Nero’s Dream / Wyvern’s Prince (Dragons of Incendium 1.5 & 2) by Deborah Cooke-reviews

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WYVERN’S PRINCE (Dragons of Incendium #2) by Deborah Cooke

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 20, 2016

Engaged to the crown prince Urbanus of Regalia, Gemma knows that her fiancé was the one to try to arrange Drakina’s assassination. She intends to keep the betrothal and take vengeance upon Urbanus from inside his palace. She’s not counting on more dark revelations about her betrothed, much less his beguiling charm. Alone in Urbanus’ palace, Gemma can only rely upon herself to ensure her survival—or can she trust the mysterious stranger who pledges to aid her, for his own reasons?

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REVIEW: WYVERN’S PRINCE is the third installment but second full-length story line in Deborah Cooke’s adult DRAGONS OF INCENDIUM paranormal/fantasy romance novella series focusing on the twelve royal princesses of Incendium. This is princess Gemma’s story- a re-imagining of the Frog Prince with his beautiful dragon mate. WYVERN’S PRINCE can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order as the author adds a short story between each installment revealing some background information about the preceding story.

SOME BACKGROUND: For fans of Cooke’s previous series about dragons, THE DRAGONS OF INCENDIUM is NOT connected to, or a spinoff from, her best selling Dragonfire series. The current series focuses on female dragon shifters of Incendium searching for their ‘HeartKeeper’-their mate- and the ‘Carrier of the Seed’ but the princes of Regalia are not necessarily the male that calls to the princesses hearts. The world building reveals the political alliances and potential fall-out when two monarchies collide.

Told from several third person points of view WYVERN’S PRINCE follows Princess Gemma as she is about to reluctantly marry Prince Urbanus of Regalia but our heroine has other plans once the wedding has been consummated. Knowing that Urbanus is not the princess’s Heartkeeper, Gemma believes that once she conceives she will carry out her plans to destroy the man who had previously arranged to assassinate her sister, and killed her best friend. But Gemma’s plans fail when her betrothed casts a spell that forces our heroine to depend upon someone else for help. What ensues is a cross- country journey as Gemma struggles to regain her powers with the help of an unusual source.

We are introduced to Urbanus’s twin brother Venero, although for all intents and purposes he is believed to be missing or dead. It is Venero that will call to Princess Gemma’s heart and in doing so help heal them both along the way.

WYVERN’S PRINCE is a fairytale-esque story line with dragons and magic, building love, an evil queen who is not above destroying her family to get what she wants, and a little bit of science fiction added for some interesting color. The premise is imaginative and enchanting; the characters are dynamic and colorful; the romance is passionate and fated. WYVERN’S PRINCE is a well written, energetic and engaging story that sees another Princess find her Heartkeeper and her mate.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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NERO’ S DREAM
(Dragons of Incendium 1.5)
by Deborah Cooke
Genre: adult, paranormal, fantasy, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

About the book: Release Date July 19, 2016

Nero has always aspired to be an astrologer in the royal court of Incendium. When he divines a portent about the pending royal marriage, he makes the perilous journey to the capital city, only to be kept from delivering his tidings in time. Worse, Nero is assigned the task of pursuing a dragon princess bent on taking vengeance upon her reluctant groom, a feat he knows can’t be done. His dream appears to be lost forever—until the captivating princess Peri surprises this unlikely advisor.

Nero’s Dream is a short story set in the same world as the Dragons of Incendium series of paranormal romances. It should be read after Wyvern’s Mate.

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REVIEW: NERO’S DREAM is the second installment (and novella) in Deborah Cooke’s adult DRAGONS OF INCENDIUM paranormal/fantasy series focusing on the twelve dragon shifter princesses of Incendium. This is astrologer Nero’s story line.

SOME BACKGROUND: For fans of Cooke’s previous series about dragons, THE DRAGONS OF INCENDIUM is NOT connected to, or a spinoff from, her best selling Dragonfire series. The current series focuses on female dragon shifters searching for their ‘HeartKeeper’-their mate- and the ‘Carrier of the Seed’ but the princes of Regalia are not necessarily the male that calls to the princesses hearts. The world building reveals the political alliances and potential fall-out when two monarchies collide.

Told from third person perspective (Nero) NERO’S DREAM follows ‘independent’ astrologer Nero as he is tasked with revealing the truth about the message he has read in the stars. Nero is not a member of the Royal court astrologers, and has never been formally trained but our hero finds himself on a journey to forewarn the Royal family about the impending disaster forecasted by the stars. When Nero’s prophecies come to reality our hero is offered a position within the Royal court but not before Nero finds himself attracted to the youngest Princess Pericula or Peri. Perhaps there is romance building for Nero and Peri.

NERO’S DREAM is a short story that runs parallel to the events of book one-Wyvern’s Mate-revealing some of the background information not previously explored in the story. I recommend reading the series in order as each subsequent novella and short story builds upon the events of the previous book or runs parallel to the current time line.

Deborah Cooke’s world building is colorful as the author pulls the reader into the fantastic; the imaginative journey between planets borders on the sci-fi; the romance is sweet and fated. We learn a little bit more about the politics of Incendium, the power of a dragon when spurned by a potential mate.

Copy provided for review

Reviewed by Sandy