Book Title: Queen of Dragons
Author: Shana Abé
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Publish Date: December 2008
Queen of Dragons is the 3rd book in the Drákon series by Shana Abé. Though it is a fantasy, this series is much more of a romance than anything else. The two main characters must work within their nature as dragons as well as within the restrictions their respective cultures have created.
Politically, Kimber needs a woman to marry who will bring something beneficial to his enclave. Maricara, as soon as he heard about her, is the perfect choice. She is from a separate clan of dragons, which is much more favorable genetically for the future of his clan. That their clans will then be tied together, gaining even more genetic variety is a bonus. Strategically, joining their two clans will make them both stronger against any and all enemies. Romantically, she is beautiful and powerful and he knows instantly that she is to be his Queen.
Maricara however wants absolutely nothing to do with Kimber, though she is attracted to him. She fears that he and his clan are a threat to hers and only wants to warn them that they are being hunted by the special hunters that use magic and kidnapped drákon to track and hunt the clan members. Finding Kimber to be very attractive and persuasive has made her choices more difficult. She fears for her clan but also for these other dragons that share her heritage.
I read the first of this series quite a bit ago and while it was mildly entertaining, I had no desire to continue on with the series. I felt that the fantasy elements were there as a prop to the romance and it made both elements the poorer for it. So, when I received this book for review I had hoped that perhaps the two disparate elements had reconciled and melded into an engaging fantasy romance. In my opinion, Shana Abé is a skilled writer, though I felt that this story fell short of its potential. There were several opportunities to explore further into the histories of these characters and their cultures but they were missed and the story suffered and felt incomplete as a fantasy. It succeeded much more in the romance aspect so I would recommend this to romance fans over fantasy fans.
