This book is a great addition to the series. It is filled with action and mystery and every one's favorite characters (and all their quirks). I loved the use of the Chinese lore and Asian culture. I did find the plot a little all over the place, the pacing a little haphazard at times. Fans of the series will find this installment teaches a lot more about the world and the characters, though in my opinion, it is only the last third that really moves the world and characters forward, save for some scant revelations and a few new character additions. I found myself skimming through a lot of it until I neared the end. This book was a miss for me, though there is plenty of action to tide fans over.

Eileen Wilks drops us right back into the action with this latest installment of her World of the Lupi series and thankfully, she begins with a great recap; otherwise, I think I would have completely forgotten what was going on. You see, the last book stopped right in the middle of the action: Lily and Rule had led a group of fighters into Dis to rescue Toby and some other Lupi children who had been kidnapped. They were in the middle of a big battle; Benedict and Cullen were seriously hurt… so was Rule. A dragon snatched Lily and THEN THE BOOK WAS OVER. This book is more like a Part 2 of that story, although it has its own arc set entirely in Dragonhome, which is where Lily is spirited away to.

As the story begins, Lily wakes up in this other plane. The dragon spawn who run this world have made a deal with the lupi’s Great Enemy which demands they procure her in exchange for a spoiler I’m not going to reveal. Thankfully, Gan has also pulled Cynna, Rule, and Grandmother into the same plane; only, they are not all together. Lily and Cynna are both held captive, while Grandmother and Rule must travel a great distance and come up with a plan for their rescue. The book bounces back and forth between their storylines until they converge at the end.

It was a good book. It’s a cool blend of Chinese and otherworldly cultures. I found the dragon spawn fascinating, despite (or maybe even because of) their sociopathic mindset. I was especially interested in the one who was trying to understand human concepts like altruism and integrity while clearly having no compunction about using torture to get the results he was after. There is a lot of action, but there is also a lot of conceptual stuff happening, especially when it came to Lily’s side of the story. I felt like her half was the stronger part of the book, but Grandmother’s presence in Rule’s journey helped drive up my interest level there.

There’s a lot of stuff happening, and while there is resolution in the kidnapped kids and escape from Dragonhome storylines, this adventure isn’t over yet. There’s no cliffhanger like in the last book, but there is no doubt that the next book is interconnected to this one and the one before. I’d definitely recommend this book for fans of the series, though. And if you’ve never tried the series, for sure, it’s worth reading. Lily is such a great heroine (both with and without Rule) and the secondary characters are just as interesting and fleshed out in their own rights.

Bring on the next book. I’m ready for Michael and Molly (see Originally Human) to finally fold into the main books!!

Rating: B/B+

Dragon Blood by Eileen Wilks

This book was very detailed! It was difficult to connect to the plot when you are given a description of everything throughout the entire novel. I felt that with some editing to remove the excessive, detailed, descriptions this would be a solid 5 star read.

Favorite Quote: “You suggest we throw humans at them instead of rocks?”

Reviewed by Tori

We left Dragon Spawn after the Lupi children’s’ kidnapping was arranged by the dragon spawn in return for a promised favor from the Great Bitch. She wants to use Lily’s body and in her attempts to take over the world. Lily and Rule are separated when the mission to rescue the children falls apart in a terrific battle and Gan’s attempts to save them, results in Lily, Rule, Madama Lu, and Cynna being pulled through a gate from Dis (the demon realm) into another realm. Lucky for us, Wilkes recaps all this in the beginning.

Dragon Blood picks up with Lily being discovered and taken to Long Jia, the capital of the dragonhome , as a prisoner of the dragon spawns while Rule, Madame Lu, and Gan end up approximately 100 plus miles away with Rule badly injured. Lily is jailed and is shocked but pleased to see Cynna is a prisoner too. She also meets Helen Whiteheads’ twin sister-Alice-whose own motives remain circumspect. Lily soon learns of her captor’s plans regarding herself and the children which pushes her to plan an escape. The more she learns about her captors and the world around her, the more she understands the myriad of different forces at work. The battle to save the earth from the Great Bitch is on.

Eileen Wilks’ World of the Lupi series was one of my gateway series into urban fantasy and I devoured the first book in the series-Tempting Danger with a vengeance. I’ve enjoyed this serious and dark urban fantasy because of its strong female character driven cast and story arc. We first meet our protagonists- Lily Yu and Rule Turner –Tempting Danger. A pragmatic human cop and a worldly Lupi prince whose destiny is tied together as the Chosen through they don’t know that until it’s too late.

As the series progresses, so does the evolution of Lily and Rule as individuals and as a couple. We watch as Lily deals with a mating bond to a man unknown for his monogamy, respective dismay from both families, and her deep submersion into magic. Lily and Rule are flip sides of a coin and both have had to adjust, coincide, and find common ground in their continuously evolving love affair. Wilks does a fantastic job of creating pockets of realism in this fantasy world as she balances all her characters’ various different relationships with the ever-expanding world and paranormal plotlines.

Told from two viewpoints-Lily Yu and her grandmother-Madame Yu, this storyline is extremely convoluted and overflowing with information so you really have to be up to date on this particular arc to understand everything going on. Set in what I presume to be a historical and alternative version of China, Wilks stays centered here as she sets out to bring us up to speed on the Great Bitch story arc while giving us more background on the dragon spawns existence and the many facets of Lily’s grandmother.

Some readers may bemoan the lack of movement in the arc and the sheer amount of filler used in here. I myself was left less enchanted with this particular installment. Frankly, the Great Bitch storyline should have been resolved already but Wilks keeps adding to it, bringing more confusion and unnecessary drama. The elaborate exposition of mundane scenes, randomly inserted plotlines, certain additions that added nothing to the story, and the glaring usage of the children as plot moppets was a disappointment and led me to skim the book at times. Extremely verbose and particular, the story trudges along as Wilks falls into various rabbit holes as she philosophizes on magical theory, social constructs, various emotional states, and alternative world history.

While I was disappointed to see Lily and Rule separated, the subplot regarding Madame Yu was certainly eye-opening and fun to watch. She’s always been a bit of a wild card in the series and I enjoyed the in-depth characterization and certain reveals that should prove to be VERY interesting in the future. I was amazed though that nobody seemed all that shocked by some of the things she was able to do. An interesting cast of new characters is introduced while Wilks revisits a few familiar long-term faces. They all help to amp up the story’s energy and break up the sometimes monotonous narrative.

Around the 65% mark, the story picks up speed and begins to tighten up in preparation for a climactic ending. The humor, action, and suspense I had been waiting for suddenly appeared. Some shocking secrets and manipulative twists are revealed that left me side-eyeing the book while laughing softly to myself. I give Wilks props for going there.

While this particular installment was not a favorite, I will continue to recommend Eileen Wilks’ The World Of The Lupi series to readers who enjoy action-packed, suspenseful Urban Fantasy brimming with charismatic characters, strong female leads, intriguing storylines, and viable relationships. I do suggest starting from the beginning because this is a continuous evolving arc that picks up where it leaves off in each book. I really hope book fifteen, title and release TBA, keep us Earthbound with more Lupi/Dragon involvement and a firm ending to this story arc.

Grade: C-

I have to admit, while DRAGON BLOOD was enjoyable, I found myself skimming more often than not. It had all the markings of a five star read, but it was unnecessarily bogged down with all the details. I felt like every little thing was overly described to the point where it was either skim or my eyes would glaze. It's unfortunate as I've really enjoyed the rest of the series, and there's plenty of awesomeness in this installment as well, it's just held back by just too much side noise.

Getting to the good, however, I absolutely loved Grandmother's role in this book. She's always been a bit of a mystery, with her playing larger roles in some of the book more so than others. But this time around I felt like we got to see a whole lot more from her, and I really enjoyed it. She's so strong and regal, and keeps all the other characters on their toes. I also loved Gan, and her journey towards being more of a person and the hilarious levity she brings. Of course I enjoyed the rest of the cast of characters as well, Lily and Rule, Cynna, etc. The characters are truly fantastic and all well rounded.

All in all DRAGON BLOOD had the markings of a five star read from the amazing cast of characters to the intense action and high stakes. Unfortunately the overly descriptive nature of the book bogged things down much more than I would have liked but I'm still a huge fan of the series and I can't wait to see what's in store next.

Eileen Wilks follows Lily Yu as she is kidnapped into the dragon homeworld and held prisoner by dragon spawn, dragon offspring. Her lupus mate Rule and her grandmother seek to rescue her. Meanwhile, the children of the lupi have been taken by the spawn. Who will win out in the end in Dragon Blood? Lots of action and good plotting. Read and enjoy.

The last book in the series, Dragon Spawn, left things in a dire, precarious position for Lily and the others. I have been impatient to get my hands on Dragon Blood to learn their fate. The author has a gift for digging deep into the motives, background, and true emotions of her plots and characters while delivering a suspenseful and action-laced story line.
Review

Dragon Blood is the fourteenth installment in the World of the Lupi series. This strongly developed urban fantasy series that feels more like traditional fantasy series in flavor really must be read in order- particularly at this point in the series.

Lily Lu survived the venture into the parallel realm of Dis- just barely. She is now alive and recuperating in captivity in the startling realm of Dragonhome. Gan has brought her, Cynna, and later Rule and Grandmother here where time moves differently so that they are a few weeks ahead of the events they just lived through in earth and Dis- a chance to recover the kidnapped kids and stop their great enemies’ latest plans.

The story shifts between Lily and Rule’s separate stories as they navigate the dangerous situation in Dragonhome with Cynna, Grandmother, and Gan getting narration time, too. There are even side stories introduced into the plot for Rule’s prodigal brother and another pair.

I found this one took a long while building to the point and it was obvious that its both finishing a story arc while continuing on with a series arc. There is a lot of explanation for the new parallel world everyone finds themselves in and it has its own separate story within a story with the history of Dragonhome and more dragon secrets. I found it fascinating on one level, but also felt the need to get on with the story line carrying in from the previous book.

There were some good reveals and it is a strong story in and of itself, but it also felt like an interlude in the middle of an existing story- which it was. I always love when Grandmother Lu plays a bigger role and she did in this one, but it was delightfully unique because it was Grandmother, her granddaughter’s husband,Rule, and Gan the former demon stuck together intent on the rescue of Lily and Cynna who are being held by a new group and then the rescue of the kidnapped children.

On a side note, a pair, Molly and Michael, who got their story in one of the earlier novellas that perhaps people would have skipped are now brought into the main stream of the story so I’m going to suggest that readers have not only read the series in order, but also try to get Originally Human read before this one so their entry into the Dragon Blood story makes more sense.

So, it ends in an exciting place in the story once again leaving me eager for what is to come next. A little slow build, but as fascinating as ever with its deep thoughtful prose and twisting plot threads in the unique and fascinating World of the Lupi urban fantasy series of werewolves, dragons, demons, fae, sorcerers, and more.

My thanks to Penguin Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Dragon Blood, we picked up right were we left off in Dragon Spawn.
To tell you the truth, my feelings are kinda mixed for this one.

Two third of the book was too slow, too long and way too descriptive. But I really enjoyed being in Li Lei Yu's head for some parts, it made me love Grandmother even more ! Though the quick change of perspective was disconcerting at first, once you're used to it, you can fully appreciate learning more about the side characters.

Then there is the last part, and when the action picked up, it picked up! A change of pace was really welcome and once it started, I was so into the story, especially the secretive dragons, ruthless spawns! Even though, the ending was I dared say too rushed (?)

All in all, though it is not the best book in the series, it is one with a tons of informations! I can't wait for the next one to come out !

Dragon Blood takes off from where the previous book, Dragon Spawn, left readers with an annoying cliffhanger. Lily, Rule, and a number of others were in the demon world, Dis, trying to retrieve the Lupi children kidnapped by dragon spawn Tom Weng and the avatar of the Great Bitch. Events were going at breakneck speed and the culminating battle was not going well, so Lily and a few others were whisked to another realm. Events from the previous book are summarized at the beginning of this one and then...very little happens for about 75% of the book.

Lily and Cynna are captured in the new realm, separated from Rule, Grandmother, and Gan. They spend long periods of time waiting to reunite, thinking about magic, philosophizing about magic, waiting some more, all interspersed with exposition reviewing history and the major players in the conflict. The exposition is a bit dry, if helpful in putting the pieces of the overarching storyline together, but it slows the already slow narrative to a crawl.

The last part of the book picks up the pace, and the plotline of the kidnapped children is wrapped up. There are some interesting secrets revealed almost in passing <spoiler>like that Sun/Sam is the father of Grandmother’s son/Lily’s father and that Lily may develop some more interesting abilities like going dashtu</spoiler>and there’s an interesting twist at the end that will complicate the larger Great Bitch storyline. But overall, the book was difficult to get through because of the pacing/lack of action. I also have enjoyed more the books in the series that centered on the Lupi/pack issues rather than magic/different realms, and this book was almost entirely the latter.

I do enjoy the world and characters in the series and hope it will return to more of the storylines I prefer. The hints of continuation of the Great Bitch plotline at the end of the book do not give me much hope, though.

Dragon Blood is the 14th installment in author Eileen Wilks World of the Lupi series. If you are a fan of this series, then you have already read Dragon Spawn. If you've read Dragon Spawn, then you know that that book is one of the very few in this series that ended on a stunning cliffhanger. This is a series that features FBI Special Agent Lily Yu, and her husband Rule Tanner who are fighting to save Earth from the Great Bitch and her avatars.

When last we left the couple, they were deep into the realm known as Dis searching for 5 missing lupi children who were supposed to be given to the Dragon Spawn by the Great Bitch. The kids include Rule's own son Toby, and Cynna Weaver's daughter Ryder. At the end of the story, Gan, once a demon, sent Lily, Rule, Cynna, and Madame Yu to a place known as Lóng Jia, also known as Dragonhome: the birthplace of dragons.

The problem is that Gan separated the group into two. Cynna and Lily find themselves as prisoners of the Dragon Spawn of this world, while Rule, who is badly injured, Madame Yu, and Gan have a long trek ahead of them in order to meet up with the women before the kids show up in this realm. Lily is the key to the Great Bitch's plans, apparently. From the onset of this book, the Great Bitch has tried to take Lily away, mind wipe her, and take over her body which is immune to all magics.

But, now we get to meet an assortment of new characters, including, Helen Whiteheads sister Alice Baitou Li as well as the 6 remaining Dragon Spawn that call this realm home and made some sort of deal with the Great Bitch for the 5 lupi children. I am one who believes that this series has perhaps jumped the shark at times. The ongoing war with the Great Bitch could have been handled by now, but instead, we get even more convoluted, and even more technical with not only understanding Dragon culture, but also Madame Yu's impressive abilities that have so far gone unnoticed or ignored completely by almost everyone.

There are certain parts of this book that were completely unnecessary and could have been easily removed without skipping a beat or interrupting what is happening with Lily and crew. Those parts happened back on Earth time days before Lily and group headed to Dis. Lily and Cynna really do have their hands full in order to deal with the difficult challenges put in front of them. While Cynna is forced to teach Alice about healing magic, Lily gets questioned over and over again by one of the leaders of the Dragon Spawn.

If you are looking for something different, than this book is definitely for you. When you think of Lóng Jia, think of China. There is a lot of overlapping between this realm and the Chinese culture. I dare not say this story is filled with action. It isn't. I will say that once you get deep into the story, then you can start thinking the group will once again come together, and perhaps a battle will happen that will lead them back home to Earth where an even more interesting revelation happens right at the end of the book. ::sigh::

Even though Wilks once again creates an interesting world and new characters, I am eager to see the final battle play out between Lily's allies and the Great Bitch's. After 14 books, there has to be an end game soon, or close to soon.

The previous novel seemed to drag a bit, so I was excited at the quicker pace at the beginning of Dragon Blood. Lily is at her best when she is solving riddles, and this novel has a couple of plot twists that kept it interesting. I was disappointed that Lily and Rule were separated for most of the book. Lily’s strengths are her clear thinking and ability to solve mysteries, but Rule is more physical. Those contrasting aspects of their characters make them more interesting together and less interesting when they are apart. Did they save the kids? No spoilers here!

I have been a huge fan of the World of the Lupi books and have loved reading about Lily and Rule’s evolving relationship, but the last few books have been just ho-hum. This series will probably be over when they fight and win (I’m going to assume that they win) against the Great Bitch, so I’m sad that I’m ready for the end of this series. Eileen Wilks has built an amazing world, but lately I feel like the story has taken too long to be concluded and the descriptive writing that I’ve loved previously is now making the story drag. The plot to save these children (including Rule’s son, Toby) may be leading up to Lily’s mental preparation to become a mother herself, and when that happens I believe this series will end. It should. I am ready for this author to start fresh with a new world and new characters and I will be the first in line to read that book! ❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

I've been waiting for this book for a long time. It was a good book, although I wish that the books were released more frequently that once per year.

We start off with chaos. Everywhere. At the end of the last book, they were fighting Weng and the kids were stolen.

Gan, because she can cross realms, is key in this book. We also spend A LOT of time with Grandmother Yu. We learn an enormous amount of information about her. Rule is stuck with her for the vast majority of the book. We learn quite a bit about dragons as well.

There's a weird side plot that ends in the cliffhanger at the end of the book. There's a side story that Eileen wrote about the Codex Arcana, the book of all magic, falling in love with Molly. Without that context, a lot of this book wouldn't make sense. But knowing about the Codex and Molly, it was easier to follow.

There is some interesting stuff that leads into the following book. Of course this book comes out in January, so I'll have a year or more to wait for the next one. I will, of course, continue to love the plucky Lily Yu, so I'll keep reading.

Lily Yu, along with Rule, Cynna, Grandmother, and Gan, find themselves in Long Jia, the fabled Dragonhome, on their quest to rescue the missing Lupi children. The missing children include Rule's son Toby and Cynna's daughter Ryder. Of course, they are also trying to defeat the Great Bitch and it looks like the dragon spawn on Dragonhome have made some sort of deal with her.

They are taken from Dis to Long Jia by Gan who doesn't manage to keep them all together. Cynna and Lily end up in the capitol city which is ruled by dragon spawn. Grandmother, Rule and Gan appear far from the city and need to make their way to it to rejoin the others. Making things more difficult is that Rule is badly injured. We do learn more about Grandmother's abilities and past as she attempts to heal him.

While Grandmother, Rule, and Gan are making their way to the capitol, Lily is being interrogated by one of the dragon spawn. Since he, like all the dragon spawn, is a sociopath, his interrogation techniques are akin to torture. Between sessions which have Lily discussing abstract topics like altruism, faith, and belief, she and Cynna are trying to find a way out of their prison, a way to rescue the children, and a way to gate back to Earth.

When Gan brought them to Dragonhome, she brought them some time before the children were actually kidnapped which does give our heroes some time to come up with a plan to rescue them. Lily does find out why the children were taken and what is planned for them which makes their rescue even more vital.

I liked the setting of Dragonhome which has been colonized by Chinese who essentially fell through a gate from Earth. I liked learning more about the history of the dragons. I liked learning more about Grandmother. The story was filled with action.

While this would not be a good place to start this series since its events follow so closely and are dependent on the events of Dragon Spawn, it is a great episode for long-time fans of the series. This book is not a cliffhanger in that the main plot of this book - rescuing the children - is mostly concluded but the ending leads the way for the next book in the series.

Fans of urban fantasy and dragons will enjoy this long-running series.

Continuing the Lupi saga, this is one of the most engrossing books yet in the series!! I hope there's no end, because I know I can sell this to my customers with ease, and its just too good to stop!

Full review to be published online in early January, 2018.

I skimmed...a lot. Parts of the story were interesting, but there was too much skipping around and far too much detailed description of random ‘stuff’. I would have loved for this book and the last one to have been a single book; with a heavy round of editing.

I didn’t care for the story being in the dragon realm, I much prefer the storylines that stay in the earth realm. The dangers to the Lupi children showed promise, but was woefully underused until the very end. There was a fairly simple plotline; but the convoluted elaboration and minute detail sucked all the life and interest for me.

This series is getting too far ‘out there’ for my tastes; and I honestly don’t know if I’ll read the next book. This puts me in mind of how far off the rails and weirded out Diana Rowland’s “Kara Gillian” series got before I finally gave it up. As with that series, this is no longer the series that originally drew me in.

Others may love it; it simply wasn’t for me. Overall, I was disappointed, even more so than with ‘Dragon Spawn’.

Oh, wow, this book was absolutely amazing! After the evil cliffhanger ending of Dragon Spawn, I was desperate for this book! And it totally delivered! It was just incredible-and almost all taking place before Dragon Spawn's big ending!

There was a lot going on in this book! We got to explore the culture of the people who've made their home in Dragonhome, those who've slipped into this realm and those who are descended from them. It was a mix of ancient Chinese and worship, basically, of the spawns. So fascinating to read about!

For the majority of this book, the characters are apart and unable to communicate. Which is different, and there were different dynamics between the characters, and new facets to their relationships began to develop, which was really interesting to read!

We learned a lot in this book, and so much happened-even on Earth the week before the kidnappings. So much of it came together in a fantastic ball of events! I mean, it happened earlier then I thought it would, but then, they weren't done yet, were they? They still had the battle they left in Dragon Spawn! Yeah. So freaking great!

That ending was evil, but not quite as bad, because there's so many questions, and possible places that the series can go from here, and I just want to read about that! This book was just fantastic!

This week, I obtained and read a galley of DRAGON BLOOD by Eileen Wilks, out in January 2018. The previous volume in the series, which I'd read on vacation back in August, ends on a cliffhanger, so this was a real relief! As usual with this series, the book left some plot threads dangling and opened up some new ones, but the cliffhanger wasn't as maddening as the previous one.

I've stuck with this series for so long because of the ongoing, ever-evolving relationship between Lily Yu and Rule Turner, the abundance of interesting continuing secondary characters, and the incredible depth and complexity of the worldbuilding. The series contains one of the few insta-mate-bond setups I've ever liked, because it causes MORE tension and complications for the protagonists rather than fewer.

For the most part, I've preferred the books in this series that happen on Earth rather than those in the series in other dimensions, like this one; that's because I love reading about an Earth where magic has returned in a big way, and has to be dealt with by people and governments. Laws and social interactions and balances of international power and even technology are all changed by magic, and the characters have to figure out what to do about it. That grounded aspect is my favorite aspect of the Lupi series. And like previous books in the series, in this one the characters consider the results of their actions, both good and bad; they must weigh necessity versus degrees of harm, and deal with their emotions about the harm they inevitably cause.

Another plus is that DRAGON BLOOD focuses mostly on female characters, including the awesome Grandmother Yu Li Lei as a point of view character.

Though I don't think the previous book would be a good starting place for a reader new to the series, this one might be. Just be warned that the plot is driven by children in jeopardy; you don't actually see them in jeopardy until close to the end, though, and things work out okay.