Genre: Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Tony
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About The Book
Once upon a time, before the hunts, dragons were plentiful in the world. Now they exist only in legend…except in the land of Ivria.
Felix is a prince, cousin of the current king, ward of the old one. Knowing he would never sit on the throne, he set himself to become something else—the king’s best spy. Aside from a trusted few, people know him as a frivolous, flirtatious prince. They don’t see the keen mind behind the charming smile or the love of family and quiet behind the silks and jewels. They certainly don’t know he is the eyes and ears of the king. Felix still blames himself for not discovering the plot against Ivria and its king at its beginning, and he’s determined to find the remaining members of the conspiracy. If the commander of the King’s Guard will get out of his way.
Alan is commander of the King’s Guard, a role he set himself on the path toward when he was very young. He takes his duty seriously, so seriously there is little room for anything else in his life—not the pastimes he used to enjoy or family or even love. Especially now with the heightened danger to the royal family. He crushed his attraction to the beautiful Prince Felix long ago, but when he finds out Felix is more than he appears, Alan immediately becomes suspicious. Is Felix working for the king or against him? Alan won’t let himself be fooled by a pretty face that hides so much, no matter how he used to feel.
But the real danger is closer than Felix or Alan realizes, and they’re going to have to get over their animosity for each other—and deal with the desire that sparks when they do—if they’re going to survive it.
The Review
To Know a Dragon Spy is book two of the ‘Dragon of Ivria’ series, and follows on from where book one finished but with a change in the character point of views. Here we see the event leading up to Lysander’s and Sascha’s wedding and beyond through the eyes of Alan, the commander of the guards, and Felix, the dragon king’s spy.
Alan still has doubts about Felix, and these doubts are going to give him some grief until he gets a hand on them while still having to deal with the aftermath of the treachery uncovered in book one. And that’s alongside the attraction he feels for Felix. Poor guy.
Felix is experiencing confusion as well, but that probably has nothing to do with his trans-man status and more to do with what Alan wants from him. You’ll have to read the book to discover if that’s the case. Let’s just say the Ivrian society is a well balanced and liberal one, if not perfect. The treachery that runs over from book one involves a group of nobles who want to reveal the existence of dragons to the rest of the world, for nefarious reasons. The royal family and their associates have that still to deal with as well a royal wedding and all the expected guests.
There are dragons and magic aplenty, as well as some well nuanced characters who can be frustrating as well as heroic. And let’s not forget little kids, dogs and a cat. Thankfully things do not get too cute or silly. There is also a lot of court intrigue, as should be expected, and some irritating or just plain nasty relatives for the main characters to interact with.
This is a love story between Alan and Felix, which works on a number of levels. The lovers are not sure if romance is what they want, or if they can even make a space for it in their lives.
There are a few threads left hanging by the end of the book, which begs the question as to whether there will be a book three. I shall be reading it when it arrives to find out if the identity of the evil sorcerer is uncovered.
I have my suspicions.
A great read, with some dark moments as well as a lot of excitement.
The Reviewer
Tony is an Englishman living amongst the Welsh and the Other Folk in the mountains of Wales. He lives with his partner of thirty-six years, four dogs, two ponies, various birds, and his bees. He is a retired lecturer and a writer of no renown but that doesn’t stop him enjoying what he used to think of as ‘sensible’ fantasy and sf. He’s surprised to find that if the story is well written and has likeable characters undergoing the trails of life, i.e. falling in love, falling out of love, having a bit of nooky (but not all the time), fending off foes, aliens and monsters, etc., he’ll be happy as a sandperson who has just offloaded a wagon of sand at the going market price. As long as there’s a story, he’s in. He aims to write fair and honest reviews. If he finds he is not the target reader he’ll move on.