Rating: 4.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

Cheron is an honorable man. While he was raised in war and has killed his fair share of men, he also knows that the quest he is given when he becomes king will bring peace and harmony to his scarred homeland. In a day where gods rule the earth and their followers eagerly await their return, Cheron is a lone voice in search of the way to break the hold the heavens have on his goddess and, in doing so, restore order to the earth. His mission is simple—retrieve the relic and free the goddess. Many things stand in his way, but the only one that really poses a problem is his attraction to the alluring concubine, Ekos.

Ekos is more than he appears and Cheron feels he is a fool to trust the impertinent slave, but still the two join forces and what follows is an often dangerous and deadly game of cat and mouse.

The Dragon’s Rebel draws us into a world that is fascinating and violent. With incredible detail and sometimes gory imagery, author Jacqueline Rohrbach paints a landscape where dragons fly, soldiers battle, and gods rule. There are good and evil elements in this world and while Cheron remains faithful to the goddess of mercy, it is anyone’s bet who is aligned with who in this fast-paced action adventure novel. Ekos is simultaneously deceptive and transparent if you know how to read him and Cheron eventually does. He obviously falls for Cheron, but both men make you realize there is more than love at stake in this story. What frustrates Ekos about Cheron–his loyalty to his goddess–also makes the bear of a man alluring in every way.

Never have I read a story with so many clever twists and turns as this one. When I thought the machinations of one character were finally over, they would up and surprise me and turn traitor or worse. Even though Ekos was a slippery fellow, his humor, his brashness, and his ability to turn poor Cheron to absolute mush in the bedroom made him so very appealing. Cheron was everything a hero should be—loyal, battle-scarred, trusting, and determined. The two of them, Ekos and Cheron, made a delightful pair and I could read story after story about them. When you throw in a fellow concubine, Lion, you have a trio of characters who made this story just impossibly fun despite the rather gory descriptions of torture and punishment meted out. Honestly, I would kill for a novel just about Lion—he was magical and so incredibly sweet.

Perhaps the only complaint I had was the slip by some characters into more modern-day vernacular that was sprinkled throughout this novel. It jarred the sense a little bit since this world was one where gods ruled and dragons existed. Still, that is a minor criticism on my part as it never fully distracted from the incredibly well-crafted story The Dragon’s Rebel turned out to be. All in all, I highly recommend this book to you.