Elaine White's Life in Books

Okay, so I have a lot to say, it's late and I don't have much battery, so I need to be quick.

First off, in many ways, this story reaffirmed my love of this series, after the previous book didn't work for me. It has all the magic and the glow and the shine and the love that I loved of the first few books in the series. It's a dual POV, which is the best because it lets us see both sides of the story.

But, we'll come back to the positive. I want to get the negatives out the way, to explain why it's not the 5 star rating it should have been.

* there is no chapter heading for the prologue, which really irritates me, because the rest of the book has chapter headings. I really don't think a simple one word heading is too much to ask for, here, to make it clear what we're reading.
* there is a huge emphasis on race, sometimes bordering on racist. I also noticed this problem in the previous book, so I'm just going to leave it at this – racism goes both ways. People of colour can be racist against white people and white people can be racist about people of colour. Both of that was evident here, with Joe the POC having a huge issue with white people that really didn't help me like him much. I'm also not that hot on Joe being described as “brown”or mixed.
* the stereotypes, again, are heavy. The poor POC that everyone hates, ignores, treats badly and who is bullied in school; the popular versus the unpopular kids; skin colour dictating privilege; gay people being looked down on. It's all in here, in varying degrees of detail and focus.
* the miscommunication. Again. I get that it's a tried and tested plot arc, but it gets tiresome after a while, especially since I've just spent the last week reading all seven books of this series so far, one after the other. The similarities between them stand out far too starkly, when read that way, and it annoys me because it only goes to show that none of these characters know how to trust, have faith in, care about or even believe their potential “mates” without having huge arguments, misunderstandings and danger in the way. No one ever talks to one another and it gets on my nerves, because the problem is usually so simple to solve and no one notices.
* the first half of the book was weaker than the second. I don't say that lightly, but I quite honestly spent the first half of the novel not liking Joe, one of the MC's, and loving the other, Zarrin, so much that I wanted better for him than Joe. That feeling faded after the halfway mark, but it's honestly how much I disliked Joe as a character. There's actually a quote I highlighted because it perfectly summed him up in the first half: “childishly resentful”

So, back to the continuity of the series, for a moment. I loved that there was a little bit of Diedre's Secret in there, that we meet the wolf, Marie, who was a great character and reminded us that some areas, such as Wolf's Paw was in books 3 and 4, can be secluded from other Beings than the predominant one, in this case dragons. The little addition of her being a Greenleaf was nicely done and also the continued danger of having scales stolen from a dragon for money (first mentioned in A Boy and His Dragon) was a good addition. However, I felt a real trick was missing that there was no mention of, no visit from, not even a hint of Arthur and Bertie, who could have been a real source of inspiration and support for Zarrin.

Onto the positives:

* Joe's past with Russ was nicely explored, taking it's time throughout the story before we found out the full details.
* Zarrin was unusual for a dragon, because he considered everything that he loved, no matter in what way, to be his and part of his treasure. I love that this included Bernard, the elf housekeeper, and I don't doubt that he'll likely have a short of his own eventually.
* I loved Martin. He was an amazing best friend, a nice side plot that kept Joe distracted when he needed it. I loved how he stirred up so much trouble for Joe, for his own good and I hope that he and Forrester have a story of their own, even if it's a short, because I could feel the hints of a little something something brewing between them from the first moment they were on the same page as each other.
* As a main character, I loved Zarrin. He was unappreciated, abandoned and lonely. He was so much like a child; all innocent, wide-eyed and sweetly naïve, with a fierce temper and a belief in things that other people had forgotten were possible. It made me love him right from the start.
* As for Joe, it wasn't until about the halfway mark that I finally appreciated who he really was, because even having his POV, all we ever really saw was someone in total and complete denial, someone being rude and mean to a person that was innocent and getting hurt by his actions without a need for it, and someone who was too selfish and self-involved with his own life and his own beliefs to ever be good enough for Zarrin. Once the second half came, however, he really came into his own. I still saw hints of those flaws, but I hated them less as time went on. He, too, was like a child; all wounded pride, poor kid rebellion, bristling anger and masking hurt with a scowl, while feeling singled out for his race, his sexuality and his lack of wealth.
* Together, Joe and Zarrin had excellent chemistry, even from the start. Once I started to like Joe more, I did begin to root for them and I felt that things progressed nicely from stranger to acquaintance, to rumour mill, to friendship and then dating. It had a nice steady flow and worked really well in the second half.
* I absolutely loved that Zarrin had cats that he called his treasure and that he found one to be Joe's. It was a really nice small thing that meant a lot.
* Zarrin meeting Joe's mother was epic!
* Joe meeting Zarrin's sister was epic!
* The whole 'couple' thing started at about the 50% mark, which was perfect. I was getting a little frustrated that most of the other series books ended after a couple got together, officially. This time, they both felt it, both knew it, both admitted it to themselves and they still had a lot to explore with each other.

Overall, it was a great addition to the series, even if it had a few pitfalls that didn't work for me. It's restored my interest in reading more novels which, to be honest, had been flagging after book 6. Now, I'm just as eager to read about more of these side characters as I was before I finished the bundle of Books 1-5.

~

Favourite Quote

“He was a dragon. He was mighty. He was the protector of this town, and he wanted nothing in return except for a few words, or simply for Joe to remember his order.”

“I think if one of those deer could talk, it would be his only friend in the world.”

““You don't eat meat? You live in a fishing town and you don't eat fish?”
Zarrin's wrinkled nose was so cute it was terrifying. “They have faces, Joe,” he confided seriously.”