Erryn reviews SYN Consulting (Dragon War Chronicles Book 1) by A.G. Carothers (Published August 17, 2018, 232 pages). The audiobook was released July 9, 2020. It is narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo and runs 6 hrs and 22 mins. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Why I read this book: I was intrigued.
Continue to hide or help save the very kin she’s hidden from?
Welcome to SYN Consulting, the top business strategy consulting firm in Europe, home to a motley crew whose leader has a life changing secret. CEO, Danica Lestrange, is the first female dragon born in the last 800 years. Hidden from the rest of her kin and raised in the human world, she built a life that she would defend until her death.
A devious plan is unearthed while working on a new business deal that could plunge the dragons into another war with the humans. The humans may have forgotten the last dragon-human war, but the dragons have not. Will the war reveal this hidden world to the humans, or will the clans come together to defeat their enemies and maintain their anonymity?
Danica must gather her allies and help the very dragons she’s hidden from her whole life. She can only hope that she’ll be strong enough to protect her chosen family.
This is the first audiobook in a new series about dragons who want nothing more than to live in peace, but refuse to be subjugated. In war there’s also love, and love is blind. Love doesn’t care about gender, race, species (in this case), or sexuality.
Attention: This book contains explicit sexual content between consenting adults. The sexual scenes are MM, MF, and MMF. There are romantic relationships depicted that are MM. There is also a high level of explicit language, snark, kink, and possibly bad puns and fart jokes.
This audiobook does end in a cliffhanger.
Dragon War Chronicles is a continuous series. It is best to listen in order:
- SYN Consulting
- Secrets Revealed
- First Strike
- Dragon’s Hoard
Buy from Audible | Amazon | Add to Goodreads
Erryn’s review:
When I’m conflicted about a book, I figure I should start with what I liked. Let me start with narrator Michael Ferriuolo. I always love his performances and this was just another brilliant one. There are plenty of female voices and he always nailed them perfectly. Also, accents abounded and, as always, he hit the right note with all of them. Overall, a fabulous performance.
I like that the book is set in various foreign locations (although Toronto isn’t foreign to most Canadian and why does Colin hate it so much?) I loved the use of the Canadian Northern Wilderness as a backdrop for what is to come. I like that there are various pairings – so warning to gay romance lovers, there are lady parts. God knows, there is plenty of sex in this book. I like that the shifters area all different kinds of animals. And, believe it or not, I liked the world building and all the rules. I didn’t understand them all but that’s probably because I don’t read many paranormal so interspecies rules don’t mean as much. Oh, and I liked the idea of a female dragon born after eight hundred years who has to hide her true self.
There are quite a few characters in the book but I like how Danica (the female dragon) has created a pack of her own, even if she doesn’t necessarily identify them as such. I love the concept of found family.
Okay, quick rundown of what I didn’t like. Short list, to be sure. There was a lot of head hopping in the book. I would be in Danica’s mind, hop over to Colin’s, and then switch back to Danica’s – all within a few paragraphs. I found it jarring. Also, there’s the line: “her tits almost smacking herself in the face with each thrust.” Okay, getting a little personal here – I have decently sized breasts and they have never almost hit me in the face – under any circumstances. The line felt like it was written by a man about what a woman should be like. As you can see, it hit me the wrong way.
Other than those few little things, I found the book interesting. It ends on a massive cliffhanger and there are three more books in the series. The true test for me is whether I’ll read the next ones. The answer is yes. With enthusiasm.
Erryn’s rating:
8/10 Pots of Gold – Compares to 4/5 Stars
Blog/Website | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter Sign-up | BookBub
A.G. Carothers is actually a dragon very cleverly disguised as a human. They are a non-binary author of LGBTQIA Romance and Urban Fantasy, who enjoys writing original and entertaining stories. They are very excited to share the worlds they’ve created with you.
A.G. currently lives in Tennessee with their platonic life partner, who is not a dragon. They yearn to live back in Europe and will some day. In their spare time they are addicted to losing themselves in the lovely worlds created by other authors
A.G. is committed to writing the stories they see in their head without restrictions. Love is blind and doesn’t see gender, race, or sexuality.
Rainbow Gold Reviews 