Dragon Queens by Kathleen de Plume is a sweet, hilarious and surprisingly hot fantasy romance about a princess, a bounty hunter and a prophecy.
When Princess Ava runs away from the castle Gwen picks up the bounty to bring her home safely. All she has to do to find the wayward princess is follow the rumours of dragons because for some reason when the royal family are unguarded dragons stir.
But, defeating a dragon is definitely not part of Gwen’s plan and so she stealthily rescues the princess.
As it turns out the princess was running away from a betrothal to a loathsome man who is powerful but cruel. And while the king would love for his daughter to find a love match, time is running out and Ava has not shown any interest in suitors at all. So he is putting pressure on her to finally take a consort.
On the journey back to the castle Ava asks Gwen to marry her. A fake romance could be the answer to her conundrum and Gwen is a much better choice than the man her father picked out for her. Gwen agrees and they put on a show in order to spread rumours of their relationship ahead of their arrival at the castle.
But the man who was seeking the princess’s hand wants to be king and he won’t stop pursuing the power he craves. The dragon is still lurking about and now there is a prophesy that says Gwen might just be the one to save the kingdom from the dragon, ogres and barbarians.
Has Gwen taken on more than she bargained for or is this fate at play? And what happens when a fake relationship becomes a little too real?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I adored that I was never sure where the story would take me and I am one super happy reader.
The writing has a great balance of humour, serious moments and a surprising amount of heat.
de Plume explores some unexpected and fun sexual stuff with the characters and isn’t afraid to really show them not being able to keep their hands off one another.
Cons And Heads Up
My only con is that de Plume hasn’t written more awesome funny, sexy fantasy stories. Hopefully this book sells well and we will see more from the author.
Edit: Since this review went live a couple of readers reached out to let me know that they were uncomfortable about a particular scene in the book. Heads up, a spoiler is going to happen now – – The princess gets jealous and uses sex as a kind of power move that makes the bounty hunter feel not great. I wasn’t triggered or unhappy about the scene as I felt like it was dealt with during the course of the book but some readers may feel like it took the power dynamic to a bad place, so I wanted to give you a heads up.
The Conclusion
This book is light on fantasy, heavy on romance. So for folks who want grand worlds and long lists of different races, this is not it. For those who want a fun fake romance story set in a fantasy world then pick up this book.
This is a quirky, delightful romance that hits some of my favourite tropes – fake relationship, clueless protagonist and one bed. And I absolutely loved how the fantasy setting was used to enhance the humour and give us some very cool twists to the tale.
I loved the book from start to finish and I bet you will too.
Excerpt from Dragon Queens by Kathleen de Plume
Gwen hesitated briefly. Her face was hidden by the hood of her cloak, her breastplate betrayed nothing of the shape underneath it, and her height was above that of most men. Combined with her broad shoulders, it was no surprise the princess assumed her to be male. Best to fix the misunderstanding right away.
She stood up straight and lowered her hood. “Princess Ava, I am here to take you home.”
The princess gave a small gasp. Her eyes widened. The small “Oh” she gave sounded disappointed.
What had Gwen expected? The princess probably had a romantic ideal of being swept away by a handsome and dashing prince. A knight, at the very least. She certainly didn’t want to be returned to her father’s court, and the betrothal she had already run away from once. Gwen was counting on her wanting to flee the dragon more than Lord Forquitte. Persuading her to come all the way home was a problem for after they’d escaped.
“Are you coming, your Highness?”
“I – yes. Yes, of course.” The princess gave her an appraising look, seeming to quickly recover from her shock, and stepped over to Gwen’s side.
Together, they edged under the unhinged door. Ava put her hand in Gwen’s, and Gwen couldn’t help noticing how small and vulnerable she was. She hoped this would make the princess easy to get home. She had a bounty to collect, after all.
“The climb down the rubble is going to be a bit rough. While your boots are solidly built, I don’t think your dress was made for scrambling. Follow me closely and try to let me know if you’re going to fall into me.” Gwen released her hand. The night air felt cool on her palm.
“Of course,” Ava replied in a meek voice. “How long do you think we have? Before the dragon returns, I mean.”
Gwen checked her hourglass. The first turn was almost complete. “Maybe an hour. Can’t be certain, of course. We need to be careful.” Gwen looked at Ava’s fearful expression. “Do you know how it tracked you? I know it didn’t abduct you at random.”
“No. I know the legends – and they’re very specific about unguarded royalty. My only hope is that whatever method it used won’t be effective with you guarding me.”
Gwen snorted. She couldn’t see how her presence could possibly help. Then again, she had no idea how the dragon had sniffed Ava out in the first place, so maybe she wasn’t in the best place to be judging.
“Do you know what happened to your horse?”
Ava’s face morphed from fear to sadness. “No, but I doubt she survived. I hope she did; if so, she could be anywhere by now.”
“You don’t know if she survived?” By now they were scrambling slowly down the rubble ramp. “Surely you would have seen if the dragon killed her while taking you?”
“I – no, I didn’t. I don’t know. I remember big wings, and flame, and Beauty running for our lives to take me away.” She picked her way carefully down a few more blocks. “And then there was blackness. But I don’t seem to have any injuries. I think the dragon has some kind of magic. I woke up in that tower.”
Gwen nodded slowly as she took this in. It sounded farfetched, but so did dragons. She watched Ava deftly descend a few more steps, before tackling the next part herself. So far, the princess had been surer of her footing than Gwen had expected.
“What’s your name, anyway?”
Gwen couldn’t stop the look of surprise that crossed her features. “Gwen. Gwendoline Carter, your Highness.” She gave a tiny bow, careful of her footing.
“Are you surprised that I care to know? What must you think of pampered nobles, Gwendoline?”
“Please, your Highness, call me Gwen. And no, I just forgot that I hadn’t said my name yet. I know yours already, you see.” Gwen blushed slightly, feeling foolish.
“Then call me Ava. We have many days ahead of us. If we are lucky.”
“As you wish, Ava.”
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Bits and Bobs
AISN number: B09RM3Z1PX
Publisher: Indie Author
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