Westcoastbooks

An Accident Of Dragons by Cheri Radke

Summary

“In theory, the dragoness of Summer can make any resident on her island the ruler, if the previous Lord Summer is so careless as to die without an heir. In practice, absolutely no one expected her to choose Teddy, the last lord’s middle-aged fancy man. With his quick wit, heaps of charisma, and excellent dress sense, Teddy brings plenty of virtues to his new role, but statecraft, pedigree, and decorum are not among them. That’s all right: he’s done his duty to the island, and his five-year-old daughter, Zinnia, will make a brilliant Lady Summer when her time comes.

Except when a ship of desperate mainlander thieves arrives, Zinnia’s caught in the fracas and taken hostage. Teddy jumps into the rescue mission without delay, even though his days of adventures on the mainland are long buried with his lover. But his sailors have never seen their destination, and worse, the hard-liner admiral who leads them thinks Teddy’s a worthless dandy. Against a conniving robber baron, a sorceress who’s tamed her own dragon, and ordinary people with everything to lose, the crew faces terrible odds. But with all he loves in danger, Teddy must prove there’s more to him than he’d ever intended to show.”

Review

I went into this book expecting love, romance, and a cheesy, predictable romantasy plot, with the novel twist of the main character being middle-aged. I was pleasantly surprised to find a story centered on self-love, fatherhood, and the search for a sense of self when your entire world revolves around caring for others. The main character both accepts and struggles with the aged, inaccurate perceptions of who he is held by those who wish to control or dismiss him. This is an absolutely beautiful read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Also there are dragons, cute kiddos and a lavender marriage.

If you want an enjoyable listening experience, the book is very well narrated by Damian Lynch. He does an excellent job bringing life to each character. 

**This review is based on an e-ARC generously provided to me through Netgalley**