Dragos Takes a Holiday (review), contests, freebies and other items of interest

                                            


“Dragos Takes a Holiday” by Thea Harrison is an ADULT paranormal romance novella that continues the story of Dragos Cuelebre and his family.  A little finagling has the welcome result of Dragos taking his family with him for a much-needed retreat.  His mate Pia's judicious display of books on treasure hunting gives incentive for searching the waters around the Bermuda triangle for a particular sunken ship, much to the dismay of treasure hunters who have decided to claim the spoils themselves.  Dragos’ offspring, affectionately known as Peanut, continues to grow rapidly both physically and magically, but he is little match for the determined predators he runs afoul of.  Fortunately, Dragos has not lost any of his protective instincts nor his propensity for ensuring that the world runs according to his personal dictates.




This fun glimpse of one the leading Elder races family gives a touching picture of the way the dynamics have changed now that Dragos and Pia are parents, yet the flame of attraction still burns hotly between them.  The delightful anomalies involved with their respective powers add to the allure of this tale which is an entertaining quick read. I suspect that those who are new to the series might be a bit confused as there is not much exposition on the various characters and their respective backgrounds yet there is plenty of magical action to enthrall and enough spice to keep the reader warm on a cold winter’s night.  I loved the juxtaposition between Dragos' role as the doting papa and the ruthless leader of his people and look forward to many more tales of this fascinating family.

© Night Owl Reviews
I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review.

Dragos Takes A Holiday (Amazon link)

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If you need a laugh during all of the hectic events of this season, take some time to watch the video at this link.  (and think about those 'alpha' definitions)


 The talented Lily Harlem has an ADULT title available for free on Amazon for a limited time.




Hired: 1 (Hot Ice)



Night Owl Reviews has the Winter Wonderland scavenger hunt at this link and other contests at this link

Romance Books 4 Us has a Dancing Santa contest at this link

Fresh Fiction has tons of contests at this link

The Thankfully Naughty bloghop has a stop at Tara Lain's blog at this link

Christmas Paws bloghop at this link

Lord's Fall

Lord's Fall   

by Thea Harrison is a wonderful addition to a fantastic series.  I devour these titles whenever I find a new one, no matter what else is due on my plate, these books get moved up to the top of the TBR stack.  (and yes, I have several TBR stacks with various degrees of priority--those for Night Owl Reviews, those sent directly from publishers and authors, and those from the library)  Thea Harrison's books tend to bypass any others because I love the combination of romance and imagination in her tales.  I am an unashamed animal lover and her ability to transfer certain instinctual animal behavior into a human paradigm and tell a great story always entertains me.  Some of my favorite quotes have been from her books...including this one from Devil's Gate

  “I don’t want you to curb yourself, deny yourself, cover up your face or head or any part of your body.  I don’t want you to lose or gain weight, or watch what you say, or deny how you feel, or try to be anything but who you are, because who you are is the most beautiful person in the world to me’.

Thea Harrison, “Devil’s Gate” 2012

Sigh...who could resist a declaration like that?  And isn't that what we all want?  Someone who loves us just the way we are?

I love the characters in this story, they were introduced in Dragon Bound and I was so impressed by the way the author epitomized the stereotypical dragon (covetous, hoarding, arrogant, top of the food chain) in an alpha male that was swoon-worthy yet found a match for him who was deceptively mild, self-effacing and cunning.  It just tickled me that a single unassuming penny could be the cause of such upheaval and I enjoyed the repartee between the characters.  This book allowed us to see them a little further along in their relationship even as it shows many of the other factors in their respective lives.  My Amazon review for Lord's Fall is at this link.  All of the stories in the 'Elder Race' series have been extremely entertaining to me and it is my hope that there will be many more to delight this talented author's fans.  Ms Harrison deservedly won a RITA at the RWA in 2012 and I highly recommend both the novels and the interspersed novellas to paranormal fans who love romance and intrigue.  These books are ones for my keepers shelf, I only hope that the novellas will be released in a single volume one of these days since I am definitely an old-fashioned person who loves her books in print!

The novels:
     

The novellas:
     
I had the pleasure of reviewing many of these titles for Night Owl Reviews at this link and I was delighted to meet the awesomely talented author herself at RWA this past summer.

Oracle's Moon

My review isn't live yet on Night Owl but I really enjoyed Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison.  The puzzlement when the powerful Djinn Khalil interacts with the Oracle Grace (introduced in the previous tale, Serpent's Kiss) and the hilarious results of his encounters with her orphaned niece give the story excellent light spots.  A different perspective is given for the prickly Oracle herself as the reader and the arrogant Djinn get to see more of her life.

The following is from my Night Owl Review, the link will be added for the complete post once it is live but this should whet your appetite for now (-:


"A fantastic and enthralling addition to the series.  Harrison continues to weave her magical spell that combines realistic occurrences and pragmatic concerns with mystical beings who learn that there are compromises that still need to be made even if one is an immortal being with unimaginable powers.  The snarky repartee and enchanting confusion generated by an immortal and immensely powerful entity being faced with childish logic make this another entertaining read that will provide a whirlwind ride through a world peopled by vampyres, griffons, djinn and the like.  Make sure you don’t start this unless you don’t have anywhere to go or anything else to do because it will grab your attention and keep you hostage until the end comes all too soon.  Another very enjoyable read."

Thank you to Netgalley for making it available to read...alas for too short a time!
I received a free copy (temporarily) of this title in return for an honest review.