Rating: 4🌈
Amy Sumida is a new author for me. My introduction to her writing is the first book in her series, The Dragons of Serai. I found many things here to recommend and some aspects that are just a bit much.
Sumida gives us a world where dragons are the apex being and humanity is among the lowest. Magic is taken for granted and the form of government among the various kingdoms is the Dragon Kings, a title hard fought for in a tournament.
The first story begins in the Kingdom of Racul where assassin Locrian Mahvis has been hired to kill dragon King Tarocvar Verres.
The characters and descriptions are lush and well defined. You can picture each immediately. Loch the King is all self assured power and amusement.
Everything the failed assassin is not. Except that he’s incredibly attracted to the King.
Instant lust , not love, but lust, is understandable here. The author makes a good case for Locrian’s feelings.
But this is the first instance in the book where the author’s leaning towards a certain type of purple prose starts to appear.
“Speaking of thrusting, that piece of man-flesh between those thighs would fill me as I’d never been filled before.”
— The Dragon King’s Assassin: An MM Fantasy Romance (The Dragons of Serai Book 1) by Amy Sumida
Shouldn’t that be dragon flesh? And why do those florid statements make me want to giggle instead of sigh?
There will be other instances where “he painted me with his hot desire.” So you see a pattern here.
Luckily, the fast paced action, terrific characters, magical storylines, and charisma between the leads overcome the tendency towards purple prose. Or maybe just make you accept that’s the world where that’s a statement would flourish!
I almost wish this had been a two being pov because I’d love to have had the King’s perspective on his “little mouse” throughout the relationship as it built. As it is, we only get Locrian’s and I think by not including the Dragon it lessens the impact.
There’s a great guardian hound, Ran. A group of pirates, and a setup for the next novel with a Necromancer sailing to help out a friend of the King, another Royal Dragon.
I found this and the couple entertaining so I’m onto the next. Honestly, it’s Dragons. I find them hard to resist.
I’m recommending it!
The Dragons of Serai series:
✓ The Dragon King’s Assassin #1
◦ The Dragon Prince’s Necromancer #2
Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Dragon King’s Assassin by Amy Sumida
Description:
My life changed the day I tried to take his.
Mhavenna is a glorious city but, like every city on the face of Serai, it’s run by Dragons. As a human, I’m on the lowest rung of the racial ladder here, as far from an illustrious Dragon as I could be, and I’ve made me peace with that. I don’t like Dragons much, but like or dislike has nothing to do with my work. So when my broker offered me the task of killing the Dragon King, I took it. It was the sort of kill that could make an assassin’s career, and I was certain that I had the skills for it.
I was wrong, nearly dead wrong.
The King caught me before I could finish the job, but instead of killing me, he made me his. I’m now the Dragon King’s assassin. A warning and a weapon. A way for him to bypass his own laws without personally breaking them. But that’s not all. He’s tasked me with guarding him against future attacks. Who better to stop an assassin than another assassin? And who better to find the one who hired us? If only the King didn’t have a body that made me salivate, a face that made my knees weak, and a pair of teal eyes that made me whimper. If only he didn’t stare at me with those stunning eyes as if I could be more than property to him. Maybe then I could do my job, find the person who wants him dead, and save my own life. But I don’t believe in miracles.
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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 