Donna Grant's The Bastard King, the first installment in The Bastard Duology, offers a thrilling blend of paranormal romance and fantasy, even if it takes a little while to ignite. While the beginning felt a bit rough, the story quickly drew me in with its unexpected twists and compelling characters. Fans of Grant's previous Dragon Kings series will find familiar faces and threads woven into this new narrative, though the book can be enjoyed as a standalone. However, a deeper appreciation for the world-building and character dynamics will likely come from familiarity with the previous series.

Kora, the last of her kind, is a fiercely protective character who unknowingly stumbles into dragon territory while trying to save another. Her bravery, though ultimately leading to a near-fatal wound, catches the attention of Derek, a powerful dragon shifter. Derek, bound by the will of the manipulative Villette, finds himself drawn to Kora, but must conceal his true nature due to her distrust of dragons. Their burgeoning connection is fraught with secrets and prejudices, creating a compelling tension that promises to erupt in the second book.

Derek, a formidable dragon, is also a prisoner, forced to obey Villette's commands despite his own internal conflicts and amnesia regarding his past. Villette herself is a complex antagonist, battling her own demons while ruthlessly pursuing her goals of dragon mastery. The introduction of Miena, a mysterious character held captive, adds another layer of intrigue and sets the stage for the explosive cliffhanger ending.

This was a DNF for me! I made it through 56% of this book and really wanted to give it a chance. The premise sounded great. The characters and world building are really flat. I still don’t understand the magic system and I am halfway through. Both main characters spend a ton of time speaking about the past without actually giving any information. I’m rating this 2 stars because I do think others who like long story backgrounds may like this book.

Kora is the last of her kind, the mythical Hellhound. Her people died to save her and she has spent the last hundreds of years running away from duty. When the book opens, she has finally decided to face her fate and the evil dragons in pursuit of vengeance.
Derek is the last of the dragons, tasked with hundreds of years of watching over the last surviving dragon eggs. He serves the last star person, hoping that one day she will help him free the dragons.

This book includes:
- Dragons
- Hellhounds
- Druids
- Asteri??
- memory loss
- secrets and race wars
- lies and betrayal
- instant love

This was an engaging book, with a plot that was kinda reminiscent of the Crescent City series, without the cell phones. Kora and Derek are both pretty likable, even tho I didn't really feel like they had the most natural chemistry. The plot kept me entertained, and the author did a good job of trying to include plot twists. While I wouldn't really recommend this book, I also wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Donna Grant, and DL Grant for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
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Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The bastard king's initial pages had me intrigued but later on as story progressed it became more smut than the actual fantasy novel. It wasn't bad but when you start a book with an expectation and they are not met it holds you back.

The world buidling should have been better. The insta lust gave me ick too but okay. The characters are randomly introduced and there's no development for any of them including even Derek and Kora. We don't get a clue as to what's really happening in the book. Who's who? What they mean? Like what is star person? What's kora exactly is. How this world exactly works. The plot has many loopholes, which I just couldn't ignore.

The characters had zero to little chemistry. I feel if there had been proper character development and world building the book would have been much better.

Star rating : 2.5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed this book. But I must say the first 60% were quite slow. The plot was interesting, and I haven´t read a similar story to this one. The pacing in the second half was great. This book was missing world-building, and until the end, I still had no clue about different universes, what exactly different types of characters were, and what their abilities were. I hope in the second book we will get more explanations since I plan to finish this duology.

DNF at 29%
݁₊ ⊹ ARC review! ⊹₊⟡⋆🗡

I was quite excited about the concept of this book—a fantasy story featuring dragons, politics, and magic set in a medieval world. It sounded like exactly the kind of story I would enjoy. Unfortunately, I had to put it down and DNF it. We are thrown into a world we know little about, and the story doesn’t provide much context. And then, since the beginning of the book, there's insta-lust and just...smut, without any plot or depth whatsoever, the writing was all over the place, and switching from an older style of language to the modern one and the characters felt really flat and emotionless. I rarely DNF books because I believe in giving every book a fair chance, but I just couldn’t continue with this one. I find it uncomfortable to read a fantasy book that focuses almost entirely on spice when I was hoping for dragons instead. Sure, I haven't read further to know how much we get of dragons in this book later on, so I can't say much about that. But, if there's barely anything explained, when there's a lack of description and everything is very much confusing and I can't connect with the characters at all and the romance isn't convincing because of the reasons I already mentioned, I just don't feel the motivation or excitement to keep reading to find out, unfortunately.

Even though this book wasn't for me, it doesn't mean it can't be for you. If you don't need much descriptions in your stories, if you like insta-lust/insta-love, if you don't feel the need to know emotions and thoughts of characters that much to be able to connect with, then maybe this one might be a nice, enjoyable quick read for you. It just wasn't for me.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and author for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

˗ˋˏ ♡Thank you and NetGalley♡ ˎˊ˗

I would say this was a solid fantasy book. I enjoyed the characters and how they developed through the story. The plot was also very good, however it felt like something was missing. Overall I would recommend!

This is book one in The Bastard King Duology and it features Derek and Kora. WOW! This author never ceases to amaze me with her astonishing imagination in storytelling. The action, adventure and suspense in this story kept me on the edge of my seat. It is thrilling! I’m trying not to rush this review so I can pick up the next book.

So many things are happening but the gist of it is that this is a large chunk of history of the dragon kings. You actually find out how and why they are on earth with humans and so much more. The detail in the story line is fantastic and I really felt like I was standing there watching it all unravel.
BRILLIANT WRITING!

If you love mystery, action, suspense, romance and villains who bite, then this book is for you. I had never read a Donna Grant novel before, but I am now invested in exploring her backlog of over 100+ books. I loved that there was banter between multiple characters, multiple types of family dynamic, and dragons!! I was concerned at a little spice early in the book; however this was not gratuitous but necessary to build a link between the protagonists. I have already obtained the second book and am starting it right now...

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book. Technically, I had difficulty following the thoughts and the facts within the first 25% of the book. It was like, there were missing chapters. Maybe the sentences were to abrupt, and there should have been more descriptions. The relation between MMC and MFC started almost without any depth. The story in general could have been nice if it was told more generously.. maybe more background or environmental info could be placed.

Big thanks to Donna Grant and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for a review.

I loved this. Revenge, love but not insta-love, dark character back stories, steamy with no slut shaming. This was my jam.

I loved everything about Kora and Derek and their passion. Dragons and magic, evil and betrayal. This has everything that one could want in a romantacy.

5 stars

What to Expect:
🐉 Dragon shifter x supernatural FMC
💕 Insta-lust with hidden identities
✨ Multi-POV (mostly MMC/FMC)
🌶️ Spice level: 2/5
⚠️ Cliffhanger ending

Kora, the last of her kind, is fueled by revenge against dragons, the creatures responsible for destroying her family. When she unknowingly crosses paths with Derek, a lone dragon enslaved by the villainous Villette, she has no idea he’s a shifter. As sparks fly between them, buried secrets and past traumas threaten to shatter their fragile connection.

✨ What I Loved:
A captivating supernatural world with dragons at its heart!
The fast-paced, action-packed opening that hooked me right away.
Derek’s protective yet tender nature—he’s impossible not to root for.

⚡ What Could Be Better:
Kora’s impulsive decisions didn’t quite match her 500+ years of life experience.
The pacing felt uneven; it dragged in the middle and had an ending packed with too many reveals.
I’ve never been a huge fan of 3rd person, so this could be a bias of mine…

Despite its flaws, The Bastard King delivers an exciting mix of spice, suspense, and dragons! Perfect for romantasy fans. I’ll be picking up The Uncrowned King to see how it all wraps up.

This book unfortunately fell flat for me as a reader. Initially this story seemed right up my alley with dragons, fae, romance and overall fantasy setting - however all it appeared to be was tropes on tropes on tropes. The entire book felt as if the author was trying to hit every single trend popular in the book community today, and then cram it all together and slap a title on it. This has the ability to be a great book, but there needed to be more editing.
In this book there are two opposing sides, dragons and the group our FMC belongs too - a classic Romeo and Juliet foreshadowing.. This was a very instant attraction and insta love; which if you prefer, you will greatly adore this novel. The dialogue also felt choppy and unrealistic at times as well.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

3.75 ⭐ I would have liked there to be more world building on the front end, but you eventually get mostly there. Kora is a strong FMC who is resourceful, independent, fiery, loyal, and a smidge anxious. Derek is a brooding, loner alpha MMC who doesn't trust anyone, even Kora, until it's too late.

This was entertaining but lacked of descriptiveness, the characters could have been so much better. FMC and the MMC felt a strong attraction for one another from the beginining but there was no explanation about it. I would of loved to learn more about her powers but then again this is book one could be on book 2. I am more of a character driven person and this was not it for me but just me thing. I would still recommend this if you're looking for some spice, dragon shifters, insta-lust, and quick paced. This book can be read in one or two sittings.


Thank you Netgalley for the Ebook!

The Bastard King marks the beginning of the Bastard Duology. While I found aspects of this book enjoyable, I cannot say I was entirely captivated by it.

I completed my reading in December after requesting a copy, and I struggled to form a definitive opinion about it.

The narrative holds promise, and the world-building was quite engaging. As a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, I was eager to dive in. However, I felt that the writing style could have been improved.

The characters seemed somewhat lacking in depth and realism, and the story did not fully engage me until the final sections. I wouldn't rate this book too harshly, as I appreciated Derek's character and his growth throughout the narrative.

I have already read the sequel, but I will hold off on sharing my review until its official release.

This was my first time reading a book by Donna Grant, and while I didn’t have any specific expectations, the intriguing description immediately caught my attention. The story was captivating, with unexpected twists that kept me engaged all the way to the end.

However, I didn’t realize this was a spin-off series when I started reading, and it was noticeable. I often felt like I was missing key world-building details and backstory. So I would advise to read some of the other books before diving in, to be able to fully immerse yourself in the story.

Despite that, it was an enjoyable read, and I’m definitely looking forward to book two!

I’ve got a few warnings before I dive into the review. First, this book ends in a cliffhanger that caught me by surprise even though this is a “duology.” If that is not your jam, I understand, and figured a heads up would be appreciated. Second, I am well versed in the Donna Grant world of dragon kings and their related politics/supernatural drama. I mention this because I am not quite sure you could start your journey in this world with this book series. There have been a lot of preliminary skirmishes and buildup to this big showdown that you may not fully understand or appreciate without having at least gotten a taste of this world from one or more previous books.

Now on to Derek and Kora’s story (or the start of it at least)! Kora is a woman alone in the world on a world similar to ours, but in another realm. It is a bit “old timey” in that they don’t have much technology and hot water is a luxury still. The word tunic is thrown around a lot. In this world, dragons are real and are to be avoided at all costs. The humans are slowly being either captured or lured into a city that has a very extreme class system. There is a mysterious ruler nobody has seen and the religion revolves around killing anyone with magic. Oh, and nobody can have kids for some reason, but they magically show up. This is all “normal” and Kora has reached the point where she is ready to put an end to it all.

Kora has a vendetta against the ruler, who is a “star person,” which essentially means a god. They have magic and can only be taken down by one other supernatural thing - a hellhound. Lucky for Kora, she is one and may be the only remaining one because dragons have destroyed her entire race. She hides this and lives a solitary life until she comes upon Derek. Derek is secretly his own type of supernatural, a dragon. Since he can take human form, he can conceal that secret from Kora when they meet. They both have oodles of secrets but manage to find a relationship together, even though it starts as purely physical.

These two go on an adventure that ends up putting them directly in the plot line of dragon kings books. Kora is determined to get revenge, Derek is conflicted because he works for the woman Kora has sworn revenge upon, and all of this ends up coming to a head at the end when some mistakes are made. With so much turmoil, I couldn’t resist and dove right into book 2 at the end, so the cliffhanger did not impact me too badly.

Awesome book. Loved the characters and plot. Would definitely love to read more from this author. Love how she built this book.

Kora and Derek are two natural born enemies that end up falling head-over-heels in lust for each other. Kora is on a mission for revenge against those that killed her family. Derek has information that can help her, and our story takes off from there.

The story is not plot-heavy during the middle. It felt like the story was stagnant from 30%-60%. The story picks up quickly and gets very good, so make sure to keep trudging through that middle section. I do recommend picking this book up, though. It was a very good read!!

Reviews can be found on my GoodReads and my Instagram.