Eight Rules huh? More like one rule and a whole bunch of ancillary actions required to support that rule.

I mentioned before that this gave me the same vibe as GA Aiken's Dragon Kin books and I stand by it. Heroine who isn't a pushover, hero who is at pains to prove he is reliable and worthy of the heroine, a lot of banter, friendships and a ludicrous plot designed to fail...

I loved it all.

Some was repetitive - Gwen was a little to over fond of talking herself into circles and dear sweet stars if one more person mentioned how afeared folk were of those born into the Cursed Dragon Clans I'd offer myself up as a sacrifice.

Having not read the other two books I was a little lost when it came to details important to Gwen's sisters Luciana and Brigitte various romantic struggles as well as who the holy hell "The Chameleon" was, but overall this book stood well on it's own.

The various side characters rounded out the cast - Dimitri, Aleksi, Annika, Margosha and my personal favorite Olenka (she's unrepentantedly delightful and loyal) as well as Nissa and Karlan. The villains were....ok in their way. Romak was hardly worth noticing and Fafnir turned out to have such pedestrian aspirations.

I did side eye some things - Sparks did some truly acrobatic things with the plot to keep Gwen for guessing Silas' secret too quickly and some of the story elements didn't add up (the War with the elves for instance) though I'm fairly sure the next book will focus on the elves so it might make sense once I have both sides of the War.

In all I greatly enjoyed this book and while I won't go backwards to read the two I missed (not yet anyhow) I do look forward to the next ones. ( )

[b:Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon|34962717|Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon (The Embraced, #3)|Kerrelyn Sparks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497101112s/34962717.jpg|56237668] by [a:Kerrelyn Sparks|2357|Kerrelyn Sparks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1202439212p2/2357.jpg]
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Humor/Comedy, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance
4 Stars

I prefer to get the negatives out of the way first.
I found 2 typos in my copy. They are minor & did not interfere with the story nor its flow. There's a couple of areas that felt a bit rushed.
I felt more adventure and danger could have been detailed.

I also didn't like certain areas about the queen and king's relationship to Gwennore. For me it was just a bit to convenient. I would've liked the confrontation between the king & the villain to have a bit more detail. Just more.....

Now to the 'Nitty Gritty'

I had a blast reading this one.

It was full of humor and mystery.

The main characters, Gwennore & Silas, were fun to read about. They definitely had a lot of obstacles to deal with. While I wished at times that Gwennore was a bit more confidante in herself, watching her courage mature was well worth it.
Silas is a blast, and I'm not just talking about his dragon fire. His wit and his confidence in Gwennore is refreshing.

The world build was great.
The main characters from the previous books are a part of this story and we get to see how their lives have changed.

While there isn't a lot of 'sex' scenes in this book, there are a few beautiful and funny make-out sessions. Then the 'main event' between Gwennore & Silas is hot, sweet and romantic.

The way this story is written it is safe to say even young adults (say 15 or so & up), depending on their maturity, would really enjoy this series.

In fact, I would recommend this entire series to everyone who enjoys a well written and great fantasy world story.
They are fun and entertaining with plenty of action and adventure. ( )

Sparks' Embraced series is simply a lot of fun. The characters are engaging and likeable, the plots are fast-paced, the writing is pretty great, and there's plenty of humor and action to go along with the romance. This book was no exception, and I'm glad I saved it for the proverbial rainy day since it was an easy and enjoyable read to sink into.

I will say that I'm not so sure this book lived up to the earlier books in the series. Enjoyable as it was, and as great as the romance was, the characters felt a little bit less developed and interesting than those at the center of the last few books. The side characters also came off as stereotypes more so than in the earlier books, and made me more cognizant of the fact that so many of Sparks side characters in this series (women, especially) are painted as stereotypes that are exaggerated for the sake of humor more so than feeling real within the story. I'd have preferred if some of them were a bit more believable and less exaggerated/silly, even if that had lessened the humor in the book, but I should say that I haven't read enough of her other books to know if this is a trend that shows itself in her other series.

That said, I still really enjoyed this work. I couldn't read these all the time, but as an occasional Princess-Bride like jaunt into easy, fantastical romance and adventure, this was a great book to have on hand. For readers who want a light-hearted paranormal romance that's heavy on both romance and humor, with plenty of adventure to spare, I'd recommend this series. ( )

I received with thanks an ARC copy of Eight Simple Rule for Dating a Dragon (Embraced #3) from St Martins Press & Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of Eight Simple Rule for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks. This was published on 27th March 2018

First, I adore this series and I have loved everyone. This time we are following Gwennore an Elf. Gwennore can detect illnesses and knows how to find a cure. She was raised on the Isle of the Moon with her 4 other adopted sisters.

We meet Gwennore five years after the events in So I Married a Sorcerer. She has been living with her adopted sister Queen Lucinda and her husband King Leo. She has been helping by looking after her sister’s twins. Her sister with help of her other adopted sister Queen Brigitta has been trying to set up Gwennore with every bachelor in their both of their kingdoms. This has not gone well with society due to Gwennore being an elf.

One day Gwennore gets fed up with all the gossip and the set-ups that she takes Eviana, one of Lucinda’s twins up to a hilltop and away from the crowds. Here Eviana gets kidnapped by a dragon from another kingdom. Gwennore rushes and jumps on the dragon to save Eviana. Here the adventure begins as another dragon saves Gwennore’s life.

Gwennore skills as a healer are soon noted and is asked to help. The kingdom is dire need of help as the curse has raked throughout their kingdom for hundreds of years. But Gwennore’s help is not wanted or well received due to her being an elf. The kingdom that she is now in has spent many years at war with Gwennore’s homeland. Only Silas Dravenko and a few others believe in her and her gift and they feel she is the one to break the curse.

This was always going to be a winner for me I love dragons in any shape or form. This series is rich and beautiful to read. I enjoyed reading about Gwen and her relationship with Silas. Silas is a great character full of flirty wit and charm. Cannot wait to read the next installment.

Great book for fantasy lovers and who enjoy tales about dragons, shifters, magic and good romance.
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Gwen finds herself in new lands after a dragon tries to kidnap her sisters child. Her gift may help the queen and the entire country. She isn't very likeable, timid, filled with self doubt, letting others influence her. I liked Silas, even though he was a prince he always considered himself more the general to keep his people safe. There were cool elements that I wished had more page time. The focus seemed to be on Gwen feeling alienated and unwelcomed and how hopeless a relationship with Silas was because the people would never like her. It felt like a YA book, some themes were very simple and obvious.
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