Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)
TITLE: Lords of Kellesborne 
SERIES: The Draegan Lords #2
AUTHOR: M.L. Rhodes
PUBLISHER: Kellesborne Press
LENGTH: 295 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 3rd, 2017
BLURB:
Book 2 in The Draegan Lords series
A hundred years ago, the high sorcerer of Velensperia launched a swift and deadly attack against the draegans—a race of dragon shapeshifters who’d always lived in harmony with the humans. The draegans were all but destroyed, with the few who remained, scattered and in hiding. But after a century of cruel repression, a group of them have united and begun to fight back. Their leader, Keiran Hareldson, is determined to free his people from the high sorcerer’s tyranny.
Gaige Rizik used to be the captain of the sorcerer’s High Guard, and known for his lethal ability to hunt down his prey with no remorse. His last assignment was to infiltrate the draegan rebel’s camp, identify the leader, and eliminate him. But the more deeply Gaige became entrenched with the draegans and their passionate, compelling leader, the more torn he became over his mission. Keiran sparked powerful emotions in Gaige and stirred a longing in him he couldn’t deny. No one, least of all him, expected him to fall in love with the very man he’d sworn to kill. When he chose to defect to the draegans’ side, his betrayal to the sorcerer came at a high personal cost. Left for dead in the sorcerer’s dungeon, Keiran barely found him in time.
Now, the hunter has become the hunted. With the high sorcerer bent on annihilating every last draegan and all those who support them, a secret revealed from Keiran’s past becomes their best hope for survival. From the deep forests of Velensperia to the ancient draegan stronghold of Kellesborne, only the strength of two determined men and their fierce love for one another stand between the people they protect and an evil conjured from the bowels of hel itself.
LORDS OF KELLESBORNE was previously published. This new, second edition has been revised since its original release.
REVIEW:
This is the second book in the epic fantasy series The Draegan Lords. In book one, True of Heart, we met Gaige and Keiran. At the beginning of the story Gaige has been sent by Byram, the high sorcerer of Velensperia, on a mission to find the leader of the remaining draegans. He finds the camp where the leader is hiding, has a change of heart and ends up mated to Keiran, the leader of the draegans. Much world and character building happens as we are introduced to his amazing world. The bond between Gaige and Keiran strengthens, especially after Keiran dramatically rescues Gaige from a Very Bad Situation. The two spend some time healing at Kellesborne, the hidden stronghold of the draegans.
Lords of Kellesborne starts off with some history… We get a brief and icky look at the beginning of Byram’s reign of terror. Then back to current times we go, as the story picks up with Gaige and Keiran still at Kellesborne healing and making a plan for the future. Gaige learns more about himself, and has a serious case of the self-doubts. Keiran helps to heal him emotionally as well as physically, then the two head back to camp. Which leads to much drama and more revelations about Gaige. I guess I need to give a spoiler from the first book. Gaige is half draegan. A good portion of this book is focused on Gaige learning about his abilities as his draegan blood beginnings to awaken once he and Keiran formed a blood bond. Gaige begins to have prophetic dreams, which sends Keiran and Gaige off on missions to save people that Gaige sees coming to harm. This brings us several very interesting characters, and more revelations.
So lots more world and character building happens in this book, especially with Gaige. Some Really Big Shit happens at the end, that left me gasping with pain. I did read these books many years ago, and I forgot what happened. Then I remembered…
I loved this series when I first read it, and I am happy to say I am loving it this time through as well! These books are being re-edited and expanded, but it’s been so long since I read them that I can’t say what has changed. I love a good fantasy world, and M.L. Rhodes takes lots of time to get us a good strong look at this world. There is long history that slowly is revealed, and the true nastiness of Byram and his abuse of the draegan people comes to light. We see humans and draegans work together to try and fight this evil. We see families reuniting after years apart. And through it all, we see the deep bond and love between Keiran and Gaige. And the really hot sex they have…. lots of hot sex. Yum. This book, and the whole series if I remember correctly, is just the perfect blend of fantasy, romance, and erotica. And great writing!
I do feel that I need to acknowledge my little niggling annoyance with the slowness in releasing this series. I pretty much gave up on ever getting the next book in the lives of Gaige and Keiran four years ago, I actually stopped even looking after a while. I was very happy to see that the author was working again, and the long awaited new book would eventually appear! Then due to a health issue, which I totally understand, the third book has been delayed a bit. So I’m trying not to let it frustrate me, we are getting them, and that is a good thing! I will focus on that, and wait patiently. I will happily read Fires of Ballian whenever it is ready to go!
In the meantime, if you haven’t tried this fantastic series, go get True of Heart and experience the magic of Keiran and Gaige! If you have read the first book, you will love this one too!
RATING: 
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