Genre: Paranormal/Suspense/Fantasy
Description:
“Someone is killing dragons. And the killings point to a civil war
brewing among the fae.
When Kyra Greene finds an abandoned baby dragon, she doesn’t want to
bring him home. But until she can hunt down his thunder and stop the dragon
killers, she’s on babysitting duty. As a pest controller with a soft heart,
Kyra already has an apartment full of rescues, including a basilisk who thinks
he’s a turkey, a banshee nanny, and even a pygmy kraken. She might take care of
them, but they also fill her need for family. And when that family is
threatened, she’ll risk everything to save them. She’ll even join forces with
the handsome and irritating captain of the city’s vigilante Guardians, who
never fails to show up at her most undignified moments.
Along with a quirky cast of misfits and unruly critters, Kyra leaves
the safety of Montreal Ward and travels through the dangerous Inbetween—the
land beyond the protected city states, where magic is the only rule of law. Can
she reunite the lost dragon with his thunder and stop a new and sinister force
from invading their home?”
Author:
“If Kim McDougall could have one magical superpower, it would be to
talk to animals. Or maybe to shift into animal form. Definitely, fantastical
critters and magic often feature in her stories. So until she can change into a
griffin and fly away, she writes dark paranormal action and romance tales from
her home in Ontario, Canada.”
To learn more about Ms. McDougall visit her website, or follow her onFacebook.
Appraisal:
Kyra Greene has worked hard trapping nuisance critters and re-homing them if possible. A hand-painted sign over her office door professes, “Valkyrie Pest Control.” It’s a huge space where she has cages, aquariums, and terrariums that line two walls full of rescued Fae beasts, otherworld rodents, lizards, birds, and bugs. Each critter has either been orphaned or cannot survive alone. Kyra has a soft heart and has taken in these misfits. She also houses a banshee, Gita, who lives in a closet. She does what she can to help Kyra with the critters when she’s out on a job. Kyra also hosts a blog where she posts the things she has learned about her menagerie of critters and takes questions from her followers.
When Kyra happens upon a thunder of dragons being corralled by
poachers she’s mesmerized, dragons are a part of myths and legends, and she’s
never seen one before. Kyra battles the poachers and sets the dragons free, all
except a baby dragon who can’t fly. She vows to find the baby’s thunder and
return him. Kyra names him Ollie, short for Ollivicenzanhe-axl. Which Gita said
was his proper name.
Ms. McDougall has created a unique magical world and lays it out well
enough for the reader to mentally step into it. The characters are well
developed and likeable. The banter between Kyra and Mason, the Captain of the
Guardians, is entertaining and laced with a slow burn sexual tension. Both have
suffered heartbreaks and have walled off their hearts. Mason joins Kyra on her
search for the dragon’s thunder, convinced that one of the dragons or Ollie
have eaten a magic artifact he needs to find, so they spend a lot of time
together.
There is a Fae war brewing that comes to light. The addition of this
story arc throws a lot of curve balls into the story. The bad guys are
diabolical and of the nastiest sort. And they have opened a door from the
Inbetween into the protected city state in which Kyra lives. The climactic
battle is bloody and devastating for both sides. However, that is not the end
of the story. Things slowly start looking up for Kyra. While she is still
cleaning up the damage done to her office and living space, she has found a
handsome assistant, Gabe, who isn’t bothered by her menagerie or Gita. Ollie
returns for a visit and, on a huge pile of dung, deposits the magic artifact Mason
has been searching for.
I found this tale entertaining and suspenseful. Ms. McDougall knows
how to weave a story to keep the reader turning the pages to see what will
happen next.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
Dragons
Don’t Eat Meat is the first book in Kim McDougall’s, Valkyrie
Bestiary Series.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Nothing to note.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words
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