Title: Luckless
Author: Cari Z.
Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Bi, Demi, Gay
Publisher: Self
Pages: 73
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Evan Luck is a dragon rider with no dragon. Five years ago, his dragon gave her life defending the monster-ridden remnants of Marble, and ever since, his ability to connect empathically to another dragon had been as broken as his heart. Now he spends his days dodging his disappointed mayor, crafting arrows, fighting off the not-as-legendary-as-they-should-be beasts that’ve overrun America, and just trying to get by in the city of Forge.
But when he meets newcomer Lee Caldwell, Evan thinks his lonely luck might be changing. Lee is the only person in the city who doesn’t blame Evan for his dragon’s death, and he welcomes Evan into his own little family. There’s more to Lee than meets the eye, though, and between his refusal to talk about himself, pressure from the mayor to split them up, and a monster attacking the city’s foundations, Evan isn’t sure he’ll live long enough to learn the truth.
But not learning the truth will almost certainly be fatal, both to Evan and Lee’s budding relationship, and to the entire city.
The Review
Cari Z is not a new author for me. I love her mystery series: “Bad Behavior” and “Double Trouble” that are very different from “Luckless”. I have to say, I totally enjoyed this new dragon fantasy. I’ve read a few dragon tales and this one for me, was different with the emotional connections between Evan and his dragon.
The world building was interesting with the states and cities keeping their names but it leaves the question, what happened to the world to be desolate and destroyed.
Evan Luck has blocked off his empathy and lost confidence with the tragic loss of his dragon. He’s gone from dragon rider to a wall protector and an expert weapon’s maker.
By chance, he meets a young boy, Jason and his father Lee Caldwell. As
Lee Caldwell works with the governor, it keeps him from spending quality time with Jason. They approach Evan and he agrees to be a companion to Jason.
A special connection starts to grow between Evan, Jason and Lee. It seems to even help Evan gain some of his confidence back.
When Forge finds itself in trouble, Evan makes a decision that will surely put his life in danger.
This is just not about dragons but also the strange and eerie creatures that Cari Z brings to the tale. For a novella, “Luckless” is action packed, filled with dangerous moments and a speedy read. I liked the basis of the story and the main characters and a few secondary characters were interesting, too. For me “Luckless” was entertaining and a little different when it comes to dragons!
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.