A review by mx_virg
I Married A Dragon by Regine Abel

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

If you liked the other books in the series, there's more of the same here. Powerful and badass hero who's a total cinnamon roll for the female love interest. Honorable and capable heroine who ends up being the hero's salvation. Discovery of a new world with its own unique fauna and flora, with an added twist of portals and a new shadow realm.

So why 2 stars, when I've given 4 star ratings to previous books ? First of, the world described here was way too intricate for a book that is a romance as well as sci-fi. The portals, the shadow realms, phasing... I ended up skipping over those parts, I didn't understand everything and didn't care to. It's not that I don't enjoy sci-fi, but then I'd prefer to read a full on sci-fi book.

Second, it is becoming repetitive. The author tries to shake things up with a new world, new circumstances around a mating. But if you break things down, it's all the same.
Same kind of hero, same kind of heroine, the hero knows she's his and will do anything for her to stay, the heroine feels a spark and falls for the hero bit by bit, there's an issue the hero (or his people) is having that only she can help with, very stereotypical description of prime (aka primitive, underdeveloped) population (even if the Derakeens are not), she ends up staying and pregnant by the end of the book.


But what really tanks the rating for me is some problematic stuff in the romance. Here's the passage that made me almost DNF the book : 

My cheeks all but burst into flames. "What are you saying?" I asked, the defensiveness seeping back into my voice. "Should I just let him have his way with whatever he asks or wants?"
"Yes," she said, as if it was self-evident. "You should only refuse him if you believe it is bad for him or if it strongly makes you uncomfortable. Your purpose as an Ejaya is to keep him healthy and make him happy by whatever means necessary."

Humans being weird for having clothes and being embarrassed to do certain things in front of others (like getting naked, washing yourself, using a toilet,...) is nothing new in the series (again, very stereotypical view of what is a primitive civilization). And I'm no prude, I do think our society cares too much about what and how much people wear. But it goes the other way around too: I don't think it's ok to judge people if they wear "too much". Again, the "prime" population wearing (almost) no clothes and finding the human heroine weird for doing so is nothing new in this series.

But this book takes it to the next level. There's the trope "forced proximity", and then FORCED proximity. Since it is made clear in the book that the heroine shouldn't have sex with the hero if she doesn't want to, some may think it's all innocent. It's not. She's basically being told that she's a bad person (or at least a bad Ejaya) if she doesn't cuddle with him naked, and if she voices being uncomfortable at some of his actions and questions. Her boundaries and comfort levels just don't matter.  Big yikes from me.
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