A failed rebellion in his home province led Vana Dire to be sent to Draskora to be adopted by the king years ago. He’s managed to survive the cutthroat royal court by not showing weakness and relying on his magic bound bodyguard, Daromir, who both shares his pain and always knows where Vana is through their bond. They’ve been together since Vana left Kaiskara, and he’s the one person Vana always knows he can count on. Which is part of why Vana keeps the fact that he’d like more than just friendship from Daro under wraps. When their bond suddenly changes and the pair start sharing more than just pain through it, they both will have to confront their feelings as well as a situation at court that might be a trap.
Having read the first three books focusing on the three princes of Silaise, I was really excited for the next set of novels following the princes of Draskora, and this one did not disappoint. This is a best friends to lovers story with a little bodyguard romance thrown in. You don’t have to have read any of the other books in the series so far to jump into this one, but they do give a little m more context to the world. It probably is a good jumping on point if you don’t want to go back and read those books as well. We did meet Vana and Daro in the second book but only briefly. The pair of them make for great protagonists.
I really love the fact that pretty much no matter what they are a team. Even when they are angry with one another, Vana and Daro still act like a team. They’ve been the only person the other can trust for a long time. I also really appreciated that neither one of them is completely in charge, and that they trade off taking care of one another. With a bodyguard romance it can be too easy to have the person who is being guarded come off as completely helpless, but that isn’t the case here. Both Vana and Daro have their own set of skills and are highly competent with them. It was really fun to see the pair figure things out and the plot had just the right amount of angst to make things interesting without being overwhelming. Four out of five stars.
CBR 16 Sweet Books – Exciting