REVIEW: Dragonmark by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Centuries ago, Illarion was betrayed– a dragon made human against his will, then forced to serve humanity as a dragonmount in their army, and to fight for them in wars, hating everything about them. He's enslaved and separated from all family, even forced into a fey realm. Illarion's life will change when he meets his mate; however, lies, betrayal and more loss will plague their lives before they can find a chance at happiness.

I'm torn with Dragonmark. I enjoyed it so much as a good chunk of it is a POV retelling of Dragonbane. I will always admire Kenyon for her creativity and imagination to create such a detailed and connected world of characters; however, the narrative is becoming to complicated and at the same time formulaic.

Illarion is another tortured hero who has faced unimaginable heartache.  Enter the woman who will change all that. 

But wait!  Something horrific happens and they're separated :(

Time passes....

Then all is well!

I know this is the format for typical romances but the past few Dark Hunter books lack the umph of earlier titles in the series.  And at least for me, these aren't the page turners that I loved back in the day.  I still love to see appearances by favorite characters but I want a return to more focus. 

My complaint is that readers should have to have a chart to keep characters unraveled.  That Dragonmark is #27 of Dark Hunters, #1 in Dragon's Rising, and #5 in the Avalon series is just too confusing.

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars