Ancient Protector Series: Ancients Rising #1 on June 30, 2020
Pages: 260
Format: eBook
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Even as he fights for their future…
With the world still rebuilding after massive dragon attacks, famous singer Star isn’t willing to rely on a stranger to protect her family—though dragon shifter Lachlan is difficult to resist. Something about him is strangely familiar, but she doesn’t understand why. He’s already helped Star rescue her sister from a recent abduction, but trust doesn’t come easy when his kind has nearly hunted her race to extinction. When her sister’s kidnapper launches another violent attack, Star has no choice but to accept Lachlan’s aid. But no matter that he’s stepped up to protect her, she’ll never allow the ancient Scottish dragon into her heart.
They’re bound by the past.
Lachlan lost the woman he was meant to mate millennia ago. Unable to live in a world without her, his pain drove him to hibernation. He never thought he would move on—until Star. He’s well aware the feisty shifter is his new destiny, so if tailing her to New Orleans is what he has to do to be near her, then so be it. When Star is attacked, Lachlan resolves to protect her at all costs. And he won’t have to do it alone. It will take Lachlan, his clansmen, and Star’s misfit band of friends to rain fiery vengeance down upon their enemy if she and her sister are to ever be truly free. Only then can he claim her and discover the shocking truth that lies buried in their past.
FIRST IN NEW SERIESÂ
This book is a spin-off from her Darkness series and I’m so glad! I wasn’t ready to leave that world behind! Buckle in, this review will be long.
Some background: At the end of the last series, dragons were outed to humans. This then prompted all the other Other to come public as well. Vampires, shifters of all kinds, you get the idea. This book starts slightly before, then takes place a few months after.
Star is a pop star. Not just a pop star, the pop star. The biggest. And she’s getting ready to play a very important show. She’s auctioning off a date with herself for charity, but the show is about more than her career and more than the charity. One dragon bids on her and he bids a huge amount of money. She almost wishes she could stay and have that date but she has another mission in mind. And it doesn’t involve the sexy Scottish dragon.
Her sister was kidnapped by a different dragon and has been held captive by him for about a year. This show she’s playing is legit, but for Star and her bandmates, it’s a rescue mission. They’re retrieving her sister Aurora and nothing can stop them. Not even a huge dragon and his clan. Not even two huge dragons and their clans.
Lachlan is an ancient. He’s recently come out of hibernation and when he heard Star sing, he knew she was his mate. He plans on finding her, but first he needs to learn about this new world he’s woken into. When he hears Star will be performing at a charity event, he knows that is his chance. Moments after he bids on Star, she bails. He follows her and while she’s escaping, they both wind up showing their powers, thus outing themselves to the world, which winds up collapsing shortly after. It takes him almost two months to make it back to his mate’s side, and he knows how to get close to her.
He wants his date.
Fast forward a couple of months or so and while the world is grappling with not only what it means that humans are not alone, but that someone tried to take out all major cities and governments, and we see Star and Aurora settling in New Orleans. A wolf shifter (one you’ll recognize from the previous series) has started to rebuild New Orleans and to try to organize the area. However not all Other are okay with him running things. There is unrest amongst some groups, and Star for the most part is just trying to get back to normal. But her new normal is about to change.
Star is floored when her sexy Scottish dragon appears in New Orleans asking her for a date, and yet she finds she can’t say no. In fact, she doesn’t want to say no. The two of them have major chemistry and while Lachlan is making no bones about wanting Star, she’s running scared. Meanwhile…he still doesn’t know what she is. He’s assuming she’s some sort of shifter, or even half-demon, but no one knows. No one except her closest friends. And while he doesn’t care, I loved seeing how she confounded everyone, even him.
I enjoyed watching Star figure herself out. While Lachlan is ancient, thousands and thousands of years old, Stars is in her twenties. She’s Alpha of her pack, but she’s also Alpha with a capital A. Even Lachlan’s brother can’t hold her gaze for long, and he’s almost as old as Lachlan. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding her. But Star has always been about protecting her identity and that of her sister. With her sister slowly healing, maybe Star can start focusing on herself and what she wants, not just what’s best for her pack.
I don’t want to ruin what Star is, or what’s been going on in the background, but this is a great start to a new series and I for one can’t wait for more. I’ve peeked ahead and it looks like Lachlan’s brother will get the next book. You guys, we need more magic in the world, and Katie Reus is making that happen. Keep an eye on this series, you’re going to love it.
***Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley
