Review: Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Author: Thea Harrison
Title: Dragon Bound
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley Sensation (Penguin Group)
ISBN: 978-0-425-24150-9
The Romance Author's Verdict: 4/5 Stars

Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful–and passionate—of the Elder Races.
As the most feared and respected of the wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in one another.


Ms Harrison's writing is new and unique, a voice that I think will become brilliant in its uniqueness, much the same way authors like JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, or Kresley Cole did. The book is mostly written in third person, but every so often a paragraph or two, or sometimes just a sentence, was delivered in first person. Initially, I couldn't decide if I like this style or not, but as the book continued on, I could see that with Ms Harrison's voice, it was working quite well.
The only thing I couldn't agree with was the 'head-hopping.' I'm not a fan of changing character point of view midway through a scene and then even changing back a few paragraphs later. I know some publishers and agents will reject a manuscript written in such a way, so I find it interesting that Ms. Harrison has broken some of the current 'rules', yet found success anyway.
Style aside, I'm now very interested to read the next few books in the series. I imagine that if Ms Harrison has really honed and strengthened this unique voice, then the books will only get better.
In terms of the story, I was a bit dubious about the whole dragon-thing. I've read a few dragon-shifter books, but none of them ever made much of an impression on me. However, Ms Harrison managed to change my mind on the issue. To me, Dragos acted very much in line with a primitive type of dragon nature, which made for an impressive hero. 
Character-wise, I couldn't really fault this book. Dragos was the kind of old-school, true alpha male you don't come across very often, but contrary to his nature, he did bend enough to accommodate Pia in his life. On the other side of the relationship, though Pia often doubted herself, in the moments that counted she showed real strength, which I think made her more realistic and believable.
If you enjoy shifters, and real tough alpha males, then I'd definitely recommend this book, you won't be sorry.