A Heart of Blood and Ashes

Gathering of Dragons Series, Book 1

By: Milla Vane

Narrated by: Nicole Poole

A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil - until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.

Though forbidden by the alliance council to kill the corrupt king responsible for his parents' murders, Maddek vows to avenge them, even if it costs him the Parsathean crown. But when he learns it was the king's daughter who lured his parents to their deaths, the barbarian warrior is determined to make her pay.

Yet the woman Maddek captures is not what he expected. Though the last in a line of legendary warrior-queens, Yvenne is small and weak, and the sharpest weapons she wields are her mind and her tongue. Even more surprising is the marriage she proposes to unite them in their goals and to claim their thrones - because her desire for vengeance against her father burns even hotter than his own....

©2020 Melissa Khan (P)2020 Tantor

I was taken by surprise at how good this was

I was not expecting to enjoy this book so much. It’s well written, exciting and fun.

Much better than expected

This one surprised me. The way it is written feels authentic to the characters and you really want them to succeed.

Bloody and Passionate

This story of enemies becoming allies against a common foe and finding love in the process was well written and the world so complete and lush. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The narration was excellent, making the cast cast of characters distinguishable.

Good!

A very slow start and I was bored a bit at all the world-building. But it was a seriously good story once you get past that.

From weak to strong

I loved the characters. How very smart Yvonne is and how she used this strength of mind to win the heart and love of Maddek.

Exciting

🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶 /5
This was a great adventure with quite a lot of spice. The fmc is FANTASTIC. Strong, regal and smart. However, the mmc doesn't deserve her... He's... Fine I guess.

Great characters

I love these characters! The plot and character development are so well done in this book. I enjoyed this way more than expected. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a character’s anguish as much as I did in this book.
My only complaint is I don’t love some of the language (i have to admit hearing c*** so often is like nails on a chalkboard).

fantasy with a touch of the erotic

what a delightful fantasy. The story is well thought out and the world building is very interesting. I would love to see characters with more depth and less TV show personality traits and the romance aspect is quite forced and very trope heavy and the story could have stood a lot better if instead of romance a true friendships had developed. Overall a lovely beaxh day kinda read, fun and amusing even if perhaps not a book I'll chase my friends down to make them read.

great but beware

i loved the story. it brings you into it. very strong women but equally strong men who dont lose their strength by acknowledging the strong women. in fact the men need and actually look for women who have strengths not equal to them but compliment their strengths. But Beware the sex scenes are very explicit. do not listen to this book around anyone you don't want to blush around. but in your ear pieces , enjoy a little porn.

A New Favorite

Excellent job Milla Vane. I can hardly wait for the next to be available on audible. I am also a fan of Nicole Poole. This story has adventure, loss, victory, and hope. Love and perception is what has to be spread to make the people unified and so the story continues but no cliffhanger.
A dragon in this book is a group of loyal guards and friends that make up each part of the dragon. The gathering of them is powerful. 5 stars!!