Silk & Steel: Silk & Steel #1 (Silk and Steel)

Prince Lysander stops an elf assassin from killing the dragon queen; and finds an ally where they might both be free from her tyranny.I confess I bought this a few days ago, and after seeing some recent reviews, it kinda skipped to the front of my reading queue.Lysander is a dragon shifter, and the second son to the ruling Amethyst queen.All of his life, he has been dismissed as weak and broken, because he is different. His mother is cruel and manipulative. She's the strongest dragon alive, and makes it clear that she could kill him if she wished. She's managed to twist this thoughts so solidly, Lysander is in a cage of her making.All Lysander wants is to be free, but he knows that can never happen as long as his mother rules.Eroan is from an Elvish order of assassins. He is the best they have, and has been tasked with one mission - to kill the dragon queen. When he's stopped by Prince Lysander, he's thrown into a prison, tortured and abused. He refuses to die and refuses to give up on his mission, even when given the chance to escape.This book has all the triggers. The author supplies a handy list of them, so you have been warned.I agree with her assessment that it is not a m/m romance.Although there is a growing attraction between Lysander and Eroan, and you're rooting for the pair of them throughout the book, it is not the main focus.This is a Dark Fantasy set mainly in the courts of the dragon shifters.The dragons have already won the war against humans and elves (who are all but extinct), but they have never lost their desire for power and dominance. The relatively-new race of Amethyst dragons are the most powerful, and rule over all.The queen uses her magic and might to subdue the other dragons, to force them into constant submission. She's relentless and ruthless and won't settle for weakness - even killing her own daughter, than allow a weak link.There is violence, and graphic sex (again, the sex doesn't overwhelm the rest of the story, it adds to the plot). It's bloody and brutal, because that is the world of the dragon-shifters.I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to the sequel.

This book is dark. It’s full of lust, abuse, death, sorrow and loss, so if you want a hea romance this is not the book for you, but if you want more of a challenge, read on.It is also about caring, perseverance against all odds, love and friendship and most of all, hope.The world and characters are beautifully crafted and nuanced. This is a world you feel you know but not as you know it. Every situation is life threatening and you know that not all will survive but that doesn’t prevent the shock at some of the events. Still reeling from the ending.If you read anything this year this should be it.Love this book and can’t wait for the next one.

Wow, a amazing first book in the series. I couldn’t put it down, just wow! Read it! I don’t know if I can wait for the next book. My heart is breaking for Eroan and Lysander.

I'm a huge fan of Pippa DaCosta's writing so when I found out she was writing a dark fantasy M/M story under the pen name of Ariana Nash I immediately added it to my wish list. Throw in the fact that the main characters of Silk & Steel are an elven assassin and a dragon prince and I just couldn't wait to get started! Anyone who has ever read any of Pippa's stories will know that she excels at detailed world building and tortured heroes and she has outdone herself on both of those fronts with this book.Eroan is one of the few surviving members of the elven assassins, his whole life has been spent training to kill the dragon queen although he has always known that he is more likely to die in the attempt than to actually succeed. He came so close to achieving his goal but he was captured by the dragon prince Lysander and now he is being held prisoner in their stronghold. The only thing keeping Eroan going is his dream of ending the dragon queen once and for all but the longer he spends in captivity being tortured the slimmer his chances appear.Lysander has been his mother's plaything since he was a child, nothing he ever did was good enough to earn her acceptance and the title prince is a mockery when he is just as much a prisoner of his circumstances as Eroan. Lysander has given up hope of surviving his mother but there is something about the fierce and proud elf that makes him long for a future he knows is impossible. Perhaps if he can just manage to save Eroan then his entire life won't have been wasted but to do that he's going to have to stand up to the woman who has made his entire life a misery.You only need to read the blurb for Silk & Steel and the warnings it contains to know that this story is going to be a dark one, it's actually quite uncomfortable to read at times but in that best kind of ways where your heart hurts but you just can't stop reading. The characters are complex with believable motives and although there is a great forbidden romance bubbling along in the background it's definitely a slow build which works perfectly in this situation. That's not to say there's no heat in this story because there's still plenty of sex happening, both of the M/M and M/F variety, but Eroan and Lysander have a long road to travel if they want any chance at a happily ever after and they're nowhere near the finish line yet.I'm ridiculously excited to see where this series is going to take us, there have already been plenty of unexpected developments and I'm sure Ariana Nash is going to throw in a few more curveballs along the way. This is shaping up to be one heck of a ride!

Yikes! Prepare to be turned inside out! The passion, energy & emotion run high in this book! Don’t expect that to mean it’s a sweet romantic book... it’s not! Elves and dragons, battle, secrecy, lust, love, conspiracy... it’s all here (and more!)An awesome read! Cannot wait for the next one!!

I turned over every page desperately and couldn't tear my fingers away from the final page, unwilling for the story to be over. The plot is detailed and layered, the surprises are relentless. There is action, adventure, sass and so much love. I adore this new amazing dark fantasy writer and I am eager for her next instalments.

This book had me at the very start. WOW, .ten out of ten. Just give yourself the pleasure,read this book.true love, a story spectacular ly woven. Brilliant. I really enjoyed this.