Rating: 5🌈
The second book in Cari Z’s excellent fantasy series, Luckless, about dragon rider Evan Luck , his mate/dragon Lee Caldwell, known in his dragon form as Ladon and his son Jason.
Dauntless builds on the foundation that the first novel laid out, but now the author has relationships and a mystery to explore further. There’s also Jason’s unique physiology that’s a major dramatic element here, for his family and the story. It’s superb as the boy’s struggles and deep pain for acceptance is relayed by the author’s scenes so beautifully.
There’s new monsters to fight and the action sequences are suspenseful and compelling. All the while, the Fortress City of Forge, formerly Denver, Co, the location for books 1 and 2, is a bigger presence. The author gives us more details, including possible dragon politics to how the very structures of the Forge, making it more a reality.
By the ending, a family struggles become a wider story, new insights into the world are added, new characters introduced and a mission launched. I’m even more invested than ever before.
What an amazing story and series. Highly recommended!
Cover Art by Vivid Covers
Luckless series:
Luckless #1
Dauntless #2
Reckless #3
Buy link
Dauntless: Book Two in the Luckless Series
Blurb
Evan Luck is a dragon rider who, after years of thinking he’d never bond with another one, now has a dragon again. His empathic connection with the powerful silver dragon Ladon, known in his human form as Lee Caldwell, has made them the most valuable defenders of the city of Forge against monstrous invaders. The fact that they love each other and dote on Lee’s ten-year-old son, Jason? Those are blessings Evan never saw coming. He knows life is good…even as he realizes that the world is becoming more dangerous by the day.
With monsters leaving the mountains of the Front Range to roam the plains for food and the influx of refugees to Forge increasing by the day, Evan has his hands more than full defending the city and training new recruits to fight. When Jason, desperate to bond with a dragon of his own but continually refused by the dragons of Forge, begins to lose control of himself, Evan and Lee make plans to do the unthinkable: leave Forge to fend for itself and take their son to Chicago, the nearest human and dragon stronghold to their own city.
But Chicago has its own terrors to deal with, and their last hope for Jason’s future might be lost before they can save it.
- Publication date: September 21, 2021
- Language: English
- Print length: 133 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 