Dragon Fall

My obsession with Katie MacAlister's Dragon series is still in full swing!

I have missed Katie MacAlister and her books, so when this book came out with my absolute FAVOURITE character of all her books (Kostya), I was hopping around, screaming, crying and being a fan girl (in reality I just went out and bought the book to read it, but enjoy the image of that in your head).

Kostya's book was not a let down, since it was so long awaited! We follow Kostya the human who turns into a dragon, finding his mate (or true love for people who haven't read all the previous books). He is not the main character, but he is a strong secondary. Aiofe (not pronounced A-O-FEE as I say in my head, more like Efee) is the lead and man is she sassy, strong and show more independent!

Aiofe is a strong female with a troubling back story, and instantly you root for her along the way! She picks up a talking dog named Jim, who is actually a demon and used to belong to a different character in the series (so the books link up. If you haven't read this series, pick up the Aisling Gray series, it's the first and incredibly hilarious/romantic).

Overall, I loved it! It was funny, romantic, and the typical Katie MacAlister dragon book I expected!

The one downfall of this book? There's only one Kostya book! All the other series had multiple for each character, and this is only one! I'm horribly saddened by this, but the book was still great! We juts get to see a different character for the Black dragons!

Five out of five! I would give it more if I could! I love Katie! And Kostya! show less

Dragon Fall by Katie MacAlister
Book #1: Black Dragons Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 3/5 stars
My Review:

Aoife Dakar is having a really bad night and it all started with agreeing to go on a date. By the end of the night she has a ring and lovely white jacket that lets her hug herself. Did I mention that white jacket also comes with a shrink and a padded cell? Yeah, Aoife is having a really bad night.

Two years later . . . .

Aoife Dakar is having another really bad night. Recently released from the looney bin (her words!) and enjoying her newfound freedom, Aoife finds herself on the wrong end of two bad events, hitting a large dog in the middle of the road and finding a very large, hot man knocked out on the beach near her home. With show more the dog fixed up by the vet and the man fixed up by a local doctor, Aoife is trying to figure out what to do with the two of them. Then, inexplicably the dog starts talking and the hot man claims to be a dragon. It may be time for a new white jacket 

Kostya, a gorgeous black dragon and brother to Drake (yes, Aisling’s dragon) is in all kinds of trouble and he needs Aoife’s help. Rumor has it, the ring that can break the curse laid on the dragons has surfaced and Kostya must get his hands on that ring. The demon who laid the original curse has no interest in allowing the dragons to reunite and so, has sent the hybrid demon/red dragons out on the attack. Ring? Like the one Aoife has been carrying around? That ring? Yes, that ring  The second Kostya figures out Aoife has the ring, she comes under his protection and with each hour that passes the attraction between them grows stronger. Aoife is more than willing to take her place by Kostya’s side but Kostya has some baggage that prevents him from claiming any woman as his mate.

With help (and some punches) from Aisling and Drake, Kostya and Aoife figure out only Aoife can wield the power of the ring but she can’t break the curse alone. Though Aisling certainly has more experience with the supernatural than Aoife, even she can’t control the power of the ring and when the men aren’t looking, the girls inadvertently summon the actual demon who cursed the dragons. In what becomes a comedy of errors, not only do the girls summon an incredibly powerful demon they also let him loose and blow up the only safe haven for the supernatural in Paris. All in a day’s work.

The Bottom Line: I can’t tell you how excited I was to see a new dragon book from Katie Mac. I just wish that excitement was still present by the end of the read. The one and only problem for me in this entire read, is Aoife. Yes, I have an issue with one of the main characters. Aoife has a few moments of funny but for the most part, she is just annoying. Her unrelenting taunts, teases, and comments to Kostya about being his mate got old so fast yet they never ended. I wanted to skip over much of the text related to Aoife but unfortunately she asks a lot of questions and good deal of backstory is revealed through her. On a more positive note, Aisling, Drake, and JIM are back in action in this book. Aisling is still getting herself into trouble with misguide attempts to help, Drake is still surly as ever, and Jim is simply fantastic. The backstory is not only interesting but it certainly informs the current plot, the action is magic-y and awesome, and the naughty bits are fiery (HA!! See what I did there? ) and fun. Mostly because Aoife doesn’t talk  In all, I am truly stuck in the middle on this read. I enjoyed every other aspect of this read other than Aoife and the books in the series that have come before have always entertained me so I think I am going to chalk up Dragon Fall to an off day and hope the next book is better. show less

I seriously love Katie MacAlister's dragons, and I encourage you to listen to these as audiobooks if you can. The narrator, Tavia Gilbert, does an excellent job. I also encourage you to read the Dragon Septs world in this order, as the various dragon series build on one another.

[b:Dragon Fall|23507711|Dragon Fall (Black Dragons, #1)|Katie MacAlister|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418702806s/23507711.jpg|43111779] is the first in the Black Dragons series, featuring Drake's brother, Kostya. It's been a while since I read the earlier Dragon Sept books, so it took me a little bit to remember that Kostya was kept imprisoned for seven years and was rescued in one of the earlier books. He has suffered torture and betrayal, and has vowed never show more to have another mate. I cannot stress how in love with Kostya I am. He is a perfect dragon - arrogant, protective and scorching hot. He takes everything quite literally, which leads to some hilarious one-liners, particularly in the great accent Tavia does him.

Aoife is fresh out of the looney bin, having been committed by her sister after Aoife claimed to see supernatural happenings at a local goth fair. On her first day out, Aoife wears a magic ring, runs over a demon, and pulls an unconscious dragon from the ocean. Faced with stubborn and delectable Kostya, Aoife realizes she is not crazy after all. I admired Aoife's jumping all in to the relationship with Kostya and help him heal from his past betrayal. Like some of the other heroines in the series, Aoife's personality had a bit of that slapstick comedy quality. She was always running forward into situations without thinking or trying to fix things and making them worse. Normally I find this funny and I did for the most part of this book... but I hit a PMS streak before I finished the book and she started to get on my nerves a bit.

Other than that, the story was great. The dragons are out to break the curse set upon them by Asomdeus. The ending was a bit abrupt, but that is because the main plot conflict continues over the story arc for the series. I am stoked to be reading about these dragons again, it seems like it was ages ago that I read about the green, blue and silver septs.

4 stars / 3 flames. show less

One night the heroine is witness to a murder of a man who turns out to be immortal and it sends her to the Looney bin for a few years. Now, she's released and vowing to live her life. Then she finds an unconscious man on the beach who turns out to be a shape shifting dragon. He informs her that the ring in her possession is the means to breaking a curse put on his people. The curse making communicating between dragons and mates impossible and the urge to kill each other while in the presence of another dragon really puts a strain on the community. Now, the heroine is heading off the Paris to break the curse with a dragon lover who vows to never take another mate and a snarky demon dog in tow. I liked this book. I found it really funny show more at parts and the sharp wit of this author is always something to admire. I thought the heroine was alright-I mean she's the same character as all the others. She's flippant, chatty and snarky. I liked the hero but he's also a spitting image of all the other dragons in the series. He's gruff, antisocial and has a tendency to keep his emotions hidden under layers of gruff frowning alpha male. I wanted a deeper connection between the characters with more tension rather than the comical easy going plot line allowed for. It never really touched on anything that really mattered. The hero's previous mate really damaged him to the idea of having woman in his life but again I longer for a deeper delve into his emotions and the torture he experienced both with her and with the fact that he's been held prisoner by his enemies. It was a good enough book and it had a very smooth flow and it was easy to read because of it. I could have read it completely in one night because it made it difficult to put down but at the end of it I was just finding myself wanting more. show less

This book was promising. It started off really interesting and I was hooked. Slowly it devolved into just mush. I was left feeling like it was overly rushed and not fleshed out fully. We just watch as two people fall in love out of no where and argue about being mates. Also the 'quirky' curses that Aoife uses are plain obnoxious by the end of the book.

I'm just disappointed after reading the summary and expecting so much more. The ending is of course a cliffhanger, but I am left with no urge to read book two.

MacAlister writes the best dragon-shifter novels. Like all books in her Dragon Sept series, this is humorous, adventurous, and sexy.

I so looked forward to this book and it is mediocre at best. MacAlister needs to cull some of the dialogue crap from these books. Its not witty banter its just junk that makes me not want to read these books again.