BOOK REVIEW: I Married a Naga by Regine Abel
They say you find love when you are least expecting it.. or just don't want to die.
This will probably be unlike any of my normal reviews. Why? You ask with a stunned look of concern on your face. Well, my friends, this is very unlike books that I typically read. I’m all for stepping out of comfort zones and exploring other genres and authors. I’ll be the first to admit that I can get bored if I read the same genre over and over; however, this is a sub genre from which I probably won’t read anything else.
To start, I will say that I didn’t NOT like the book, it was just not for me. There was an aspect of it that I just could overcome, and that’s ok folks! Not all books are for everyone, even so, I appreciate the writing talents and skills of this author, and ultimately, the world she created and the characters that came to life.
So, let me explain. Here is a quick synopsis to get us started: Serena is a human who makes a living by participating in these off world hunting competitions. A huge opportunity presents itself to go to a very rare hunt on Tranger, home of the Ordosians. These “people” are very private and have very strict rules. For example, if one of the human hunters crosses over into their protected lands, they will be executed. Yep, you guessed it, Serena finds herself facing execution at the hands of Szaro, an Ordosian hunter. However, instead of execution, she is given the option to marry Szaro instead. Marriage it is.
What I liked was the building of the world and this high tech, sci-fi hunting structure (which is, for the most part, hanging out there in the shadows of the rest of the story). The descriptions of this beautiful planet, the attack scenes with the creatures they are hunting and even in the descriptions of buildings, events and characters themselves painted very clear images. I’m a huge fan of descriptive writing, and it is a non-negotiable in my book when it comes to the portrayal of worlds that up until this precise moment have only existed in the author's mind.
The only two main characters are Serena and Szaro. There are a few other characters that have their moments of glory like a few of the other human hunters and Szaro’s family and a handful of other Ordosians, but the book really does rely primarily on just the two of them and their relationship. Having different POVs is always a big hit with me, and in a structure like this where we have a forced marriage between two strangers, it’s so much easier to see what they are each thinking and how they are growing and changing. It allows you to see that moment when things just click.
The characterization was done well, and the development of their true feelings for each other developed with time and didn’t feel forced. I loved that they were both created to be fierce, strong and independent hunters in their own right but found a way to come together and not force the other to change. It’s through these moments of hunting and exploring together that the full beauty and creation of this world is shown. I loved all the unique aspects of the planet and all the creatures, traditions, and pride that flows from one village to the next.
Your decision should not be made because you feel pressured by some arbitrary deadline or feel that your body is taking that decision away from you.
I listened to the audio of this one, which was good. I bought into the narration, and it probably allowed me to like the story a little more than I might have otherwise. There are a few other reasons I didn’t NOT like the book:
Smooth transitions between scenes.
Pacing was quick, efficient and logical. Everything flowed from one moment to the next with purpose and direction.
It was a quick read!!
While reading, especially the first part of the book, I kept being reminded of Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder (one of my favorite short stories).
This was book 2 of a series; however, this read as a standalone which makes me think the others in the eight book series do as well. Not a big deal, but as I haven’t read the others, it is definitely worth mentioning.
We have come to the point in my story where I can tell you what I struggled with. Here goes - I really, really struggled to get past the fact that Serena is a human, a normal human female, and Szaro is a giant male snake, a cobra if I had to be specific. Yep, a snake with a human-esque head, torso and arms, but no legs, just a nice long scaly tail. The steamy, smut scenes between human and snake, while written extremely well and with care and maturity just didn’t sit with me. But, like I’ve said before, the author’s writing is excellent. There is no mistaking that it’s well written and developed. It has a 4.6 star rating on Amazon and 4.14 on Goodreads.
But, it’s a human and a snake….
If you have read this one, or any others in “Prime Mating Agency series,” I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop me a comment using the link below.
Where does this land on my bookshelf?
Middle shelf. Hopefully, I was successful in highlighting all the really good things about the book. Just because this isn’t necessarily a book/series for me, I can still appreciate good writing and storytelling and that is exactly what we have here. You may be wondering why I picked it up to start with. Great question! This was a book recommended to me by a friend for the 12 books in 12 months recommended by 12 friends challenge. I absolutely love this challenge because it really does expose you to new authors and genres that you may never have had a chance to experience before. If you love romance…with some smutty steam and aren’t weirded out by cross species mating, check this out. Some of the others in this series are I Married a Birdman and I Married a Merman.
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