{Review} The Queen's Wings (The Emerging Queens #1) by Jamie K. Schmidt

Posted by Melanie 
Release Date: May 27th, 2014

Finished Date: May 20th, 2014
Publishers: Entangled Edge
Genre: Adult, Parnormal, Romance 

Source: For Review
Format: eARC
Pages: 544

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

Long ago, the Cult of Humanity sacrificed the Dragon Queen, crippling the breeding process. But now Carolyn hears the voice of that long dead queen telling her that she holds the key to breaking the spell that will free all the female dragons.

FBI dragon Reed's disdain for humans can't mask the magnetic attraction he has for Carolyn, but when she tells him she's going to shift into a dragon he thinks she's crazy. A female hasn't been hatched, or shape shifted, in over a thousand years.

He's proven wrong after Carolyn shifts and is named the new Queen on the block. A never-ending line of suitors forms, but she only wants Reed. Too bad he doesn't want in on the competition. But when the Cult kidnaps Carolyn to sacrifice her in an effort to make the curse against the female dragons permanent, Reed must face his fears—and feelings, racing to save the woman he realizes he can't live without.

The Review: I’ll start straight off by saying – I loved this!
It was different, really funny and I loved the characters, the story – just everything!
As the blurb tells us; Dragon numbers are dwindling and female dragons are scarce, so scarce that there are only 5 in existence and they are revered by all male dragons, put on pedestals, given the world and protected against all others, for their purpose is to breed and keep populating the dragon breed. There has been no female dragons born be it hatched or shape shifted for a thousand years and this is how we meet our main character – Carolyn – who knows she is a dragon, she just hasn’t shifted. No one will believe her, they think she’s crazy and even the tests aren’t showing anything but she knows it’s only a matter of time and that becomes apparent when she is attacked in the embassies offices and ends up spitting corrosive substances onto her attackers – weird!. Then they start to take her seriously because that is a dragon trait and the thing is, if she is a dragon…. She will need protection – enter Reed, a dragon working for the FBI and all round hottie – who would be fabulous if not for his apparent dislike of humans and therefore Carolyn. There is a spark between them but she unknowingly opens up old wounds for Reed and his family and ends up determined to stop the people who have hurt them so deeply, even if she has to use herself as bait…. Cue kidnapping and rescue attempts… and a little romance inbetween as the fight to protect Carolyn hots up.
So, I loved this book. I don’t read a lot about Dragons, especially not shifters but I’m always impressed with what I do read. There is something about Dragons that exudes strength, power, danger & death and you will get all of that in this story. I like the idea that male dragons hold their females above everything else, yeah they might see them as breeding machines for this story but I love the protective side it brings out in them, how they are all queens to be idolised and worshipped on the off chance they can get some and I also love the idea of story based on that. Carolyn was a great character, seriously – she was hilarious! And I just loved everything about her, her attitude, her stubbornness, her humour, her views on everything and even the little glimpses of vulnerability we got from her…. I really connected with her and of course, I was thrilled she went for Reed who is ALL dragon. I loved the way the relationship developed between then, how Reed was forced to re evaluate his preconceptions of humans so that Carolyn could fit in his ‘brackets’ and I loved how Carolyn did not back down to her fate or what was expected of her, she fought all of their ideology about what being a Queen dragon would entail and challenged them at every turn.
I thought the author opened up a really interesting world and it is oozing with potential. We have a world filled with dragons that are out in the open and accepted by most, we get a smidge of magic that could progress into something more and left some questions about who could possess it, we have a situation where the procreating of a species has been cursed and limited, we have murder, we have a cold case,  we have a ready made enemy, we have kidnapping, rescue attempts, in air dragon battles and super hot dragon men ready to lay their lives down for their queen and I loved every second, I could not put this book down! It was such an effortless & fun read, even the pacing was perfect and I can’t wait for more.