Rating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Eeli is the youngest of the dragon rider brothers. Still in high school, he tries to show his older brothers he is responsible and he trains hard so he will be ready to fight when he turns eighteen. Eeli keeps his distance from most kids at school and while he has few friends, his eyes seem to constantly search out Slash, even though he doesn’t like the guy. Eeli is also having trouble controlling his dragon, Bodhi. They are completely in sync when they are flying, but on the ground, and especially at school, Bodhi is all over the place and the pair are constantly running into Slash.
Slash and his younger sister moved to the area after their parents died. They live with their uncle, but he is drunk most of the time and neglects to buy food. Working part time at the supermarket, Slash tries to keep himself and his sister fed and clothed, but it’s a struggle and he misses his parents. He has noticed Eeli, but the guy just doesn’t seem to like him and now Eeli is acting so strange every time they are near each other. The attraction between the men is growing, but Slash can’t possibly be ready to learn exactly who Eeli is and who they are to each other.
Eeli continues The Brotherhood of the Ormarr dragon rider series and while each story features a new pairing, the books work best read in order as all the characters connect to each other, as well as the larger story. Eeli is the youngest and the smallest of the brothers. He was young when his parents were killed and his brothers, especially Azaran, are like father figures to him. People underestimate him because of his size, but Eeli has been training hard and he’s fast and strong and takes everyone by surprise. He’s ready to turn eighteen and take on more responsibility, but in many ways his brothers still see him as a little kid. Eeli is focused on school and getting top grades, but he has no social life and, at his age, he wasn’t really thinking about a mate and never thought he would find him at high school. Slash seems to be wherever Eeli is lately, though ,and Bodhi, his dragon, can’t stay still when Slash is near and it takes a while for Eeli to figure out why.
Slash shares a room with his younger sister in their uncle’s home. Life is a struggle and the two of them never had a chance to deal with their parents’ death. Slash is so concerned that his sister is okay that he has no social life of his own and he just tries to stay off of everyone’s radar. He notices Eeli and he also notices how strange Eeli has been acting recently.
The best part of this series for me is the men finding their mates and the family the brothers have made for themselves. I liked the story of Eeli and Slash finding each other. They aren’t really enemies, but they have always gotten off on the wrong foot. It’s always entertaining in each book to see the moment the men realize they have found their mate and then the reaction from the mate. Bodhi, Eeli’s dragon, has a large role here as well and the personalities of the dragons have been fun to see develop in each book.
I continue to struggle with the larger world in this series. There is a distinct lack of world building and a lot of things are easily explained away as being “dragon magic.” It takes until this third book for it to be mentioned where the dragons come from and all the information we are given is basic. Also, in this book, Eeli refers to his classmates as “humans,” establishing for the first time I can recall in the series that the brothers are not human and that was a little nugget of information I would have preferred to have seen in the first book. The larger storyline with the Brotherhood and the Order seemed to stall here as not much time was given to it. All we are really told is that the Order is “bad” and the bad guys come off as poorly constructed caricatures. Also, Slash and his sister’s change in living arrangements aren’t given much page time either and the circumstances of his sister being a minor are again explained away by the brothers “having connections.”
I do still like the personal stories we get from each brother and their mate and seeing them with their dragons. I do wish the world building and the larger storyline were a little stronger for the series as a whole, but I will look for the last book in the series to see the final brother find his mate.
