LoveSpell, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-505-52814-8
Fantasy Romance, 2010
Dragon Unmasked is a sequel to Phoenix Unrisen, and I strongly suggest that you read that book first before you tackle this one. Just like in the previous book, world-building is one of the weaker aspects of this book. Therefore, you are going to need what little you understand from the previous book to figure out what is happening in this one. Otherwise, you’re better off trying to figure out just what is going on in Lost.
Adam Zoltan, the owner of the paranormal magazine New Orleans New Eyes – NONE for short – and his ex-girlfriend Dr Grace Armatrading join forces in this one as fate, destiny, or just pure bad luck throw them right into an ongoing feud between good and evil. Someone is murdering the good mages, and Grace’s aunt is the latest victim. Adam was there when Grace’s aunt died, and before she met her doom, the woman asked him to seek out Grace before Grace becomes the next victim. In the meantime, Grace is a doctor who also has the power to heal. But while she may be the one who have powers, Adam always plays the boss here, as we all know that the man always lead in good romance novels.
The above is a vague synopsis, I know, but the plot is a continuation of that in Phoenix Unrisen, so it is going to be tough for me to explain things clearer without spoiling the previous book. Also, I’m not sure on the most part what is going on in this story. The author still hasn’t provided a good explanation of how magic works in this story, who the good guys are, who the bad guys are, and why the bad guys still behave like villains in Scooby-Doo cartoons, using elaborate and melodramatic but ultimately useless methods to kill our hero and heroine. All I know is that we have the hero and the heroine on the run, they meet up with the hero of the upcoming book, and somehow magic and technology are being combined by the bad guys to create more nasty stuff. Who’s the Dragon? I don’t know. He’s just the Dragon, y’all.
Dragon Unmasked is a fast-paced and entertaining story with two likable characters, but I still have no clue who these characters (along with some of the secondary characters) are, what exactly is going on, and why I am reading this story in the first place. The amalgamation of magic and technology is intriguing, but while the author has a great and fantastic vision in her head, she is not doing a good job in sharing that vision with me.
