Many thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for my spot on this Blog Tour.

A roller-coaster ride of a story set in the landscapes of the land of Esra, this book was packed with both action and political power plays. 2 hearts and 2 skins were the Drokonni, powerful dragon (giant lizard) shape-shifters who had taken control of the land and other clans, where the peace treaty made it clear that the Drakkoni could never shift into their second skin. The rules of the various tribes also held that the races were forbidden to mate with each other. Yet love snuck in and Aledra was born, a hybrid who was a pure Drakkoni.

Given to her father Artor, a larger than life Commander, when she was a wee babe, she grew up with powers immense yet untapped. This book was her story which started when an aid given to her stepmother caused her to become a prisoner and then a fugitive hunted/seeked by her own father.

My first book by Sue Bentley, I had fun watching Aledra grow up from a young girl to a powerful warrior with a heart of goodness and a temper to match. The changes shown in the circumstances of her life were quite dramatic. She had to think on her feet without giving in to her basic need of transforming into her second skin. Love did find her in form of Jubal from a different clan, but that did not form the crux of the book. I quite liked that, their bond was sweet and innocent, and they went through trials and tribulations together.

There were a lot of characters, at some point I got confused, but it soon became layered. The vividness of the world she lived in could have been better described. Twists were very few as villains were well identified at the beginning.

This was an Aledra book through and through. The characters and relationships played a part in modulating her actions. I would love to see where she goes with the next book in the series.

Overall, a fun fantastical read.

I received a free ARC from Anne and author Sue Bentley, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

Sue Bentley lives in Northamptonshire. She is the author of over seventy books, published in her own
name and using a pen name. She is a bestseller both as herself and as another persona. Her books for
young readers have sold over two million copies and have been translated into over twenty languages.

Website: http://www.suebentley.co.uk/

Twitter: @suebentleywords

Estranged from birth and raised on tales of the great mountain castle of Idrith-Core, where her distant
father serves as Lord Commander and confidante of the King, Aledra Jewel-Wing was now going there to court.

As one of the Drakkoni, a race of powerful shape-shifters and conquerors of a wild land, she joins her
stepmother at the festival for all peoples. But when in attempting to save a life, Aledra shifts into her
Drakkoni Secondskin – her beautiful second soul: a giant flighted lizard with flaming breath – she breaks
an ancient oath, and the tremulous peace between the Drakkoni and Esrans is shattered.

Branded a fugitive, hunted by her father, and aided in escape by the master-mancer who raised her,
Aledra begins a journey for survival across a war-torn continent.

Publication Date: 18th July 2019

Publisher: Endeavour Venture

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