Can't Get Enough

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Synopsis

Ailean the Wicked is a dragon who actually prefers his human form and is known for his wild exploits with beautiful women that have earned him a number of other uncomplimentary nicknames. One day, while running away from the father of his latest conquest, he takes refuge in a school library and comes across Shalin the Innocent who is a companion to Princess Adienna. Ailean had previously met Shalin at court where he'd gotten himself into a bit of hot water after warming the princess's bed. Ever since, rumors have run amok that he left Adienna's bed to be with Shalin, a charge that isn't true, but Ailean kind of wishes it were, as Shalin intrigues him like no other female has before. When in a fit of pique over this rumor, Adienna tries to sell Shalin to the fierce Lightning Dragons, Ailean steps in to take her to his castle for protection. Being in such close proximity, Ailean and Shalin's attraction for one another turns into a passionate affair. But when Shalin lashes out at Ailean over feeling ignored and nearly kills him, will he be able to forgive her and save her from her enemies?

Review

Can't Get Enough is a short-novel-length story that falls between About a Dragon and What a Dragon Should Know in G. A. Aiken's Dragon Kin series, as per the author's recommended reading order, although chronologically it's the first of the series. This one tells the story of Ailean the Wicked and Shalin the Innocent who are the parents of Bercelak the Great, the hero of the novella Chains & Flames, and the grandparents of several of the dragons featured in the main novels. Ailean has a penchant for sleeping around and has no designs on settling down with a mate anytime soon. However, Shalin has always intrigued him from the moment he met her at the royal court. When he learns that Princess Adienna has sold Shalin to the Northern Lightning Dragons as a mate, he refuses to let that happen and takes her to his lands in Kerezik, where he introduces her to his large, loud family. Shalin has always had a thing for Ailean, too, so despite his family trying to maintain her "innocence," they eventually can't stay away from each other. But later on, in a fit of temper over feeling ignored, Shalin nearly kills Ailean and returns to court, where the Queen is about to move forward with the plan to give her to one of the Lightning Dragons. But Shalin is surprised when Ailean comes to plead for her hand anyway and even more shocked that the Queen agrees to give him a chance. But first Shalin will have to forgive him for the slight and they'll have to fight off the Lightning Dragons who are none too happy about this development.

Ailean has many names, one of which is Ailean the Whore. As he's being chased through the streets naked by the father of his latest conquest after being found in her bath, Ailean ducks into a school, where he encounters Shalin in the library. He knows her as a companion to the princess. When he visited the royal court, he actually wanted to pursue Shalin, but much to his chagrin, ended up in bed with Princess Adienna instead. However, because a rumor has persisted that Ailean left the princess's bed to be with Shalin, the princess now hates her. When Ailean finds out that Adienna sold Shalin to the Lightning Dragons, he doesn't hesitate to scoop Shalin up and take her to his family. Ailean is considered to be a bit of an odd-ball among dragons, having an intense fascination with humans and their customs and preferring to remain in his human form most of the time. In fact, he lives in a castle with human servants who know what he is and whom he protects rather than eats. Having Shalin so close is a major temptation to Ailean, but his family, believing her to be an innocent as her name suggests, won't let him near her at first because of his rakish ways. Eventually he gets around their roadblocks and the more time he spends with her the more he realizes he's falling in love with her and wants her to be his mate. But after a misunderstanding in which Shalin nearly kills him and then runs off back to the royal court, Ailean will have his work cut out for him earning her forgiveness and fighting for their future together. I have to admit that in Chains & Flames, Ailean came off as a bit of a crackpot, but I actually fell for him in this story. He still throws his family members out windows sometimes, but despite his eccentricities and his playboy ways, he turned out to be an appealing hero. I like the way that he pursues Shalin and fights for her and their future, even after she took such drastic actions, but that he respects her enough to allow her time and space to make up her own mind about whether to mate him.

Shalin comes from a quiet, scholarly family. She lost her mother and the only relative she has left is her ofttimes absent-minded father who is getting older. She has served the Princess for quite some time, but because of the rumors surrounding her and Ailean, the Princess has turned on her. Ever since she met Ailean, she's been very attracted to him, so when he takes her to his castle to keep her safe from the Lightning Dragons, she desperately wants to find out if he's really as good a lover as everyone says he is. Of course, it's only a matter of time until she finds out just that. Although not entirely "innocent" as her name implies, she's had just two lovers and only in her dragon form, so making love in her human form is a new experience for her and one that she discovers she enjoys quite well. Having always been rather quiet and bookish, being around his loud, boisterous family is a novel adventure as well, but she soon realizes that they genuinely like her and don't ignore her like most others do. Another new thing is Ailean's penchant for staying in human form and his practice of surrounding himself with human soldiers and servants, as well as keeping animals as pets, when most dragons would makes meals out of all of the above. It was cute watching Shalin come to appreciate both the puppy and the devil horse that no one else can tame, which Ailean gifts to her. Of course, there's eventually trouble in paradise when Shalin feels slighted by Ailean and lashes out with her sharp dragon tail, nearly killing him in his human form. This is the only part of the story that confused me a little, because I felt like Shalin's reaction seemed disproportionate to the problem. I admit, though, that I was extremely tired and dozing off while reading this part of the story, and even though I went back and reskimmed it, I might have missed something. Otherwise, I really liked Shalin and thought she was a great heroine, perhaps my favorite of the series so far, because aside from that one outburst, she was less violent than the others and more scholarly which was relatable to me.

Aside from that one part where Shalin tries to kill Ailean, I thoroughly enjoyed Can't Get Enough. If not for that, I probably would have given it the full five stars. Even though that part seemed overblown and somewhat out of character for Shalin, I understand that perhaps the author was trying to express that in spite of her quiet, scholarly nature she could be dangerous just like the other heroines of the series so far and was no one to be trifled with. I did very much like the bookish part of Shalin's characterization, which is so much like my own. She also can be kindhearted, and even after lashing out at Ailean, a part of her still wanted to comfort him. When he came after her, her heart still wanted him in spite of all that had happened. I thought Ailean and Shalin were a well-matched couple. Their personalities fit together like the pieces of a puzzle and Ailean's weird and wonderful family became family to Shalin, too, so that she no longer had to be virtually alone in life. Yet, she still had plenty of space to spend time in Ailean's library that he didn't even realize existed.:-) The only characters in common with the other books was Bercelak who is seen as a new hatchling in the epilogue and Adienna who is queen by the time Bercelak gets his story. Overall, Can't Get Enough had a good balance between the romance, the passionate love scenes, and the action/adventure that made it a great story and another fun addition to the series. Can't Get Enough was originally published in the multi-author anthology, Everlasting Bad Boys, before being reprinted as a stand-alone ebook.

Note: This book contains a little explicit language and a lot of steamy sexual content, including a couple of scenes of mild bondage, which could be objectionable to sensitive readers.

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G. A. Aiken

Themes

Amazing Animals
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