Thursday, April 20, 2023

✱✱Audio Book Review✱✱ Dragon Bones By: Ines Johnson

 

Dragon Bones
A Nia Rivers Adventure, Book 1
By: Ines Johnson
Narrated by: Kate Marcin

Sure, I can rock a tank top and ponytail while collecting ancient relics, but don’t call me a tomb raider. I knew the guy who built the pyramids...and I mean in the biblical sense.

Archaeologist, fashionista, and an ancient immortal with a serious memory problem, Dr. Nia Rivers has spent the last few centuries filling in the blanks of her past, all while outrunning dark assassins and stealing brief moments alone with Zane, her immortal lover. 

But when a 2,000-year-old relic from her past resurfaces, Nia isn't sure if the story connected to it is one she wants told to the world. The fact that Tres Mohandis, a fellow immortal and Nia’s greatest rival, is determined to develop the land and bury the site before Nia can excavate it suggests some dark history lies hidden in the site. Worse, Nia is beginning to realize that she doesn’t dislike the broody billionaire land developer as much as she remembers. 

Letting Tres have his way might be best for Nia, especially when the truth might expose a horrific crime from Nia's past - one with her name written all over it. But don’t all stories deserve to be told? Even the ugliest ones.

Even if it proves she’s not at all who she thinks she is. 

Get this hot urban fantasy featuring spine-tingling adventure, twists on historical mysteries, and thrilling romance, where Tomb Raider meets Indiana Jones - and they live forever!



Momma Says: 2 stars⭐⭐

First, let me just say that I love urban fantasy, but it takes some specific ingredients in the mix for it to work - at least for me. Dragon Bones was a bit of a mixed bag for me, with some things working and some not. The problem is that too many things didn't work for me, and I did a great deal of eye rolling when I wasn't getting irritated. 
The premise is good, in my opinion, but the overall story ended up being a cross between Tomb Raider and Hancock. I won't elaborate on that to avoid spoilers, but for me, the combination just didn't work, and the similarities felt unoriginal. Then there was the repetitiveness of the story. Way too many things were explained over and over, and it felt like being spoon-fed or that the author was afraid the reader wouldn't understand. We do get an interesting love interest for Nia, but it was more that he's so utterly unpredictable. Again, I'll leave it there so I don't spoil anything. There are some unanswered questions and open-ended threads, but to be honest, I don't think I'll continue with the series. I never became invested in the story or the characters enough to want to know more.
I did listen to this one and for me, Kate Marcin was the best of it. She kept things moving with her narration, and I kept listening when I otherwise might have set a book aside. This is my first time listening to Marcin, but I would gladly listen to her again. 

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