MATING CALL - Emily Ryan-Davis

Dragon Queen, Book 1

Freya’s Bower - www.freyasbower.com

ISBN: 1-934069-39-6

January 2007

Erotic Paranormal Romance

Rating: Tangy

New York City, New York - Present Day

Cora Phillips is a witch by blood, if not by choice. Her mother and sister embrace their heritage, but Cora is more inclined to believe in the intellectual as opposed to the magical. That is, until a trip to the city to visit her relatives for the Winter Solstice results in Cora’s latent magical talents coming to the fore. A simple relaxation exercise that should help Cora with the insomnia she suffers from instead brings forth not one, but two dragons. It turns out the Dragonkeeper mantle is still alive and well within the Phillips’ family. A quick call to her mother for help results in some knowledge that Cora isn’t sure she wants. It turns out that tradition decrees the dragons, or rather their human handlers, must mate with Cora. When two men that Cora just recently met turn up to claim their dragons, and perhaps Cora, she has to decide which of them she will choose to mate with. Which man is the right choice? Is there any way the dragons can tell her?

Cora first meets Greg Cho at a party where he’s reading fortunes out of basins of Goldschlager. He’s the owner of a small store in Chinatown. When Cora stops by his shop, she catches a glimpse of a man so handsome that Greg’s good looks pale in comparison. A chance encounter at another party reveals the handsome man’s name, Salim. It turns out that Salim is not looked upon with favor by most of the people attending the party, including Cora’s sister, Diane. When both men warn Cora that the other is not to be trusted, Cora must learn to listen to her newly discovered witchy instincts. Because with two dragons on the loose, things are about to get very heated in New York City.

The first in the Dragon Queen series, MATING CALL introduces us to a fantasy world of Dragonkeepers, witches, and Dragonlords. Cora is a normal woman, one who certainly didn’t expect that the family talents would suddenly become her own. Greg appears to be just a kind man that wants to get to know Cora, but is he really? Salim doesn’t appear to be the monster that many believe him to be, he’s considerate and available without being pushy. Can Cora trust her first impressions? Are the stories people tell true? Can only time and experience truly reveal the character of another human being?

Cora’s mother Miranda is a witch with gifted powers of sight, a talent that allows her to keep an eye on her daughters from almost anywhere. Cora’s sister, Diane, has a talent for premonition, which can prove to be a blessing and a curse. There is obviously a lot of love in this family, even if Diane and Miranda have been somewhat disappointed in the past that Cora wasn’t embracing her heritage.

While I enjoyed MATING CALL and certainly look forward to the next book in the series, I must admit that the book becomes somewhat mired in details that kept the story from progressing as fast as I would have preferred. Just as things finally start to come to a head, the book ends rather abruptly. That aside, this is certainly an entertaining fantasy read with some definite sizzle. Thankfully this is a series and the unresolved questions will surely be addressed in future books. Stop by Freya’s Bower and get your copy of MATING CALL, as it’ll leave you hungry for more.

Lori Ann