Casstiel; Born of Lightning: Dragon Shifter (Dragonkind ~ 52 Realms Series Book #2) by Sheri-Lynn Marean – Review by Angela Hayes

Casstiel; Born of Lightning: Dragon Shifter by Sheri-Lynn Marean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Without a mate, all dragonkind males started to lose their souls. Then their humanity went, leaving them angry, fire-breathing, killing machines.
Cass’s heart squeezed in his chest. Maya had hurt him more than he could have ever imagined when she severed their bond so that he wouldn’t follow her. Even worse was the feeling that he hadn’t been enough for her. That no matter his love, she obviously hadn’t felt the same.”

Casstiel is a dragon shifter romance by Sheri-Lynn Marean. This paranormal/fantasy took me on a journey full of love, loss, heartache, emotion, magic, revenge, pain, grief, redemption, action, adventure, and drama. The story is told from several perspectives, which gave an in-depth ‘look’ at what had/was happening. I like that the author provides a glossary at the beginning of the book, to help with all the names- it was handy and informative. There were a lot of characters and realms to get my head around, so the glossary really helped.
Casstiel lost his beloved mate 10 years earlier and he’s been wracked by grief and anger ever since. When she died, killed by their enemy, she severed their bond, so Casstiel couldn’t follow her. He was SUPPOSED to be with her now and he can’t understand why she did what she did. It torments him every day! He isn’t truly living, stuck in the past and unable to move forward. His anger and hatred consume him and his family and friends worry about his state of mind. Something or someone is tether him to the world, and he wants to find them so he can sever the connection. When he finally finds the one responsible for tethering him, she is definitely not what he was expecting. He feels drawn to her and incredibly protective. Now the story gets really interesting!

“I’m so bloody tired of all this. For so long, he’d dreamed of finding the one holding him to life. He’d plotted his revenge, imagining what he was going to do once he finally found her. He would make her pay, make her hurt, just like he hurt. Then he’d break their connection and send her to hell.
It had been all that kept him alive for the last ten years.
But now that he’d met her, he couldn’t do it. No matter what he wanted to believe, she wasn’t some evil sorceress and she looked like she could be blown over by a stiff breeze.”

Ashara Hasn’t had an easy life. She’d been taken from her parents as a small child and forced into slavery. Then when she grew up she was forced to become a ‘breeder’ for the Illium (the enemy). She is a half-breed fire born dragon, but has never known what it’s like to shift into her dragon. She too feels tethered to someone, and the connection has brought her comfort. When she discovers the source of her connection, she’s a little shocked and frightened. Ashara and Cass have endured great loss and carry a lot of pain. These two embark on journey of discovery, filled with passion and pain- and we get to follow along as everything unfolds!
The story is descriptive and detailed, bringing the whole story to ‘life’. Ms. Marean has wonderful world building skills, making her story quite ‘real’ and believable. I really enjoyed exploring her world and look forward to more adventures in the future.

Thank you, Ms. Marean!

Reviewed by @angelahayes
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