Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs

I love Patricia Briggs Mercy novels. I knew that she had written other books before that, but I hadn't been able to find a copy of Dragon Bones at my local library. I did find a copy at my local Barnes & Noble's bookstore. I read it right after I bought it, and I'm currently on my second read because I just bought Dragon Blood. I started to read the latter only to realize that it had been too long since I had read the first to remember important details. Long story short, I'm reading it for the second time. It's just as good this time around as it was the first, which is not surprising because Briggs has a deft hand at the pen.

We meet Ward just before his father dies and he inherits rule of the keep at Hurog. Ward has been feigning mental disability since his father beat him unconscious around the age of 10. When his father dies, he inherits not only rule, but keep of the family ghost, Oreg.

Ward decides to keep his true intelligence a secret from his uncle Duraugh. That decision ends up being a mistake when the king's lover Garranon and Garranon's brother Landislaw show up at Hurog in search of a missing slave. Throughout history, Hurog has been a refuge for slaves, and Ward keeps that tradition.

In order to thwart Ward, they declare him incompetent to rule and drug him in order to transport him to the kingdom's asylum. Ward escapes, along with Oreg, his father's butler Axiel, the slave woman, and his sister Ciarra. Along the way, they pick up Tosten, Ward's younger brother who escaped their father's wrath after attempting suicide. Ward took him from Hurog and hid him years ago in order to save his life.

The little band heads toward Oranstone, where war is brewing. Ward's reasoning is that war heroes are harder to kill. Along the way, they learn to fight and face mighty betrayal.

I love this book and its sequel! I really wish that there were more books to it. At the same time, I do feel like the storylines were wrapped up well. I didn't feel like there were any loose ends, I just want more of these characters' stories. I wanted to be part of Ward's band and fight for right. Of course, seeing dragons would just be icing on the cake. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Patricia Briggs, loves dragons, and wants a happy ending where the good guys win.

The Dragon DelaSangre by Alan F. Troop

Living off the coast of Miami, Peter DeLaSangre is the only child of Don Henri DeLaSangre. He is also a dragon, a shapeshifter, and feeds on the humans that are within a short distance. Peter, along with Don Henri think that they are the last of their kind, the last of the four families of dragons that were exiled from Europe.

One night, Peter catches the scent of a female dragon. He embarks upon a journey south, where he meets Elizabeth, one of the Blood family. He defeats another male and claims her as his mate.

The two head back to Miami to start their life only to face the suspicion of the brother of a human woman that Peter ate before meeting Elizabeth. Peter does his best to abate the man's suspicions, but his bad taste in cuisine coupled with other bad decisions lead to disastrous consequences.

The novel was written in first person, and was an interesting twist on dragons. I wanted to dislike Peter for eating people, but he was still a sympathetic character. I am not sure that I would reccommend the book to anyone, although it wasn't a bad book. It was simply forgettable. If you like dragons, and enjoy action, you would probably enjoy this novel, however.