The Last Dragon King by Leia Stone is the first book in the interconnected Kings of Avalier series. The Kingdom of Embergate is ruled by Drae Valdren, the shapeshifter king whose magic is bound to its people. Ensuring the magic’s potency, his line must continue. But having lost several children and ultimately his wife in childbirth, his magic is diminishing. To fix things, he is touring his kingdom to assemble all strong women who potentially could bestow him with heirs. He intends to choose one of them to be his Queen. During his tour, he meets the strong and independent Arwen. After being tested for her magic, Arwen is selected to accompany the king and his entourage to Jade City, the capital of Embergate. Embergate and King Valdren, in particular, are plagued and terrorised by the human Queen of Nightfall, who despises all magical beings. Their journey to Jade City proves to be a perilous one, and it becomes evident that this short book will be action-packed. Little did I suspect that I would come to dislike the quick sequence of events. Characters were given neither the time nor the opportunity to grow and show depth of character. The book fails to use the story to its advantage, which is quite a pity. I liked the idea of an interconnected series, and although this aspect was implemented nicely, the first book could not win me over.