Aribeth Mitchell is an ordinary student at Cambridge University, or so she thought. From the charming old villages, nestled in the Japanese Alps, to the mystical Egyptian Desert, Aribeth will have to deal with a world wrapped up in greed, wrath, lust and hypocrisy, where love is stained in blood and lies, and where evil also might have a beating heart. Mighty fights, mythical and mystical creatures and entwining loves await her in an adventure that will change her life forever. "To thee, I give my all"
Aribeth Mitchell is an ordinary student at Cambridge University, or so she thought. From the charming old villages, nestled in the Japanese Alps, to the mystical Egyptian Desert, Aribeth will have to deal with a world wrapped up in greed, wrath, lust and hypocrisy, where love is stained in blood and lies, and where evil also might have a beating heart. Mighty fights, mythical and mystical creatures and entwining loves await her in an adventure that will change her life forever. "To thee, I give my all"
I was standing right in front of the main gate of the ancient city of Memphis, Egypt, through which cramped alleys, filled with any sort of colourful stand selling different kinds of items, could be seen. Brimming with gaudy silk cloths, aromatic incenses, and several arrays of local food delicacies, the marketplace was kissed by the autumn colours of manifold spices and roots.
Colossal, white walls surrounded the city, gathering all the mud huts, small houses and stalls at the foot of a majestic temple, embraced by tall, trapezoidal towers soaring into the blue sky. In the distance, only the pyramids were towering over the surrounding landscape and the Nile, luxuriant source of life and prosperity, flowed peacefully through the desert.
The hot air was soaked with the typical scent of sandalwood, patchouli and dates. Sometimes too pungent and vile when mixed with the odour of spicy food coming from the grocery stalls. Papyrus reeds and tall palms were scattered around the sandy city, but the main greenery belonged to the richest houses and their courtyards.
The temperature, at that time of the day, was awfully hot and the heat, penetrating under my long, white gown, was piercing my body like hundreds of burning stakes. The wind, blowing full speed, forced me to wear a headdress with a veil to cover up my mouth and nose. A handy shield against the biting sand. Beads of sweat were rolling down my forehead, through the hole that allowed my sapphire blue eyes to be half-seen.
Pushing my way through the crowd, I spotted a male figure moving through the horde and heading into a secondary narrow alley. He was huge and draped in a long, black cloak with the hood thrown up.
Without hesitation, I launched myself in pursuit of that mysterious creature that caught my attention. Once I turned around the corner, I saw him in the shadow taking off the black tunic and chuck it on the floor. Hiding myself behind a pile of brown, shabby boxes, I lurked in the darkness at that enchanting body.
He was around six feet tall and very well shaped. His sculpted body was a heap of muscles and manliness, wrapped into a pair of black trousers and a black cotton shirt. Criss-crossing his shoulder blades there were two small scabbards, containing two shining Sais, the traditional Okinawan sharp metal tine, with two curved side-prongs jutting out from the handle, typically used for stabbing or blocking an attack.
He suddenly turned around, walking into a coneshaped ray of light filtering from a crack in the dark orange tarpaulin hovering above his head. I went stiff in my spot, mesmerised by the view. My blood froze and so did every single cell of my body. He was beautiful, astonishingly beautiful, one of those rare beauties that could be seen in a movie or pictured in a book.
A mane of long, wavy, raven black hair cascading over his shoulders, and behind on his back in thick strands. A chiselled square jaw was theatre to his pulp, dark pink lips, perfectly drawn on a pale skin. He had prominent cheekbones and angled arch brows, making his almond midnight blue eyes stand out.
Who was he? Where did he come from? And most importantly, what was such a mysterious creature doing in a place like this? What was I doing in a place like this?
I stood still in place, without moving an inch to avoid being caught peeping at a stranger, but I had to know him. That was my purpose for the day.
Giving his back to me, he worked his hair into a loose ponytail that turned into a bun a second later. An ocean of perfectly shaped muscles contracted and waved on his arms. Not to mention the line of his back diving into those impeccably moulded cheeks hidden by his trousers.
Feeling lightheaded from the overwhelming sight, I forgot for a moment about being in disguise and pulled down the veil from my face. In steadying myself, I stepped on a small piece of wood, or so it seemed from the creaking sound that broke the silence, spreading immediately in the air.
I stopped breathing.
Shit.
Mister Handsomeness tilted his head back and put his nose up in the air, as in sniffing a danger. As fast as humanly impossible, he turned around and looked straight at me. Like he knew I was there. Like he knew the exact spot where the gazelle was busted.
Our eyes met, locked, and I felt a heat wave crushing down upon me, from my face to the tip of my toes. I knew I was blushing but couldn’t move away from his alluring gaze. A lopsided grin curled up his lips as he paced towards me like a true predator, slow yet lethal. As soon as he approached me, I stood up very still, admiring the mesmerising beauty in front of my eyes. But once I was finally able to move and step back, I felt the ground leaving beneath my feet. I was about to plunge into a black hole that wasn’t there a second before.
The male figure promptly launched himself forward and grabbed my wrist with enough strength not to let me fall any further, but as much gentleness not to hurt me either. The moment our skin touched, a flash of white light blasted off and we both fell down.
Then, it was magic.
Freeze-framed in mid-air, we were both shot into a dark forest at night, where the cool air coated our bodies, far away from the heat of the desert.
The midnight spring breeze caressed my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting the sight to the darkness, but I felt smothering. The reason was just lying on top of me. His steel body was weighing on mine. Nonetheless, I grabbed his upper arms and tried in vain to move him off me. His skin felt flawless and soft under my fingers and his light cologne looted my senses. His head was dropped right next to mine. His face so buried in the crook of my neck that I could perceive the spicy, musky perfume of his hair.
Without moving an inch, I did the only possible thing in that moment. I breathed in. The raven-haired man flashed his eyes wide open and propped himself up on his elbows immediately, leaving me free to breathe properly.
“Are you okay?” he asked in a deep voice, thick with doubts and worry. His hair went loose, falling around my head like a dark curtain. I looked him in the eyes and whispered a ‘yes’ over his lips, but I wanted to say so much more, ask so many questions. I felt his body stiffening and mine reacted to that, but that alone triggered the unexpected: the man above me writhed in pain and a growl escaped his mouth.
“Not… now…” he roared to himself.
He clenched his fists on the ground, fetching the hard soil beneath like it was smooth sand. His shoulders hunched, his back arched and his hips plunged down on me while he pressed his forehead on mine.
“Don’t… do… that…” His breathing was ragged and, when I locked my eyes on his once more, I saw the inexplicable. One of his dark blue eyes lightened up into a pale icy orb, while the other turned crimson red, making his gaze even deeper. A pair of long, black horns jutted out his head, curving and lightly spiralling backwards.
I was supposed to be scared of that display, but I couldn’t. I was simply amazed, and I didn’t know why. The only thing I could do in that moment was stare at that fascinating creature, longing to lay a hand over his horns and check the texture, and the feeling, and… who knows if they were rough or smooth. Hey, wait a second, what was I thinking?
His voice was low and hoarse when he spoke, somehow seductive, cutting the deafening silence.
“Fear not, milady, I am here to protect you…”
His lips were almost touching mine and I wanted to close the gap so badly. I didn’t even have time to reply when the ringing of a bell startled me up. I wanted to speak, to reply, to lay there in his arms for a very long time, but a force stronger than my will, pulled me away from that place, from his scent, from his eyes and, in a blink, everything was dissolving into a cloud of white smoke.
Where do I begin for a book that holds such great promise ??? Being the first book in a series is rough but The Obsidian Dragon did pretty well!
We start with our female main character Aribeth, who is trying to make her way through life but always senses something else out there.
Her introduction into the world of dragons could have been a bit smoother but as the mystic powers unfurl I get where the author was coming from.
Aribeth is a properly defined female lead but I think the supporting characters could use a bit more backstory. It feels like they got thrown together and I wanted just a bit more integration. I also sometimes wonder if more inner monologue would support the decisions made by the female MC?
The world building was decent with the devil is in the detail. We get the general gist but I think a richer description of the surrounding, the world building, the magic and the characters could have been beneficial.
One of the standout things about this book is definitely the banter between the main characters. Their dialogue had me rolling up with the snarky comments and humor. This I think was when I started appreciating the connections being formed between the characters.
It would be remiss of me to call this a spicy reverse harem (RH) without talking about the spice. It’s not like five peppers spicy but that bathtub scene (girlllllll). I think more heat would have been great but then I can see why the author may have wanted to focus more on the fantasy aspects to propel the story forward.
The mind speak was a little questionable but I think it could have been fleshed out more. Definitely need to mention that it ends in a cliffhanger but not like awful on my gorsh and more ohh I wanna read more to find out what’s going on.
One thing I would recommend is throwing my curveballs in the plot so the shock factor goes up a bit more. Other than that I think this is a solid story with great potential.
Thank you to the author and Reedsy Discovery for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.