I guess the best recommendation that I can give this series is that I trust the author enough to keep buying without sampling first. Also, I have been out of the PNR realm for years and these are dragging me back in. ( )

I mentioned in my review of the first book, DRAGON BOUND, that I appreciated the fact that Harrison didn't take clich‚s and run with them. While I'm not as in love with this cover as I was the first (or the third, SERPENT'S KISS), I did thoroughly enjoy this story.

Oh Tiago. You silly silly Wyr. You kind of deserve everything that happens to you after the shenanigans you pulled in DRAGON BOUND with Drago and Pia. While Niniane, aka Tricks, isn't as forceful a personality as Pia could be, she wasn't without her strong points (such as her ability to justify things). Niniane also has the advantage on Pia in that she's a Faery, Dark Fae no less and destined for the throne of said Dark Fae.

Don't laugh, but I found myself often feeling pained on behalf of Tiago and Niniane. Moreso then in DRAGON BOUND, Niniane and Tiago faced the knowledge that no matter what they may want or feel is right, Niniane was going to be Queen of the Dark Fae. They're not exactly a welcoming bunch. I wanted to smack Rune whenever he mentioned this however, since he always chose just the wrong moment.

Sometimes the book strayed from the main plot, indulging in some side plots and adventures that did quite a bit to show us who Niniane is, as well as what would be expected of her, but didn't move the plot (Niniane becoming Queen and the assassination plot against her) forward very much. She likes to draw up and look pretty. Niniane doesn't like being beholden to anyone and wants more independence despite her fragile appearance. We understand, please stop telling us.

I definitely enjoyed the ending of this book more than the first. This one made more logical sense and felt more organic and true to the characters. It also very nicely set up the premise for the third book, SERPENT'S KISS, which is all about Carling (the Vampyre Queen) and Rune (who deserves everything that happens to him doublefold for romance, see how he likes being interrupted by 'reality')

Review originally posted at Night Owl Reviews ( )

Il primo volume della serie – Il legame del drago – non mi era piaciuto granché, ma lo avevo lasciato con moderate speranze per il futuro. La coppia Tiago - (Tricks) Niniane sembrava promettere bene.

Il punto è che la Harrison può provarci quanto vuole a rendere le sue donne simpatiche e i loro rispettivi compagni attraenti (?), ma, se non li supporta con una trama e una caratterizzazione decenti, per me farà sempre un buco nell'acqua.

Tiago è un guerriero. Il migliore. Uno di quelli che prima ammazza e poi chiede informazioni. E che fa? Vede Niniane (o meglio, si accorge della sua esistenza) e zac! diventa la sua guardia del corpo personale e tuttofare.

Niniane è l'erede al trono dei fae oscuri e non ha un c***o di voglia di diventare regina. E che fa? Vede Tiago (o meglio, si accorge che è ben piazzato) e zac! inizia a farsi una marea di seghe mentali – sempre le stesse, per circa tutto il romanzo. Una piaga. E non basta che ogni tanto abbia qualche scappata simpatica: a quel punto sei talmente narcotizzato dal suo castello di problemi che non riesci manco a ridere. Speri solo di arrivare presto alla fine.

Non puoi sperare neanche in una trama avvincente, perché non c'è (i problemi di Niniane di cui sopra riescono ad annegare anche l'azione). L'ultima tua flebile speranza viene spazzata via dalla rivelazione dei protagonisti dell'intrigo di potere: fino alla fine sei riuscito a convincerti che non siano loro, i più scontati, quelli che hanno cercato di uccidere Niniane. E, invece, eccoli là, serviti su un piatto d'argento, pronti per essere liquidati in fretta, come sembra piacere alla Harrison.

L'unico pregio di questa serie (o forse dovrei dire difetto) sta nel riuscire a interessarti alla prossima coppia. Carling, la millenaria vampira, ha rubato più volte la scena a Niniane. Il mistero e il potere che la avvolgono sono certamente intriganti. Così come Rune, grifone al servizio di Dragos, si è rivelato più interessante di Tiago. Vedremo. Non so se la Harrison riuscirà a fregarmi di nuovo. ( )

I'm finding it hard to really invest in this world. ( )

Cito l'opinione di questa ragazza (Sarah J) poiché verbalizza i miei pensieri riguardo a questo libro.

"The characters fell flat for me and the plot didn’t really do much to spice it up. It definitely wasn’t bad, it was just a bland read.


I thought Tricks/Niniane didn’t have as much agency as I would have liked, especially for someone who was supposed to become the queen of the Dark Fay. Tiago seemed to make most of the decisions for her, or one of the other characters would pull her into a situation she needed Tiago to get her out of. She spent well above the first hundred pages wounded, whining, or hiding from her responsibilities as the next queen (or at least that’s how it seemed to me). I also just couldn’t buy her role as a future queen. She was pretty passive, and self-admittedly had few interests that would qualify her as the face of Dagos’ company, let alone a ruler.

Tiago seemed sort of the stock paranormal hero, so he didn’t especially offset my disappointment with Niniane.

At least until the point I read, the world of the fairies and the power structures there hadn’t been developed enough to keep me reading. Then there were inconsistencies like how Tricks could trust nobody, various elements were out to assassinate her, and she needed to stay sharp to take over her position as queen…so she went out with a single bodyguard to an unfamiliar bar with the stated intention of getting wasted and hooking up with a stranger? What?

There were a bunch of nitpicky details that bugged me, like the comparing a character to an actor thing, unfortunately detailed descriptions of clothing (Tricks seems to have the fashion sense of a Spice Girl), etc.

In sum, I guess Storm’s Heart just didn’t click. It wasn’t bad, I can totally see why people like it, but it just seemed to push all of my “I don’t care for this” buttons. You should definitely give it a shot, it’s just that this book didn’t work for me personally."

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