G. A. Aiken

Dragon actually

Sonia Grgas

Lover of Romance 

Annwyl, is a warrior and a leader and nothing defeats her. Having to never show any sign of weakness to anyone, she has had to remain strong, knowing that she must be able to destroy her brother, who has destroyed many innocent lives. Then Annwyl is injured in battle, an Fearghus, a dragon comes and swoops down and carries her to his cave and sanctuary to care for her while she heals. Fearghus has never cared about humans, and Annwyl is the only one he is starting to have genuine feelings for. He desires to help train her for her fight against her brother, and is determined to make sure that she stays in his life, desires more than anything that she love him for himself as both a dragon and in his human form...
Dragon Actually is the first installment in the Dragon Kin series, and I just randomly picked it up from a shelf from the library...I wasn't even looking for it and I can hardly wait to read the rest of the books in the series. I found myself in some kind of enthrallment when I started reading this one, and I couldn't pull myself away. Usually for this type of book...I can...I sometimes have a hard time with tough heroines, and one that loves killing more than anything...I wondered before I started reading how much I would enjoy it...but I was definitely wrong...because I just loved it! It was definitely unexpected, but I found both main characters to have a lot of depth to their personalities....and the more you got further into the book, the more you just fell in love with them. There was also a tender sensuality side to it that just drew you in to their passion. Seeing the family of Fearghus was also fun and entertaining, and there were many laughs in the story line as well....A True Keeper!!!

With a nickname like Annwyl the Bloody, men tend to either cower in fear at the sight of me, or salute. So it would be nice to find a man I can actually talk to, just the way I can talk to Fearghus the Destroyer. Then again, Fearghus is a dragon . . . Find out for yourself why All Things Urban Fantasy calls the Dragon Kin series, 'As bawdy, crass, and hilarious as anything I could have hoped for!' and read the prequel novella, 'A Tale of Two Dragons,' to see where the insanity began! 'A hot, hot series.' Library Journal

Dragon Actually

Dawn Keiser

Annwyl is an excellent character. She is strong and fierce leading her own army in her determination to end her brother's horrible reign. Not to mention dragons! DRAGONS! I love dragons so this story really hooked me from the beginning. Fearghus is a dragon who is awakened from a slumber by the sounds of fighting. He ventures out to see Annwyl facing down her brother's men. She has suffered a fatal wound and Fearghus takes her in and heals her with help from his sister. Fearghus comes to Annwyl in human form to train her to fight her brother. Annwyl does not know that it is Fearghus in human form. Things start to get complicated as feelings get involved. 

See my full review at:
http://escapethroughbooks.blogspot.com/

Kristen

I really enjoyed this story. It could have been better.

World building is a big thing so many fantasy authors forget about. I wanted to know more about the places in this book. Garbhan Isle, the Dark Plains, the glen... There were so many locations tossed around but nothing was explored in a way that I knew where anything was in relation to anything else or what populated those areas. I know it's too much to ask for world building reminiscent of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series or Harry Potter or A Game of Thrones... but a little more than what I got would have been nice.

Besides the dreadful lack of world building, the sex scenes felt a little rushed. I understood after finishing the stories (essentially one short novel and one novella) that because they were short tales encompassing a lot of plot, this was really necessary. But it still felt like it happened too quick while reading.

The writing is... iffy. The stories are not poorly written, by any means, but grammar mistakes abounded. Overall I enjoyed the stories enough that I didn't take away from the rating because of this. It was just frustrating for me.

Now for the good. The characters were awesome. Hilarious and fun, and very well developed. I wish Annwyl and Fearghus's story was longer, because I felt very close to them by the end of their adventure. Their romance was sweet, if quick. 

I was very interested in the developments, if any, between two side characters: Annwyl's second-in-command Brastias, and Fearghus's sister Morfyd, but their romance was never concluded. I felt this interest in each of Fearghus's family members, and the fact that the side characters in this story were just as entertaining as the main ones definitely gave it a huge bonus for me. 

I was entertained all the way through. It was cute and sweet, but there was also lots of blood and killing (it's a dragon book about a war, after all). I will be continuing with this series.

Lacey

Oh my god, this was HILARIOUS!!! Who knew dragons could be so funny!?

Nicola Sarah Brooks

Petaco

G.A. Aiken

A high-flying fantasy “packed with bold adventure and sizzling sensuality”—first in the series by the New York Times bestselling author (RT Book Reviews). It’s not always easy being a female warrior with a nickname like Annwyl the Bloody. Men tend to either cower in fear—a lot—or else salute. It’s true that Annwyl has a knack for decapitating legions of her ruthless brother’s soldiers without pausing for breath. But just once it would be nice to be able to really talk to a man, the way she can talk to Fearghus the Destroyer. Too bad that Fearghus is a dragon, of the large, scaly, and deadly type. With him, Annwyl feels safe—a far cry from the feelings aroused by the hard-bodied, arrogant knight Fearghus has arranged to help train her for battle. With her days spent fighting a man who fills her with fierce, heady desire, and her nights spent in the company of a magical creature who could smite a village just by exhaling, Annwyl is sure life couldn't get any stranger. She’s wrong . . . And just wait until you meet the rest of the family . . . Praise for the Dragon Kin Series “Aiken’s patented mix of bloodthirsty action, crazy scenarios and hilarious dialogue have made this series a truly unique pleasure.”—RT Book Reviews (4½ Stars) “A chest thumping, mead-hall rocking, enemy slaying brawl of a good book.”—All Things Urban Fantasy “Laugh-out-loud funny—I loved it!”—Thea Harrison, New York Times bestselling author