Awaken the Dragon by A.C. Arthur

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I'm finally picking up some monster smut! I haven't read a paranormal romance in a long time but I've been interested in this series for awhile now. And Read Love Listen said I needed to check it out. And A.C. Arthur has a good amount of shifter romance under her belt so I figured I was in good hands.

It was a little rocky for me at first and I thought this was going to be smut with a loose plot but I ended up enjoying this one once it got settled into the world and I learned a little more about the characters. 

Shola N'Gara is Yoruba from the village of Mobo and she has traveled to a former Pennsylvania mining town called Burgess.  She is engaged and being guarded by Legion's Security Company until her upcoming nuptials. But Shola has a secret. She is destined to kill her future husband who is a dark vampire lord. 

Theo Masters is a 300 year old half human and half dragon living outside of the Far Realm. He's chosen to live a quiet life as a human having distanced himself from his royal blood long ago. His security company has been tasked with protecting Shola. And she has him ready to unleash the beast within.

This story felt a little cyberpunk and as someone who loved Dark Angel I was here for those vibes. And I hope the next books in the series expand more on how this world came to be and the technology they use. With mentions of the existence of fae, witches, werewolves, and other preternatural beings there's plenty of mythos ripe for storytelling here. I also liked how African spirituality was also included here. Shola often calls upon the goddess, Oya for blessings and guidance.

And it was steamy. I know Carina Press has different heat levels but I'm still used to my tradition published books being hot but a little subdued. Whereas Shola and Theo were free to show their unabashed love of sex. Shola is out here attempting to save her village and get some dick at the same time. And unlike previous paranormal romance I've read there's no questionable behavior blurring the lines of  consent. 

I started listening to this via audio but then wound up downloading the ebook too so I could understand some of the world. It's very fast-paced and a little easy to get lost if you aren't paying attention. You learn things about this world along the way instead of being given a lot of prior backstory. A quick and smutty read with a little big of fantasy to get lost in.

Also this was a Hoopla borrow for me and a few other people said they were able to find it on their Hoopla too so if you're interested I recommend checking for it there first.