Enter The Dragon

By Daylight Come (Tielle St. Clare): To entertain her young nieces one weekend, math teacher Tina repeats a magic spell to entice her true love to come to her. The next day, a wounded and bleeding dragon appears on her property, and then suddenly changes into a handsome, sexy man. More surprising is that in the dragon’s world, relationships are based on a triad – the Protector, the Maiden, and the Warrior. Tina is the Maiden, the dragon is the Protector. Who could be her Warrior?

By Daylight Come is a contemporary fantasy, in which a modern woman’s life is enlivened by a fantasy creature. It is a very erotic story, with a simple plot that gives the author scope for a lot of graphic and very sexy love scenes involving a ménage à trois. This was the sexiest of the three stories, and should be read with a couple of ice packs available for cooling off.

Hyde! (Madison Hayes): Baron Jay Kel, cousin of the ruler Val Kel, is involved in a dangerous game of politics. Into this game is brought Teller, a woman who appears in Jay’s bed with a broken leg and various other injuries. Jay knows that Teller was injured by his crazed brother Hyde, and left for Jay to take care of. While Teller recovers from her injuries in Jay’s luxurious villa, she is dazzled and confused by Jay, Hyde, and the clone-servant Huvisdank, all of whom become her lovers. What secrets are being hidden from her in the remote villa? Dare she trust any of the men?

Hyde! is a futuristic suspense story, told in a somewhat abrupt, fast-cut style that creates an appropriately technological atmosphere. The pieces of the “puzzle” were obscured by all of the atmospheric details, and so the author was able to lead this reader happily down the garden path – in the wrong direction! I love it when an author is able to totally fool me as to their intentions. Rather than reveal any secrets, I will simply say that this seemed to me to be the best written and most intriguing story in the collection. For the sensitive reader, I note that Hyde! includes an abundance of very explicit sexual scenes, written in a raw, spare style.

Tale of the Dragon (Mlyn Hurn): Princess Lyra is something of a tomboy, and would rather spend her days alone in her remote valley – well, not precisely alone -- she has a dragon living in the cave as well. Maldovaar is the leader of the remaining dragons, and Lyra has persuaded him to help her hatch a dragon egg that she found. (She is so persuasive that the dignified Mal finds himself sitting on an egg like a female!) However, real life intrudes into Lyra’s happy existence. She must go back to the castle to help welcome her father’s guest, the Duke of Krytan. Unknown to Lyra, there’s a wedding scheduled as part of the festivities, and she is to star as the bride!

Tale of the Dragon is a medieval sort of fantasy story with some very appealing characters, a simple plot and a cosy ambiance. Even though she is a princess, the character of Lyra comes across as a real and lovely woman, and that of Krytan demonstrates a more complex personality than that of a simple warrior. I was not surprised by anything in this story, but I really loved the sweet and loving mood that the words of the author elicited. The sexual scenes are explicit, but very sensual and loving. I would say that this is the most romantic of the three stories.

These stories are as different from each other in theme and execution as three stories can be, except that each story has something to do with a dragon. Each author tells her own story in her unique style, giving each story a distinct and appropriate ambiance. I was a little puzzled at first by the odd juxtaposition of these stories, but, WOW! They are each really great stories and I enjoyed reading each one!

Reviewed by: Jean