How to Kill a Dragon (Heir of Dragons Book 1)

Minx’s nickname is the Dragon Hunter. Why? She was sent out to kill a dragon, but revealed that it was her first time hunting a dragon. Why would she be called the Dragon Hunter if she hasn’t ever hunted a dragon?This book would probably be a good teenage level book. The writing and character building seems a little simple.The author seems to be trying to get Minx and Kaleb romantically involved with each other, but the attempts feel shallow. The characters will suddenly have a thought about how cute the other one is (it’s especially silly when they have these thoughts in the middle of a fight scene). And then they will continue on with their quest.The emotions in this story feel off. Minx wanted to kill Alla for taking Mau. Yet only a few pages later, she’s suddenly concerned with whether or not Alla will live after she was shot by another mysterious group with a poisoned arrow. That’s fine to do, but it needs some sort of transition. What brought about this change of heart? Minx does mention a few pages later that she was alright with Alla dying by her arrow, but the thought of Alla dying to the man who had shot her would mean that he would win, and she can’t stand that thought. Really? That reasoning is so flimsy and it’s akin to a toddler.What is so special about Heilo Lake? The Fae guard it jealously, which is fine, but what is their reasoning? I think it’s something to do with magic? But I don’t know.This book was definitely for a younger audience.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment stopped there. A young huntress dedicates her life to hunting dragons, a presumably long-standing tradition amongst her people. Yet none of her weapons work against dragons. One would think a people who need dead dragons to survive would know how to killed them.My other major issue was, she needs a dragon hide for a protection spell, which is in place but approaching expiration throughout the story. Well, apparently this super duper majic spell on which the plot is centered is worthless in a laughable way because some wimpy dog creature thing called a wuff walks in through the front gate and takes a bunch of hostages while everyone stands around and watches. Super duper protection spell should have at least made the thing whimper like a kicked beagle or something.

I really love reading about dragons. The fact that they are shifters only doubles my enjoyment. Then add fae into the mix and I’m sold. I loved the story and look forward to seeing and reading more.

I couldn't get into the story. Nothing about it was interesting, or exciting. The characters were very one dimensional and the plot line was barely existent.

I’m a huge fan of books involving dragons. Enough that despite the fact I adore him (and I’m not saying this just because he reads my reviews), I’ve always been a bit disappointed that he never admitted to me that he’s secretly a powerful dragon shifter (sweetie: I know you read this, so there’s still time for that admission...). With that as a background I was turned off by a book with the title “ How to Kill a Dragon”, but then I thought “heck, it’s by J.A. Culican (a total fave aithor) so you should trust her”. I’m glad I did as this first book in her new Heir of Dragons series is awesomely superb!! (I wanted to add more exclamation marks there but it probably would show my emotional immaturity so I’m holding of.) (!) Wonderfully, superbly, written, with a plot line that exciting and thrilling and, yes, a bit romantic, with evil and nobility, magic and adventure, a superbly crafted story world and great characters from Mind and Kaleb on down. Truly a fantastic start to what I can already tell will be an addictive story arc (though this story stands well alone). Easy to highly recommend.

Minx is a royal fae and fierce hunter. With adversaries trespassing on fae lands, Minx is tasked with hunting down a dragon and returning with its powerful hide so that the elders can restore the protection spell on the land. With her trusty faelyr companion Mau by her side, Minx embarks on a hunt to slay a dragon and save her people. Her first encounter with one shocks her when the fearsome beast shifts into a man. Her handsome foe insists they have a common enemy, and that they should work together to defeat it. Kaleb and Minx form a tentative alliance, working together to find a way to save their people from impending war.I really enjoyed this one! It's got fantasy, forbidden romance, and shifters. All things I love. The plot is fast-paced and engaging, and I'm very curious to see where it goes next. The world-building is great, and I liked learning about all of the different races. I'm sure we'll get even more information in the coming books.I liked how Kaleb and Minx's relationship developed. They start as enemies and grow into a tentative alliance, which becomes a solid friendship. The romance was slow burn and sweet. I liked that they helped each other grow and learn more. It felt natural and real. I also liked the overall message of the book.I definitely recommend this one for fantasy fans!

This is book one of the Heir of Dragons series and the main characters are Royal Fae Minx and Dragon shifter and heir to the Pyra Clan, Kaleb. Minx has been sent on a mission by her father, one of the Council, to obtain a dragon skin to enable the defensive wards over their lands to be restored to full power. A number of dragons have been spotted for the first time in years, near their borders and since she is nicknamed the Dragon Hunter, she is the perfect warrior to send on the task. She takes along her Faelyr, Mau, a half Fae, half tiger, that she can communicate with telepathically and has had since she was twelve. Before she can start her hunt, she visits her parents at the Council building, only to find an army of neighbouring clans arrive at the gates, led by a fierce vixen Muff called Valry. She sends some of her force into the crowd that has come out and they take people hostage. She demands a dragon skin as payment, or she will call all the hostages. She and her army will return in a week for payment or war!Now Minx has to try and obtain two dragon skins, having never even killed a dragon before, she faces a difficult task and the clock is ticking! Luckily for her, she has a bracelet with stones in it that light up blue, when she is close to a dragon and she manages to come across one seemingly slumbering in an open meadow. She sends Mau around the side of the patch, to come up and surprise the dragon from the back, as she attacks from the front, but her link to Mau goes silent. She is too busy fighting with the dragon and finding that her arrows have no effect whatsoever against the dragon’s scales. She can’t seem to find a weak spot anywhere on its body or head. What shocks her next, is the dragon turning into a young man! The stunningly handsome young man is Kaleb and he doesn’t want to kill her, despite the long history of animosity between his people and Fae. He senses another dragon nearby, but the scent is wrong somehow, and Minx has realised that Mau is nowhere to be seen. They both look for her, but can’t find her and have lost the scent of the strange dragon Kaleb caught before.Realising that Kaleb is both a dragon and a man, makes Minx start to rethink the issue of killing him. She will have to wait for another dragon to kill, because she is feeling something she shouldn’t for Kaleb! There is no way Mau would have left Minx of her own choice, so they know someone must have taken her and they need to find her, before Minx can continue on her quest to save her people. What they find in one of the largest human cities, is a level of depravity and Dark Fae meddling with different species to create monstrous creatures, beyond their imaginations. Strange creatures are for sale from an auction, kept covered up in cages. It is only the assistance of a giant woman of an unknown clan, giving them a clue where to look, for them to discover where Mau is being kept, before she gets sold. The person holding her is Alla and she is a rare Dragon and Fae hybrid, who is wanted by no clan and does anything she can to make money. If she could turn into a dragon, maybe Minx could take her skin! Not that Kaleb would allow that.But it seems the warnings of a coming darkness and visions of a large dark army destroying everything in sight, should be something to worry about. Plus, Minx has been having dreams about Lake Helio and the Silence, whatever that is. Something bad is about to happen and if she can’t get two skins, then her mother will be killed and the army may kill many more of her people. Kaleb suggests he ask the dragon guard to help out and proposes an alliance between dragons and fae, which many would believe unthinkable in the past. It seems the younger generation may be easier to convince than the older ones. If they can’t find some sort of alliance and allies to help fight the coming darkness, then both their races may be annihilated. A foe who wants Alla for her hybrid nature and others like her, faces off against them and even Kaleb’s dragon strength is not enough. This dark mage Torrent has far too much magic and is impossible for them to stop. Kaleb risks his life to stop him taking Alla, clearly against her will, and is badly injured. He is only saved by Minx’s Fae healing magic, already sorely exhausted when Alla was poisoned earlier.Kaleb and Minx only get a few dragons to volunteer to help out and think that should help against Valry’s army, but Torrent’s army of darkness has added thousands to their numbers and it will be a suicide mission now, but none of them will give up until they are dead. It seems the older generations of both councils are much more reluctant to break a treaty that has stood for centuries and are more concerned with looking out for their own people, rather than their main enemies. But as the saying goes, ‘the enemy of my enemy, is my friend’. They would be much stronger together in the coming battle against darkness. This is just the first volley, there is more action to come, as the dark mage wants to steal the light magic below Lake Helio and somehow the dragon fae hybrids and others like them, have a major role to play, as yet unknown. This is a great start to the adventure, with many different creatures and clans of people involved in the storyline and a young and inexperienced dragon hunter needing to do her job under great pressure, who ends up meeting a dragon face to face and finding they can turn into a man, someone she begins to like rather a lot! Their fathers aren’t happy for them to mix, but I’m sure there will be more from the pair in the next book in the series, as the danger ramps up and visions increase. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

**3.5I read this book as part of an arc tour and enjoyed it! It’s a fast paced, high fantasy read.I love the world building and side characters.It has enemies to friends, chosen one and a great battle scene. This first book is definitely just setting the reader up for more in the next one. Still some mystery left unresolved that leaves the reader wanting more.The author is very competent at writing battle and fight scenes. I was extremely impressed with the attention to detail in this regard.I did feel like the characters needed to be fleshed out a bit more, just needed a bit more depth. But it’s fast paced and feels more plot driven to me which can be hard to achieve I think.Overall a fun story that will keep the page turning. I rated it four stars because I know many people will enjoy it but because of the lack of character depth and growth I have to give it more a 3.5 and that’s just personal feelings.