Dragon’s First Rule
Dragons of
Midnight, #1
by Silver Milan
Date of
Publication: October 1st 2017
Publisher:
Silver Milan
Cover
Artist: Melody Simmons
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Tagline: When newly turned lion shifter Ariel stumbles into the
realm of the dragon shifters, she catches the eye of the dangerously attractive
dragon king, Jett, and the pair is swept up in a maelstrom of magic and
forbidden passion.
What is so alluring in the mixing of
species in PNR?
I guess for me the big allure in mixing of species is to
come up with unique pairings that readers might not have come across before.
Also, I wanted the main characters, Ariel and Jett, to be able to hold their
own against one another. It takes a certain type of woman to handle a dragon
shifter who’s also the king of North America, after all. Not just in terms of
personality, but also shifter animal. And what better match for a dragon than a
lioness?
I also like how mixing the species shows us that love and
attraction don’t see race. At all. You
can be a lioness, a bear, or a dragon, it doesn’t matter. When you meet a
witch, a vampire, or a panther, and you two click on all levels, you’ll still
fall for each other. It’s kind of an allusion to real life, where we can’t help
who we’re attracted to.
For me the mixing of species doesn’t end at mates… shifters,
vampires, witches, and those who hunt them all intermingle among the humans. The
dragons have satellite dens hidden in or near cities throughout North America,
and they maintain order among the ‘lesser’ shifters who live in secret among
the humans. In the dens themselves, many dragons hold vampire slaves, prisoners
from the last war. Sometimes those slaves become secret, albeit forbidden,
lovers of the dragons, and when their terms end often those vampires choose to
stay.
Outside of North America, six other groups rule the different
continents. We have two more dragon dens. Three vampire nests. And one witch coven.
Together with North America, the seven kings and queens of these groups form the
Council of Seven, and are the secret rulers of the Earth.
Again, even in the council, you’ll notice I mix the
dominant species. This is mostly for balance reasons, but it’s also an allusion
to real life, where the different countries of the world have to maintain relationships
with foreign friends and adversaries. It can be a fine line between diplomacy
and war at times.
When an ancient dragon awakens on a continent ruled by a
vampire coven, for example, there are certain protocols that must be followed,
otherwise the three dragon kings could get pissed off enough to wage war
against that coven. The other two vampire covens will be dragged into that war,
and the witches will have to arbitrate.
The same holds true if a vampire awakens in dragon
territory. There’s a love story in there somewhere, I think. ;)
The Book
Junkie Reads . . . Review of . . . DRAGON’S FIRST RULE (Dragons of Midnight,
#1) . . . This was a take on the shifter
world and that of the paranormal that shows more than just one kind of shifter.
There was more to this world that just shifters. This gave a full scope of more
and then some more. The world itself was pleasing and appealing. Jett and Ariel
both were interesting characters with changes during the read that were good
and bad to me as the reader with some expectations of my read. Dragon’s First Rule was a chance for me
to step in to the world of magic, shifters, and the forbidden. My first read
from Silver Milan and I hope to read something more.
BLURB
Ariel, a newly turned lion
shifter, stumbles into the subterranean city of Midnight, home of the dragon
shifters. Alone and vulnerable, she catches the eye of the dangerously
attractive dragon king. Jett. He charms her and promises help, but can she
trust him? After all, he is the King of the Dragons. Why would such a powerful
man come to the aid of a common girl?
When Jett realizes Ariel has no
one, he vows to protect her, as the girl has been turned against her will in dragon
territory. He plans not only to shield her, but to hunt down the very outlaw
who hurt her.
But Jett soon finds himself
growing attached to his quirky yet beautiful lion shifter. He begins a
dangerous game with her, skirting the razor's edge of passion. He must take
care because if he surrenders to his desire, he will forfeit not only his
throne, but perhaps both of their lives.
Note: This book contains
explicit love scenes and is intended for mature readers who like their
paranormal romance on the steamier side. Inside you'll find sexy dragons,
strong women, and kick-ass magic.
Buy Link: Amazon
Excerpt:
Ariel
stared into the darkness. She could see a surprisingly good distance inside,
thanks to her enhanced vision. Nothing stood out to her, and the terminus of
the passage was lost to the murk. The darkness seemed welcoming, somehow.
It seemed
safe to turn her back on the cave, and she did so, gazing out from the
precipice to survey the valley in front of her. Ordinarily, she would have
thought the wide, tree-filled expanse so beautiful. She loved nature and
hiking. It was one of the reasons she had come out here in the first place.
But she
felt nothing now, only emptiness. She wondered if she would ever be able to
appreciate such beauty again, given what she had become.
She
glanced at the cave once more. Again, she felt drawn to it, but she shook her
head.
Not going
inside.
Though
she was incredibly upset, she didn't have a death wish. There might be a bear
or something sleeping inside. Or maybe a dragon, like that stupid sign had
said. Wouldn't surprise her anymore, not in the least: she was being hunted by
lions who could become humans, after all. And she was one of those lions.
For now,
all she wanted was to get away from those hunters. She would stay here for a
few hours, long enough to be sure the animals had gone away. And then she would
climb back down and get the hell out of here.
And what
then? Well, she figured she would have to live out the rest of her days in the
woods. It would be a solitary life, away from the technology that drove modern
society. She would have to give up all her friends and family.
Maybe she
could get a sat-phone or something, so she could still talk to her family
occasionally. But she couldn't return, at least not until she could get the
beast inside of her under control. That was something she doubted would ever be
possible. Then again, moments ago she had exerted her will on the lioness and
prevented her from ripping out of her skin. That was something, at least. A
reason to hope.
She sat
down on the precipice and settled in for a long wait. She decided she would
stay here until nightfall. That would be the best time to retreat, since her
beast operated best in the dark.
But so do
the other lions, she reminded herself.
Maybe
that wasn't such a good idea. Well, she'd sit here for a while, and make up her
mind on what she wanted to do.
Maybe a
minute passed before she heard a voice behind her. "Well hello."
Ariel
spun in fright; when she saw the man standing at the cave mouth, she
momentarily forgot all fear, forgot where she was and how she got there, and
instead simply stared, spellbound.
Standing
in front of the cave entrance towered the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
He had to be at least six and a half feet tall. He was too gorgeous to be a
model. Too breathtaking to be a movie star. She got butterflies in her stomach just
looking at him. Where to begin? His hair… oh yes, his hair. It was as if
someone had taken several bars of gold and melted them down to form the bouncy
curls that fell around that spectacular face. His eyes were a fiery gold like
his hair, almost unnaturally so. They were almond-shaped and beguiling, shining
with intelligence.
His
broad, bold nose jutted aristocratically from his face, perfect in every way.
The plump lips of his chiseled, sensuous mouth had such gorgeous curves—if any
lips were created for kissing, it was those. He had a strong, aristocratic jaw
that matched his nose, and blemish-free, smooth bronze skin.
His
thickly corded neck disappeared into the collar of a black and gold dress
shirt, whose sleeves were rolled back to the elbows, revealing his muscular
forearms. Black and gold tribal dragons were tattooed from wrists to elbows on
each arm. The shirt did little to conceal the outline of his wide, powerful
shoulders, and the hard muscles of his pecs that pressed out from beneath the fabric.
She could make out the lines of a six-pack.
A
designer belt cinched his lean waist, and below that he wore dark-washed,
fitted jeans. Her eyes lingered on his groin, where—
Ariel
blinked as she realized the brazenness of what she was doing, and the spell
broke. She quickly lifted her eyes back to his face.
The
beautiful man's lips were upturned in amusement.
She
realized she was stark naked and quickly covered her breasts with one arm,
twisting her torso away and covering her bum with her other hand. She kept her
gaze on him, staring at him over one shoulder.
"What
are you looking at?" she said.
"I'm
looking at you," he replied defiantly. She hadn't noticed it when he spoke
before, but even his voice was sexy as hell.
As she
gazed at his haughty expression, the fear returned. Not of him, but for him.
"Are
you one of them?" she said.
"One
of who?" the man said, still smiling.
"You're
obviously not a backpacker or camper," Ariel said. "You don't find
many people who dress like European fashionistas in the wilderness of the
Midwest."
"No,
you don't," the man said hypnotically.
Then
again, if he was one of the lion-men who pursued her, he would have been
butt-naked, like her.
"Look,
it's been a rough few days," she said. "I'm not in the mood for
games."
"You
seem in surprisingly good spirits to me," the man said.
She
smiled fleetingly. "Call it a defense mechanism. Listen, if you're not one
of them, then you're putting yourself at risk. I'm not someone you want to
know. I have to get myself as far away from civilization as I can. Those lions
did… something… to me. I could change at a moment's notice. You could die."
"Change?"
he said.
She heard
the distant roar of a lion echo from the valley below.
That
triggered the beast, and the lioness in her clawed to get out. Clawed clawed
clawed.
"I—"
she said. But the words came out a growl. "Run," she managed to
finish.
Author Info
Silver Milan is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels. Publishing under different pen names since 2013, Silver has sold more than 300,000 books.
Silver Milan is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels. Publishing under different pen names since 2013, Silver has sold more than 300,000 books.
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