ENSNARED

An athlete is swept into a world of dragons and finds new passions in Baker’s first installment of a fantasy romance tetralogy.

Thirty-something Liz Chadwick is an up-and-coming Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter in Houston. After Gideon Evans—Liz’s childhood friend, training partner, and crush—leaves to join the military, she attends the local elementary school’s fundraiser carnival with her mother and her three siblings, Jade, Coral, and Sammy. Out of the blue, the carnival is attacked by dragons searching for an artifact known as the “Heart.” Liz’s mother is “ensnared” by an electro dragon named Ocharta, who has electrically based powers, and Liz is later ensnared by Axel, a shape-shifter and the prince of earth-affiliated dragons. In the context of the novel, ensnared refers to dragons who connect themselves to special humans, known as brights, with a magical pact that provides mutual benefits and powers, with the caveat that their lives depend on each other’s well-being; if one of the ensnared is hurt or killed, then so is the other. Liz leverages this last aspect to protect her siblings and Gideon. Meanwhile, Axel routinely saves Liz from harm by apparently requesting help from the powerful dragon Azar; later, Axel’s secret is revealed, which changes Liz’s status in the society she finds herself in. Her suppressed memory may hold the key to finding the fabled Heart. Over the course of this fantasy romance novel, Baker excels at stoking the passion that Liz and Axel share as well as describing the competition that arises between Axel and Liz’s would-be suitor, Gideon. Baker effectively marshals a large cast, including Azar’s siblings, who allude to Azar’s betrothed, Asteria, whom he’s expected to marry soon; later in the novel, the main characters begin a journey to another country. However, the narrative sometimes abruptly resolves key plot points or leaves them dangling; presumably, some may be picked up in planned future installments, but some readers may initially be confused. Overall, though, this book lays the foundation for complex and engaging worldbuilding and introduces a tough-minded and appealing protagonist.

A well-developed enemy-to-lovers fantasy.