SACRIFICED TO THE DRAGON

Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 1) by Jessie Donovan
Book 1 of the Stonefire Dragons Series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 1):

In exchange for a vial of dragon’s blood to save her brother’s life, Melanie Hall offers herself up as a sacrifice to one of the British dragon-shifter clans. Being a sacrifice means signing a contract to live with the dragon-shifters for six months to try to conceive a child. Her assigned dragonman, however, is anything but easy. He’s tall, broody, and alpha to the core. There’s only one problem — he hates humans.

Due to human dragon hunters killing his mother, Tristan MacLeod despises humans. Unfortunately, his clan is in desperate need of offspring to repopulate their numbers and it’s his turn to service a human female. Despite his plans to have sex with her and walk away, his inner dragon has other ideas. The curvy human female tempts his inner beast like no other.

Source: Info in the About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 1) was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22717692-sacrificed-to-the-dragon on 01/11/2015.

Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 2) by Jessie Donovan
Book 1 of the Stonefire Dragons Series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 2):

Abandoned and humiliated, Melanie tries her best to maintain her composure as Bram explains the reason for Tristan leaving — something called a “mate claim frenzy”. In other words, the next time Tristan comes face to face with her, his inner dragon will take control and claim her for his own. Both Bram and Samira try to convince her to accept his attentions earlier than her contract specifies or risk putting not only herself, but also the members of their clan in danger.

Tristan stays away from Melanie as long as possible, but to prevent his dragon from completely taking over, he returns to Stonefire’s lands the afternoon after the First Kiss ceremony. When he shows up naked on Melanie’s doorstep, his human-half maintains control long enough to garner her consent.

Now it’s only a matter of time before Melanie conceives and fulfills her contract. But once she does, will Tristan overcome his hatred of humans and stay with her, or will he push her away?

Source: Info in the About Sacrificed To The Dragon (Part 2) was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22843254-sacrificed-to-the-dragon on 08/11/2019.

My Thoughts:

I've read this book years and years ago, so this is a retrospective review. I did not realise that I bought just a few chapters of the book until after I read the next book. The next book was just another couple of chapters also. It was then I realised that this author has published the book in chopped-up chunks as "Parts" with different covers. Part 2 has no end and no beginning because it is just a middle chapter of a bigger book. I really do not like this kind of publication technique! So even though I like the premise of the story and the story telling quality of this author, I stopped reading her.

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 cherries

Review: PLAYING POSSUM

Playing Possum by Charlaine Harris
Published in the An Apple For The Creature anthology
Book 11.1 short story in the Sookie Stackhouse series
Format: hardback
Genre: adult urban fantasy

About An Apple For The Creature:

Includes a never-before-published Sookie Stackhouse story!

What could be scarier than the first day of school? How about a crash course in the paranormal from Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, editors of Home Improvement: Undead Edition? Your worst school nightmares—taking that math test you never studied for, finding yourself naked in school assembly, not knowing which door to enter—will pale in comparison to these thirteen original stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s story, "Playing Possum," Sookie Stackhouse brings enough birthday cupcakes for her nephew's entire class but finds she's one short when the angry ex-boyfriend of the school secretary shows up.

When her guardian, Kate Daniels, sends her undercover to a school for exceptional children, teenaged Julie learns an all-new definition of "exceptional," in New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews's "Magic Tests."

For those who like fangs with their forensics, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder offers "VSI," in which FBI agent Claire is tested as never before in a school for Vampire Scene Investigation.

And in New York Times bestselling author Thomas Sniegoski's "The Bad Hour," Remy Chandler and his dog Marlowe find evil unleashed in an obedience school.

You'll need more than an apple to stave off the creatures in these and nine other stories. Remember your first lesson: resistance is fruitless!

Includes stories by: ILONA ANDREWS, AMBER BENSON, RHYS BOWEN, MIKE CAREY, CHARLAINE HARRIS, DONALD HARSTAD, STEVE HOCKENSMITH, NANCY HOLDER, FAITH HUNTER, TONI L.P. KELNER, MARJORIE LIU, JONATHAN MABERRY, THOMAS SNIEGOSKI

Source: Info in the About An Apple For The Creature was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13543159-an-apple-for-the-creature on 10/10/2012.

My Thoughts:

This tops Sookie's too stupid to live (TSTL) act! You are in a crisis situation with an armed gunman and everything is about to go to hell. You know this because you've read the mind of the perpetrator. You have your car and your car keys. So what do you do? Normally people would opt for survival and head for safety. But, Sookie? Nope, that is too much to ask! She takes her nephew to hide into the middle of the danger zone instead of hopping into the car and heading for safety, i.e., the nearest police station. Don't that beats it all!?! This is the book which made me stop buying this series.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 3
World Building = 3
Character Development = 0.5
Plot = 0
Pace = 3
Story Itself = 0
Ending = 0

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Sookie Stackhouse series:

Review: PASSION UNLEASHED

Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione
Read by Renée Raudman
Book 3 of Demonica series
Genre: urban fantasy erotica
Format: audiobook

About Passion Unleashed:

FORBIDDEN TEMPTATIONS

Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter - and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she's been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn't all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she's finally met the one man she cannot resist.

FATAL DESIRES

Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe-her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: He's falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.

Source: Info in the About Passion Unleashed was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4701550-passion-unleashed on 31/02/2012.

Review:

I was really disappointed with Book 1. And then I was even more disappointed with Book 2. But I still continued on reading with this series... there must be something about the series that keeps me reading... or it's just me being an urban fantasy geek... or me being such a sucker for punishment.... Anyway, this book is Wraith's story. The angsty, tortured brother... and I so like tortured, angsty hearoes. After having gone through the disappointment of Book 1 and Book 2, I thought that it couldn't possibly get any worse.... that was an optimistic outlook. The characters has gotten even more too stupid to live (TSTL). So much so that I rooted for the enemy demons to eat her so that she gets what she asked for! The holes in the world building is still there. The plot however is not as holey as Book 2 was. At least that is something. The narrator's voice is not as easy to the ears as Therese Plummer's is but I got used to it towards the end.

This is the third book in the series and by now I believe that I have a firm grasp of this series. It is just chuck full of TSTL characters and I am not the most tolerant of readers. Sad to say that this series is not for me.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 1.5
Character development = 0.5
Story itself = 2
Ending = 2
World building = 2
Cover art = 2
Pace = (12 hrs and 12 mins listening time)
Plot = 2
Narrator = 2

Overall Rating: 1.5 out of 5 cherries