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Title: Dragon Lovers (Signet Eclipse)
ISBN: 0451220390
Author:
Jo Beverley
Mary Jo Putney
Barbara Samuel
Karen Harbaugh
Publicate Date: 2007-03-06
Publish: 2007-03-06
List Price: $14.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $1.23
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.90
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| Customer Review: |
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1: fantastical anthology
****?? "The Dragon and the Virgin Princess" by Jo Beverley.
Rozlinda is a Sacrificial Virgin Princess. It's a largely ceremonial position, but there's a lot of ritual associated with it. Every eight years, the dragon comes, the princess is "sacrificed," and in return her people get the supplies that ensure their survival.
Rozlinda never expected to serve, because before the eight years are up, her little sister will take over, so she's just going through the motions of The Princess Way. But the last time, things didn't go as planned, and now the dragon's come early, and Rozlinda has to do her duty.
This story is very funny, but it's also serious and poignant, when the foreign prince slays the dragon and, according to the rules, takes Rozlinda off to be his bride. There's a lot about assumptions and misunderstandings, and the heartbreaking decision of the needs of the many versus the needs of the few--or the one.
**** "The Dragon and the Dark Knight" by Mary Jo Putney.
Sir Kenrick and his squire are in need of a place to spend the winter, but what he really wants is a place of his own. When he hears of an offer of land in exchange for slaying a "dragon," he jumps at the chance, assuming there's a non-supernatural explanation that a clever knight like himself could easily overcome.
Of course, things aren't nearly as simple as he thinks, but the twists are such an integral part of this story, you'll have to take my word for it that it's clever, unusual, and unexpected.
I can't really put my finger on any faults with this story--it just didn't grab me the way the previous and the following ones did.
****?? "Anna and the King of Dragons" by Karen Harbaugh.
Young Dutch woman Anna is left alone in Japan when her scholar/adventurer parents are killed. Distraught, she falls into a pool, and is rescued by a dragon. In return for saving her life, the dragon requests that she bring it some books.
Then while returning to her rooms, she's attacked by thugs and rescued by Nakagawa Toshiro, a highly respected Samurai warrior.
This is such a rich, lush story. Anna's personality really resonated with me. I could feel her distress gradually evolving into determination to do what she must to take care of herself. She was intelligent, practical, and independent, accepting help when she needed it, but not depending on being rescued. Toshiro was enigmatic and strong and charming, and as exotic and intriguing as the land he was so much a part of.
**** "Dragon Feathers" by Barbara Samuel.
This is the only contemporary story in the anthology. Penny is a widow who finds a reprieve from her grief by making a complete change--moving to New Mexico to study with the famous and exclusive weaver Senora Libuela. Her new house was a bargain because of the smell--which Penny finds delicious--and in it, she feels comfortable and is able to sleep for the first time in months.
Adding to her contentment is Senora Libuela's son Joaquin, to whom she finds herself attracted, even though she thinks he's too young for her. He becomes a good friend, but shies away from closer involvement because of secrets he can't reveal. And then there are those beautiful pink feathers she keeps finding....
I did get a bit impatient with Joaquin's secrets, and was actually leaning toward Penny getting to know the professor who was investigating dragon lore a little better, but it's a sweet story anyway.
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2: okay
not quite what I expected but to read but okay. The service was excellent!
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3: Fantastic anthology
I truly enjoyed this wonderful assortment of stories all revolving around dragon lore. Bravo to Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Karen Harbaugh, and Barbara Samuel on a delightful read.
I particularly enjoyed Ms. Harbaugh's Japanese tale, "Anna and the King of Dragons". Harbaugh artfully weaves Western and Japanese lore into a beautiful tale of love and compassion. Karen Harbaugh is truly a gifted author.
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4: Good read
The Dragon & the Virgin Princess by Jo Beverly to me was meant to be over the top silliness and not to be taken so seriously. Maybe I'm the only one who go that. It was one of my favorites of the 4.
The Dragon & the Dark Knight by Mary Balough was boring. Sorry, I've never been much of a fan and never could get into any of her books and never understood why this author was so highly reviewed.
Anna and the King of Dragons was my favorite. I just loved this love story. Very sweet and magical. I just wish it had been a whole book and more detailed.
The last book was ok. Good read.
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5: okay, but not great
There are four stories in this anthology and I liked two of them and didn't care for the other two. Out of the the two I liked only 1 of them was really that enjoyable a read.
The first story is by Jo Beverly and frankly it was really, really disturbing. Basically the heroine is a virgin sacrifice for a dragon that comes once every 8 years (the sacrifice isn't actually killed, just a cup full of there blood is taken on top of this special rock and give to the dragon to drink. Then, they go off and live regular lives). Not too bad. But, when the dragon shows up this time-early-the dragon rider takes her instead of the blood intending to bring her back to his land and, as we find out, slice her open from top to bottom and let the dragon drink her dry. Yes, that's about how it was described. Apparantly, in order for a dragon to have an egg, they have to eat this special blood the princess' family has and because the last dragon didn't get any blood apparantly there's been some crisis and there won't be any dragons. Now, the reasons for this aren't really answered and it's a little confusing so I won't get into it. what I found really disturbing was the dragon constantly talking about the princess' blood as 'yummy', how dragon drool was considered an aphrodisiac, how they ate food chewed up in the dragon's mouth (it was just one gross thing after another,frankly), but the most disturbing part was when the princess is laying on the dragon rock, on some weird drug. The dragon has slit open her thighs and the princess is rolling around laughing giddily and begging the dragon to 'take more! take more!" . I can't even describe how disturbing the scene was to me. If you're the slightest bit squeamish, skip this one.
The second story is more your traditional english dragon story. A knight is hired to kill a dragon that's supposedly been torching local villages. He saves a young woman, discovers she part dragon and the main dragon is her grandfather. They fall love while fighting a local evil Lord. It was a sweet story and very reminiscent of a vintage romance. The author also had a unique take on what a dragons 'hoard' was. I liked this one.
The third story took us to Japan where the hero is a dragon that shapeshifts into a samuri. This one should have been better. The main problem was the heroine, who acted in an absurd way, especially given this is supposed to take place in the 1600's. For instance, at the opening of the book she is contemplating having to go to work as a low class prostitute becuase she has no friends, no money, etc(she's been in the country for at least 4 years with her now dead parents with the blessing of the emperor and yet she doesn't have 1 friend in the country???). The next chapter up, she's traveling by herself (despite a couple who tried to get her a guard and warned her that they'd been set up by ruffians frequently in the area)when, of course, she's attacked. When the dragon/samuri kills them (after she prays for someone to save her) she chides him for killing them and then just planning to leave them there and then becomes offended when he tries to pick her up and carry her to her pony since she's sprained her ankle. Now, if it were me and I'd just been attacked by men who said they were going to rape and then sell me to the whoremonger, I wouldn't be that upset if they died. but, that's just me. She continues to act in a similar stupid way through-out the book. I was sad, because the author could have had a truly unique story if she'd just written the heroine's character differently.
The last story takes place in the southwest. This was a contemporary story and while it wasn't bad...it wasn't good either. I kept expecting something different to what happened and honestly, it was a disapointment. And, the explaination was a bit of a confusing stretch. They're supposed to protect and hide a bright pink dragon living under her house and yet, everyone knows where she is???
Over all, I was disapointed by this anthology. For a book titled 'dragon lovers' there weren't too many lovers that were dragons-just people around dragons. They did try to put together stories with different types of dragons, which I applaud, but there just weren't enough good romances to make the book worth keeping. And, I have to admit, I felt slightly sick after finishing that first one and it tainted the others a bit. I problably should have waited a day or two before going on to the other stories. I'd get this one from the libarary if you can.
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