Publisher: KS Publishing
Format: ebook
Release Date: April 26th, 2018
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Goodreads
Rating: 3/5 Stars
A variety of factors have meant I’ve been able to read more Romance recently, which is great. It’s a genre I truly love, but as I’m still relatively new, it means I’m in the process of learning what I like and don’t like, and sometimes that means reading a book and feeling, at the end, that it’s not for me. It’s not a bad thing, as it’s completely down to personal tastes, and hopefully it means I can avoid some of the similar stuff out there that falls under that subgenre or contains a particular trope.
It also means I’m getting a better understanding of what a lot of these mean, so when I do see certain words pop up I can recognise them, and that’s weirdly enjoyable.
For instance, Knock Down Dragon Out makes me feel I don’t engage as well in ‘fated mate’ romances, but there are going to be plenty of readers out there who will get absolute joy out of this book, and I know the things that put me off this book are going to be the exact same things that draw others to them.
Knock Down Dragon Out is a paranormal romance, with various shapeshifters, but the hero of this one is a dragon, and the novel is part of Krystal Shannan’s Soulmate Shifters in Mystery series. The book started off really well – Col, in the midst of his home world’s destruction, escapes through a portal, chasing two enemies and determined to bring them down. But when he sees a woman caught in the crossfire, he’s instantly drawn to her. She is his mate, and he will do anything to keep her safe.
The opening was completely gripping, and I was excited to meet the heroine, Naomi, a photographer who has escaped to Alaska to get away from life and her own grief. However, I felt a bit bleh about Naomi throughout most of this, and Col himself started to feel a little bland. It’s a cute setup and they are fun to read about together, but I think my personal taste is for a bit more tension in the romance, rather than a couple who meet and instantly get along. There was definitely some good action in here, but Naomi is shunted to the side for so much of it, often ending up having to be constantly rescued by Col. Some of it did start to feel a bit samey, with the dialogue covering the same ground. Things did pick up when they met some other shifters, but the ending then felt like it dragged on just a bit too much.
I can definitely see the appeal in this, especially if you like protective, alpha male characters – the humour was used to good effect as the shifters try to get used to this world, and the setting was handled wonderfully, but ultimately I wasn’t as big a fan of the couple as I was hoping to be.
Unwrapping Words 