Mikhail by Lauren Smith – Review & Giveaway
DESCRIPTION
A dragon never leaves his hoard unguarded. His heart is another matter.
The second eldest in an ancient line of Russian dragon shifters, Mikhail Barinov had one job: protect one of the family hoard of jewels. Distracted by the English virgin queen Elizabeth, who was as dazzling as she was devious; he lost everything. Five centuries of exile later, news that a construction crew has unearthed a massive trove of gold and jewels sends him racing to London, determined to steal back his family’s treasure…and his honor.
Professional gemologist Piper Linwood can’t wait to bury herself in her newest project, evaluating a hoard of Elizabethan-era treasure. But both her life and career are threatened when a mysterious, brooding man with a dangerous smile—and an even more dangerous kiss—snatches the lot.
Unwillingly swept along for the ride, Piper discovers Mikhail is no mere thief. And the dragon on his back is more than a tattoo. It’s a living, breathing extension of a bad boy she’s finding harder and harder to resist. But his heart is a treasure she can never own…because to save her career, she’ll have to betray his trust.
REVIEW
5 out of 5 for this reader folks!
Dragons and dragons and dragons .. OH MY! Love me some yummy dragon shifters and boy did this dragon shifter ever turn up the heat! 🙂
Mikhail by Lauren Smith (love it when book titles come with just a name) is the second book in her “Brothers of Ash and Fire” series and I have to say this one delivered as well as the first one did. This series is based on a family of dragon men who are guarding their “precious” and finding their mates. Obviously a paranormal romance but it’s the dash of history that really nailed it for me. You will get some adventure, intensity, a good myth story line and some hot yummy dragons who journey towards their eternal happiness .. and the sexy is a super bonus.
Mikhail Barinov is a dragon shifter who had been responsible for guarding precious gems for his family but was betrayed by none other than Queen Elizabeth I and had those gems stolen from him. What made it worse was that the Queen was his mate and inflicted serious pain and humiliation his way. Now hundreds of years later, Mikhail learns that those gems have been uncovered and he does all he can to make sure he gets them back to save face. Mikhail is dark but not so that he is annoying. He is loyal and losing his gems really hit him hard, so he became focused quite intensely on recovering them. This led to him being broody and a little stand offish. When he meets another woman who can potentially ruin his chance of turning things around he take extreme actions to ensure she won’t. This includes sweeping her away and showing her his world. Little did he realize that there is possibility of another mate being found, but this dragon isn’t sure he can trust second chances.
Piper Linwood is a gemologist and is excited about the find that makes all her hard worth it. Piper is spunky and sweet and knows she has literally struck gold when gems from 500 years ago come across her path. She comes to realize that there is another as interested in these gems and she finds herself strangely drawn to him. NOTHING will distract her from her job though .. until it kinda does, and she finds herself swept away to a place that only exists in books and stories. When broody dragon shows his scales, she realizes that she is in a world of danger, and her losing her heart may be the mot dangerous thing she has done yet.
I LOVED these two together. What a perfect match they were. They each took chances on the other and boy can you ever appreciate Lauren’s writing when it comes to the passion. You will find yourself totally rooting for these two. Once again I was swept away in a world that Lauren created and I am eager for more. Always writing with a natural flow and ease, I never once fell bored during the story. I will say the historical twist was epic as I am a huge Tudor lover, so having two genres merged the way this is was a real treat.
This is not a long read and I do recommend that you read the first book of this series before this one. Mikhail is introduced there and you can appreciate his character far more by understanding what other around him feel. Trust me on this one.
Another grand slam Lauren Smith .. please keep them coming!
HAPPY READING!
Reviewed by Rachel
Copy supplied for review
Lauren is graciously offering a signed paper copy of a book of your choice from Lauren’s backlist to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe
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