Series: DRAGONS Series (AISLING GREY, SILVER DRAGONS, LIGHT DRAGONS)
Plot Type: Soul-Mate Romance (SMR)
Ratings: Violence—3-4; Sensuality—4; Humor—4-5
This post contains information about MacAlister's first three DRAGONS series: AISLING GREY, SILVER DRAGONS, and LIGHT DRAGONS. The post begins with a very brief overview of the series as a whole, followed by brief summaries of the first two series and complete reviews of the three novels in the final trilogy (LIGHT DRAGONS).
In July 2015, MacAlister started a fourth DRAGONS series, a trilogy called DRAGON FALLS. I will review all three of those books in a separate post as they are published. Click HERE to read my series overview and a review of the first book in the DRAGON FALLS series.
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE DRAGON SERIES
AISLING GREY, GUARDIAN SERIES
This is the first of the DRAGON series, and it involves a branch of the Otherworld of the DARK ONES series, this time focusing on the world of Aisling Grey, a demon lord, and her Beloved, Drake, who is the wyvern (aka leader) of the green dragons. Effrijim (aka Jim), the demon dog, provides comic relief. Click HERE to read MacAlister's FAQ page for AISLING GREY, GUARDIAN.)
SILVER DRAGONS TRILOGY
Playing with Fire (2008); Up in Smoke (2008); Me and My Shadow (2009)
MacAlister’s DRAGON tales continue with May Northcott, a doppelgänger; her Beloved, Gabriel Tauhou, wyvern of the silver dragons; and her sister Cyrene, a naiad who is May’s otherworldly twin. Magoth, a sleazy, lesser-demon lord who controls May’s life, provides comic relief. Jim, the demon dog, continues to join in the merriment. Although the protagonists must battle a variety of supernatural villains, the stories are really all about the romantic relationships.
LIGHT DRAGONS TRILOGY
LIGHT DRAGONS, BOOK 1: Love in the Time of Dragons
This series continues the dragons stories that began in the AISLING GREY and SILVER DRAGONS series.The light dragons are a newly developed dragon weyr led by Baltic and his mate, Ysolde de Bouchier, who spend much of their time at odds with the dragons of the other weirs.
Baltic was once the wyvern of the now-extinct Black Dragons, but he has built up a (somewhat-deserved) reputation for being a crazed murderer and has been cast out of the weyr. Good old demon Jim is still around for over-the-top (sometimes annoying) humor.
LIGHT DRAGONS, BOOK 2: The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons
The second book in the LIGHT DRAGONS series is told in the first person by Ysolde, as she and Baltic adjust to their reunited life together. Here's the back story: Ysolde was killed centuries ago, stayed dead for more centuries, and then was resurrected by the First Dragon because he had a task for her to complete. Unfortunately, he did not explain to her exactly what that task would be. When Ysolde was resurrected, a villainous oracle wiped her memory of Baltic and the rest of her past and married her so that he could use her powers to create gold out of lead. Unfortunately, the combination of long-term death, resurrection, and memory wipe have caused Ysolde's inner dragon to go dormant. In this book, Ysolde is still struggling to remember her past life and to reconnect with her dragon self.Baltic also has a tragic past: Like Ysolde, he was murdered and resurrected after hundreds of years. In Baltic's case, Thala, his third in command, brought him back. Thala is half mage and half dragon, and she has her own ominous agenda, which we only have hints of in this book. Baltic is ecstatic to have Ysolde back and spends much of his time ordering her to allow him to protect her—at the cost of her independence (if she lets him).
Ysolde keeps trying to figure out exactly what the First Dragon wants her to do, and she has a series of visions that would be helpful if only she could decipher their meaning. When she asks Baltic to help her understand the visions, he brushes her off, saying that what the First Dragon wants her to do is unimportant. The bulk of the plot focuses on the lustful love scenes between Ysolde and Baltic, and I have to award this book an extra point in sensuality just for the scene that centers on warm caramel sauce and a pastry brush. Baltic, like his fellow dragons, is impossibly alpha—totally obsessed with sex, jealous of any attention Ysolde pays to another male, quick to lose his ferocious temper, and stubborn as all get out. Ysolde, like the mates of the other dragons, knows just how to manipulate Baltic to get her way—usually by taking him to bed.
This is a humorous, sexy paranormal romance series overflowing with over-the-top alpha heroes and sassy heroines. Don't try to jump into the series in the middle, though. You really need to go back to the AISLING GREY books and move on from there. Each book references events of past books, and by the time you get to the LIGHT DRAGONS, you would be lost if you didn't know the histories of the various characters.
Click HERE for a printable list of all of MacAlister's books. Click HERE to take a look at Baltic's humorous journal. Click HERE if you've read most of the DRAGON books and would like to play a DRAGON quiz game.
LIGHT DRAGONS, BOOK 3: Sparks Fly
Ysolde continues to narrate as the third book in the series picks up the story after Thala's betrayal at the end of book 2. Baltic, Ysolde, and Bron (Ysolde's son with Gareth) are staying at an old pub because Thala burned down their former home. Baltic has had no luck in tracking down Thala and her ouroboros (outlaw dragons), so he's plotting his next move while he works with the construction team who will be rehabbing Dauva, his estate in Latvia. Life is going as smoothly as possible under these circumstances when Bron is abducted by his biological father, Gareth, and carried off to a castle in Spain. Baltic, Ysolde, and their friends go after Bron, and the conflict takes off from there.
LIGHT DRAGONS, BOOK 3: Sparks Fly
Ysolde continues to narrate as the third book in the series picks up the story after Thala's betrayal at the end of book 2. Baltic, Ysolde, and Bron (Ysolde's son with Gareth) are staying at an old pub because Thala burned down their former home. Baltic has had no luck in tracking down Thala and her ouroboros (outlaw dragons), so he's plotting his next move while he works with the construction team who will be rehabbing Dauva, his estate in Latvia. Life is going as smoothly as possible under these circumstances when Bron is abducted by his biological father, Gareth, and carried off to a castle in Spain. Baltic, Ysolde, and their friends go after Bron, and the conflict takes off from there.
The main plot, as always, centers around Ysolde and Baltic's romantic life, including the requisite number of bawdy bedroom scenes. The action plot includes a battle with nefrits and a showdown with Thala. A secondary plot follows the beginnings of a romance between Savion Bartholomew (thief-taker and tracker) and Mauro Lo (half-dragon grand-daughter of the infamous Kr. Kostich). To assist the reader, MacAlister (finally) includes a list of brief character biographies at the end of this book that includes all of the dragons and dragon-related characters from all of the DRAGON series. Even though I have read all of the DRAGON books, I still found myself leafing back to that guide to refresh my memory about various characters' histories.
This is a typical DRAGON story, with alternating scenes of sex and action and plenty of back-and-forth chest-bumping gibes among the dragon wyverns. Jim, the demonic dog, is even more annoying than usual. Most of the loose ends of the First Dragon plot line are tied up by the end of this story, resulting in a better relationship between Baltic and the other wyverns, but Thala and her ouroboros are still on the loose and Savion and Mo still have to have their story told, so more books are on the horizon.
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