SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

In September some of us will be reading the third book in G.A. Aiken's Dragon Kin series. We will pick a start date when we are just a bit closer to September.

Feel free to join us.


EDIT: It looks like we'll be starting What a Dragon Should Know around September 8. Depending on your own reading plans, feel free to start sooner or later as need be.


If you need to catch up on the series, the first two books are:
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I will probably join you on this one. My Dragon Challenge has been a little neglected and I need to get at it and this is on the top of my dragon tbr pile...

I'll be ready!

Looking forward to it!

I'm in

Ah come on!!! I am 120 pages into it right now! *pouting*

Michelle wrote: "Ah come on!!! I am 120 pages into it right now! *pouting*"


Just read really, really, really slowly....

Any thoughts on a start date? I can do the beginning of the month, around Sept 5 give or take a day, or any time after the Sept 20.

It's available at the library without a waiting list so I'm good whenever. I usually start my JAK buddy read on the 5th of the month, so a day before or a day after would work for me.
And sorry, Michelle LOL!! That happens to me alot! Please lurk along with us, though. The more the merrier for these books.

I have tentative buddy reads on the first and the tenth, so any time between about the fourth and the tenth works for me.

I'm putting it down for the 8th then, as this is a quick read, it should work for you. How does that sound?

Leslie wrote: "I'm putting it down for the 8th then, as this is a quick read, it should work for you. How does that sound?"

That works for me. I know I usually read more slowly than you, so if I get a few days head start we might finish at the same time! : )

8th sounds great!

I'm ready for some more dragon craziness!

Are we still planning this for the 8th?

Yes. I actually went ahead and started it because I have another buddy read on the 10th and it will take me until then to get this one finished.

I'm only 50 pages in, but I have laughed out loud several times. Already I'm enjoying this one more than the first two. I like Dagmar (The Beast) and I think she just might be the perfect foil for Gwenvael (or however you spell his name). Can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks.

This one came in from the library, so I will be starting as soon as I finish up 2 others. So probably tomorrow morning. I'm so glad it's better. The series has such possibilities.

I have to finish the book I'm reading for a team challenge and will start this one next.

Just finishing up "About a Dragon" to get started on the 3rd book ^_^

I'm not sure where I am in this book because it's part of a trilogy and that makes the page numbers all crazy in my kindle app. But I have to say FINALLY!!!! This one lives up to what I wanted from this series. It is funny and well written and the characters are great. The story line is hilarious. I love Beauty and the Beast stories and this one is fabulous!! I think Gwenvail is my favorite dragon. And Dagmar cracks me up.

I didn't make any progress in this one yesterday as I was distracted by another book. So I'm still near the beginning. It is nice to enjoy one from right at the beginning instead of waiting for it to grow on you. Hopefully, I'll make some progress this evening.

18% in and enjoying it. Dagmar and Gwenvael have great banter. I loved their initial meeting in particular.

I'm on chapter 24. Really enjoying it.

I think the author has mother/daughter issues.

Leslie wrote: "I think the author has mother/daughter issues."


Oh, I can't wait to get back to this and see if I can figure out what prompted you to say that!

We could have a great discussion on it, Christine!! LOL

I finished this - I'm dealing with side effects from new medication and watching football - so I had a lot of time to read! I gave it 4.5 stars which is huge for me for a dragon series. It was just so much fun. Interested to know what everyone thinks.

43% in and the plot is thickening all over the place. Quite a few characters to keep track of but it is interesting.

I'm maybe a third of the way through. Not really sure. They've just reached the town and are in the dress shop getting information. I really love the interactions between Gwenvael and Dagmar. I feel bad for Gwenvael that no one trusts him to do a good job, but then again, he's created his own image. And then he turns around and says something obnoxious and arrogant like "I didn't steal it. I wanted it so I took it." But at least he does listen to her when she tells him to return things.

I really liked the scene when they were on the roof (view spoiler)[watching her sister-in-law and the horse trainer (or whoever he was) having sex and were critiquing his technique. So funny. (hide spoiler)]

I'm not sure why I had a thing for Gwenvael's character. I tend to like arrogant, but funny men in real life. And he's such an underachiever - so he felt like family. He just needed someone to believe in him. I think one of things I like best about Aiken's dragon books - is that she doesn't shy away from making them DRAGONS. They act like dragons. Sometimes uncomfortably so. But they are funny.
And the roof scene was very funny.

And Lauren, the number of storylines begins to get difficult at the end, I thought. But this one definitely had way more plot than the first two did. It felt like a real story instead of just funny dialogue and dragon sex.

Yes, there is definitely more to the plot in this one and perhaps this is why I'm enjoying it more.

I'm also enjoying Gwenvael's character and you are right Leslie, Aiken's dragons behave as such rather than men with the ability to turn into dragons.

Not quite half way. I love Gwenvael. He is such a riot and so much smarter than his siblings give him credit for.

She's throwing a bunch of new characters at us all of a sudden, and I just hope I can keep all of the names straight.

Leslie, I think you're right that the author has mother-daughter issues.

I know - I think I'm sensitive to it because I have 3 daughters. I hate it when people just assume that mothers and daughters have to fight. It just seems such an easy path to take. Yes, it is funny - but. I have to admit that her humor does grate on me. I think it's funny up to a point.
But I love Gwenvael!! He seems like the most real character she has written. And Dagmar is pretty good as well.

I get along very well with my mother and I got along well with my mother-in-law. The whole mother vs daughter thing is just any easy path to travel when trying to generate conflict in a story. I agree that Gwevael and Dagmar are the most likeable characters so far. It seemed like with the first two books she went too far, as you say, and turned the characters into caricatures of extremes. There is a little of that here, with Gwenvael always waking up shouting "I didn't touch her" or "I only touched her once" and Dagmar always waking up saying "It's not a lie" and things like that. But it's not enough to distract from their characters. Or maybe their character traits are just one's that I personally enjoy more than the other couples?

I'm still plugging away. Up to page 277. I didn't realize just how thick this book is. That goodness I'm really enjoying it.

That's exactly it. Every time she did that in the book, I just wanted to cringe. I thought maybe I was the only one who was bothered by it. But you are right, in this story, those are only momentary lapses.

I'm done. Overall, I enjoyed it more than the first two mainly because of Dagmar and Gwenvael's relationship. I particularly liked their ability to manipulate others with words rather than swords. The plot is also better developed although it does drag in some places.

Nevertheless, I still have some issues. First and foremost is Annwyl's ability to (view spoiler)[just walk into a group of Minotaurs and slaughter them all with barely a scratch. (hide spoiler)] This is simply unrealistic.

I agree that the mother/daughter thing is also annoying (my mother and I got on like a house on fire, she was my best friend and we could talk about anything).

Moreover, the constant insults between the dragons and their mates is irritating - I know it is supposed to be affectionate but it is off-putting at times.

I thought it dragged towards the end - I think she got a little ambitious with all her storylines. And the scene with the minotaurs was just nasty. I didn't think about it being unrealistic - but you are right. And the other dragons were as annoying in this book as they were in their own books. After some thought about it, I'm downgrading it to 4 stars.
As to the mother/daughter issue - it reminds me of reality tv or something. Let's showcase how bad people can act towards each other. Actually, reading about these dragons is like watching dragon reality television. It could be an episode of Jersey Shore. But when the book stuck to Gwenvael and Dagmar, it was good.

This is starting to feel like the book that would never end. I feel like I passed what should have been our 'happily ever after' about twenty pages ago, but I still have fifty more pages to go. I think she's setting up for the next book maybe? I definitely don't enjoy the other characters as much as Gwenvael and Dagmar.

I'm hoping I can finish this tonight and check in tomorrow with my final thoughts.

Yeah, that's one of the things that caused it to have a lower rating for me. She just couldn't seem to wrap things up. Like the third Lord of the Rings movie!!

True. It felt like it was all over but it wasn't. I had this feeling a couple of times at the end.

Still not finished! Only thirty pages to go....

Finished! Phew!

Well, that was sooo much better than the first two books in the series. I think I just like Gwenvael's and Dagmar's characters more than the others. Although, one thing I noticed in this book is that even though all of these characters are total dragons and are rough and gruff, there are glimmers of real caring and concern buried deep inside. Even the human mates seem to be the same way. I guess they live in a pretty rough and gruff world and none of them have been treating well by life up to now, so it's natural. But the constant insults do become annoying. Why can we only show our soft side when we are alone with our mate? Why do we have to be monsters to each other in public? It's funny for a bit, but at a certain point it just becomes obnoxious.

And can I say: Minotaurs!? How random?! But that final scene with the minotaurs didn't bother me within the context of this series and with that particular character. (view spoiler)[She is Annwyl the Bloody, after all. I think it's all part of the mystique of her character that she's brutal and violent and blood-thirsty and has near-inhuman fighting skills. Add to that being a mother protecting her children (even if she didn't consciously realize it) and Annwyl taking out an entire herd of minotaurs somehow just seems like a typical day at the office for her. Had it been a different character, like say Izzy, then it would have been too weird. But with Annwyl's character, it worked for me. (hide spoiler)]

But I am a little confused. Were the Lightnings and the Minotaurs working together? Or was it coincidental. I got the impression early on that the Lightning dragons knew the minotaurs were in the tunnels, but it was never made clear if they were working together. Or did I miss that?

And while it seemed like it should have ended sooner, after reading it I see why she needed to tie up the loose ends that she did.

I agree, Christine - so much better. I think it all has to do with Dagmar and Gwenvael. And I actually liked Anwyl better pregnant! I prefer my female characters tough but vulnerable. But it was so sad when(view spoiler)[ she dies. So I was happy that she woke up kicking some minotaur butt. (hide spoiler)]
I admit to being a little confused about the Lightning Dragons. Though obviously that's a storyline and character (can't think of his name) she's going to pursue. If the other books in the series are more like this one I will be good with continuing the series. There are still some things that aren't my favorite but this one certainly kept me engaged.
I have the same problem with Katie MacAllister, who I love. Her humor can begin to grate on me. But I like the dragon world that they both have created. I like dragons to act like dragons. I think it's Debra Cooke's series on dragons - they act a little wimpy. Not my favorite.

I like the romances in Deborah Cooke's series. The women are all awfully quick to accept the existence of dragons, but I like that they don't let silly misunderstandings get in the way of their relationships. The characters actually call each other out when they do something that the other one realizes is out of character, versus becoming all huffy and moody because 'he hurt my feelings' boo-hoo. They actually communicate with one another like adults and get along through most of the books, rather than spending the entire time fighting over some silly misunderstanding. That drives me crazy.

Granted, they aren't the most aggressive, but then their job is to protect the earth and they consider humanity part of that. Not like Aiken's dragon's who are all out for themselves. I think those are the only two dragon series I've read so far. I own several others, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet.

I understood that there were two sets of Lightning Dragons - Olgeir (the leader who is sadistic psycho) and Ragnar (his son who is a good guy and wants to overthrow his father) (view spoiler)[Ragnar is the hero of the next book (hide spoiler)].

I think that Olgeir might have been in cahoots with the Minotaurs but it is unclear. I think the Minotaurs were in the service of the goddess Arzhela who has it in for Annwyl.

I enjoyed the rough and tumble antics of the dragons and their gruff affection but it just got to be too much. Interesting the Briec and Talaith are still bickering incessantly. At least they are consistent.

Lauren wrote: "I enjoyed the rough and tumble antics of the dragons and their gruff affection but it just got to be too much."


That was my problem with the first two books. Everyone's behavior was just "too much". But Gwenvael and Dagmar are a bit more subtle in their behavior, so even though they are manipulating people like crazy, you don't get hit in the face with it like the other character's behaviors.


I think the next book is Keita and Ragnar? Dare I read it and see where it falls on the gradient between the first three books? So far, I gave book one 2 stars, book two 3 stars, and book three 4 starts.

Christine wrote: "That was my problem with the first two books. Everyone's behavior was just "too much". "

I agree that Dagmar and Gwenvael are different. It is mainly Briec and Talaith that go overboard in this area even Annwyl and Fearghus aren't as bad as they are.

I gave 3 stars to books #1 and #2 and 3.5 to book #3 maybe I will continue the trend and give book #4, 4 stars.

I agree with everyone on here about these books. I would be interested in reading Ragnar's story. I liked his character. And I might have Anwyl confused with Talaith. They begin to run together sometimes.
And Christine, I'm not sure what it is about Debra Cooke's series I'm not crazy about. I agree with what you are saying about how she writes their relationships, but they still don't grab me. Not sure why.

I'd have to agree that there is something missing from Deborah Cooke's writing. I enjoy the books and it's a good series for me, but there is some spark missing that keeps it from being a great series for me.

Any interest in a buddy read of the fourth book in November?

I started reading and I'm at 50% but just cannot work up the interest to continue. The characters are OK and the story arc has potential but as you say Christine, there is something missing.