside, she feels like she is going to be raped—but I don't understand why she fights Flo to get inside Clarabell's house. What the hell changed? Also, Alex's voice is very annoying. Maybe other readers would like the "modern" feel, but I just wanted to slap her or choke her or both.

And, you know, there's a reason why writing advice tells writers not to have a character look into a mirror and describe themselves. It's stupid and feels really forced and unreal. Yes, there is a such a scene in [b:The Dragon King and I|21969303|The Dragon King and I (Fairest of Them All #1)|Adrianne Brooks|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400807810s/21969303.jpg|26484337]. Ugh. So annoying.

While reading, I kept wondering if an editor had even looked over this manuscript. If so, Adrianne really should hire a better editor next time. So many grammar errors. Yikes. For example: 'jealously' is an adverb; 'jealousy' is a noun. They are not the same word and cannot be used interchangeably. Also, continuity is important, kids. In one scene, Alex is gripping Sam's shirt with both hands, and then she tightens her arms around him. When did she go from one position to another? This kind of thing is really disconcerting.

Oh, and this book is in first person from Alex's POV so we really shouldn't be seeing lines like, "My eyes began to glow and I knew that they were neither the white of my mother’s power nor the purest black of another supernatural’s. They were gray, like my father’s" since, how the hell would Alex know what colour her own eyes are? She's not even looking into a mirror in this scene!

This is definitely not the worst book I've ever read, but it's not very good either. I wouldn't recommend buying it, but if you find it for free like I did, you might want to give it a try.… (mais)