The Horde King of Shadow by Zoey Draven
Hordes of the Elthika #1
Science Fiction/Fantasy Romance
November 26, 2024- Self Published

Review by Angela

When Zoey Draven announced that her new series would take place in the same world as her Horde Kings of Dakkar series, yet set several centuries in the future, I wondered how it would all fit together with the original world-building. And the answer is, perfectly.

This new series features a woman, Klara, who also happens to be a princess and descendant of two powerful women from the original series. She has visions, and for years has dreamed of dragons. In her everyday life she is bookish, overlooked, and ignored as a member of the royal family. Yet, when Sarkin Dirak’zar, king of the Sarrothian horde, arrives at Dothik’s gates on his dragon, it’s her who he focuses on. He gives her an ultimatum, become his bride or watch Dothik burn. To save her people she accepts and is taken across the sea to a new life, in a mysterious kingdom.

This is such a wonderful story. I was literally riveted from beginning to end. The worldbuilding has expanded to include people and kingdoms beyond the Drakkar, with new customs and traditions, yet with the same feel of the original series we all know and love. And there are dragons! I know dragons are a classic component in the fantasy genre, but here Zoey Draven has created a backstory of Dragons with agency and their own magical legacies who bond with chosen people and spend their lives as partners throughout their history.

The romance between Klara and Sarkin is slow to build, but deeply romantic as they move from enemies to wary partners to lovers. Becoming the queen to the Sarrothian horde comes with immense challenges. Klara must navigate through the horde’s distrust of outsiders, as well as undergo physical training to claim a dragon of her own. Sarkin is leader to his people, who is convinced that Klara’s visions will help him find heartstones, which is a power source for dragons. Their relationship begins with distrust and trepidation on Klara’s part, but their bond solidifies as they begin to spend time together and truly discover each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Their HEA is hard won yet completely satisfying.

I highly recommend reading The Horde Kings of Dakkar before beginning this series. While I do believe that you *can* read this book as a standalone, I also think you’ll be missing important details about the worldbuilding.

Zoey Draven is at the top of my auto-buy list and is a must-read author for fans of fantasy romance. I am absolutely on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what comes next in this series.

Grade- A