Kachka Shestakova gave up everything for her beloved sister Elina. And while she thought there was more out there for her than the life in the Outerplains, she never thought she would end up in the imperialist decadent Southlands becoming lazy. But she soldiers on, right up until Annwyl the Bloody gives her a task she can't resist - hunt down those followers of the Sightless One desecretating her temples and kill them all.

Gaius Domitus, the Rebel King has tried hunting down his treacherous kin with his loyal soldiers and ended up with no soldiers and a collar around his neck. So when Kachka Shestakova frees him and sends him back to Annwyl the Bloody he decides he needs a new plan. Enter the Mi-Runach and Branwen the Awful.

Both Kachka and Gaius work their way around the lands eliminating the threats, until they wind up back in each other's path and need to work together to succeed.

I liked parts of this book and hated others. The romance in this is pretty random. I didn't really feel the sparks between them. Although it was marginally better than Elina and Celyn. I did like that they both mess with everyone. Gaius introducing Kachka and the rest with their very very long names was pretty funny. I liked the other Riders. Especially Zoya but the whole Daughter of the Steppes male = lame thing got old fast. It was a bit too in your face.

The temple plot kind of went nowhere - was it just violence? Or were they supposed to be looking for the eyes? in which case, why would the temples have them? And the eyes were for what purpose? And why did the dwarves have them? I didn't really get it. I had many more questions though. I get that it's part of a series but I did expect slightly more answers than the few this book covers. I mean Vateria? What the hell? I don't get why she's had kids. Isn't the whole point getting rid of the Abominations? So why the hell would she have them herself? It just makes no sense. And her joining up with the god that already tried to kill her?

For all this was significantly shorter than the rest of the series, it felt longer. And kind of disjointed. It didn't flow as well as the other books did. I did enjoy it but it wasn't the best of the series. There was too little everyone else, too little romance and way too much we hate men. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4. ( )

5 Full Stars!

Gods, I love this series!
Uproariously funny, with the most delightfully rambunctious, insane, and colorful characters put in bizarre and perilous situations.
The 'Courtships' are adult, filled with passion and flat out hilarity.
I laughed so hard I had to take PEE breaks!
People around me where asking me what was so funny. I had to wipe tears from my eyes. I swear this is the best one yet in this series.
G.A. Aiken's ( a.k.a. Shelly Laurenston ) decidedly wicked imagination shines in this story!! Thoroughly well written and utterly gratifying read. ( )

A fun series. ( )

~ 5 Feel the Burn Stars ~

Feel the Burn is book eight in the Dragon Kin series by G.A. Aiken.

This was absolutely a fabulous read! I was riveted from begging to end and Aiken had me laughing out loud throughout. It took me back to what I love in this series all those arrogant dragons, snarky dialogue, and the family dynamics. Annwyl, Fearghus, and Briec along with all the rest of the family kept me laughing and engaged. I was happy to revisit my favorite old characters again.

Feel the Burn brings us loads of action, plotting and so much more. I was suppressed by some of the twists, turns and reveilles. I liked how Aiken starts us off by giving us a better looking into our leads, Kachka and Gaius. We are also given a few pivotal moments between Annwyl and her daughter Talwyn that defines a big change.

As for the relationship between Kachka and Gaius, it worked. The romance was not big with the author focusing more on the direction of the plot. I was more into the plot and dialogue then in the actual romance, but these two where good together and an unlike pairing.

My only issue is with the Daughter of the Steppes who have very little expectations towards men. I didn’t like the Daughter of the Steppes in Light My Fire and I still don’t like them much, but for some reason they didn’t bother me as much in Feel the Burn. It might have to do with all the humor. It distracted me from my pet peeve’s with them and their culture.

Feel the Burn brings us closer towards war as tensions brew and we get closer to all hell breaking loose. I look forward to seeing what Aiken has in store for us next.

*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

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Good grief this book made me laugh out loud. This series and its loud, brash, arrogant dragons do not disappoint when you want some slapstick comedy with a good story and some romance thrown in. I do not recommend that you try to read these books a standalone. There is a story arc that builds with each installment that you will want to follow from the beginning.

Our heroine in this installment is Kachka Shestakova, sister to Elina and formerly of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight Mountains of Despair in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outerplains. I wasn't sure how I would feel about reading these sister books back to back, as I finished [b:Light My Fire|17731347|Light My Fire (Dragon Kin, #7)|G.A. Aiken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400295604s/17731347.jpg|21867243] just yesterday. The Steppes of the Outerplains society, or Riders as they are called, are this matriarchal group of warrior women that make you think Xena Warrior Princess to the most extreme degree. They are big and mean and literal and logical and think that all men are too emotional to make any decisions in life. So I was a little afraid that reading these two books together may be too redundant, but I was wrong! Kachka cracked me up. She had an extremely dry sense of humor and was so good at messing with the arrogant self-absorbed dragons. I loved that she became The Scourge of the Gods, and was able to lead a group of misfit Riders.

Iron Dragon and Rebel King, Gaius Dominus, is our hero in this installment and it was so nice to finally see him paired up as he has been hanging around for quite a while now. King Gaius is also very good at messing with the other dragons, particularly the mated males. I only wish that I could have remembered more about Gaius from earlier in the series. When he and Kachka paired up to go at the dragons, hilarity ensued.

Again I was not quite as interested in the romance of this story as I was the continuing story arc, the general hilarity, and the secondary characters. I think with the past two heroines who are extreme feminist type characters, and take on the more traditional male role, you aren't going to have a lot of hearts and flowers type of romance to get behind. You mainly have hilarious raunchy banging. And that was fine with me. I enjoyed it.

The powers of the Gwynvael Five continue to grow and freak people out. I am really looking forward to seeing what they can do. The original three Abominations now have Armies, though they played a back seat in this installment to some new secondary characters, including my new favorite - Zoya Kolesova of the Mountain Movers of the Lands of Pain in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outerplains. She was so happy and clueless and hysterical. I loved everything about her and her character. I hope we see a lot more of her (and her sisters) in the future books.

I highlighted so many funny quotes and passages in this book, but they are so raunchy and potty-mouthed that I am not going to post them. If you want a good laugh and love dragons, pick this series up! I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars / 4 flames. ( )