Antares Mace is mean and moody with the heart of a black dragon beating in his chest. Fifty years earlier, while both were teenagers, he had met the love of his life Annaleia Faith. Faith had no inkling that Mace was a dragon and their friendship grew, their bond tightened. Without notice Faith suddenly disappeared. Mace tried in vain to find her. Eventually he ended up in a motorcycle gang called Monsters MC lead by the charismatic Cain. Now, decades later, Mace and Faith cross paths. It will be no easy reunion as both have secrets and hidden histories. Added to this, there is a serial killer with his own designs on Faith and the supernatural world itself is coming apart at the seams. In the face of such chaos can Mace and Faith rekindle their love and make up for all the years that have passed them by or will this realm of magic and monsters keep them apart for eternity?

Heather Killough-Walden’s books are fine examples of the paranormal romance genre and MONSTERS, BOOK TWO (Hour of the Dragon) is another sprawling dark romantic saga from the prolific and hugely popular author. Her oeuvre now runs to dozens of titles across various series including The Big Bad Wolf, The Lost Angels and The Kings. The world that Killough-Walden has created is vast, so much so that, as she writes in an author’s note within these pages, even she has “trouble keeping it all straight”. To aid readers she provides a guide to the creatures of her ever expanding multiverse which, even though she admits it is incomplete, runs to more than fifty distinct characters or types. For the new reader this could be overwhelming but Killough-Walden has the knack of centering her stories on a couple of well drawn characters. These main protagonists follow an easy to read arc sufficient to hook new readers, while her long term fans will enjoy the incremental progress of the story of her overarching world. Here she focuses on the love story of Mace and Faith and while powerful characters such as Cain have a chance to shine, they never overshadow the central storyline.

Heather Killough-Walden writes with wit and style in MONSTERS, BOOK TWO (Hour of the Dragon) bringing a multitude of fantastical characters to life with relentlessly dramatic, heart-pounding scenes. Established fans will adore the familiar escapism of a quality dark romance while new readers will feel able to enter the author’s world and find themselves instantly at home.

~Kent Lane for IndieReader