An amazing book about revenge and redemption but with dragons - what more could you want?! This follows a druid named Katia and a dragon named Merrill who work together (reluctantly on her part!) to kill their shared enemy. Its a continuation of the story, so I would recommend reading the other books in the series so you dont get confused. This universe/series has got such a unique backstory and includes so many magical beings/creatures, such as druids, star people and fae, so its a really fun world.

This is my first ever ARC read and I am so grateful to the author and publisher for taking a chance on me!

I did some digging and it didn’t seem like the other books in the series were a necessary read before starting this one. While I’m sure it would have provided tons of background I don’t feel as though I was lost in any way because this is the first of the series that I read. I appreciated the explanations and background so it was able to be read as a standalone, That said I will 100% be reading the rest of the books in the series and am excited to read the next book in a few months! (Unrelated but I also REALLY appreciate not having to wait a year or more for the next book…need my fantasy fix!)

I loved the writing style once I got used to reading the Scottish accent, it was a bit of an adjustment but not difficult to overcome. The story building and world building were fantastic! The journey this book took me on was better than many I’ve read recently. The MMC and FMC were a great pairing to overcome the major challenge and conquer the MMC’s inner turmoil. This book also got me right in the feels, even knowing the HEA was coming I cried more than once during this read! The spice level was just right for me and I feel like it added to the story rather than becoming the main focal point which was perfect because the story was so good!

Overall 5 stars and I can’t wait to get into the rest of the story!

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

It has been awhile since I read Henry's story so I kind of forgot about Katla but I have been waiting for Merrill's book for a long time! I really wanted to know why he stayed with Villette when he didn't have to stay. Fortunately, there is much background information given so if you have not read or it has been awhile, you can get caught up quickly.

This book is such a great chance for Merrill and Katla to face their past and their guilt and realize that they can have a better future and that they are perfect for each other.

I loved that the book also answered one question so we now know about the entity and why it seemed to hate dragons and Star People but leave other races alone. Unfortunately, Villette is still on the loose!

This was an action packed book as Katla and Merrill tried to find Villette - each for their own reason. Katla wanted revenge for her years of servitude to Villette and being duped into killing many of the dragons. They each had their own guilt and were able to work through it during this journey.

Looking forward to the next book and new excitement!

Dragon Marked at its core is about redemption, forgiveness, and healing—for both Merrill and Katya. When they meet, they are both hurt and haunted by their pasts, and are offered a chance to make amends together. Even as danger dogs their steps and they face a daunting foe, an inevitable trust and undeniable devotion starts to grow between them.

I love books about mates. I don’t care that it’s pretty much insta-love; I don’t care that sometimes it forgoes the relationship development that I adore and crave in every romance. something about mates just scratches the feral part of my brain that needs them to love each other so much they will do anything for each other. So going into dragon marked, I already knew the romance would hit for me.

And I think that’s maybe the only thing that did.

There is a lot of history here. I have known about Donna Grant and her dragon books for a very long time. And yet I have never read Donna Grant or any of her dragon books until now—the ninth book in, I think, the fourth or fifth inter-connected series that she has. Not a great choice! Alas, here we are.

I get that it is on me that I don’t know a lot of the history here. But not knowing the intricate backstories diminished my enjoyment of the side character relationships and the overall plot. The first 40-50% of this book feels like just exposition. We are told exactly how Katya and Merrill got to their emotional low points; we are told what I feel like is a whole series-worth of backstory regarding how the dragons came to be on Zora and slew of history as to what has happened to them here so far; we are told why the villain Villette is the villain and also what she has done. Basically, we are told a lot of things.

And yet I was still confused. And even worse: I am not sure if my confusion is just because I don’t have a lot of the backstory or if it actually just doesn’t make sense, logically. But I will give it the benefit of the doubt, because again, I get it, it’s on me.

I will say though—if you just want to read for the romance, then go for it. but if plot inconsistencies and uncertain characterizations and questionable choices will bother you, read at least some of the books before this one.

The thing I liked most about this book was the relationship development—Grant does not take the easy mate route of insta-love. That interest and attraction is there initially, of course, but what I really appreciated (and where the full two stars of this rating comes from) are the conversations that Merrill and Katya had to get to know each other’s pain. It built genuine care and an understandable bond between the two of them. They both so desperately needed someone, but didn’t know how to ask for help. and with each other, they never had to.

Some of the conversations were tied up in the exposition, and there was a point where I felt it got a little repetitive, but never egregiously, and then the plot got rolling and there was action and more concrete problems for them to deal with which spurred the romance, so I got over it.

It was a short book, so I can’t say that it didn’t move fast. However, there was solid growth there, and I appreciate that.

There were a few shining moments in dragon marked, but for me, it was just muddled in too much history that I didn’t fully understand the gravity of, and character choices and some plotlines that just didn’t land for me. The parts of this book I enjoyed the most were when Merrill and Katya’s relationship was put in the spotlight, whether on a quiet rainy evening when they were opening up to each other, or when their bond was the reason they got out of perilous situations. And yet these brief moments were never quite able to outshine all my other hesitations.

Dragon Marked is an great book, but if you haven’t read the other books in the Dragon Kings series, you probably won’t understand a lot of what is going on and who the supporting characters are in this book. This story was long over due and well worth the wait! I highly recommend this series to anyone thinking about starting it!

I didn’t realize this was a book from a series but wow I still love it! I love the world building and how easy it was to catch up to who characters are

I enjoyed this book! The beginning and world-setting was a little hard to follow without having read the rest of the series, but the book as a standalone was good!

I was in a rush to read this book so I read it as a standalone. Did great and was able to get into very much. It was a great story about being on the wrong path and then someone seeing the good in you to help you see it in yourself. I did not think that I would get into it as much as I did but I loved it. Now I need to read the first eight books to see what the rest are about.

Fair warning - this world is gigantic and we are several books deep in this Zora spinoff, so if you aren’t familiar with this world, these characters, or the baggage we’ve accumulated along the way, you probably aren’t going to quite get the same thing out of this book as I did.

I’ve been along for this wild and crazy ride since the start, so I know all the players. This book is about Merrill and Katla. Merrill ran away on purpose (sort-of) from his fellow dragon kings to help process some of the anger and hatred he never got around to dealing with for… a lot of years post-human war. Now on Zora, he was given a unique opportunity to hide out with the enemy but ultimately join the gang again. Now lurking around a kingdom without a ruler, he finds himself taken by Katla.

Katla is also a bad guy turned good guy in this story. She was capturing and probably resulting in the horrible death of many many dragons over her countless years. Was she duped by the big bad? Yes. Does she maybe have special powers above-and-beyond standard Druid powers? Probably. Either way she is struggling with her guilt and on her path to redemption. She’s taken some of the kids that were supposed to be sacrificed and treated them like her own. When Merrill offers them sanctuary, she reluctantly agrees and then they set off on their very poorly planned attempt to track down the current big bad. As is the case with these books, we don’t see the big bad get theirs, but we do see a coupling between these two guilt-ridden folks and progress in the larger story. With a world containing so many active characters, you can’t accomplish everything at once!

Dragon Marked by Donna Grant
Dragon Kings #9

The complex and often complicated universe created by Donna Grant includes a wide variety of paranormal beings that have their own laws, customs, and belief. I have not read all of the book from beginning to end but find myself being able to slip back in without trouble even if I have missed a book from time to time.

The dragon kings series has a large backstory that was summed up and referred to in this book well enough for a new reader to probably follow but having some background did help me when reading Katla and Merrill’s finding of one another as soul mates.

The story is an action-packed emotional thrill-ride from beginning to end that had me rooting for the couple and the dragons as they saved children, fought for their lives, were tortured, reconnected with family, and fell in love. Both Merrill and Katla feel guilty for past actions and seek redemption even though they both were manipulated by Villetta, a star person with a cruel streak. They seek to right wrongs, end evil beings, and find their way into a meaningful future.

The plot was well crafted, pace was perfect, setting perfectly described, characters easy to see and relate to, and the story excellently crafted with a twist at the end that evoked emotion. The ending indicated that Villetta plans to cause more chaos and gave me an idea of who will star in the next book of the series.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

Even though this is book 9 in a series, it was easy to pick up and read without getting lost. I particularly loved the run down of all dragon kings and their details at the beginning of the book.
I found the beginning a bit slow, but then it picked up and I did really enjoy reading this book. I was quite surprised by the plot twist at the end, nothing is ever what it seems.
All in all this was a good read, and I will likely add the preceding books to my never ending TBR!

***Thank you so much NetGalley and Donna Grant for allowing me to be able to read this ARC***

In this story if dragons, druids, fae, shifters and mates we follow Katla (a Druid and touched with other magic) and Merrill a dragon king shifter. Katla is looking for vengeance on a Star Person named Villette, which just so happens, so is Merrill. But there are other beasts in this story that got in the way of Katla and Merrill trying to be able to do so! I absolutely loved how these two characters came together and I’m so excited to see how their story continues in the next book!

I did not realize that this was book 9 but I was able to read it and get most of what was happening. Over all it felt a little long and dragged in some areas but was a fun dragon shifter book.

Mysterious, fast-paced, and full of dragon lore 🐉✨

Dragon Marked draws readers into a world of ancient power, hidden scars, and dangerous alliances. There’s a compelling sense of history beneath the surface, and the connection between the leads feels deeply fated. With a focus on loyalty, redemption, and the secrets that bind the Dragon Kings, this is a quick, engaging read for fans of paranormal intrigue and epic romantic stakes.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was action-packed, interesting, steamy, fun and held my interest. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Dragon shifters.
Star crossed lovers
Yearning
Fast paced
All good things but wasn’t able to connect with characters. Lacked depth.

I’ve been waiting for Merrill’s story, and it was everything I hoped for and more. His bond with Katla is raw, emotional, and beautifully healing. Both carry heavy scars from their pasts, and watching them find strength and redemption in each other was powerful. Their journey across Zora, battling Villette and confronting old wounds, kept me hooked from start to finish. The emotional depth, the intense action, and the undeniable chemistry between Merrill and Katla made this one of my favorite reads in the Dragon Kings series. Donna Grant’s world-building is as magical as ever. This is a heartfelt, action-packed romance that lingers long after the final page.

A redemption story about resilience and finding a connection in the most unexpected place (not to mention steamy Scottish accents). Merrill and Katla are two souls with heavy pasts that learn to trust one another over the course of this emotional, action-packed ride of a book. A fantastic read for everyone in need of a dragon of their own.

As with the other books in this series, Dragon Marked is loaded with great characters, so much action, a difficult situation to be dealt with and a slow burn love story. Grant is so consistently good and this series is exactly as good as one would expect from her.

Merrill and Katla have been through hell with everyone else in Stonemore. The recent battle against Miena was devastating. No one is comfortable with Villette despite her having help them kill her sister. Katla is has so much remorse for her role in luring unsuspecting dragons into the brambles and to their deaths. How does she live with that now that she knows that the anger she carried for a millennium was all based on a lie. Her family was not killed. They are long gone now but they lived out their lives after the attack where Katla was certain a dragon had killed them. She's been duped and used in the worst way for so long. How many dragons died because of her? Merrill too was lied to by Miena and Villette and led to do unspeakable acts. He can't ignore that he willingly did what he was told even if he did so out of being misinformed and used. There is no happy life for these two. How can there be?

Or can there be? Merrill finds Katla taking care of three orphans in the middle of the woods. He cannot ignore their dire situation. Food is obviously and issue. He can easily contribute a tasty meal. As the two work to save the children trust begins to build, very slowly. Eventually, the children are delivered to Merrill's dragon kin to be protected and nurtured. An event Katla could never have envisioned! Now Merrill and Katla are free to seek out Villette for the revenge each needs. Their trek finds them reevaluating everything and learning to not only trust but care for each other.

They aren't getting out easily of course and a battle must be fought and won before they can find their HEA. But, of course, they do. Sigh.

Ms. Grant, keep up the good work!

Great editon to the series! Can be read one its own, as well as part of the series if you're looking for more!