This one I did not like as much of the first one. I had a difficult time staying interested. The characters were good and the plot interesting, but I thought the action was a little slow. I did enjoy the interactions between the two main characters, but for some reason they didn't catch and keep my attention, like the two main characters in the first book. I can't put my finger on why they didn't keep me interested, but they didn't win me over. I do look forward to reading the next one because I still enjoyed the series so far; it does continue to have potential and I look forward to the next sister's story.

Skylar is out to save her sister from a dragon shifter, to do so she sneaks into the blood kings castle where she believes her sister is being held. What she finds is not what she expected. Can the fierce Blood King find and keep a Phoenix for his own?


I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

The Blood King by Abigail Owen was a fast paced paranormal romance book.  It is the second in the series Inferno Rising, and while I had not read the first one that was not a problem as enough background was given in this one to make up for that.  We meet Skylar when she sneaks into the Dragon’s lair to “rescue” her sister Kasia, who does not want to be rescued as she is mated to a dragon. Sky doesn’t know what to think of this and then here is Ladon, oh my! He is the high king and did I mention that Skylar and her sister are both phoenixes? And have powers to help save the people being abused by the wanna be king Pytheios? Well, they are, but if you want to find out how this all works out you will have to get this book to see what the outcome is.  Looking forward to the 3rd installment (another phoenix!) to this excellent series.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book to give an honest opinion

The Blood King is the second book in Owen's Inferno Rising series.  I did  not read the first book and was a bit worried about missing out but Owen's did a great job of giving all the background needed to understand exactly what was going on.  This is a pretty well written paranormal, shifter book with dragons and phoenixes, wolves and even gargoyles, what's not to like.  This book is very fast paced and action packed. I will be going back and reading the first book while waiting for the third book.

🍷🍷🍷.5 #Review of The Blood King by Abigail Owen

Crystal's Thoughts:
"Kasia was the courageous one. Meira the brains. And Angelika the heart. But Skylar was the protector…With their mother gone, if she didn’t protect her sisters, who else would?"

Readers were first introduced to the four Amon sisters in The Rogue King where their mother used the last of her powers as a phoenix to send them to different locations across the world in order to protect them from the vicious high king of the dragons. The high king needs a phoenix by his side in order to secure his throne. Kasia found her love with the rogue dragon king, Brand, in that tale but in The Blood King, we're reintroduced to the fiery Skylar Amon and Ladon Ormarr - the tenacious king of the blue dragons. Sparks instantly fly between these two as their unyielding natures clash and attraction runs hot. 

I am thoroughly enjoying this series. The world building is vivid, and Abigail Owen's writing flows effortlessly. And while I wasn't quite as captivated with this book as I was the first, I was still engaged in the story and it's outcome. 

Skylar is the protector of her family and she takes that quite literally. The tale begins with Skylar attempting to rescue Kasia from the conniving dragons who have somehow seduced her into joining their fight and accepting one of their own as her mate. Unbeknownst to Skylar though, Kasia is in love with the dragon and not even her beloved sister can tear her from his side. As soon as Skylar confronts her sister, she comes face-to-face Ladon, the king of the blue dragons, and his bluster doesn't scare her one bit. I loved Skylar's take-no-shit attitude. She doesn't accept anything at face value and questions everything. Her stubbornness did become tedious at times, but there was no denying her courage and heart. Ladon is not only fighting for his kingdom but the future of all dragons, and he needs a phoenix by his side to do it. In the beginning, Ladon believes that any phoenix will be sufficient to achieve his goal. His people are more important than love. As soon as he meets Skylar though he knows, no one else but her will do. The banter between Skylar and Ladon was entertaining, and they kept each other on their toes. They both will do whatever it takes to protect those they love and that shined through the pages. 

The Blood King contains a little bit of mystery, a lot of action, some drama between characters, and of course a fiery romance. While each book is focused on an individual sister, there is a continuing storyline that is best appreciated when reading the series in order. After this book there are still two sisters left to read about;  one who resides with a group of wolf shifters and another living with gargoyles. Intrigued? I know that I am! 


Live on 11.20.2020

I really liked this book and am finding that this author is quick becoming one of my favorites. Both Skylar and Ladon were in past books and Skylar’s character connects both dragon series that this author writes (or maybe I just didn’t realize they were connected until this book??). I really liked both Ladon and Skylar and everything they went through in this book. I can’t wait for the next book in this series! I highly recommend. 
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Blood King was such a fun book to dive into. Just like the previous one, I devoured this in one sitting. There's just something about the characters and Abigail's writing that makes me fall in love with everything so freaking quickly.

In it, you will meet Skylar and Ladon. These two had so much sexual tension that I was nearly drowning in it. Then there's the playful banter that I ate up in every single page and chapter. I honestly ended up liking these two pretty early on. I'll admit that Skylar was pretty much a bad ass in basically everything. So it was pretty easy to just love her through and through.

Now while I knew there was going to be some drama.. I just didn't think it was going to keep me on the edge of my seat. Hands down, I can't wait for the next book in this wonderful series! I need me some more dragon love ASAP!

I LOVED the first book in this series and have been patiently, very patiently waiting for this one. The wait was so worth it. 
This book was just as fantastic as the first. Absolutely LOVED the main characters. Such fierce beings. Strong, determined dragon king and a feisty, take no crap phoenix shifter were incredible together. The chemistry was hot, the action was intense, great pace and you'll want more when it's done. I also loved the different POV's, including the villains. 
I will now wait oh so patiently for the next book, speculating about what will happen and what else we will learn about those Amon sisters.

This book was a fun, easy read and I really enjoyed it. I felt like the beginning was a little rushed. I didn't have a lot of time to get used to the world and the magic system, but that may have been because this is the second in a series instead of the first. Still, it's not a very complex universe so it was fine. I had never read about phoenixes before and I found that part of the story quite interesting. I really liked Skylar as a main character. She was strong, determined and brave, and she remained true to herself even while navigating falling in love with Ladon. If you love the enemies to lovers trope I'm confident you'll like this book. The romance was a bit basic. It felt like they only had a few short moments together throughout the whole book. I would have liked to see more interaction between them.

Since reading the teaser at the end of Rogue King, I have been waiting impatiently for Ladon's story. Truly, I loved this couple! Instead of going with grumpy/sunshine or a similar variation, Owen gives us Ladon and Skylar. Gruff, reserved, with walls around their hearts for days, watching these two complex characters fall in love slowly was a true pleasure. The sexy scenes are definitely steamy but my favorite part was the sexual tension. In true enemy-to-lovers fashion, Skylar squashes down all that attraction but we all know that won't work for long. Ladon's effort to give Skylar room to be a badass and to communicate was incredibly sweet.

It took a bit to adjust to Skylar and most of that is some of the cringy, stereotypical hardass dialogue (like declaring "no shit" instead of something clever), but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed watching her character grow.

There is nothing slow about this series. The action is in your face and the romances are red hot with lots of growly men. It took some serious effort not to binge read this book and immediately start chanting for book three. Clearly, I'm seriously enjoying this series and can't wait to spend more time getting to know the last two phoenix sisters and their mates. Black Dragons here we come!

Side Note: I formally request at least a novella featuring Ladon's sister so I can enjoy more pining time before she takes life by the dragon horns.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
**Review live on blog 12 OCT

4.5 Stars!

This is the second book in the series and filled with just as much intrigue as book 1.  We have seen King Ladon and Skylar in the previous book and little sneak peeks in the suthors other series. Ladon and Skylar are not terrible fond of each other to begin with but feel that underlying tug toward each other. 

Lots of political action in this one. Some steamy moments once Sky and Ladon realize they may be more than enemies.  Two more sisters to go.  It looks like all are accounted for.  Let's see which Dragon king gets the next match. 

My only down fall and it really is my fault--a long time between books.  I felt like I was playing catch up for a minute.  I should have re-read.  If you are new to the series, go ahead and grab both books right away.  Enjoy!  

Looking forward to more dragon shifters soon! 

*Complimentary copy  provided via Netgalley for an honest review.

Can you trust the enemy? Skylar knew that once their mother died that it was her job to look after her sisters but she wasn’t ready this. She needs to find her sisters but she can’t find them by herself so when she finds her sister Kasia she is horrified that she has made a dragon her mate. She knows that staying with the dragon king Ladon will only lead to danger & heartache. Can Ladon win her over & claim her as his mate. He knows that he will do anything for Skylar as she is his and he knows that he needs to keep his Phoenix safe as others will come for her. Will Skylar accept what fate has decided for her? Will they be able to find their other sisters before it is too late? Will they get vengeance on the dragon that killed their parents? A good read. I enjoyed it all. I was lucky enough to receive a copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

*I received this book free from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.*

Skylar is one of the quadruplet phoenixes. She is the fighter amongst them, the protector, and she feels like she is letting her sisters down. Once she discovered her sister Kasia mated a Dragon King she knew in her gut that she had to have been forced and that she let her sister down by not protecting her from that fate. Truth was that Kasia was happy and chose her mate. After spending some time with her sister and the Dragons she realized that maybe her assumptions were wrong. And to save her sisters she'd mate with the dragon pursuing her, Ladon. She was after all drawn to him from the moment they met, so if they were meant for each other that was probably reason, but that didn't mean she had to like it or admit her true feelings of desire.

"Attracted didn't begin to cover it. She wanted him in a highly inappropriate, idiotic, delicious way."

Ladon wanted a phoenix by his side, he wouldn't deny that fact, but he would never force one. That's how Kasia ended up with his friend instead of him, but when he discovered she had a feisty sister that he couldn't take his eyes off of, he knew he'd found the one meant for him. All he had to do was convince her of that fact so she wouldn't burn him alive.

"Sexiest damn thing I've ever seen. You all commanding, and brilliant, and calling me your king."

It was amusing watching the interactions between Skylar and Ladon since they are both protective, overbearing, stubborn people who are obviously drawn together. Their chemistry is amusing at times. Their passion is undeniably hot. Watching the big bad Ladon get emotional when he has close calls of losing Skylar because of her willingness to make sure everyone is safe is heartwarming and it brings that sense of awwww to the story.

The Blood King is another fascinating book by Abigail Owen. She sure knows how to write her Dragon Shifters. Each has their own unique personality and you never know what the next book will bring, but it's guaranteed that you'll love it no matter what it is. At least I do. Nothing sexier than a hot Dragon King. Bring on the next book in the Inferno Rising series.

I'm excited because I have found a new author who does PNR really well. I love dragon shifter books and I felt like this was a fresh take on dragons. 

The heroine was awesome! I love a female lead who can kick butt just as much as the male lead. There is one particular fight scene that I got suck a kick out of and thought her gift was used creatively.

The male lead character had a great mix of tough, possessiveness along with a softer side for the heroine. It's not a mix that is always easy to find. I enjoyed his character very much.

I haven't read the first book but I had no problems understanding what was going on. I will go back and read it since I ended up liking the heroine for that book as well. She got a lot of play time in this one. 

The next book that was cued up at the end of this one has a softer heroine, so I will be interested to see where the author will take this after two books with strong heroines

Another exciting installment in the Inferno Rising series! This one has a 'marriage of convenience' theme, with dragon King Ladon taking advantage of the presence of phoenix shifter Skylar to cement an alliance that will help him in his fight against his enemies. And since his main enemy happens to be the dragon who killer Skylar's parents - well, it's not exactly how she'd pictured revenge but an alliance with Ladon won't be all bad, considering their surprisingly lusty attraction to each other.
Action packed, great world building, sexy scenes and a fated mates romance combine to make a page turning read. I really enjoyed the first in this series, The Rogue King, and this one continues the main story arc but can be read as a standalone. Great escape read!

Review has been uploaded to Amazon.

The Blood King begins directly where The Rogue King ended, when Skylar arrives in order to save her sister and Ladon, the blue dragon king, claims categorically she’s his. It’s the fastest claim I’ve ever read lol. Of course, the heroine being very distrustful about dragons in general and especially dragon kings, this claim doesn’t please her, but after discussion they finally agree: they’ll mate to block the path for the bad High King who’s been usurping the throne for centuries.

I had a tough time liking the heroine, especially at the beginning. She’s presented as a tough woman but I found her too self-confident, she doesn’t really listen to other people’s opinion, and is emotionally closed to everyone except her sisters. She also lump every dragons together with the High King while her father was a dragon too. She needs time to get off her high horse, but it was a little late for me. Beside that I liked her loyalty toward her sisters and her desire for revenge is understandable in spite of a strong tendency to rush headlong.

Ladon is at first a typical alpha hero who reveals quite appreciable nuances, like patience toward the heroine, and dedication to his people when to begin with he didn’t even desire the throne. His claim toward Skylar is motivated by the need to protect his people from the High King, but it’s quickly surpassed by the physical desire. Once done with the compulsory mating for political reason, Ladon really tries to convince Skylar their couple can work, while she wants to protect herself and is ready to flee one the problem with the High King is solved. By the way Ladon is the first to feel the connection between them, and he’s the most disturbed by his mate’s absence.

As for the plot, once done with the first chapters needed to install the couple, everything goes quite fast: political plots, attacks between dragons (if you like dragon shifters here we really see them in action), and a huge air battle scene really grabbing where everyone’s abilities are put through the mill. We also have some glimpses of the bad guy’s side, we see his twisted side, and a new character is presented without us knowing which side he’s on as his actions are contradictory.

Some points left me puzzled because they’re badly used or not at all. The sisters tell an allied dragon king that Kasia is the real phoenix but some time later Skylar uses her power on him without anyone raising the issue. The High King announces a plot with a false phoenix as bait qui early in the novel but we almost don’t hear about it after that – it will certainly be part of the sequel(s) but why talk about it so early then? And the last point that I felt was badly used is the fact Skylar is at a time almost sucked in a kind of void when she’s using her teleportation power link to her sister’s power. There’s a whole scene about her being saved by Ladon but nobody talks about it after that.

Anyway all in all I was less delighted by this second volume than with the first mainly because of the heroine’s antagonism, but I had a really good reading time all the same. The novel ends with an announcement about the sequel, concerning one of the two last sisters with a black dragon.

‘Dragons needed to fly, their souls craving the sky like the body needed the blood in its veins.’

The Blood King by Abigail Owen is the second book in the dragon shifter romance series, Inferno Rising. Whilst this series can be read as standalone’s we urge you to read this series in order as whilst each book is about a different couple, the crux of the storyline is one that continues. We love a good shifter romance and this series is why. Fabulously written with action, drama, mystery and heat, it feels like pure fantasy indulgence. The world-building throughout the books has been brilliant!

‘Kasia was the courageous one. Meira the brains. And Angelika the heart. But Skylar was the protector…With their mother gone, if she didn’t protect her sisters, who else would?’

What we know: in the beginning, 4 sisters were sent to different parts of the world by their phoenix mother who was dying in order to escape the evil High King. We won’t go into too much detail as the last thing we want to do is leave spoilers for you. However, each book is about a different sister and their fate in the grand fight against evil, with dragons on their side.

‘This phoenix, who was his mate, his queen, was quickly becoming his greatest weakness. And he didn’t give a fuck. Not so long as she was his.’

Skylar is a brilliant heroine. She stands her ground, does not give in easily when it comes to trust, loyalty and love. She’s feisty and heroic, self-sufficient and brave. She loves her sisters with an innate sense to protect them. This is where we find her in first pages of The Blood King where she infiltrates Ladon Ormarrs home in order to rescue her sister, Kasia whom she believes is being held against her will. What we especially loved about Skylar, is that she never rolled over and accepted a fate without questioning it, particularly when it came to mating the ruthless dragon king Ladon Ormarr. A dragon king is born and is stronger with a phoenix by his side as we saw in book one, The Rogue King, which was Brand and Kasia’s story, however, Skylar was absolutely not going to accept this fate without a fight of reason, logic and planning the inevitable.

“So…you believe in me, but you don’t want to let me close.”
“People can only hurt you if you let them close enough to do it.”
“Who has ever been close enough to you to hurt you?”

Ladon is fighting to keep his throne out of the clutches of the High King and his allies. War is coming but just who is an ally and who is a foe?  Lies, deception and a witch’s potent magic all adds to the intrigue and the ultimate battle yet to come. We fell in love with Ladon and his no-nonsense ways. He wears his heart on his sleeve and whilst he’s a brutal and ruthless dragon shifter he truly does not shy away for revealing how he feels about Skylar.

‘With Ladon was where she was supposed to be, where she was her strongest, her most powerful, even though it also put her at her most vulnerable.’

We loved the drama, the banter between Skylar and Ladon as well as the well-placed romance which never overpowered the storyline. Whilst we’ve loved the first two books in the Inferno Rising series we have a feeling the third book, The Warrior King, will have a bit more angst, grit and excitement and we personally cannot wait! Just what is it about these shifter romances that have our hearts beating out of our chests? We bloody love them!

This is the second book in this series but in my opinion can be read as a standalone .

What do you get when a rare "phoenix"  ( who hates Dragons woth a passion ) meets a Dragon King ......... they go up in flames literally !

Skylar , one of phoenix quads , has traced her missing sister to the fortress of Dragon King Ladon Ormarr ...... there is just one problem ....... her sister is not being held prisoner , but is in fact in love and mated to a Dragon King , Brand .
Landon realises that she is just what he needs to take the the fight against the High King (the Rotten King) and convinces her that mating with him , it will save not just the Dragons but bring peace to the land .
During a battle Skylar is kidnapped by the High King ................ will she survive his efforts to drain her energy to bring back his immortality ?
The story of the Dragon's battles against the High King and of how Landon gets his Phoenix back makes for an entertaining read , with characters that draw you in .
I look forward to reading about the other two sisters in future books .

I was given an arc of the book by NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

‘Dragons needed to fly, their souls craving the sky like the body needed the blood in its veins.’

The Blood King by Abigail Owen is the second book in the dragon shifter romance series, Inferno Rising. Whilst this series can be read as standalone’s we urge you to read this series in order as whilst each book is about a different couple, the crux of the storyline is one that continues. We love a good shifter romance and this series is why. Fabulously written with action, drama, mystery and heat, it feels like pure fantasy indulgence. The world-building throughout the books has been brilliant!

‘Kasia was the courageous one. Meira the brains. And Angelika the heart. But Skylar was the protector…With their mother gone, if she didn’t protect her sisters, who else would?’

What we know: in the beginning, 4 sisters were sent to different parts of the world by their phoenix mother who was dying in order to escape the evil High King. We won’t go into too much detail as the last thing we want to do is leave spoilers for you. However, each book is about a different sister and their fate in the grand fight against evil, with dragons on their side.

‘This phoenix, who was his mate, his queen, was quickly becoming his greatest weakness. And he didn’t give a fuck. Not so long as she was his.’

Skylar is a brilliant heroine. She stands her ground, does not give in easily when it comes to trust, loyalty and love. She’s feisty and heroic, self-sufficient and brave. She loves her sisters with an innate sense to protect them. This is where we find her in first pages of The Blood King where she infiltrates Ladon Ormarrs home in order to rescue her sister, Kasia whom she believes is being held against her will. What we especially loved about Skylar, is that she never rolled over and accepted a fate without questioning it, particularly when it came to mating the ruthless dragon king Ladon Ormarr. A dragon king is born and is stronger with a phoenix by his side as we saw in book one, The Rogue King, which was Brand and Kasia’s story, however, Skylar was absolutely not going to accept this fate without a fight of reason, logic and planning the inevitable.

“So…you believe in me, but you don’t want to let me close.”
“People can only hurt you if you let them close enough to do it.”
“Who has ever been close enough to you to hurt you?”

Ladon is fighting to keep his throne out of the clutches of the High King and his allies. War is coming but just who is an ally and who is a foe?  Lies, deception and a witch’s potent magic all adds to the intrigue and the ultimate battle yet to come. We fell in love with Ladon and his no-nonsense ways. He wears his heart on his sleeve and whilst he’s a brutal and ruthless dragon shifter he truly does not shy away for revealing how he feels about Skylar.

‘With Ladon was where she was supposed to be, where she was her strongest, her most powerful, even though it also put her at her most vulnerable.’

We loved the drama, the banter between Skylar and Ladon as well as the well-placed romance which never overpowered the storyline. Whilst we’ve loved the first two books in the Inferno Rising series we have a feeling the third book, The Warrior King, will have a bit more angst, grit and excitement and we personally cannot wait! Just what is it about these shifter romances that have our hearts beating out of our chests? We bloody love them!

Skylar and Ladon are two very strong characters. Their relationship is built up well. Story is steady paced with lots of action. See characters again from the first book. Can't wait for the next book!