Finding Who You Truly Are

"I felt more connected to my surroundings 

right in this moment than I ever had before. 

Perhaps it was because of our primal connection 

or our ancestral retention of nature 

in its purest form."

--Priya Kanaparti, Dracian Legacy

Genre: YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance

Publisher: Self-Published, 360 pages Kindle edition

Publication Date: February 14th, 2013

Source: Digital ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review

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Goodreads Description

Ren and Axel are caught between two powerful magical races: one destined to end the bloodshed, the other out for vengeance. 

Seventeen-year-old Ren Pernell is prophesied to end the war between the Dracians and the Telalians. So when a Dracian, Axel Knight, is sent to find and bring back the prophesied one before she turns eighteen and Telalians discover of her existence, unexpected sparks start to fly between the two. Once Ren finds the truth behind Axel’s arrival, she wants everything to do with him and nothing to do with his mission.

Things prove to become difficult as Ren’s life is constantly threatened by the Goarders, humans who sold their souls, a Proxy Succubi, and the leader of the Telalians, who has been searching for her as well. 

With the clock ticking and Ren’s life in jeopardy, it is no longer just a mission for Axel. It becomes a personal endeavor to save the only one he’s ever loved. In a heart racing ending, they must find a way to evade the preordained war that won’t also end Ren’s life.

My Thoughts

I have to get my thoughts about the cover out of the way first and foremost. I was lucky enough to be a part of the cover reveal a few weeks back and I just love it. The dress, the light, the dagger in the title. I just think it is so beautiful and clever. SO! About the book. I have to say I was surprised by this book. The description leads me to believe that this will take place solely in a fantasy world but much to my delightful surprise it is actually set in our world with the introduction of this paranormal/fantasy element of Dracians and Telalians. 

As the description will also tell you there is a lot of emphasis on the romance. I have mixed feelings about this. There is the element of insta-love and also good amount of dialogue that was too cheesy for me. I usually like the characters to have to fight for their love a little bit and while there was conflict and mixed signals in the story, both characters seemed to go from 0 to 60 in the love department in about 2.5 seconds. Axel especially.  While his lines were definitely swoonworthy, it seemed a little too much, too soon in the beginning. Ren's inner dialogue about how she did feel crazy for how much she did like him so quickly was appreciated but the element was still there. HOWEVER, if you can get over that (which I eventually did), HOT damn is their relationship steamy. Kanaparti can write a romance. The scenes between Axel (nickname for Alexander...hot) and Ren were electrifying. While I was reading I found myself thinking like Ren and going back and forth between YES, I love these two, keep kissing! And really? Didn't they just meet not too long ago? So this is just me being crazy though. My fangirl self was screaming for more but the level-headed human inside was trying to be rational. Axel is a definite candidate for a book boyfriend if you're looking for one. 

The history of the Dracians and Telalians I loved. The entire magical aspect of the story I could not get enough of. I wanted to know more. More details, more history, more of how everything worked! I definitely did not get enough of this but the parts I did get were awesome! And don't worry! The author herself said we get much more of this in Book 2 :) The pacing was good. Lots of romance, a great amount of mystery to the plot that I had to keep reading in order to find out what was going on. I liked that for a fantasy-based novel, there were not 6 million characters to keep track of or 8 different sub-species within the framework. The outline of the magical beings world is outline quickly and very easy to understand which was such a relief as a reader. 

Ren is also awesome. Her inner and outer dialogue are hilarious. She is very witty and self-deprecating a lot, which is always a plus in characters to me. Axel is...smokin'. He is loyal, brave, strong and kind. Read: Compassionate badass. Ador him. The supporting characters also have a lot of depth to them as well. What I initially believed to shallow peripheral characters turned out to have a lot of complexities and strong individual voices. Almost every character mentioned has a little bit of a background and story given to us. Loved this. Helps complete the whole circle of the story instead of just focusing on a few main characters. Dean completely surprised me in this way. That's all I'll say as to not ruin any plot points... :)

The themes of loyalty and love are plentiful in example. There is just something about working for a cause larger than your individual self. So heartwarming. These characters love each other, they have history, they protect each other. These aspects of the story were great. 

We still have some unanswered questions from this first book that lead us nicely into wanting a second book. Still have a few reservations with the insta-love but the magical component of the story def made up for this. Will I be reading the next book? ABSOLUTELY! Can't wait to see where Ren and Axel's story takes us next :)

Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Dracian Legacy blog tour!!

Yesterday's Stops

Passionate Book Divas - C.I by C Interview – Axel Interviews Dean and Book review

Books Over Boys - Deleted Scene - Axel and Ren before wedding

Today's Other Stop
Words Escape Me - Rotten Eggs - Excerpt

Tomorrow's Stop
Books, Books, &More Books - Book Review

Official Author Blogof Elisabeth Wheatley - Book Review

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!!! Don't forget to enter the giveaway below for not only a copy of The Dracian Legacy, but some gift cards, too! Not a bad deal ya'll! 

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