Review: Origin Exposed by Jen Crane

Origin Exposed
(Descended of Dragons #2)
By: Jen Crane
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Oct. 6, 2015
Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance
Rating:

A Dangerous Secret
In fiery redhead Stella Stonewall’s new world magic and shape-shifters are everyday life. Scales, sorcery, shifters—no big. Stella has learned she’s not only descended of dragons, but of something more, too. She struggles to keep this rare form a secret, even from her closest friends.

A Bitter Betrayal
Stella turns to her mentor Rowan Gresham for help. The charming but enigmatic Gresham forms a plan to improve her troublesome public image. The problem? The plan revolves around betraying the only family she has left.

A Potential for Something Real
When Gresham’s motives come into question Stella must rely on the new friends she’s made at a college for magical shifters. The feral bunch helps set Stella’s inner beast free. As these friendships flourish, so does the magnetism she’s always felt toward fierce and noble Ewan Bristol. But it’s so strong it threatens to overwhelm her.

Can Stella afford to open her heart now, when her entire future’s at stake, or is it bolted shut for eternity?

My thoughts…

In this installment of Descended of Dragons, Stella’s world is changing even more. Now that she knows she’s an omni—a shifter who can change into any animal—as well as a dragon shifter, she must learn to harness her powers. On top of that, she’s discovered that she has family on the dragon side, which isn’t such a good thing. After all, her family are the ones that the folktales are about. They are the dragons whom the sorcerer enslaved and had kill thousands of Thayerians. Needless to say, being a dragon—while being completely awesome— is not a good thing to be, especially when your mother and family were the dragons that almost killed entire species in Thayer.

Origin Exposed has a lot more action than Rare Form. Now that Stella knows what she is, she’s now trying to learn how to use her newfound powers. Not only that but she tries to connect with her grandmother, uncle, and cousin without anyone knowing, in order to learn more about her dragon side. Of course, that poses a lot of problems in itself for obvious reasons. I was actually surprised to see that there was a lot less happenings while attending Radix than in the previous book. The author really focused more on Stella and building her character than her day to day life in school. I will be honest and say that I was a little sad that the school took a backseat in this one. I was really interested in the workings of what goes on in all these magical classes and was hoping for more of that Harry Potter feel of experiencing the unknown.

Alas, the romance heats up more in this book but not in the way I would have thought… and I LOVED it. I loved the turn the author took with it. Mainly because I love the dynamics of the two. I love the connection that they have and how well they just fit. I really wish I could go into it but it’s kind of a plot twist in this novel and I don’t want to give anything away. 😉

I was really captivated by Origin Exposed. I found myself forgetting about dinner on the stove (not the safest thing), staying up late reading until my eyes couldn’t stay opened anymore, and I even put in earplugs while the Mr. watched the NBA playoffs in order to continue reading the book without distraction. While this doesn’t necessarily end on a cliffhanger, I am dying to get my hands on the next book. I need to know what’s next for Stella.

Favorite part…

“You’re my business, whether you like it or not. And stop trying to fix me up with Emrynne. With anyone. I don’t need your help when it comes to women.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” I grumbled.
“Good. Keep your nose out of my bed. Unless you want to be the one in it, in which case you’re welcome any time.”

Previous reviews from Descended of Dragons
Rare Form