Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

A Sacrificed Hearts Standalone

By: Tara Grayce

Narrated by: Avery Caris

It's a tale as old as myth and legends: the village maiden sacrificed to a monster.

Every year, Nessa's village sacrifices a maiden to the dragon in the mountain. If they don't, the dragon will sweep down from his lair and destroy them all.

When Nessa is chosen to be that year's sacrifice, she's prepared to be eaten—as much as anyone can prepare for such a thing. Instead, she finds herself swept away to a world of dragons, gnomes, and fae creatures beyond her imagination, leaving her with more questions than answers.

If the maiden's purpose isn't to be eaten, then what is the dragon's reason for the sacrifices? Why is the dragon nothing like what she had been told he would be? And, most frightening of all, what would happen if she lit the candle and looked upon the dragon's face?

Loosely inspired by the myth of Psyche and Eros, this humorous romantasy features dragon shifters, quirky fae, and swoony no-spice romance, perfect for fans of Sylvia Mercedes, Kenley Davidson, and K.M. Shea!

Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice is book one in the Sacrificed Hearts multi-author series, a collection of stand-alone fantasy romances inspired by monsters of legend and packed with strong heroines, swoony heroes, and sacrificial themes.

©2024 Tara Grayce (P)2024 Podium Audio

So Fun!

I really enjoy Tara Grayce’s books. She is so creative. The stories are so refreshingly clean and creative. They are not dark. They are just plain fun!

This book is no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy it too!

I love this plot!

Listened to this almost in one sitting, and I did finish in a day. Novellas are the best. My audio listen was a reread, but here is my original review:

This book. I feel like wavering in this review between speechlessness and gushing it’s praises like Old Faithful gushes water.

It was sweet and funny and cute. But it was also serious and real. Plot-wise, this book has THE BEST dragons. I’m in love and would be happy with a complete series of just dragons. ; )

I absolutely adored this book and read most of the second half while trying (and failing) to wipe the goofy smile off of my face. It probably only took about five hours for me to read, so it’s also a perfect length…But you try smiling for hours on end. I think my face might be stuck, lol.

The romance aspect of this plot just adds to the fantastic-ness of the book. It’s so smooth and clean. It is not overdone and I was very pleasantly surprised by how mellow it was- Not to say that there isn’t any romance, but it’s understated. The book is made better by it, like adding a pinch of salt to a bowl of icing. The flavor in this story really comes through to me more because we aren’t having a kiss or romantic thoughts every page. There is a satisfying HEA, though. Never fear!

Violence: In spite of the whole sacrifice aspect, I did not find this book to be violent. I can think of a couple of scenes where there is some trauma, but my overall impression of the book is one of peace-keeping and peace-making. Any violent scenes are not at the forefront of my mind and rather have to be dug for.

I freaking love Evander!!!

I think this story has become my new Tara Grayce favorite!! Nessa and Evander’s story is so cute! This is such a funny and fun Psyche and Eros retelling - a dragon and fae and human reimagining that worked so well! It has the classic Grayce humor and a delightful cast of characters. Loved it!! Avery Caris nailed the audiobook narration!

Talk about swoon!

Oh my goodness I absolutely adored this story! The narration was also quite beautiful. Nessa was such a great FMC, and I loved getting the story from her POV. Evander was so charming and I loved what a gentleman he was. It was refreshing to read a story where there wasn’t relational tension but the main issues were outside of them, with the elders and the natural disaster. It made me giggle that the hoard was rocks, and it was really endearing. I hope to see these two again in the future. Or even get a bonus chapter from Evander’s POV.

Cozy

This was a clean cozy relatively quick book to read! I enjoyed the snarky banter and the cute clean romance, and am looking forward to the rest of this series!