Paranormal historical romance by Lila Mina? And then a prequel of my beloved Temper series? Is there a way I won’t enjoy this novel?

Quick Info
The Goshawk and the One-Eyed Dragon

• Title: The Goshawk and the One-Eyed Dragon
• Author: Lila Mina
• Series: Temper
• Genre: historical, paranormal, romance
• Content Warnings: none
• Diversity: POC
• Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Blurb
The Goshawk and the One-Eyed Dragon

A missed shot on the battlefield. A desperate plan to save her clan to redeem herself. The explosive origin story of a love that will span four centuries.

In the heat of battle, fearless warrior Kyoko strikes with unmatched precision, guided by an unyielding spirit. Her arrows, like whispers of fate, hit their mark every time. One shot is all it would take to bring the Date clan to their knees, until the damning smile of the One-Eyed Dragon disrupts her focus, altering the course of her life.

As her clan faces ruin, Kyoko sets out to right her wrongs, willing to sacrifice it all – love, joy, and her relationship with her kin. Nudged by invisible hands pushing her on the path of her destiny, she steps into the dragon’s lair, unaware that the ruthless warlord within will walk by her side until the very End… and Beyond.

For fans of powerful lady warriors and LGBTQI protagonists, a gritty and highly explicit enemies-to-lovers, altar-diplomacy, fated-souls romance with a supernatural twist.

This is a prequel to the author’s TEMPER saga, but it can also be read a standalone.

The Queer’s Review

Go buy it, I loved it. End of review.

Well, there is a little bit more to it, but I seriously loved it. If you have been following my blog you might have noticed how much I loved Yuki, so every other character of Lila Mina has to survive being compared to her. Considering Kyoko’s relation to Yuki, she was both at a better and a worse starting point than any other character.

I’m happy to announce she is not simply Yuki but younger. Instead, she is her own character who reminds me of Yuki but in a very good way. Same with Dante, who turned out to convince me more easily to be a good romantic male lead as a Honda did.

The energy between those two was a very nice back-and-forth with a few delicious twists. I would have loved a little bit more plot. The beginning was a great starting point and I hoped for more intrigue and character development, but that kinda fell behind not-confined-to-the-bed-scenes. Which I enjoyed greatly, don’t get me wrong. The way consent was asked and given was a treat in itself and if you have read something by this author you know how well she writes about (BDSM) erotica.

I will reread The Goshawk and the One-Eyed Dragon without a doubt, but it leaves me with a problem: I’d really like a continuation of this prequel. And I know I can reread the rest of the Temper series, and especially Fated, but still.

Bookish Thoughts

“Given the destruction she has wrought on my army, ‘poor child’ is really not how I’d describe your daughter, Mitsue dono.”
Kindle pos. 1493

Disclaimer

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.