First, this is a series so the ending is a HFN. To find out what happens next, you must read the next book, which I plan on doing, since I have four to read and review.

I’ll get straight to the review. I really enjoyed the world building in this novel. At first, I thought it was a fantasy, but the more I read I realised this was also a blending of science fiction, which I really enjoyed. New character kept popping up and new surprises, a great way to keep the reader reading. Well done, authors.

Brenn is a strong hero who is used to fighting wars without any assistance, other than from those he leads. To battle the powerful sorcerer Cewrick, he needs help. This comes in the form of a woman who can shift into a dragon, and her name is Ciara.

Read more here: https://maggieblackbird.com/2019/06/25/in-search-of-pride-by-taryn-jameson-and-gabriella-bradley/#more-7732

This was my first shifter tale, and I had no idea what to expect. Honestly, I went in skeptical that I would like it, but I loved every word, especially the nuanced handling of the characters Brenn and Ciara (and others), each of whom seemed to live and breathe. I'm adding the others to my summer TBR!

Brenn has a guardian dragon that is working her way through his tough armor. She has to help him find his family after the village is burned down. Together they create an impressive force but can they also fall in love?
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I read Carnal twilight, the prequel, a few months ago and didn’t enjoy it. I’m happy to say the first book, In Search of Pride faired much better. The longer length really showed what the authors could create. It’s a fantasy world filled with rich description. Ciara is a great character. She’s a dragon with as much fierceness as the guys in this book but also a sweetness when it comes to Brenn. I really like how their story plays out. There’s some angst, lots of action and who doesn’t love dragons?! There are some slow spots that makes the story drag but overall, I enjoyed this story. The romance/sex aspect is good but written in an overly simple style and it is not as hot as I hoped it would be. The author also introduces us to some great secondary characters that I hope get their own story!

My copy of this book contained the prequel titled Carnal Twilight. I couldn’t tell where the novella ended the first book began. It moved seamlessly into the main story and there was no disruption of my enjoyment of the story.

Loved how something I enjoy just about every day made it into the story. It was interesting how things we may take for granted can be added in and how the choices are infinite as to what authors may decide will fit into a scene. In science fiction and fantasy there are really no boundaries to an author’s imagination. And since there are two authors with this series, there must be twice as many.

I knew that the pages were flying by but even though the book came to an end the story was not. At that last page I was so glad I had a chance to enjoy this ride that these authors have created. This is an experience that can’t be bounced around but must be experienced in order. It was also a reminder as to what I loved about the original Star Trek series – could picture this as an episode. Now I’m ready to experience “the final frontier”.

I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I personally liked that IN SEARCH OF PRIDE also included the prequel CARNAL TWILIGHT (Prequel). As it allowed me to get a better understanding of Brenn and how he became the man that he was in: In Search of Pride. Ciara really added a nice magical element to the book that drew me right in! I personally found this book to be a bit on the short side, but the other books in the series made up for the short length of the first one. I was just glad that I had the next books already available as it allowed me to go from this book directly to book two, The Lion's Dragon