Dragon Shadows is the first book in Lacey Carter Andersen's Legacy of Blood and Magic series. We are introduced to Kadelynn who is willing to risk certain death by killing a dangerous creature just to escape from her arranged marriage. Drazen who starts out helping Kadelynn for the money but finds himself starting to have feelings for the human woman. Acker and Talin who are on a quest to save magic. And the cruel Lord Gannon Cyrus who wishes to gain the throne and have Kadelynn as his wife.
I'm not a big Legend of Zelda fan but whenever I read Gannon's name I couldn't help but think of a villain from that series. So to find him as the villain of the Legacy of Blood and Magic series was amusing to say the least. Because no one can have that name and be a good guy.
The world building was good and readers are introduced to a world shattered by some kind of war. Like in real life, rumors become fact and those 'facts' make people scared of each other. Kadelynn is originally suspicious of Drazen because he's a Seer but that same distrust is the reason she decides to use him. At least originally as she too starts to fall for him. The only way to get out of her arranged marriage is to kill a beast that will surely end her own life. And a Seer, like Drazen, is supposed to be able to find the dangerous beast.
Gannon is jealous of a woman and I first thought that meant he was transsexual. I was then worried about how the book would portray him because of that. Luckily it turned out that he is just horribly disfigured and was most likely jealous of someone who isn't disfigured. Though I'm suspicious he might be gay as he doesn't seem able to perform and his relationship with his servant is...well...not exactly straight.
The opening to Dragon Shadows really pulls you in. It shows the end of the war and made me excited to read the rest of the book. Readers get to see what a Dragon Shadow is and also learn that dragons are necessary for magic on the planet. This idea is not new in fantasy and I will never grow tired of it. Dragons are just really amazing creatures and are extremely diverse.
What is an adventure without a dragon, anyways?
While Gannon's point of view is not to be trusted, he started making me suspicious of Kadelynn's father. Lord Randall is dismissed by his own daughter and Gannon. The latter starts to notice that Randall is extremely collected and doesn't let anyone see his own motives. Gannon deduces by the furniture in one room that Randall could be a much different man than he first imagined.
I would recommend Dragon Shadows to fantasy lovers who like a light seasoning of romance. Oh, and this series is heading towards being a reverse harem series. Just might take a little while getting there.
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