I have really enjoyed all of Susan Smiths Dragon Lords stories. The world building is complex and rich. The characters deep and evolved. But the female lead in this story, was just not easy to identify with. She goes through a terrible trauma. Captured and tortured she spends most of the book wrapped up in herself, which is probably reasonable but we aren’t really given enough of what she was feeling to build an emotional connection with her and she comes off feeling selfish instead of vulnerable. I liked the hero but he was no Alpha. I think she desperately needed an alpha. We are nine books into this series, you’d think by now one of the girls would have written a “Welcome to Valdier: Everything you need to know to hook up with your Dragon Lord” manual; because really the lack of communication plot focus is getting tired. Sorry Susan, this is the first one of your books that left me cold. But Susan Smith is so good I will still not hesitate to buy the next book she releases. One other thing, the book should probably come with a disclaimer as an ER Nurse I’m begging you please don’t try the poison plant trick at the end of the book just come on into the ER. Let us figure it out. That’s why we’re there.