Sleeping Dragon Stirs, part 2 by TJ Shaw

Jaxon likes it when Amari strokes his dragon horns from base to tip. Tee hee hee, chuckle chuckle. If that’s not sexual innuendo then I don’t know what is.

What’s it About? 

As the day of her awakening nears, Amari Hawke struggles to control the beast inside her. Basking in the energy of the approaching Trinity moon, her animal’s strength has increased to the point it can control Amari’s mind and body. Fearing she is about to slip into madness, Amari is forced into a tough choice.

In a desperate attempt to save Amari and her beast, Jaxon Blackthorn encourages his cadre, the men in his trusted circle, to establish mental links with her, but when his plans fail and Amari’s animal exerts control, he must fight for the beautiful woman who is lost to her beast. Together, can Amari and Jaxon’s developing bond for each other overcome the urges driving Amari’s animal as they also thwart an unseen enemy vying to keep them apart?

First Impressions

This novel picks up immediately where we left off at the end of the previous book without missing a beat. Seriously, it’s almost like book one ends with us taking a deep breath, and book two commences with our exhale. Normally I’m not always a fan when we have this kind of immediate continuation in a series, as I always enjoy a slight summary of events from the previous novel. That’s why I was absolutely tickled pink with the excellent job this novel does of recalling the major events from the previous book so that we can jump right back into the story. It flows together so seamlessly you can’t help but appreciate it. Hands down my favorite feature of this novel though was the increased focus on how Jaxon is dealing with Amari’s presence in both his life, and his dragon’s life. It was fascinating to read how Jaxon talks about his dragon, as though it’s a completely separate being even though it is contained within him. Sure, it seemed slightly schizophrenic in that regard, but somehow in a completely logical way at the same time!

Stuck in Place

While we do see some big steps between Amari and Jaxon in regards to their relationship, I do wish we had made a bit more progress with the development of the overall storyline happening outside the veil. If anything I feel like I have even more questions now than what was answered by the end of the first book. Again, it was really interesting to see Amari and Jaxon grow closer together through their mental link, and for Jaxon to finally acknowledge that he wants this woman as his mate even if he isn’t sure of her designation. I guess that’s what I wanted more advancement on though, what is her designation (although I think we can all guess at this point), when will she get her memory back, etc.?

And then one of the major aspects we did get progress on was kind of brushed aside, and that was the scene when Amari finally admitted to Jaxon that she couldn’t remember her past. This was a moment that had been building throughout the series, and I was really looking forward to that vulnerable confession where Amari must risk the possibility of Jaxon rejecting her when she admits that she lost her memory. But instead it’s mentioned in a brief sentence simply to say that it happened. All in all I must admit I was kind of disappointed we didn’t have the opportunity to witness it directly. I think it could have been a really revealing moment for Amari, and an important sign of her trust in Jaxon.

here we go, Here We Go, HERE WE GO!!!!

One thing this series does brilliantly is build up the anticipation. Trinity soon approaches when first time shifters transform into their inner beast. The fact that Amari can’t remember her beast designation, and has received zero training on how to handle the transition means that Jaxon and his dragon cadre fear Amari will become stuck in transition and go rogue. Essentially she’ll go mad from it. With the turn of every page Trinity grows nearer, Amari starts to exhibit some puzzling and disturbing qualities related to transition, and we fear and question what madness might ensue when Trinity finally arrives. Trinity is coming people!! Although the fact we don’t really see a resolution to many of the questions which were raised in part one was kind of a let down, you also can’t deny that it significantly adds to the building suspense of what might be lurking just around the corner in wait for Jaxon and Amari.

*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*

Series: Outside the Veil, book 2. This part of the series definitely seems like a suspense builder, gathering everything together for what must be one heck of a Trinity finale. The next book is the last one in the trilogy, where we’ll finally reach the climax where sh*t goes down!

Final Impression: While we might not find a resolution to Amari’s beast designation in this novel, we definitely see her resign herself to the fact that she isn’t a sheep. She starts to break away from that herb designation and in the process her feistiness really shines through. Whereas part 1 saw things more from Amari’s point of view, and her frustration at not being able to remember her past, I loved that in this part we see more of Jaxon’s thoughts regarding this tempting redhead who has come under his care. It’s a window into Jaxon’s soul and beast, and we see him realize that this woman is meant for him. Nothing will stop him from seeing her safely transition and ultimately becoming his.

Smut Level: Their first time together is surprisingly in a dream rather than in real life. It’s rather convenient to be able to just think the clothes away, lemme tell ya!

Get it on Amazon: Click Here. $2.99 Kindle Price. Forgotten Dreams Publishing, LLC. 157 Pages.