REVIEW: The King’s Dragon by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes

The Official Description: Lord Tristram Radcliffe has a secret—he is the only dragon at the king’s court in Llangard. It’s a secret he’s kept from the knights he’s fought beside, from the ladies who bat their lashes at him, and from his closest companion, Prince Reynold. If it were to get out, he’d be banished to the Mawrcraig Mountains along with the rest of his kind, but the kingdom of men is the only one he’s ever known, and his heart lives in the stone halls of those who’d count him an enemy.

When the old king dies and Prince Reynold takes the throne, two visitors from the north throw Tristram into the middle of the ancient conflict between dragons and men. They put him on a collision course with the king’s shadow, Bet Kyston, a dangerous assassin who may want him dead or may want more of Tristram that he’d ever thought to give.

With the eyes of dragons upon him and a threat from the north creeping toward the home he loves, Tristram must weigh his allegiances before his dual legacies tear him apart.

Just the facts: M/M paranormal romance adventure, Dragons and magic!

A big cast of varied characters in a magical world. A half Dragon Lord and an assasin Elf have an attraction that they can’t seem to leave behind them. – Kinzie Things

You can get it here!

Universal: http://mybook.to/thekingsdragon

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XC67S95

My thoughts bit: This was an interesting read! There’s a lot of action in it and a fair amount of characterization. The cast of characters is varied and the author does a great job of giving them different voices. Sometimes, I found it a bit difficult to keep up with the switching narrators. There are seven separate narrators and while all of their viewpoints were interesting, it was confusing at times. I had to flip back a few times to remind myself of who was speaking. I feel as though the author was probably trying to introduce all the characters thoroughly as this is going to be a series. That works if you’re George R.R. Martin and writing huge chapters and giving each character a dozen in a row. Overall, it obviously didn’t dissuade me from reading, and I enjoyed the story.

I really liked the history of the feuding dragon society and the magical powers of the people in Llangard. As the magic of the people in Llangard has faded away… the possibility of all-out war with the dragons is less likely. At least, that’s what the humans want to think. There’s a lot of politicking in this. I thought it was a great idea that the powers and perceived-powers of the warring factions had been evolving and changing over time. That gave real life to this world and made it seem authentic.

The character I would consider one of the mains, and my favorite … Lord Tristram Radcliffe has been living with a secret his entire life. Even though he is loyal to his friend and new King… Tris is half-dragon. His mother knows… and that is it. In order for him to remain safe and allowed to live his life he hides his ancestry from everyone. He’s dedicated to his friend the King, he adores his mother and his family. Tris also finds himself intrigued by Bet… an assassin and friend to the king with as many secrets as he has dangerous skills.

Rhiannon is the queen of the dragons and she has come to Llangard … with a personal mission. She seems to believe that humans and dragons are more alike than many others do. Sadly, she finds very quickly that she’s not as safe or welcome as she thought. Of course, when she meets Tris, she recognizes that he is part-dragon and “outs” him.

Things get dangerous very quickly for Tris and he finds himself on the wrong side of his King’s temper. When it’s suggested that Tris is a dreaded dragon…he suddenly finds himself threatened by the friend he has always been loyal to.

I enjoyed this book in spite of my trouble with the varied narrators. I would have given it a solid 4-star rating if there were only a couple of narrators. I will gladly continue to read the series.

Want to read a short teaser?: Bet was at Reynold’s side so fast Tris didn’t even see him move. He looked unaccountably nervous for a man who could almost certainly take down any man on the field. “Your Majesty?”

“I want you to fight Lord Gaspar’s guards.” When Gaspar sputtered, Reynold turned to him. “You don’t think it a fair fight? Shall I allow you to join them as well?”

“I assure you, sire, any one of my knights could handle this whelp of a commoner, even if Lord Radcliffe cannot.” He sneered at Tristram, as he had since Tris had been a child. He’d been a friend of Tristram’s mother’s husband—the man the court thought was his father. Tris had always assumed Gaspar knew him to be a bastard, but frankly, he had more important things to worry about.

He wasn’t sure why, but he was worried about Bet. The man was dishonorable and infuriatingly smug, but also . . . like Tris, he never hesitated in his duty to his king. Wasn’t there a kind of honor in that, when one committed dishonorable acts for a king who could not afford to sully himself? Possibly it was Tristram grasping for excuses because he found Bet beautiful, but it still rung true. Perhaps.

“You question Lord Radcliffe’s skill as well?” Reynold asked, pretending to be surprised. He turned to Bet. “Get to it, then. You against Gaspar’s men. If you win, you and Tristram stay. If they win, they stay.”

He had to be joking. While Tris had every faith in Bet’s prowess, it was madness.

But this was no farce. Tristram couldn’t even suggest he deserved to have a part in the deciding of his future. Reynold had announced it, and now Tristram’s fate was in the hands of the king’s shadow.

Things You May Want To Know: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: (SPOILERS) bigotry against a species, violence, death, murder, descriptions of torture, imprisonment.

Author Bio: W.M. Fawkes is an author of LGBTQ+ urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She lives with her partner in a house owned by three Halloween-hued felines that dabble regularly in shadow walking.

Sam lives in the Midwest with husband and cat, which is even less exciting than it sounds, so she’s not sure why you’re still reading this.

She specializes in LGBTQIA+ fiction, usually with a romantic element. There’s sometimes intrigue and violence, usually a little sex, and almost always some swearing in her work. Her writing is light and happy, though, so if you’re looking for a dark gritty reality, you’ve come to the wrong author.

Author links:

Joint Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FlickerFoxBooks/

Waverly Fawkes: