Devon’s review of Gothic Dragon by Marie Treanor
Paranormal Romance eBook released by Samhain 22 Jul 08
I’m not one for time travel romance. It seems too far-fetched. I mean, vampires and werewolves are one thing, but really! 😉 The mechanics of messing with the time space continuum, and the implications it may have for the HEA…my brain starts going into critical overdrive. However, Gothic Dragon was intriguing because it had to do with Gothic Literature (of the nineteenth century), a favorite period of mine. And I thought that a blogger with similar tastes to mine had read and positively reviewed this author. But I may have imagined that. Anyhoo, I’m glad I took a chance, because this was very entertaining, despite a couple of flaws.
Within the category length format, Marie Treanor was able to develop a great hero, an engrossing romance, and a fantasy world I wouldn’t mind visiting again. I wish the book had been longer, in fact, so that more time could have been spent developing the faux fifteenth century world of Costanzo and the romance, rather than on researcher/author heroine Esther’s present day life and the time travel bit. Esther seems a bit of a sad sack, saddled with a cardboard boor of a fiancé, wasting her life. Though she shows spirit, and made a calm foil for the mercurial Drago, it was hard to see what would have intrigued him, at first.
When Esther is pulled into the book she is reading, she finds herself face to face with the villain of the piece. Drago was a great character, and the reason I enjoyed the book so much. He has cultivated his mysterious, evil reputation to protect himself and his people. Drago is, in fact, a sorcerer, and he acts like a jerk at times. But his cutting wit and insouciance hide someone who is thoughtful, intelligent and feels deeply. And boy does he adore Esther! I fell for him hook, line and sinker. At times, the romance felt a bit rushed, but the chemistry and emotion was there. I just wish there had been more of him and Esther.
I liked him so much I was almost able to overlook the fact that he talked about rocking someone’s world. Almost. Now, this is a fifteenth century world created by a nineteenth century author, but “rock your world”? Really? And there were a couple of other astonishing anachronisms as well. I also grew increasingly confused by the time travel explanation. Towards the end, there’s a lot of bopping back and forth, and it was confusing and slowed the book down. I would have preferred a later resolution to the Drago/Esther romance, and less time spent on time travel and cardboard villains past and present.
Ultimately, I was able to overlook these issues, because I so enjoyed the plot, the settings and the romance. The backdrop of Esther’s literary research was interesting and a bit different. And the hero was great. The quibbles I’ve mentioned might bother some readers more than others, but I think it would be enjoyed by time travel fans. I would definitely check the author out again, because there was good stuff here, and it was kinda different, y’know? Not a bad way to escape for a few hours.
Grade: B-
The Summary:
Sometimes you can make your dreams a reality…Stuck in an uninteresting job and settled in a safe but vaguely unsatisfying relationship, the only bright spot in Esther’s life is her writing. She’s fascinated by colorful life of her ancestor Margaret Marsden, a nineteenth-century Gothic romance novelist. A woman who mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
A weekend away turns into a hunt for clues when Esther stumbles across Margaret’s “lost” novel, The Prince of Costanzo. Though desperate to read it, every time Esther opens the book, she falls asleep—and headlong into amazingly vivid dreams about Costanzo.
But in this dream world where war, magic and poisoning are commonplace, nothing is as it seems. Least of all the supposed villain of the novel, the enigmatic sorcerer Prince Drago. She finds herself kidnapped to his castle and subjected to a seductive interrogation that curls her toes. As their feelings for each other grow more powerful, she begins to wonder…is he the real villain, or a hero who only wants to save his kingdom? All she knows is that now that she’s had a taste of Costanzo—and Drago—her real life troubles seem insignificant.
Until they come crashing around her, threatening to cut her off from the man she loves. Forever.
Read an excerpt here
