Genre: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Sapphic Fantasy, Romantic Subplot
LGBTQ+ Category: Bisexual, Lesbian
Reviewer: Lucy
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About The Book
A bond she didn’t choose.
A love she can’t escape.
A creature so powerful it bends the limits of time…
Smart, sassy, and sanguine, Des Mildue is a traveling sellsword in Rescalin, a dry and dusty kingdom full of rogues, opportunists, and thieves. She keeps her nose clean, brazens it out with a blade when she can’t, and keeps others at arm’s length where they can’t mess up her plans.
That is, until a sword fight gone wrong leaves her tied by blood to the first dragon hatched in centuries. Suddenly, Des has to contend with a new voice in her head: haughty, willful Esquidamelion. Des wants to leave Squid by the roadside, but the blood bond has other ideas.
With half the world on their tail – including Liv, her beautiful, faithless ex who Des is definitely over – Des must search for answers for why so many are willing to kill, maim and torture to get their hands on Squid. But she’s beginning to suspect her blood bond has tied her not only to a dragon, but to a fight for Rescalin’s future…
…and no one else even knows it’s at risk.
If you like the kind of story that grabs you by the shirtfront and hauls you through mystery, magic, adventure and betrayal, with a side of sapphic romance, pick up The Blood-Born Dragon, first in a new trilogy from debut author J.C. Rycroft.
The Review
Buckle up, because this story is quite the ride!
JC Rycroft takes us into Rescalin, a rough-and-tumble world where brigands and thieves roam the roads and fight over control of the cities. Traveling by herself, Des has been making her way as best she can without picking up her sword. After a protection detail went wrong and a child died, Des had forsworn working as a swordsell, or mercenary for hire, until she’s beset by apparent thieves alongside the road.
Des finds herself blood-bonded to the first dragon born in centuries. While trying to decide what to do with the dragonette, she finds herself once again using her sword to protect herself, others, and the quickly growing dragon.
This is a fabulous combination of action and fantasy, interspersed with royal intrigue and seasoned with a hot, sexy sapphic romance that is the epitome of a love-hate relationship.
Rycroft masterfully crafts a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering what’s around the next bend. Just as you think you know where the story is leading, there is another twist, as the tale that takes Des and Squid in a different direction. This is not a gentle, easy, relaxing read. The Bloodborn Dragon is the book you only put down because you have to.
The Bloodborn Dragon is the first in a new trilogy, an excellent start to the series. The characters are compelling and well-developed, the dialogue is clever, and the story flows beautifully as we’re dragged across the width and breadth of Riscalin in an effort to thwart the forces that conspire against Des and Squid.
The story ends, as epic fantasy tales often do, with things looking rather grim and hopeless for our hero. So there darn well better be another book soon, because I’m totally engrossed by the tale of Des and Squid and their bid to save humanity.
The Reviewer
I’m an avid reader who loves pretty much all genres except math textbooks. As a kid, my parents exposed me to everything from fairies, hobbits, and dragons to the biographies of interesting people around the world, interspersed with poetry, plays, and music. Into adulthood, I spent a lot of years with my nose buried in various textbooks. Now, I read whatever grabs my fancy.