Review: Princess Of Draga (The Draga Court Series Book 1) by Emma Dean

Princess Of Draga by Emma Dean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Much Potential For An Intriguing Series

I recently finished reading The Chaos of Foxes series by this author and had seen this series recommended in an RH group on Facebook. I really enjoyed The Chaos of Foxes so decided to continue on my path with this author. I was really surprised, because it has a very different feel to the other series, so far.

This book feels like an introduction. The main character Adelina is intriguing. She is very submissive in a Royal family designed to genetically be more dominant than anyone else in the system. She has a shy and sweet demeanour, but there is much more to her than her mask of submission displays.

Adelina is coming of age, and as such is going to taught by a courtesan about sex. The courtesan going to teach her is a employed by a House of Courtesans, but also by the Royal Spy Mistress. Loyal to the throne, Nadyah is instantly drawn to the princess and quickly sees there is more depth to her than most ever realise. Not only is Nadyah to teach Adelina, but she is to be her Lady in Waiting as well, and Adelina must decide if she can trust her.

The Royal family is currently in turmoil as the King is dying and the Crown Princess is taking over. There has also been an invasion of one of their allies, and that Royal family has been wiped out. There is fear that their system will be next.

We are introduced to many of the rulers of the other planets in the system, as they prepare to gather for the Ball that hands over ruling to the Crown Princess. There are a lot of characters with differing motivations and dreams. As this was the first book in the series, with lots of characters, it felt a bit choppy and overwhelming.

Aside from the cast of thousands, this is a very promising book. The world building is superb and I’m so intrigued by what else is come, relating to the different cultures and the genetics that were altered by the Ancient Humans in order to stop themselves destroying mankind.

The characters are also fascinating. Each character seems fully realised with depth, conflicts, hopes and dreams. The plot promises to be complex, with equal parts political thriller and romance. I can’t wait to read the next book.

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