A Touch of Stone and Snow is the second book in the Gathering of Dragons series. It can be read as a standalone, but I think readers would benefit from reading in order because the Destroyer arc starts in the first book and continues in this book. And it looks like the Destroyer arc will end in the next book, which I am SO EXCITED for!!

A Touch of Stone and Snow is a second chance romance between two childhood sweethearts who have been separated for 10 years. Aerax is the illegitimate son of the King of Koth and the people of Koth have continuously shunned Aerax and his mother because of that. The only person who had befriended him was softhearted Lizzan, who at the time aspired to be a soldier. They grew up together and fell in love in the process. Lizzan eventually becomes a soldier and after a fever kills most of the royal family, Aerax becomes one of the few remaining heirs. When Lizzan and her fellow soliders get attacked, Lizzan ends up being the only survivor. But when she returns to Koth, she gets accused of being a coward. She gets exiled from Koth and instead of coming to her defense, Aerax allows her to be exiled...for reasons of his own.

10 years after her exile, Lizzan meets Aerax again. The plot moves slowly and it takes about 20% for these two to finally meet again, but it works really well because the author takes her time to set up the background story. Eventually we find out just how these new characters fit in with the characters from book 1 and how they will contribute to the war against the Destroyer. Obviously, there is a lot more to her exile that Lizzan doesn't know about and at first, she feels rightly betrayed by Aerax. But when they meet again, the years they spent apart actually strengthened their love for each other.

I really liked Lizzan and Aerax, and especially, Caeb, Aerax's giant saber-toothed cat. I love the dynamic between this trio and I love how Aerax and Lizzan support each other. Aerax is one of those heroes who speaks bluntly and without finesse, but when it comes to Lizzan, he masters the dirty talk and the romantic speeches equally. I highlighted a few of his speeches and I wish I could share them all with you. I really felt the romance in this book. Even though Lizzan doesn't know the entire truth about her exile, she still trusts Aerax because she knows that he would never intentionally hurt her. I just love their relationship because it's not only based on lust, it's also based on mutual trust and love. That's exactly what was missing in the first book for me and I'm glad I got it with Lizzan and Aerax.

The author also does a great job setting up the storyline for the next book — Saxen and Laina!!! I am so excited for their story!!!!!!

This series is only getting better! A second chance romance, amazing world building, and a main character with a freaking pet snow cat! What more could you want? I'd say this is a near perfect epic fantasy romance. I loved every single moment!

the world building in this series is AMAZING! I love everything about this from pacing to character development.

I interviewed Milla and Kristan Higgins over on Frolic, link below

I'm really enjoying this series. It is so different than a lot of other fantasy/romance. This is the second book and it includes characters from the first book, but it has a different storyline and completely different main characters. Great read!

I dove into A Touch of Stone and Snow as soon as I finished A Heart of Blood and Ashes. Lizzan and Aerax grew up together on Koth and were sweathearts until Lizzan was exiled in shame for telling the truth about how the soldiers she led were killed. They meet up again years later. The goddess Vela tasks Lizzan with protecting Aerax and promises to reward her with a glorious death in battle. Lizzan does not tell Aerax the truth about her quest or her reward. Aerax hasn’t told her the truth about why he didn’t leave with her.

Vane builds on the first book in so many interesting ways. One of the many things I didn’t talk about in my review was importance the Parsatheans put on speaking truth. I didn’t pay that much attention to it even though it was an important issue between Maddak and Yvenne. Maddak doesn’t fully become the man she deserves and the king his people deserve until he accepts Yvenne has not lied to him. Though Lizzan and Aerax are not Parsathean, they have to confront that the lies they’ve told each other and others in the past have harmed them and everyone around them. There is an even bigger lie that they have to confront about Koth.

Truth telling plays out in some of the side threads as well and those truths are likely to be resolved in the next book (or later books? Can this be an 8 book series?) One thread is carried from the first book: how will the truthful words spoken by the goddess Vela to various characters play out, because her truth is abstract. The other builds on the series arc of recovering from and preparing for the return of the Destroyer: an older woman Lizzan comes across is waiting for her son, who was taken by the Destroyer at age 4. She travelled the world trying to find him and now she waits for him to find her, even though she is certain he will hate her for failing to protect him.

I had a little bit of a rougher start with Lizzan and Aerax than I did with Maddak and Yvenne, but once I understood their conflict I fell in love with them. Lizzan might be rough for some readers at the start. She drinks too much and she is in the process of a long, slow implosion that will definitely end with her death. She is near the end of her rope emotionally, and that’s a hard place for me to connect with a character. Lizzan is a mirror of Yvenne in that she is a warrior and has the physical strength Yvenne for which longed. What she lacks is Yvenne’s knowledge of the world and understanding of all the ways people can be horrible. She lacks Yvenne’s fortitude.

It was interesting thinking about the big lie at the center of A Touch of Stone and Snow in this moment. White Americans, like the citizens of Koth, have been raised on a steady diet of comforting lies. Koth must banish, shame and kill anyone who might reveal the truth. As a child Aerax and his mother almost die because they don’t fit comfortably into Kothan society. In the United States, the truth of our nation is right in front of us and some people are so hostile to seeing it that they will become monsters in order to be comfortable in the lies. Lizzan feels like she must be a monster to have been shunned and exiled. Aerax feels like he must become a monster to save the people of Koth. Neither of them are monsters, they operating in a monstrous system. That should be a familiar feeling to us all.

Vane really goes for the jugular in this book. She takes Lizzan and Aerax from the extremes of isolation and hopelessness, to deeply and happily in love, to all is lost before they get their happy ending.

“Never have you been restrained in the pleasure you give to me, and never have you held back your heart. So always I end here in this way, so utterly satisfied and fully loved, the most blessed of all women.”

She murdered me with beauty and emotion, and I liked it. If this moment had happened between two characters in A Game of Thrones, you could pretty much guarantee that one of them is about to die and the other will suffer horribly. Listening to an author panel recently one of them said that as a culture we assign greater value to misery than joy. I think there are lessons to be taken from the way we find joy. When Lizzan is suffering, the only redemption she can see is death in battle. When she chooses joy and community, her choices aren’t necessarily different, but the way she acts on those choices is directed towards a better world instead of self-absorbed misery. In this series of romances, the lovers aren’t just making choices for their own happiness or for their own family, but also for the world in which they live. They are choosing to move beyond their own myopic view and value people for who they are and not for how they fit preconceptions. They are choosing truth over comfort. Personally, I would like to live in a wold where lives were valued for themselves.

The worst thing about having read this now is that I have to wait a year before the next book.

I received this as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It’s out July 7th, so if you haven’t read A Heart of Blood and Ashes, you have time. There is also a novella, “The Beast of Blackmore” which is referenced in the book, but I haven’t read it yet. I will though. Soon.

First things first... the hero of this book has a pet snow cat, aka A SABER TOOTH TIGER. Do I really need to say more?
Okay, okay, I will. I feel like with this book, this series is really hitting its stride. The political intrigue is intriguing! The magical and mythical elements are interesting! The romances are targeted right at your feels! It's just a super solid fantasy romance series, though I will say, I tend to enjoy the fantasy elements of this a little more than the romance elements. Personally, I tend to like slightly less angst for my romances, and this series seems to be on the angstier end of things than the Iron Seas series was. That said-- this was a second chance romance that worked a lot better for me than that trope usually does because it was so clear from the hero's POV that he was utterly gone on the heroine... so I knew the reasoning behind the Big Misunderstanding was going to be good. It was, and I found the resolution of that part of the story very satisfying.
All in all- can't wait for the next one! Things are really heating up and the Destroyer is still coming!

Koth, a northern island kingdom left untouched by the Destroyer a generation past, is confident that it was it's virtue and skill that saved it last time... and that it will be enough this time too. Lizzan, lead the Kothan army out against some marauders only to meet terrors, monsters that massacred all her soldiers and then disappeared. When she returns, she is called a coward and exiled. She has worked in the southern counties as a mercenary when she wasn't drinking to forget. On the road she encounters, one of the reasons she is drinking to forget and duty compels her to return home.

Why I started this book: Loved the first book, [book:A Heart of Blood and Ashes|46021762] and so I jumped at the chance of reading this ARC.

Why I finished it: Same series, completely new characters and focus... in a world where a magical Destroyer is returning, each country must face it's past and work towards an alliance. Vane focuses on perception vs. reality, public vs. private morality and what a true hero is and does. Plus tons of adventure, fighting, and monsters. I can't wait for the next book!

Lizzan is a Kothan solider living in exile. She travels the world as a sword-for-hire. Lizzan’s path brings her to the one man she wishes never to see again. She begs the goddess Vela for a quest to redeem her family’s honor. Lizzan must protect the first person she sees outside the temple, who happens to be Koth’s feral prince. Will Lizzan be able to complete her quest? Can she convince Koth to ally with the southern realms against the Destroyer? And what sacrifice will Lizzan have to make?
Aerax is a bastard prince of Koth. He travels outside his country to seek help from a neighboring realm. Instead, Aerax encounters Lizzan with a party from the southern realms. The goddess Vela gives him a task too: to become who he is meant to be. Something Aerax intends to do; however, he wants to renew his relationship with Lizzan. What role does fate have in store for Aerax? Can he right an ancient wrong? Or will he defy the gods to keep Lizzan with him?
Lizzan is a less-than-perfect heroine. I love that she is not the typical, cliché beautiful heroine. She has been mentally and physically scarred by her ordeals as a solider. I like Lizzan’s determination to help the southerners form an alliance with the western realms. Her country may have betrayed her, yet she still wants to keep them and the neighboring realms safe from the Destroyer. What I adore the most about Lizzan is her thoughtfulness towards others. She not only helps a foreign queen but a village that spurned her and an old woman with no expectations of recompense.
Aerax is such a love. He is a man defined by the secrets he is forced to keep and the tough choices he must take. I understand Aerax’s reluctant allegiance to his country. He has no love for Koth. However, that does not stop him from doing what he needs for it. What I adore the most about Aerax is his patience and protectiveness towards Lizzan. He understands it is hurt that drives her from him. Instead of pushing her, he lets Lizzan come to him on her own terms. Aerax also risks censor by defending her against their countrymen’s ill treatment.
A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW is book two in Milla Vane’s barbarian-fantasy romance series, A GATHERING OF DRAGONS. It is crucial to read the first book to understand the world-building and the story’s undercurrents. I am a fan of the author’s steampunk series, THE IRON SEAS, under her alias Meljean Brooks. Milla Vane’s jaunt into the fantasy genre did not disappoint me! I love how certain side characters from book one play important roles throughout the story.
A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW is a masterful tale that blends high fantasy with romance. I hope the author plans to write a story for the Parsathean warrior Seri and the Syssian prince Tyzen. I cannot wait for more adventures in this fascinating world.

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4
Another exciting installment in Milla Vane’s A Gathering of Dragon’s series. In A Touch of Stone and Snow we are introduced to a new set of characters. There are a couple of familiar names from A Heart of Blood and Ashes that we do get to see. But in this story we follow Aerax & Lizzan both who are from Koth but have been separated for a number of years.
Aerax & Lizzan both have a very tangled history that will come full circle in this story. We also will learn a lot more about the world past, present and future.
I would highly recommend reading this series in order that you can better follow the story arc of what is happening in this world.
I am extremely excited for the third installment in this series!!!


Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

Danger lurks in the western realms. The Destroyer’s imminent return has sent the realms into turmoil as desperate citizens seek refuge—but there’s no safety to be found when demons and wraiths crawl out from the shadows. Even Koth, a northern island kingdom left untouched by the Destroyer a generation past, is besieged by terrors spawned from corrupt magics.

When Lizzan leads the Kothan army against these terrors, only to see her soldiers massacred and to emerge as the only survivor, she is called a coward and a deserter. Shunned from her home, Lizzan now wanders in solitude as a mercenary for hire, until she encounters a group of warriors seeking new alliances with the northern kingdoms—a group that includes Aerax, the bastard prince of Koth, and the man who sent her into exile.

Though they were childhood friends, Aerax cannot allow himself to be close to the only woman who might thwart his treacherous plan to save their island realm. But when a goddess's demand binds them together, Lizzan and Aerax must find a way to overcome their painful pasts. Or there will be no future for the western realms...

AAR reviewers Caroline Russomanno and Em Wittmann read A Touch of Stone and Snow, and got together to discuss their thoughts on book two in Milla Vane's A Gathering of Dragons series.

A Touch of Stone and Snow can be read as a standalone, but we recommend you read the series in order.  There may be spoilers in this review.

Em:  Before I tell you just how much I loved this novel, I want to reiterate to readers the importance of starting the series at the beginning!  The beginning, although I didn’t realize it when we reviewed A Heart of Blood and Ashes, is the prequel novella The Beast of Blackmoor.

Caroline: Both of those have DIKs here. Currently, Blackmoor is only available in the Night Shift anthology, but Vane is releasing it as a stand-alone on July 7.

Em:  I loved the exposition leading up to the first meeting  between Lizzan - Lizzan frantic to get away – and Aerax - frantic to catch up - and I loved A Touch of Stone and Snow. From Lizzan’s sad backstory to Aerax’s reasons for exiling her, I was wholly invested in the overarching plot and their romance. I have a soft spot for second chance romances, and I was completely caught off guard by this one.

Caroline: I didn’t love it as much as I loved the other two books in this series, but I really, really liked it.

Em:  Were you surprised by Aerax? Maddek was such a badass alpha; Aerax is a badass, too… but he’s no alpha!  After the intense enemies-to-lovers premise of A Heart of Blood and Ashes, I wasn’t expecting longing and sweetness, or Aerax, our feral cinnamon roll badass hero! Caroline, I liked him. A LOT. What did you think?

Caroline: I thought Aerax was great. He’s not excessively embittered by his experience, and he’s dedicated to a moral purpose that he knows many won’t understand or forgive. He’s utterly loyal to Lizzan. My only quibble with him was that he didn’t tell her more of what he knew about Koth earlier - both because he should have trusted her at that point, and because we readers knew what was happening, so I just felt impatient waiting for him to reveal it.

Em:  Yes, I totally agree with you!  IF he trusted Lizzan, why did he wait FOREVER to be honest with her?  The Koth plot was the weakest part of the story. I also thought the ‘mystery’ (or lack thereof) about what was happening on the island dragged on much too long, and the explanation was a complicated, unbelievable mess. Even the resolution of that plotline was poorly executed. I actually read the last few chapters (in Koth) a couple of times.  I was convinced I missed something!  It’s all wrapped up so quickly! Did you have a similar experience?

Caroline: Yeah, that last fight sequence was confusing, and a combination of too easy and weirdly lucky? And beyond the finale, I had a larger issue with pacing.  Road romance authors have to balance the physical road journey with the emotional character journey, and sometimes that felt out of whack. We would get pages describing one hour and one conversation that dramatically moved Lizzan and Aerax’s relationship, and then weeks would disappear in a blink.

Em:  I did question the timeline of the story - big chunks of days seemed to melt away - but I enjoyed the intense, small focus scenes between Aerax and Lizzan.  It’s a departure from the first novel.  Vane seemed to focus more on emotional intimacy vs. action in this novel.

Caroline: Aerax and Lizzan come to an emotional equilibrium very early in the book by romance standards, with outside obstacles between them instead of internal ones. But I much prefer that to easily-resolved hang ups or lightning-bolt realizations of love.

Em:  I wasn’t crazy about the ending, but I also didn’t like their blindness to finding a way forward TOGETHER;  I just couldn’t understand why they were both so willing to go it alone when it was made clear he wants to save her and she wants to save him.  I mean, martyr complex anyone?

Were there parts of the story that frustrated you?

Caroline: There was one writing tic that drove me up the wall: ending the sentence with a verb. Clearly, it’s meant to give a medievally-old fashioned vibe to the prose, but when we get to the sentence, “forever did she seem to piss,” well, so hard did I laugh, because out of the story me did it pull.

Em:  HA! You made me laugh. It didn't bother me.

I tend to fall in love with Vane’s heroes, but I do love the emphasis - so far - on strong heroines in this series, and the disparate characterization of both male/female principal characters.  In the previous book, Yvenne is mentally tough, but physically weak. Here, Lizzan is physically fierce, but the ghosts of her past have tested her mental fortitude, and led her to drink to escape her thoughts. Both women eventually overcome these handicaps - Yvenne with the bow; Lizzan by opening up about her feelings and experiences (and sobering up!) - and it makes them stronger, and more formidable.  Much like Yvenne, I had to warm up to Lizzan. How did you feel about her?

Caroline: I am so glad to see a heroine like her. How many times have we seen the scarred, traumatized soldier who lost all their comrades and wanders the world in exile - and it’s a man? I also enjoyed that she was a strong, competent warrior without having to be practically a superhero.

Em:  Once again, I love the heat level in this series.  Vane is not messing around; the language is explicit, the love making is explicit, and it is sexy as hell.  This relationship has a totally different dynamic than Yvenne and Maddek, but it’s just as hot.  How did you feel about the chemistry between the couple?

Caroline: I liked it, too. The device of the “moon night,” that characters can only lose their virginity on the full moon or risk the wrath of the goddess Vela, effectively keeps the characters apart and gives us the only believable reason I’ve ever read for a mid-action sequence boink. :)

I have to sing some praises here for world building. It is so hard to write stories about gods and goddesses because usually I just end up wondering what’s the point of anything if the deities could have fixed it?  Vane is very, very good at establishing parameters of what her deities can and can’t do, and the costs of asking them to do it. The cultures and kingdoms are interesting, diverse, and thoroughly grounded in their own cultures and histories. What do you think of her world?

Em:  It’s marvelous. I can totally envision this world, and was happy to spend time in it.  I also felt like I had a better grasp of Vela,  the primary goddess figure, and why she’s important to this story. Vela was raped by her brother Enam (closely linked to the Destroyer), and gave birth to Law and Justice.  The alliance is closely linked to her, while their enemies are allied with Enam.  In the last book, Vela felt more abstract to me - now I see the conflicts between the gods and good vs. evil - and how both are reflected in the characters and events of this epic story.

Caroline: This book is still an A for me despite the fact that it wasn’t quite as good as the other stories. I’ll put my teacher hat on and say they were high As, maybe 97, but this was closer to a 93? If you love epic fantasy romance, you need to be reading this series right now.

Em:  It’s another solid A grade for me.  I liked everything about it except the rushed ending.  Highly recommended!

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Yeah, wow, I really enjoyed this book! I loved the first one, and I was really excited to read this one, as well! We get to see more of this world, to the North, which was really fantastic, and there were a few familiar faces going on the quest that they left on at the end of book 1, so I'm so excited!

I really enjoyed getting to know Lizzan and Aerax. They're a couple who knew each other really well, they had struggles, and they stayed together. But then disaster struck, and they separated. And there were a ton of emotions to deal with, and secrets to be revealed, and it was just so fascinating!

There's some overarching plot lines, like we meet the lead characters of the next book, and this book is them working on alliances to unite the whole continent, and while this threat is one that's focused, well, it's someone who followed the Destroyer. So taking down one of his allies before he arrives, that's just smart!

One thing that I would like, is a map of the Destroyer's path. I think I have it in my head, but I'm not quite sure, and this detail, while not a major plot point at the moment, well, it's a detail about the main bad guy, and I'd like to know it!

Loved reading this book, it was so fantastic, I enjoyed it so much, and I'm filled with anticipation for book 3!

Having not read book 1, I found this story hard to follow. I love second chance romances but the two main characters were so often not on the page together that I grew bored and skimmed most of the book. I was confused by the characters motivations and the world building. It might be clearer if I try book 1 first

**Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Romance for providing me with an eARC of this title. All opinions are my own.**

Wow! This was just bananas covered in chocolate good.

After devouring the first novel in this series, I was so excited to have been approved for the sequel on NetGalley. Because things just really escalated here. The magic, the creatures, the curses, the fights, everything is just ratcheted up.

In this novel we move away from Ran Maddek and Queen Yvenne to meet some new characters.

Lizzan is a shunned warrior who is now a hired protector for merchants and travelers. After being cast out by her country and separated from the man she thought loved her best in the world, she became a woman with no name and a drunkard barely stumbling through her days.

When she can't bear in any longer, she reaches out to the goddess Vela for a quest to regain her reputation and die a hero. When Vela reluctantly gives her the task to protect the next person she lays eyes on, she is shocked and horrified that it is the bastard Prince she once loved with all her heart.

The same bastard that broke her heart and refused to flee Koth with her when she was exiled.

But Aerax has been searching for her. He has a horrible task to complete and he wants Lizzan by his side no matter what it takes. He only made her leave for her own protection and he is sure she will see him as a villian when he finds out why.

This is set 2 years after the ending events of A Heart of Blood and Ashes. There are some familiar faces including some members of Maddek's Dragon Guard and Yvenne's youngest brother.

There is a SABER-TOOTHED CAT companion named Caeb, and I am LIVING for him. There is something about him though... and I want to know more.

The love story in this one is so touching. These two people who have such a deep love and layers of weight and duty upon them that have forced them apart... This was a second chance romance wrapped up in a fantasy. While Maddek and Yvenne may have burned bright and fierce. Lizzan and Aerax smolder low and deep. I adored the angst hiding true devotion. (And it doesn't hurt to have a cat the size of a horse who wants you to get back together.)

My one and only gripe has to do with logistics. This book is shelved in the Romance section, and it should be, but man, this book needs the Fantasy Novel treatment. I need a damn MAP, and a list of characters, as well as who all the gods and goddesses are. That is my only real gripe. It gets really confusing, and normally I would flip back and forth between a map and other ID pages.

Triggers: Brutality. Gore. Mentions of rape and torture.

Everything about A Touch of Stone and Snow worked for me. I loved the opening novella and A Heart of Blood and Ashes, and Vane does a terrific job continuing with the world-building established both those stories. I'm fully invested in The Gathering of Dragon's series and in these characters - the couples, and secondary characters, and I can't wait for Laina's story. I have lots of questions about the Destroyer and how the good guys can ever win against him...but I'm in no hurry for the end of this marvelous series.

I will be reviewing this as a Pandora's Box with 2 other reviewers for All About Romance closer to the release date. It's another A from me.

Links and in depth review to come.

Absolutely fantastic read. Loved the heroine battling things we normally would see the hero facing. Twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Blends the bananas style of Old School romance with modern sensibilities in an insanely hot and emotional adventure. Top 2020 read

A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW is the exciting second book in the series <i>A Gathering of Dragons</i> by Milla Vane, alternate author name for author Meljean Brook. This vibrant series of barbarians, magic, and erotic romance is a knockout. This is a second chance romance with a healthy dose of horrendous magical creatures, and oh yeah, the fate of the world is still uncertain here. I don’t know if this will be a trilogy or a longer series, but The Destroyer is still amassing power and threating the lives of all the kingdoms. So no pressure on our hero and heroine!



Vane continues to show off her world-building chops. The western realms are a fantastical place, filled with stone monsters, wraiths made of ice, and magic-wielding monks. The peoples who inhabit the western realms are hardy barbarians, and there are lovely tricksy shifting alliances as the kingdoms figure out how to best unite to survive the coming Destroyer.



Lizzan is a kick ass heroine, and I love her so much. She’s been kicked out of her island country for a crime she didn’t commit, and her fellow countrymen are forbidden from acknowledging her in any shape or form. Lizzan has been dulling the remembered horrors of fighting wraiths who slaughtered her entire platoon of soldiers, keeping herself drunk to diminish her PTSD. But Lizzan demands a sacred quest from the goddess Vela, and is now tasked with protecting the man she’d most like to forget, her former best friend and lover who is a bastard prince of her island home. The irony is delicious.



Aerax, the Kothan bastard prince, was unable to tell Lizzan why he didn’t speak up for her when she was banished. But now that she’s in front of him again, he’ll do anything to keep her with him, and in his bed. Aerax is a complex character, and the slow reveal of his motivations and behaviors is skillfully done.



Lizzan and Aerax set out on an epic journey, and along the way their very rough edges polish against each other to burnish their rekindling romance. The secondary characters bring so much life to this tale, with so many acts of heroism stirringly displayed. The sex here is grittier than in many fantasy romances, but readers will be well rewarded by the richness of the interactions between characters. Vane’s A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW gives us two star-crossed lovers bond together by the demands of a goddess, racing to save the world around them against impossible odds.

I have submitted this review to Fresh Fiction book review blog on 5/16/20, where it will be published an a undetermined (by me) future date

Milla Vane continues to write MAGIC into her adult fantasy romances!

I went into A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW with trepidation since I loved the previous book so much. I didn't want high expectations to dim my enjoyment, you know? But I shouldn't have been scared - Vane delivers and more. A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW was a fierce sequel in this series that also stands on its own, with cameos from familiar characters while focusing on a new region in Vane's extensive world. All the characters - main and otherwise - ooze life into the pages, and you really can't help but love them. Don't be fooled by the covers! (I admit, I was when I first saw them.) This series is PERFECT for readers who love a delicious blend of romance and fantasy, with extensive world-building, action, and storyline to keep pages turning, and a scorching romance to tug at heartstrings. Vane's writing completes the fantasy feeling - it's a bit long-winded, but not so much where you get lost in the narrative. Her characterizations are masterfully crafted, creating flawed heroes that you can't help but cheer on. And finally, this book features the best second-chance romance I've read this year.

PLOT/SETTING

"This is what we would build here: not merely an alliance, but Dragons made of warriors frome very realm - with claws that will make the Destroyer's armies bleed, with deadly stings to pierce his defenses, with wings that we will stretch across the western realsm, so that everywhere he goes, so too we will be. And all the while, our Dragons' armored scales will protect the people at the heart of every realm."

Because of the plot, I think it would be nice to read book 1. But honestly I wouldn't say it's required, as the events of the previous book are important but not necessary to make this book readable. The major, encompassing storyline is to defeat the Destroyer, who returns to lay ruin upon the lands. As history shows, the best way to do so is to band together rather than fight separately. As such, the characters in this book are a motley crew who are hoping to create these alliances with kingdoms in the realm. Unfortunately, the superiority and corruption of the Koth kingdom (where our main characters are from) prove that difficult, but with a stalwart heroine and ferocious hero, it just might be possible. Vane creates a huge realm, with a central religion and vast kingdoms to explore. The plot is never boring and keeps readers' attention as our crew of characters are thrust into perilous situations that will leave people singing about their glory for days to come.

CHARACTERS

"He was the man who would do anything to see her safe. He was the man who would protect her with his very life. He was the man who would love her until the skyburned Temra to ash.
He was Lizzan's. Fully and truly Lizzan's.
Nothing else Aerax ever became would mean more than that."

As much as I adored the world that Vane wrote, the characters always shine in her stories. Goals are questioned, perspectives are challenged, and lessons are learned when it comes to these characters. They're so easy to cheer on, despite their flaws. And of course, the dialogue is full of wit and fun.

The heroine, Lizzan, is a selfless, disgraced warrior who is banished from her kingdom of Koth. She left the island with heartbreak and a tainted reputation, choosing to become a nomad and sword-for-hire. She starts the book as an alcoholic on the run, and transitions into a woman with a mission and purpose. She may stray off her path at times, but it's always done with other people in mind, instead of selfish reasons. Lizzan proves again and again through action how much of a protector she is, and how she's willing to sacrifice herself for the good of others. This extends to Aerax, a bastard prince who she grew up to love.

Aerax grew up ignored in Koth due to his bastard heritage, until a fever wiped out most of the royal family and he was forced to step up into his role. This caused a bridge between him and Lizzan, as they grew up together and became the best of friends (with romantic feelings eventually coming up). Usually for second-chance romances, I get disappointed by the point of conflict that caused the break-up in the first place. But in this book, I believe both characters' actions were justified and logical, which made the resolution to it satisfying. Aerax is a man on a mission, but reclaiming his lost love is also on the top of his goals. He's ready to be the villain in the story if it means the good of his people, and although he's known as the "savage prince," has a really heroic heart. For his part, the story focuses on the kind of person he wants to be (A prince? A villain? Something else?), and the kind of legacy he will leave behind.

The romance itself had lots of chemistry and lots of heart. Lizzan and Aerax's love for each other was proved via action and dialogue, again and again. I loved how tender the romance was, while the characters themselves were ready to prepare for war - a beautiful juxtaposition.

One last thing to note - this book has a lot of graphic content, including gory/violent scenes, that readers should know of before getting into it. The action is brutal, the romance is off-the-charts sexy, and the characters are flawed and triumphant. This phenomenal sequel marks another success in this must-read trilogy!

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for the review copy!

TW/CW: alcoholism, addiction, brutal violence and gore/blood (it's very graphic), sexy times

The second book in Milla Vane's A Gathering of Dragons series continues themes of personal growth and romance, as well as forgiveness and moral dilemmas. While on the surface this is a barbarian romance, there's so much more to this book than just the relationship between Lizzan and Aerax. There are more frightening creatures and bloody battles in the series than your average romance but showing the darker side of life is more reflective of humanity and helps show the inhumanity of the forces that oppose the alliance in the making.

Milla Vane's world building is masterful and she builds characters that are flawed but redeemable. Watching the characters--not just the main protagonists--evolve and grow elevates this book above the standard romance. The relationship between Lizzan and Aerax examines often competing forces of societal pressure, duty, and forgiveness while showing the ways human nature can influence alliances and conflict at both small and large scales. Not only is a great book to read for entertainment, it's also a book that highlights how even those who are flawed can overcome challenges to find happiness.

I was so excited when Berkley sent me an eARC of this book on Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. I loved the first installment of this series and could hardly contain my excitement for the second. I was very worried going into this because I loved the first book and set of characters so much, and I knew going into this one it followed a whole new cast of characters. Almost immediately I realized that I was worried for no real reason. I loved this one as much, if not more than the first. There is something about this series that is just everything I want. The world is vast and intriguing. The romance is some of the best I have seen. The writing is simple enough to be digestible, but full of beautiful quotes and moments.
Aerax is a FANTASTIC love interest. He may be one of the more sweet and gentle men I have come across in the fantasy romance genre and I found myself just wanting more and more of him. Lizzan is our strong female soldier who has had such a rough past but is so relatable. I found her to be the best mixture of tender and caring mixed with badass and strong. The two together have this INCREDIBLE chemistry and creates one of the best romances I have ever read.
I loved our cast of side characters as well. I am a sucker for a band of people going on a mission and this is exactly what this group was. They all had their own opinions and feelings about each other and the situation they were in, however they stayed strong together and had each others back no matter their history.
Overall this was an easy 5 star rating for me and this is creeping up on my list of all time favorite series. If you are a sucker for a truly epic adult fantasy romance series, this is it. I have yet to read anything that comes close to this within the genre.