Dragon's Diamond by Jane Toombs

Publisher: Devine Destinies Books
Date published: July 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55487--604-4
Fantasy
Ebook
Reviewed by Rebecca
Obtained via publisher


CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE! Long ago, the descendants of Merlin and the last of the dragon blood line made a pact to keep a dark evil trapped and locked away from the world. David, an apparent heir to the dragon bloodline, wakes up naked on a beach with no memory of how he got there. He is found by ten-year-old Kam and dragged off so he can help release Kam’s sister from a rusty animal trap then heal her.

Tima and her younger sister live by themselves on a secluded farm on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Tima isn't sure what to make of her little sister's ability to "see things with her mind," but blissfully accepts the naked stranger Kam found as well as the bedraggled cat he called Nala. Kam is being trained as a witch by her twice great aunt, whom Tima doesn't like and that evil old woman seems to have fixated on David. Could the old woman have something to do with his family's ancient obligations?

This is book two in a series. I found the plot very interesting. The author opened up with a prologue set in medieval Wales and dropped a few words of Old English in, including the much misunderstood thorn, which is the Old English equivalent of the word ‘the’. In case you are wondering, the thorn is represented in Modern English as a letter ’y’. You can still see traces of it in things like “Ye Old Shoppe.”

I’m a big fan of anything that draws from ancient lit, and this story does that via the original stories about Merlin and the two dragons. Also included is a rich vein of Finnish mythology, an interesting cat named Nala, whose part in the story is unfortunately unclear, an evil witch who is trying to corrupt a good witch, and a bumbling redneck. Any plot that has someone easy to dislike is bound to have a lot of potential. This story has two easy-to-dislike bad guys. The hero and heroine seem to have some nice chemistry, as well.

I’m giving this book three hearts. It was well organized and easy to get through. I don’t know if I’d read it again, but it was enjoyable. I have added the first book of this series to my “to be read” list, mainly because I’d really like to know what’s up with Nala the cat.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of the book.