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A review by kjharrowick
Heart of the Dragon's Realm by Karalynn Lee
5.0
True rating: 4.5 Stars
Why I picked up this book:
I’ve been recently hashing around an idea with a new story I’m working on, and in the spirit of this, I decided to hunt down books that had both dragons and love stories. What caught my eye about this particular book is elements similar to one I wrote two years ago. So, I decided to check it out and see if the similarities were few, or how deep they ran.
This review may contain spoilers.
What I loved:
This was such a sweet and simple story, and after the first chapter, I wasn’t sure how much further I’d continue. But once the Dragon King came on the scene, my curiosity got the best of me. I’m really happy I finished this one as the tale grew stronger and more engaging, and by the time I hit the 60% mark I couldn’t put it down.
Tathan is wonderful! As a character he has a very shy but powerful presence at first, which only gets stronger. By the time readers learn the truth, he’s got such a fantastic complexity that you can’t help but love him.
Areas needing a touch of refinement:
Kimri’s the main character, and she’s a lot of fun to follow. But a few times it felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a little around her. The story really tried to play up a rebellion side, but I found her more mischievous than a rebel. Also, it seemed very odd that she was allowed to roam around the kingdom with no escort of any kind. She’s a pretty important person, so this is one of the areas that often rang a bell with me.
Overall:
In the end, I fell in love with this story. It’s a clean read that keeps characters rooted in tradition, and would be enjoyable for any reader who loves a sweet romance without explicit sex. Yet it still has the underbelly of a darker world lurking beneath the surface.
Why I picked up this book:
I’ve been recently hashing around an idea with a new story I’m working on, and in the spirit of this, I decided to hunt down books that had both dragons and love stories. What caught my eye about this particular book is elements similar to one I wrote two years ago. So, I decided to check it out and see if the similarities were few, or how deep they ran.
This review may contain spoilers.
What I loved:
This was such a sweet and simple story, and after the first chapter, I wasn’t sure how much further I’d continue. But once the Dragon King came on the scene, my curiosity got the best of me. I’m really happy I finished this one as the tale grew stronger and more engaging, and by the time I hit the 60% mark I couldn’t put it down.
Tathan is wonderful! As a character he has a very shy but powerful presence at first, which only gets stronger. By the time readers learn the truth, he’s got such a fantastic complexity that you can’t help but love him.
Areas needing a touch of refinement:
Kimri’s the main character, and she’s a lot of fun to follow. But a few times it felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a little around her. The story really tried to play up a rebellion side, but I found her more mischievous than a rebel. Also, it seemed very odd that she was allowed to roam around the kingdom with no escort of any kind. She’s a pretty important person, so this is one of the areas that often rang a bell with me.
Overall:
In the end, I fell in love with this story. It’s a clean read that keeps characters rooted in tradition, and would be enjoyable for any reader who loves a sweet romance without explicit sex. Yet it still has the underbelly of a darker world lurking beneath the surface.