Cover Image: Touch of Ice

Touch of Ice

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<u>Thoughts and Plot</b></u>

I am conflicted on this one. The premise of this book is nothing short of intriguing. Delradons have taken over earth, their ruling class govern both Delradons and humans alike. The Lords and Ladies of the Delradons are connected to a dragon. This grants them extended life spans and more powerful than others of their race. But they got a problem. They have serious difficulties reproducing. In an effort to bring up the number of children born to them, potential partners under go genetic testing to check their compatibility. People who are compatible with these Delradons are offered vast amounts of riches in exchange for bearing children. One problem. There is a 50% death rate.
Endorra already has a child of her own, but her daughter is sick and dying. Endorra cannot afford the treatment that will save her child’s life. So she decides to offer her ‘services’ to Lord Aldric Darragon (hope I spelled that right), who she was found to be genetically compatible with. The money earned will go to her daughter’s treatment, the one person Endorra is ready to sacrifice herself for.
That sounds pretty cool, right? Well it goes down hill in execution. Insta-lust/love fires between Aldric and Endorra, making everything more complicated. Endorra lies to Aldric, and keeps lying way past the point where she probably should have come clean. Miscommunication is abound and matched up with all the misleading Endorra’s doing, she quickly got on my nerves. Not to mention that she gets upset when she thinks Aldric is ignoring her…even though she plans to run away from him. Uh, what? If you don’t want him and plan to run away, isn’t it a good thing he’s not paying a lot of attention to you? Kinda makes running away a lot easier. Just saying.
Endorra furthers my dislike by placing herself and her child in danger completely due to her own insane stupidity. I really just want leading ladies with basic common sense. It’s not a lot to ask, is it? I don’t like it when author’s make women do completely idiotic things just to keep the plot moving forward. Not cool!
So, while the world building and premise was super cool, Endorra left me pretty cold.

Conclusion
Cool premise, excellent world building, plenty of action… stupid main character ruins the whole thing via lying and stupidity.
Harsh, I know.
Sorry.

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Thank you to Netgalley.com and BooksGoSocial for proving me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Touch of Ice: Dawn of Dragons by Mary Auclair was like taking a breath of fresh air. First, I love a good fantasy. Throw in a bit of Sci-fi and a good doze of romance and I'm so IN! This book had it all. I literally stayed up until 4:00 AM reading because I just had to know what will happen on the next page. I just needed to read another chapter - YES! It was that good... The story and world building was well done and he writing was good. I fell in love with Aldric, the High Lord... Wow - what a hottie!

Having said that... there was one thing which threw me off... Endora, our main character, was portrayed as a smart and dedicated woman. But.... toward the ending of the book, she does something really stupid which threw me off balance. No spoilers, but, there could have been a different scenario painted with Mistress Hael toward the end - that's all I'll say.... their final interaction just did not belong and did not fit well with me. Endora was smart enough to make a different choice.

Aside from this one small scene, I loved the book and truly cannot wait for the next one to be available.

I would recommend this book for upper high school grades and older. There are adult situations and explicit sexual scenes so a more mature audience is in order.

Enjoy and Happy Reading.

Review has been posted in GoodReads and on Amazon.

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<i>I received a free, advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. </i>

This is the first book of the series, and it is really good. From the start up to the finish. All the elements of a good PNR book are there.

What I enjoy was the concept of the bonding of the dragons life to the human. It is a complicated matter, but at the same time, a brilliant idea. Yes, it hold danger to the human that the dragon are born with, but it is totally awesome.

I love the concept of the love story too.

I look forward to the next book of the series.

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Good paranormal story with dragons.
Drama,suspense,twists,turns and romance.
Liked the characters Aldric and Endora.
Really enjoyed..

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Just brilliant, I started reading this book last night and finished it this morning at 2am, I just could not put it down!!! This was my first Mary Auclair book and I can't wait for the sequel to be published. I loved everything about the book, the story, the characters just everything. I loved the dragons as well, I am currently on a fantasy reading spree if you can call it that and I love everything dragon related. I would recommend this book to all readers of fantasy. I also enjoyed the erotic elements in the story. I hope I don't have to wait too long for the sequel.

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I loved this book. The story takes place long after dragon took over the world. Dragons who need mates can find a compatible match and have a child. The twist on this book is that a man and dragon are very closely intertwined. If one dies, the other one dies. When a woman gets pregnant by one of these special men, a dragon lays an egg. That dragon and baby will be connected until death. Great and new concept.
Endora's daughter is dying of leukemia and she needs dragon technology to cure her. She knows she is a match to one of these men but didn't realize it was the high lord. Lots of misunderstandings, fights, love and romance, plus throw in some old ways bad guys who do not appove of dragon men mating with humans. I got this book from NetGalley for an honest review. Loved it.

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This was a fun read if you turn your brain off because you could nitpick all day long.

Endora lives with her daughter Tallie and grandmother Henriette in a small farm. Dora sells her last pig to pay for her daughters Leukemia treatment but is told by the dr that Tallie will die. Dora decides that she has no other choice but to sell herself to a mating contract to gain enough money to fund her daughters treatment. There is a twist though. The earth is ruled by an Alien race and the mating contracts are between an Alien and a human and most women dont survive the pregnancy.

Dora is matched to the Lord of Draggon Aldric, who has a dragon called Rhyl. Dora Goes to live in his castle and fails to inform Aldric of her past. Aldric is a good man who rules over his lands with humility and grace. He and Rhyl share a unique bond, they share a soul and when one dies, so does the other. When old enemies from Aldrics home land called the Knat Kanassis come to Earth to kill all the traitors, Aldric has a battle to keep the humand and Draegon safe as well as protecting Dora from herself.

I must admit whilst i liked this book and it was certainly unique, i had to shake my head at Dora's actions and how she couldnt see things that were glaringly obvious. However it was a really fun read and was a good way to while away a few hours.

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I found this to be an enjoyable book to read. It was different to other stories I have read that have involved dragons. The concept of a dragon and man being connected at birth and share a unique bond until death, I thought was really interesting. I do wish though that there had been more insight into how this world came to be in the situation it is in. I now look forward to reading more books in this series in the future.

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I have been blessed! I have found another new author to read and a new series that I can sink my teeth into!

Mary Auclair is the new author and the series is Dawn of Dragons which is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi, paranormal romance which has both an historical feel but with futuristic touches that blends perfectly to make it easy to imagine the post-apocalyptic scenery and the lives of the characters that live there. The scenes are brought to brilliant life with well written words that produce the vivid imagery that makes it so the reader feels as if they are part of it, so if the author keeps this up, I will definitely be happy to read all the books she can produce.

All the characters are fascinating, strong and compelling which draw readers in and ensure that they want to know more with the hero and heroine, Aldric and Zara having lots of chemistry and a turbulent relationship with lots of emotional issues to overcome and obstacles to face in order to achieve their ever after which keeps readers glued to the pages as the rocky romance takes grows and the sizzling attraction heats up the pages.

Suspense and anticipation builds throughout the story as Endora tries to accept her situation which tugs at even the most hard hearted of heart strings while facing a man that seems to be made of ice. And then there is Aldric that finds he has a chance at his HEA but finds it hard to show his feelings and reach for it. The emotional turbulence is suspenseful enough, but together they must face an enemy that is out destroy their very lives in this steady to fast paced plot.

Touch of Ice is a gripping tale had me completely caught in its fascinating world from beginning to end and I can’t wait to read the next book.

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Sci-Fi…Dragon…GIMME GIMME GIMME! These were the thoughts that went through my head when I saw Mary Auclair’s Touch of Ice the first in her Dawn of Dragons series. In Auclair’s series Earth has been taken over by an alien race, the Delradons, who now rule over both themselves and humans. The Lords and Ladies of the Delradons have a deep bond with a dragon, which extends their life span and makes them more powerful than other members of their race. However, they have difficulty having children and so everyone is tested for generic compatibility. Those who have compatible are offered riches to mate and have children with them, the down side being that only about 50% of the women survive carrying the babies and giving birth.

This is where Endorra comes in. Endorra is desperate. Her daughter is dying, but she’s barely scraping by and can’t afford to pay for the treatments that will save her. The only thing of value she has is a letter stating her genetic compatibility to Lord Aldric Darragon; Endorra knows that if she agrees to bear his children she will be paid generously and thus be able to pay for her daughters treatments. Even if she doesn’t expect to survive the experience.

Of course, nothing is ever simple and Endorra and Aldric have an instant attraction that makes their relationship more than just a transaction. That’s where things get more complicated and interesting. Well, kind of, I really liked the idea of this book like I said: DRAGONS! ALIENS! These things make me happy. However, there are a few devices that Auclair used that drive me insane.

One of those things is miscommunication or deception when there’s no need. This is something that the heroine engages in and although at first I understood her reasons and condoned them, it got to a certain point where it no longer seemed necessary. The second thing is when a heroine does something completely stupid that endangers her and in this case her young child as well. Now, this was clearly done by the author to move the story along. However, it was completely out of character and stupid, so much so that it seems unfair to judge the heroine’s entire character on it. But I can’t help it.

But, despite these things I did enjoy this book, it had a good amount of world building and action in it as well as romance, which made it an exciting read. Perhaps this wasn’t the best start to the series, but there was enough there that intrigued me that I am looking forward to read the next book.

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I really liked how the Mary Auclair was able to write such an interesting story about dragons. The drama of the book was done quite well. The relationship between Aldric and Endora was a compelling reason to finish the book. Nice all around book.

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Mary Auclair has created a most interesting world. I enjoyed the book although I felt the characterizations could have been fleshed out more. I would also enjoy reading more about the dragons who are soul-mated. It's an intriguing concept which I would love to know more about. In general, a further detail would elevate this book immensely. Still, a worthwhile read and I would be interested in reading more by this author.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Wow!

A fascinating story concept executed extremely well. I enjoyed the suspense, the drama, the emotion and the love.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

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To be honest, I wasn't sure if I would like this one, especially when the story starts getting into aliens taking over the human planet sort of stuff. Once I got past that, I actually had a hard time putting this one down. On the one hand, there is Endora, a human who has a child dying of cancer, and then there is Alric, the leader of their area, and his dragon. Since Endora is a match for childbirth, she gives herself in order to get the medical treatment for her daughter. Naturally they fall in love, and there is plenty of political strife going on as well. Fast paced and well written. Would highly recommend this book and author.

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ARC - I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are hones
Endora was only trying to save her daughter.
Aldric has mate. He just need to learn how to woo her.
I loved the storytelling + the characters
The storytelling + the character's build were awesome!

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Sweetly touching and hot at the same time well written and engaging, a keeper!!

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I loved reading it, loved everything about the story , the characters. Thinks Netgalley for giving me the chance to start an other New series,can't wait to read more by this author as well as letting me review it in change for my honest opinion

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There's just something about dragons.

For many years, I've loved the fantasy and paranormal romance genres but any books that heavily feature dragons end up finding a special place in my heart.

I love dragons, almost as much as I'm loving this new fantasy world created by Mary Auclair.
A world where a race of beings called Dalraedon and Draekon along with their dragons, took over the earth to save it from the destruction of mankind.
In the future earth, only old memories and stories of the Earth that was, remain.

For Endora, a young mother, she cares about nothing as much as she cares for her daughter, Tallie, whose death from leukemia hovers on the horizon, her only hope for a cure lying in Dalradeon technology, which is too expensive for a human.

However, none of this stops Endora. She is determined that her daughter will not die and takes a mating contract with a Draekon, knowing that the money she's paid will be more than enough for Tallie's care.

High Lord Aldric is more, much more than Endora ever expected though.

The couple share a rough start with mixed emotions, confusion, misconceptions and misunderstandings along with deceptions but as each obstacle they face passes, the couple continue to grow stronger and closer together as does their bond with Aldric's dragon, Rhyl.

This book is full of romance and fantasy, mystery and intrigue.

I adore, not just the world that Mary Auclair has created, but the characters as well.
The least of which is Lord Emryl of Baldric whose tragedy tugged at my hearstrings and who I fervently hope gets his own HEA.

This book was a delightful read that I'll definitely be re-reading.

Highly recommended.

Fans of Jayne Rylon's Dragon Knights series may enjoy this book.

An arc of this book was obtained from Netgalley.

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Wow! Brilliant storytelling with a unique and enthralling concept. She builds a detailed and stunning world for her characters. This is a book that will create a dedicated readership. Aldaric and Endora are strong individuals which makes their love story so sign worthy. Oh...and dragons. Boy oh boy does the author deliver!!! Intelligent and well written characters that leap off the page.

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This book was full of action and adventure, with a steamy romance, dragons, and aliens thrown in.
I really enjoyed it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

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