Name: Chris's review of Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven
Item: Dragon Unleashed
Rating: 5
Author: Chris

Grace Draven

A dragon shapeshifter and a healer with power over the earth fight a corrupt empire in this thrilling and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the USA Today bestselling author of Radiance. Magic is outlawed in the Krael Empire and punishable by death. Born with the gift of earth magic, the free trader Halani keeps her dangerous secret closely guarded. When her uncle buys a mysterious artifact, a piece of bone belonging to a long-dead draga, Halani knows it's far more than what it seems. Dragas haven't been seen for more than a century, and most believe them extinct. They're wrong. Dragas still walk among the denizens of the Empire, disguised as humans. Malachus is a draga living on borrowed time. The magic that has protected him will soon turn on him--unless he finds a key part of his heritage. He has tracked it to a group of free traders, among them a grave-robbing earth witch who fascinates him as much as she frustrates him with her many secrets. Unbeknownst to both, the Empire's twisted empress searches for a draga of her own, to capture and kill as a trophy. As Malachus the hunter becomes the hunted, Halani must risk herself and all she loves to save him from the Empire's machinations and his own lethal birthright.

Dragon Unleashed

Chris

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Ace in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Dragon Unleashed is the second book in the "Fallen Empire" series by the epic Grace Draven. It seems like forever since we had the first book "Phoenix Unbound" and the story starts off around the time of the epilogue of the first book. We get to see the reunion again of Azarion and Gilene. So that was a delight and had me wanted to read that book again and kinda wished I had done a reread of that book because there were many connecting details that I had previously forgotten and would have preferred a retouch on before reading this one. So that is what I would recommend since these two books are connected.

Our heroine of the story is Halani who is the trade camp's healer and trader and works with earth magic. She works for her uncle and is devoted to taking care of her child like mother. In this story we see two plot lines form before our hero and heroine have the chance to meet. Our hero, is a Drago. A dragon hidden in a man's body until he finds an ancient artifact, one that could save him before his body turns on him. Its his "mothers heart" a way of dragons protecting their young from mankind finding Dragon children before they mature. But now he is hunting those who had stolen the artifact which rightfully belongs to him. This leads him to a trading camp where he meets Halani. As they travel together, both contain secrets from each other but there is a burning passion that erupts between them. But the empress is hunting them and will stop at nothing to have Malachus and the dragon inside of him.

Dragon Unleashed was such a delight to read, I am not sure if this book is better or not than the first book. I would say that I enjoyed both installments on the same level. I will mention that my lower rating is due to the fact that the first half of the book is a bit slower going. There are engaging moments but it doesn't really kick up speed till really the last third of the book. The same thing happened in the first book for me. Not sure why I am struggling with the later installments of this author, when other books from her I have had no issue in getting into the stories. Or maybe it could be just me.

I will say that I adored the characters in this book. Both Malachus and Halani are fabulous characters. Malachus may seem arrogant at times, but he also has a strong sense of honor and what is right and wrong and I truly admired how he sticks by his own principles. Halani does what she does to protect herself and her family. Even when she commits wrongdoing she admits to it and doesn't make excuses. I really admired that trait about Halani that she knows she does wrong but doesn't hide it when she is confronted by it. She owns up to her own mistakes. Both of them have some hurdles to cross that is for sure, but the adventure and journey we see them go on in finding their HEA was pure delight and quite invigorating at times. There is such a strong level of intrigue and mystery in what unravels throughout the story and true justice happens in the end....YES!! And those who have read the first book will be thrilled with the ending and what happens with the villain.
You will always have a place among us, a place beside me, in life and beyond death when the earth sings us to dust
Overall I found Dragon Unleashed to be a truly awe opening installment, a world of mystery, danger, dragons and magic....a story guaranteed to delight its reader.

Becky

I have mixed feelings about this book. When I started it I was convinced I was going to love it. Malachus was hunting for his mother bond which had been stolen and when he'd used the lightning to scry for it, he'd seen a woman with grey eyes who seemed to be linked with it. He needed to find that mother bond to be able to transform into a draga (dragon) otherwise he faced burning up as a human. It was all very tense and interesting and I was invested in his hunt. When he met Halani (who you might remember from the last books... if you're reading memory is better than mine) you could tell there was a spark. She was wary of him but he showed her mother kindness so she returned the favour when she stumbled across him half dead with arrow wounds. 

It all sounds good, right? But the story moved at a medium pace at the start. You get the intro to the two characters; it establishes that Halani's uncle has the mother bond and wants to sell it but Halani knows it's being tracked and warns him to sell it quickly. It's at that point the plot sort of fell apart a little. Malachus knows Halani and the free traders are linked to his mother bond somehow but doesn't know how and so while he's recovering with them almost forgets about it totally which seems so strange when he'd been so obsessed with tracking it at the start. Then there's Halani who we know is a nice and caring woman and so she would seek to protect her family, so her warning her uncle to sell the mother bond and working to keep Malachus's attention away from finding it seems sensible. But for the length of time she did that, even whilst growing slower to Malachus, that's the part I found a little out of character for her. I think if she had been more conflicted about how close she was growing with him it would make sense, but the mother bond got forgotten about for half of the book and only came back when it could be used to drive the couple apart.

I did expect the secrets the two kept to be something I was bothered by, but I wasn't. I understood why Halani didn't bring the mother bond up, she only suspected Malachus was linked to it and wanted to protect her family. I understood why Malachus didn't reveal his quest or his true nature as draga, it's not exactly an every day conversation. But it definitely felt like their not talking was deliberate to create conflict later but boring conflict I wasn't invested in.

And, like I said, the first half (if not more) of the book is taken up with a whole lot of nothing. I think it was meant to show the developing romance between the two but I never truly believed in their romance. They lacked a bit of spark I would have liked, but then the plot all unfolds in the last 30% or whatever of the book. It just felt a little all over the place.

That being said, I liked the characters and it was an interesting story. I think I was a little more critical as I read this after reading a very light, easy-going fantasy romance so there contrast between that and this were like night and day. It isn't my favourite Grace Draven book but I did enjoy it. I just wish some things had been done better but what can you do?

danielle bush

** spoiler alert **
           This is the second book in the Fallen Empire series, and I really liked it.. Not as much as the first book Dragon Unbound but that was one of my favorite books when it was released so it has a high bar to beat.. We also got some glimpses of Gilene and Azarian which I loved! 
Malachus is a dragus trapped in human form. The one aritfact that can help him trasition from human to dragon was stolen a long time ago, and he has been searching for it. 
Halani and her uncle are free traders.. They end up with this special artifact even though Halani can feel that its dangerous her uncle keeps it to see in another town.. 
Halani ends up nursing Malachus back to health after he is ambushed and they become close.. Right when and Halani end up admitting they have feelings and doing something about it. Malachus finds out that Halani and her group are grave robbers. which he super hates. And also finds out that she knew that her uncle had what he was looking for this whole time. 
The ending was so good, Halani get captured, Malachus gets his dragon form, and the evil empress get totally eaten.. then of course they end up as a happy couple.

Meagan

To date, I have not found a Grace Draven book that I didn’t fall in love with. This book is no exception and I adore Halani and Malachus. This world for the series has been so lush and full of amazing mythology, folklore and romance. I’ve loved learning about their beliefs and falling in love over and over again with each pairing. I’ve always loved how Draven adds very realistic aspects to their couples such as learning forgiveness, overcoming vanity, and true problems couples face. Halani and Malachus grew up very differently and had to face problems that they viewed in different ways. It endears me to them even more to watch them learn and grow together instead of just being in love and agreeing to everything the other says. It makes them real. Loved this book and can’t wait to have more!

Ana Couto

Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It's no secret that Grace Draven is an incredibly creative and imaginative author, but unfortunately her books just aren't for me (and I can't tell you exactly why that is; I simply just don't click with them). That being said, I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this book, because I know plenty of readers who will thoroughly enjoy it. It's clear that Draven puts a lot of thought and care into her world-building and characters, and DRAGON UNLEASHED is no exception. If you enjoy intricate fantasy worlds with a historical feel coupled with a central romance arc, definitely check this one out.

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Dragon Unleashed by Grace Draven

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