Rate this book

Dragon"s Fiance 1 (2011)

by Nari Kusakawa(Favorite Author)

3.87 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Elex Media Komputindo

series

Two Flowers for the Dragon

review 1: This manga combines romantic comedy with fantasy. It’s set in a desert oasis that sprung up generations ago when a dragon fell in love with a human and made this their home. Shakuya is the youngest descendant of that fabled union and she will one day be the queen. Arranged marriages are how the nobility handle things and she’s been engaged since she was born practically. Shakuya is a young teen and she’s accompanied at all times by her handmaiden, Lupina. Shakuya is always sneaking out of her temple home, often to try and meet up with Kuwan, a police officer and her fiancé who’s about ten years older than her if I had to guess. She’s quite determined to be in love with him since she has to marry him so she tries to steal time with him. However, both her social s... moretatus and her dragon blood make her targets for dissidents, kidnappers and more.Someone sends a load of bamboo pipes down on Shakuya’s head and she’s aided by a traveler and from here things go a little sideways for Shakuya. The traveler is Lucien, her original fiancé. Lucien disappeared in a sandstorm years ago and was presumed to be dead. Unfortunately, Lucien has no memories at all of his life in the oasis.Now she has two fiancés and she’ll have to make a choice between them. The story has a fun twist, upon the betrothal she was tattooed (as were the men) on the back of her hand, a bellflower for Kuwan and a rose for Lucien. However, in Shakuya, her dragon blood makes her tattoos grow and bloom as a reflection of her feelings for the men. She has several flowers already for Kuwan and none but the original for Lucien since she thought he was dead. Her mother the queen gives an edict. Whichever man has more blooms on her daughter’s arms will win the right to marry Shakuya.Naturally, this sets up the competition that will dominate the entire series. Shakuya is determined to love only Kuwan and is actually rather cruel in how much she snubs Lucien all the time, not that it deters him any. Part of the problem might be that Shakuya is young. We’re told Kuwan is twenty-six and Lucien seems to be of that age too but Shakuya is drawn considerably younger and does remark at one point that Kuwan looked good surrounded by women his age. Dodging dissidents, rigged sword fighting competitions and wily pet baby tiger cubs, the three of them flit back and forth between each others lives.The story is cute but it’s not without its problems. I don’t see enough emotional content and that’s the part that’s bothering me. Shakuya acts like a young teenaged girl, warts and all. She’s insecure. She’s rude. She’s everything I didn’t like about teenaged girls, even when I was one. As for the two guys, I have no idea how they feel about Shakuya. She seems more like a prize than a love interest. Kuwan is cold and business-like and very good at what he does and he seems to think that’s enough to keep Shakuya’s heart centered on him. Lucien takes another approach. As much as Kuwan rarely seeks Shakuya out, Lucien seems to have nothing better to do than hover around Shakuya. Lucien doesn’t appear to have a job any more. Lucien’s wooing approach borders on smarmy.If the emotional content ramped up a little, I think this could be a good series. Shakuya, at least, does feel a little torn, which adds some emotion to this. She doesn’t want anything to do with Lucien but to her horror, his rose has begun to grow and she feels she must hide this. The cliffhanger ending was a step in the right direction, playing off Shakuya’s half breed nature. I liked that. The story has potential and I think the target audience will enjoy it.
review 2: Shakuya has dragon in her blood and is set to be the next ruler of her kingdom in the desert oasis. Her first chosen fiancee disappears and a second is chosen, and both times she receives flower tattoos. Now fiancee number 1, Lucien, has returned with no memories, and he must compete with fiancee number 2, Kuwan, to win Shakuya's love. She covers her tattooed arms with gloves, as the growing flowers indicate who she has more feelings for. The plot and setting are pretty interesting, but the book is definitely plot driven rather than character driven, as I am not connecting well with the characters yet and feel ambivalent about who she should choose. less

Download links for: Dragon"s Fiance 1

Advertising