The Dragon Mistress

The Eburosi Chronicles 8, Book 1

By: R. A. Stefan

Narrated by: Gwendolyn Druyor

They’re the last five dragons in existence. To survive, they must form soul-bonds with five humans who are pure of heart and resolute of spirit. Too bad they’re stuck with us instead: the angry drunk; the shameless man-whore; the coward who ran away and got his comrades killed; the ice-cold assassin for hire; and me, the girl with abandonment issues as deep and wide as the Southern Sea.

I left home in search of adventure. Instead, I stumbled into the middle of a desperate struggle for survival.

Five people. Five mythical beasts.

If we manage to get through this mess, it’s going to be a miracle.

The Dragon Mistress: Book 1 by USA Today best-selling author R. A. Steffan is a medium-burn fantasy romance series where the heroine doesn’t have to choose one person at the end. It is part of the Eburosi Chronicles, along with The Horse Mistress and The Lion Mistress. It’s not necessary to have heard any of the other books in the series before starting The Dragon Mistress.

A special note for fantasy fans: Herein, you will find explicit love scenes in several interesting and unconventional permutations. If your gut reaction to that is “eww” or even “meh”, you probably won't enjoy this series. Also, be aware that The Dragon Mistress: Book 1 is the first installment of a series arc. It is not intended as a stand-alone book.

©2018 R. A. Steffan (P)2018 R. A. Steffan

Pretty good for what it is

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Although this is book 8 in the series, and the first I've listened to or read, it is the start of a new story arc. So I had no issues getting into the story and enjoying the listen. The narration is well done and very entertaining. The story itself is well written and I found the characters engaging. I found the balance between romance content and fantasy content to be well balanced. All in all, this was pretty good and I have interest in continuing this story arc. I'd even consider going back to the beginning of the series.

The Dragon Mistress

A great first book in the Dragon Mistress arc. I haven’t listened to any of the other books in The Eburosi Chronicles, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of this book.

If you’re looking for a strong female lead and some steamy interactions with the male characters, look no further... R. A. Steffan certainly delivers!

An impressive performance by Gwendolyn Druyor. Her timing is impeccable and her different voices fit the characters perfectly.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Frella, how I love thee

Every once in a while you meet a character with unique voice. I love this Frella. She's no-nonesense, take charge, adventurous, and in charge of her own sexuality. This is some of the funniest writing Steffan has done in a while, and it's all because of Frella's unique way to of looking at the world.

The gist of the story is that Frella is a lone female traveler in a world that is like our more ancient Middle East or North Africa. She's learned a new language (go her), and is in search of dragons. After her horse is stolen and she's robbed in the first chapter, she meets a bride traveling to her husband and her escorts who help her. During their night of camp, Frella expresses her wish to meet dragons, only sadly find out that they've all been slaughtered. That begins the plot ball rolling, and it's a good one.

I've been listening to Steffan and Druyor for two and a half years now through man different series. I already know I'm a fan, but this is the most balls to the wall fun I've had in a long time. I'm already ready for the next installment, but I have to wait while author and narrator work on other projects.

For new readers/listeners, this is the start of a third series with characters in The Horse Mistress (about Frella's adopted parents) and the The Lion Mistress (about Frella's brother). You truly don't have to read those books to understand what's going on here, but your experience would be richer if you did.

Druyor has a lot of fun with the different accents here. They aren't specific to any certain place, but there are shapes of things she's used before. One of her male characters reminds me of Oksana from the Circle of Blood series because he has a certain lilt to his voice. I also enjoy Frella's adult voice, which is womanly by far but not frail or childlike. It helps the listener like me who has been through 10 books by now to differentiate a twenty-two year old Frella from her at ages four and ten (in the other series respectively).

Anyway, get this. It's fun. You know you want to.

Loved it!

I loved this story when I read the book, and I love it even more after listening to the audiobook. It's a great plot with a spirited young woman heading out to travel the world and specifically to look for dragons. She runs into thieves, rogues, good, if tormented, guys...and, yes, dragons. It's a fun adventure, laced with humor. There isn't a lot of serious drama, and a mostly light-hearted approach, even to the bad times. I love the characters. They are all layered with pasts and secrets that this first book just begins to reveal. I like the inclusive and open-minded nature of the story - there are LGBT and polyamorous characters and no heavy moral judgements about sexul freedom, as long as it's voluntary. I can't wait to read/listen to more of the story.

The narration was excellent. Ms. Druyor always gets the character attitudes, emotions, and tone perfect, whether serious or humorous.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great Start to the Series

This is the first book in the Dragon Mistress, and the book 8 in the Eburosi Chronicles (including The Horse Mistress and The Lion Mistress). This is a great start to this fantasy Series. The story is complex, and intriguing. The storyline is filled with action and romance. Frella, Rayth, Aristede, Eldris, and Nyx are interesting characters. The story ends with a cliffhanger. Gwendolyn Druyor did a great narration.

wonderful story

a great fantasy full of good things I like this book very much the story was very full in the very interesting the characters were very beautiful they were described like Beautiful Creatures and persons and I loved it the narrator was great as well
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

likes it

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I was drawn in right away with this book. I liked that there was a nice mix of action drama and romance. also that yes though the heroin was sometimes a little naive she figured her way out of her masses. I would recommend the book for sure.

This begins an interesting start of a series

Rescued from an hot and scorching death, after being robbed and left to die, our young heroine tags along with the group that had come across her.
This group of mercenaries were to aid her in her future troubles.
There is a hot erotic scene, as well as, a cliffhanger ending.

Stellar collaboration between Steffan and Druyor..

The Dragon Mistress is the first in a new series, and it does, as forewarned by the author, end in a major cliffhanger. This book takes place in a world introduced in two previous series by Steffan, but I am not familiar with those works and had no trouble falling right into the story. The heroine of the story, Frella, is a young woman seeking adventure by traveling far from home. Frella has a fierce, independent spirit, and she desperately wants to experience everything this new world has to offer. She immediately gets herself in dire straits and is rescued by three mercenaries in the process of escorting a wealthy lady to her intended. Raythe, Aristide and Eldris are three men from different backgrounds and with completely different personalities, but they are comrades in arms and have formed an unlikely family. After further life threatening adventures on her own, in one of which she meets a young stable hand, Nix, and invites him to join her, Frella meets back up with Aristide and Eldris, and they travel together to where Raythe is protecting an amazing surprise. Between the intriguing world building, the developing feelings between Frella and all four men, and the paranormal elements of this story, The Dragon Mistress just whet my appetite for more of this wonderful series.

Gwendolyn Druyor delivers another amazing performance. She has an incredibly pleasant voice, and her use of accents adds to the mystical, paranormal feeling of the story. I loved her sometimes snarky but always brave delivery of Frella, and she gave each of the main characters a distinctive sound and personality. I can't say enough positive about this story and this narration.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

Loved story and narration

I really enjoyed following Frella on her journey and meeting her new comrades she encounters. Frella is constantly getting into trouble but not by choice, mostly because she is a little naive to what is really going on around her. Luckily for her, during one of her little troubled moments she is rescued by some wonderful people. These people happen to help her out in more ways than one. Most importantly they are around when she realizes dragons are real, but that’s just the start of what’s to come. Not only are they real but they choose humans to soul-bond with.

I love when a story can keep me on the edge of my seat and yearning for more. The author is great at details and all the characters have such depth and emotion. It was easy to get sucked into this story as the action and emotions were non-stop.

Gwendolyn Druyor does an amazing job. All the voice changes were fantastic and made it easy to keep up. I can’t wait to hear more from her and I’m excited to find a new narrator who also has me wanting more.