Title: Song Of The Heart Scale
Series: The Dragons Ballad
Author: Karina Espinosa
Release Date: 22nd August 2025
BLURB
You’d think surviving dragons, doppelgänger drama, and a fated twin flame bond would earn a girl a break—but no, not in Elaria.
I’m Cat, and I’ve officially hit the third act of my fantasy nightmare. There’s famine sweeping the land, war brewing like a badly-timed sequel, and—plot twist!—Damien Drakonar, the infuriatingly hot dragon prince I may or may not love, is now facing off against his own brother, Crown Prince Thorne. Yeah. Family dinners are awkward.
Oh, and did I mention the whole “I’ve been promised to another” situation? Because nothing says “happily ever after” like a surprise royal engagement and a kingdom on the verge of collapse.
As swords clash and secrets surface, I’m stuck between two worlds—my old life in L.A., with takeout and traffic, or this new one where I might just help shape the fate of an entire realm… and maybe even find my own. But choosing love over everything? That’s a risk even Hollywood couldn’t choreograph.
This is it—the final battle, the last song. So buckle up. Things are about to get dragon-level dramatic.
REVIEW
The cover of this book fits really well with the rest of the trilogy, I think they will stand out on a bookstore shelf, and I bet they look amazing on a book shelf at home, too!
In Elaria, things have changed, Cat is no longer the favoured daughter she once was. Gianna has seen Cat's tattoo so knows something strange is going on and has shared her discovery with Lord Zacharia. Lord Zacharia doesn't care whether it's Lady Arya or not and wants nothing more than to marry this 'person', whoever she is off to Crown Prince Thorne as it will secure the Ryder family future. The Ryder family is in dire straits without this marriage, so the sooner the wedding goes ahead, the better for their financial and public standing.
Cat is 'going through the motions' with the preparations for her impending marriage to Crown Prince Thorne and theres a great, humorous scene where she is talking about batcholorette parties of her own world/present day LA with Maeve her servant who has become more of a best friend and confidante. Cat is embarrassing Maeve talking about how, at home in LA, there would be men stripping and dancing & hip thrusting in the brides face.
When something 'big' happens, it comes with 'big' consequences. It's good news for Cat, her wedding is put on hold, but bad for Elaria when the Immortals are angered and the lives of those in Elaria are in danger.
I loved that Damien, the protector, is willing to go to war for the people of Elaria yet not really wanting anything in return for himself. He had a tough battle ahead before he could even consider what he was going to do at the next storm.
His Uncle Bai has reservations about Damien leaving with Cat, whilst he wants him to be happy, he reminds Damien to consider he may lose his dragon, his abilities and what if he is immortal in a strange world where he would have to watch Cat age and die? There's a lot for Damien to consider as he also wants to make sure he is leaving Elaria in capable, safe hands, too.
Cat & Damien plan an attack on his own brother Thorne, they gather supporters from fae to the esteemed Nightwing army. Then, amidst the preparations, Cat and Maeve are picked up as troublemakers whilst at the market. They end up in Thornes' dungeon. In an attempt to save Maeve from punishment and possible torture, Cat makes sure she is taken first. Cat tries to convince Thornes men who she is, but when her clothing is ripped and they see her tattoo, they refuse to believe her, saying Lady Arya would never have such markings on her skin. Eventually, Thorne hears about a prisoner claiming to be Lady Arya and goes to investigate. He takes her from the dungeons, and on her insistence, he takes Maeve from the dungeons to please Cat. Things soon get ugly between Cat and Thorne. Luckily, the cavalry arrive in the form of Damien and their army of supporters.
The scene is chaotic, but Damien is determined to rescue Cat, whom he has declared his love for and also end his brother tyranny. There's a surprise visit from an Immortal who delivers some shocking news to Damien.
In LA, Lady Arya is finally settling in a job and with Angie, Cat's friend's help, actually earning some money. I loved the idea of Lady Arya's artistic gifts from her world, being transformed into being a talented makeup artist.
At the beginning of the series, I was initially curious about Lady Arya and wanted more content about her in LA along with Cat in Elaria. In bk2, we did get more of Lady Arya in LA and we were introduced to how she was doing in LA, but I really didn't like her character at all, and I didn't warm up to the character anymore at all in bk2, I guess thats the reason I wasn't as interested in her part of the story, though I'll be honest I was so impatient for more from Cat and Damien and to learn what was going on in Elaria. In bk3, we do get some more about Lady Arya in LA, during which I finally warmed up to Lady Arya, which I actually enjoyed Lady Arya's escapades/life as Cat and her increasing closeness to Angie and her interactions with the cheating ex! It had me wondering if there could have been a hint at a romantic relationship between the pair. Would Lady have wanted to stay in LA, or maybe Angie would go back with her to Elaria?
It's difficult to explain whilst not giving away spoilers, but here goes, I was really sad at the loss of a character i had adored, though the death fit well with the plot and was totally believable. The book had a good ending, but it wasn't the ending I was yearning for. I was surprised by the revelation from the Immortal Azareth when he visits shortly after the battle. I enjoyed the fact all the different people came together to fight the evil, tyrannical Thorne Valenor.
Characters I loved, Maeve was my favourite human character she truly became a best friend to Cat. Of course, I loved the smart mouthed, up for a fight, Cat, and the relationship she developed with the banished dragon without a precious heart scale Damien.
I adored all the folklore elements, and the ballads were amazing. They told of the ancient prophecy of the twin flames, which I loved the concept of.
The epilogue was a nice touch, though it would have been nice to learn a little more about how Damien had adapted and where he worked? What did Cat's friends think about him? It did hint at what the future holds for Cat & Damien, which I liked.
There were some more intimate scenes that got a bit overly explicit for my personal taste and were quite surprising as there were no hints at this in the previous book in the trilogy.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were Wow! That was a fast read, I read half the book in one go! I did not want to put it down.
Summing up, though the ending wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for, I still liked it! Another great series by Karina Espinosa!
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