Seventh Dragon, Eskarians, #1

For over two hundred years Christopher Bartholomew has been an Eskarian Defender. He and others like him protect humanity from the monsters that would hunt them, but he’s weary and wonders if he’ll ever find his mate. One evening while hunting with another Defender he finds her - only there’s a problem. She’s a demon wolf, something the Defenders cannot allow to live. He’s given 24 hours to convince Mackenzie Wallace that her only hope for survival is to become like him. Once she’s immortal he’ll have time to persuade her that they are meant to be together. Unfortunately, a powerful Triad of sorcerers has other plans for Mackenzie and Christopher’s time is running out.  

Eskarians, demon wolves and sorcerers, oh my! A race against evil taking over the world is always a thrilling ride! Unfortunately, this tale is plagued with problems. Christopher and his fellow Eskarians are an interesting bunch, but little is said on how they came about. Mackenzie is a smart feisty woman, but she does certain things that defy logic. The non-communication between her and Christopher is a huge problem, the plot at times seems to plod along and at others to skip ahead while the villains of this story are too simplistic. The entire story seems forced and two-dimensional. In addition, major editing issues confuse the reader and pull the story further down. Cleaning up the editing issues, expanding on personalities and making the character interactions less wooden would really give this tale some bite.

Carol Conley