Wrenched back in time through the magical power of an old dragon tapestry found in a vintage clothing store, Jill Donahue lands in an ancient medieval town where the villagers decide to sacrifice her to the local dragon. As if the threat of being eaten alive by a giant flying lizard isn't bad enough, she learns there’s a curse surrounding the tapestry and she has to break it in order to get back to her time. But she isn't the only one whose fate is tied to the ancient weaving...
Baelin of Gosforth is a valiant knight who has been cursed by a vindictive witch to live as a dragon for eleven months out of each year. Now he has thirty days to break the curse or he turns back into a fire-breathing beast and, as much as he hates to admit it, he needs Jill's help to do it.
Forced to face many challenges along the way—from the harsh world they travel through to the fiery passion they both try to deny—each is determined to break the curse so the other can get their happily-ever-after. And it just might work, if Jill can manage to overlook the fire-breathing, bat-winged remnants of Baelin's dragon half long enough to see the man beneath the beast and get the job done.
Comment: I got interested in this book, probably because of the time travel aspect and the fact the main hero was able to turn into a dragon. I'm always eager to see how authors can execute such PNRs and how fascinated I can be with the world building they create for their stories.
In this book we meet heroine Jill as she stressfully looks for a gift to offer her young niece and how, during that quest, she stumbles on an antiques shop and the owner allows her to check an old tapestry with the central image of a dragon.
Somehow, she is transported to the middle ages, waking up in a village where the inhabitants are ready to send a young woman to be the victim of a dragon. Somehow, on Jill they see the salvation of the the young woman and they send Jill in her place.
The dragon is actually Baelin of Gosforth, a previous knight who was cursed by a witch to become a dragon and he only has one month out of the year to physically be a man and try to break the curse. He knows a maiden is required and each year he has brought women from the village in hopes she can help him but so far, no luck. No in comes Jill, a woman like no other and who has the gall to defy him. But in her strange countenance he recognizes someone he respects and admires.
Will Jill be able to think the same the more the gets to know him? Will they be able to break the curse at last?
This was a good story within the ideas it was exploiting. I liked both the PNR and time travel elements although I should say there are no original twists to these ideas, the author created a certain world building but the main tactics to make this work follow the same patterns as one could read in other novels (heroine has to adapt to the new reality while still being outspoken, the curse follows some rules on how to be broken, why there's are steps to do it, etc..).
The story starts as Jill travels in time but in the short passages before this, we got to be aware she is considered to be klutz by her family and not very easily appreciated by others. The author wrote this not only to give us an idea of her personality and of how much vulnerability she had under her quirky and cool demeanor but also to infuse some sort of....lightness to her story's tone.
I don't mind stories which focus on easier situations or fun times but I think the intention was too obvious, not subtle enough. It gave me the impression this would have some silly or intended comedy scenes and that just didn't sound too amazing.
Thankfully, the story was not a comedy but Jill's behavior bordered on the TSTL in the sense that she just behaved as if she knew it all. She comes from the future so she had to know more than everyone else and her attitude showed that. Not that she was arrogant or overbearing - in fact, she gave in when she couldn't solve something - but she kept with this cute/bubbly attitude that seemed a little too staged for such a situation. I don't mean to say she should cry in every page but it did make me think some elements of such plots - time travel in this case - can really be adapted to suit the story and don't always consider the psychological factors.
These things aside, of course what makes this interesting is the romance. I did like how Jill and Baelin got to know one another and learned why the other person was special and why their softer side was such appealing. I think the author did a good job in trying to show us why they work as a couple. There is, also, the unknown factor of what would happen when the curse is broken (of course we accept as a fact it will be broken) and how can the couple be together.
Baelin is a softie, he was dealt a bad hand but I liked him. He isn't too...fleshed out, though, besides the basics and the expectations. I'd say he is a good guy but not the most memorable of heroes.
Jill is a modern woman through and through, used to get things done her way even if others see her as not so successful. They are a good couple but probably not one I'll remember a few years from now.
The curse eventually gets broken as one would hope for and the end was not the one I imagined. I can't say this is a bad thing nor such a surprise but I would not think it would happen the way it did. I admit I would have preferred to be the other member of the couple to travel in time (of course one had to abdicate!).
Still, this was an enjoyable read, cute at times, a little too cliché in others...
I see the author had planned on more stories in this world but real life got on her way and since then, nothing else was published. Perhaps if it will, I might read another story set in this series' world.
Grade: 7/10
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