Clark writes a science fiction thriller that keeps you engrossed until the last page. I enjoyed the characters and the story. Looking forward to the sequel.

Caribbean island , Dolphins,legendary mythical beast of Caribbean folklore. A bit of romance,

as well as nail bitten suspense, after you read this you may never want to back in the water again. Plus if you like Jaws and Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park then you might want to give this one a try and see for yourself

This was such an interesting read and would probably make a really decent movie. Even though I have thalassophobia it is always interesting to thin about what may be lurking in the deep.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of Killing Dragons. They say don't judge a book by it's cover, but I knew from the moment I saw Kill Dragons cover I was more than likely going to like this one. I'm a sucker for sea creature stories, and I'm fairly easy to please. When it comes to such books wild action and a touch of gore and I'm pretty happy. But when I get that plus well developed characters and an excellent story, well then I'm absolutely thrilled. And that is just what I got with this one. Killing Dragons is an intelligent sea creature thriller focusing on Eva a marine biologist working to unravel the mysterious language of the dolphins...until a vicious creature shows up to terrorize her little section of the ocean. Great story, fantastic characters, and the few chapters told from the dolphins point of view were quite enjoyable. Look forward to seeing what comes next.

Dr. Eva Paz is doing ground-breaking research with dolphins and their ability to communicate with humans. Running up against a deadline to produce results to keep her research grant, one of her dolphins has a potentially deadly encounter with a sea monster. A cartel leader who has an interest in Eva; an old boyfriend who arrives at the island unexpectedly and Eva’s need for further funding of her research help to create an ocean thriller. Cannot wait for book #2 of this series. I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opinions expressed are my own. #KillingDragons #NetGalley

This was a so so book for me. I loved the action and any book with dinosaurs is a must read for me. I did like that this was the first book I’ve read that takes place with the virus that shall not be named. I did think the story dragged a bit and was a little confusing at times but overall a good read.

Action packed adventure that kept me turning pages! This well-researched realistic science fiction novel will keep you wondering which is more dangerous, the monsters under the water or those who walk among us. Follow marine biologist Dr. Eva Paz and former love interest ex-Navy SEAL Dr. Thomas Sternberg as they fight the demons from their past and work together to solve the mystery of local legend, sea monster "Lusca". If you've ever dreamed of swimming with the dolphins or diving the reefs, this book is for you. It was refreshing to have a female native Roatoan as the lead scientist and get a peak into the lives of the locals as well as those who have made this beautiful island their home.

4.5 stars

I am a massive sucker for books with dinosaurs, ESPECIALLY prehistoric sea creatures, so I can’t tell you how excited I was to be approved for this one on NetGalley!

Eva is working against the clock, to keep her grant, in her research into dolphin communication. When a man she knows is killed on a lone fishing trip, his injuries spark rumours of a sea monster lurking in the ocean, so does the huge conical tooth Eva finds.

Thomas is working as a paediatrician when an old friend asked him to come on a trip with him, to the same island where his ex-girlfriend Eva works. They intend to teach search and rescue diving to tourists, but after a few of the dives are met with disaster, due to an unidentified sea creature, finding out what is lurking in the depths becomes the priority.

Killing Dragons had all the danger and heart stopping moments I love and expect from prehistoric monster books and I loved the added layer of the dolphin research! The story was told in alternating chapters between Eva and Thomas, but there were a few chapters even told from the dolphins’ perspective (I enjoyed those so much!). The pacing of the entire book was brilliant and there were some great reveals and twists along the way. I was a little unsure about the way an autistic character was portrayed, but I think I’d need a view from someone who actually has Autism to comment on that further.

All in all though, Killing Dragons was a load of nail biting fun and satisfied my craving for dinosaur books. Something we don’t have enough of! I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next book.

Very interesting plot and unique characters! Kristie Clark does a wonderful job of creating the suspense for the plot of the book.

Enjoyeable, well-written story about a marine biologist researching dolphin vocalisations coming together with paediatrician cum geneticist ex SEAL coming to the Caribbean to lead a dive school and their encounters with a drug cartel , fish farming and the sea dragon, Lusca, that is terrorising and killing locals. Much more than that though as each has their own story which is well-explained and developed. Bottom line is "get Lusca". Realistic science fiction and, yes, shades of Michael Crichton but good. Loose ends at the end a bit frustrating but it is Book 1 so I'm hoing that they will be tied and/or explained in subsequent stories. An engaging read. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book since this could either be done well or be cheesy. I was happy to discover it was written very well and reminded me of Michael Crichton where the science stuff made sense and was easy to read, not so complicated to go over reader's heads.

Dr. Eva Paz is working diligently to meet her grant deadline for her research to understand and hopefully eventually be able to communicate with dolphins. In the meantime, there is a large creature lurking in the waters around the islands Dr. Paz works from and it is killing both tourists and wildlife. Eva wants to find the creature and stop it while a drug lord wants to find it, capture it and use it for capital gain. The hunt for la Lusca is on!

As I said, this book was very well written and the author describes her labor of love in writing the book over a ten year period. I found the writing to be excellent, extremely descriptive and just fun to read. I love books about dinosaurs and dragons and like every kid for a while I wanted to be a marine biologist. The book clocks in around 450+ pages but it never felt like it was that long and the short chapters make it easy to pause (though you won't want to). I am very eagerly awaiting the promised second and third books in the series.

Rating: Absolutely Loved It

This book is SUCH a hidden gem! I have always loved dolphins since I was little, and I requested this from NetGalley somewhat on a whim. I am SO glad that I did! Probably my favorite request from NetGalley that I wasn't already anticipating. I finished the book and immediately purchased a copy and preordered book 2!

What is it about?
Killing Dragons follows Eva, a marine biologist living and working in Roatan, an island off of Honduras. Eva has a grant that allows her to study dolphins' communication patterns, and she is working to understand their language; however, she is working against the clock and attempting to gather all the necessary data to re-up her grant. We also follow Thomas, a pediatric oncologist and former Navy SEAL who is working on curing cancer. He is let go from his position when a patient takes a turn for the worse, and he and his old chief boat down to Roatan to teach search and rescue/diving classes for a while. Meanwhile, there is something mysterious happening in the waters around the island. Fishermen and tourists are being mauled and disappearing by some type of sea creature that the locals have dubbed the Lusca. To figure out what is haunting their waters and save her people and dolphins, Eva must decide whether she wants to team up with Thomas, a man with whom she shares a tragic past, or another man whom she suspects of involvement with the drug trade in the area and who is engaged in harmful aquafarming, but who is promising to fund her research.

I loved basically everything about this book. The enjoyment factor while reading it was extremely high.
* I loved the plot and the pacing. I haven't read a thriller in a while, but this one was right up my alley! The characters were developed enough that I cared about them; however, I was much more concerned about the dolphins! The tension was high and the stakes felt very high as well! I may or may not have flipped ahead to the end of the chapter a few times to see whether or not I could relax any time soon!
* I loved that it has these futuristic sci-fi type Jurassic Park vibes, but it is still believable. I feel like we have no idea what is in the ocean, so if you tell me there is a sea dragon type monster out there, my first instinct is definitely not to doubt it!
* I implied it before, but I will outright say it: I loved the dolphins! I love that the author fleshes them out as characters in their own rights. Then on top of what we see in the normal course of the story, we get maybe three or four chapters (out of 70some) that are from the dolphins' perspectives. The first time this happened, I was really wary and thought that it was going to happen quite often and be silly. It actually worked really well, and it just raised the stakes and the tension for me. I loved it!
* I liked the human characters a lot as well. I maybe wasn't as invested in them as I would be in a fantasy novel or something like that, but I think that the author fleshed them out well. Some of the interactions that they had, or the thoughts that we were privy to got a bit repetitive, but it didn't take away from the overall story for me.
* The author includes a pretty cool section at the end titled "Facts in Fiction" where she walks through some of the inspirations behind different parts of the book and what parts in it are actually based in reality. I thought that was really neat and made the whole book feel more realistic.

What didn't work for me:
- Not very much. Like I said, this book was highly enjoyable. I may have had some technical complaints here and there, but I really loved the story and will be continuing on in the series for sure
- I think that there were a lot of secondary storylines to the main Lusca storyline, so there are a lot of loose ends. This wasn't a fully closed circle type mystery, which is totally fine. I was just expecting a bit more closure. However, I definitely think that we will get that in the next few books, so it's not really a complaint, just a "wait and see" type thing!

Overall, a really enjoyable read. I am glad to have found this, and can't wait to continue on with Eva, Thomas, Taffy, and Finn in Book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.