Bane is one tired dragon.  After he lost his last rider, Bane decided that he was done with serving the Grand Council and he just wants to be left alone.  When he is asked to come to one of the council meetings, Bane knows they are going to try to bring him back into service.  However, Bane has one major out, he does not currently have a rider nor has he met his next rider yet – not that he is even looking for that person.

Sianna Richter is the daughter of one of the Grand Council members but she really does not care for the pampered lifestyle she is asked to lead.  Dragons have fascinated Sianna since she was very young – absolutely everything about them enthralls her and she even dreams about them.  The last thing she expects to run into however, is one of the older and extremely sexy dragons. 

Bane, at a touch, knows who his next rider will be, but he does not want that responsibility and heartache again and is determined to fight it.  Sianna can’t seem to get Bane out of her thoughts and then she finds out that she is destined to bond with him.  Bane and Sianna can’t fight it any longer and begin their bond, only to have to set out on a dangerous mission immediately.  It is well known that it takes a dragon and their fully bonded rider to complete these missions, so Bane and Sianna have a challenge to begin with, as they are reluctant to let their hearts bond like their bodies have.

Reluctant Hearts is about Bane, an older dragon that just feels he has been put through enough when his last rider dies.  He absolutely does not want a new rider, until a chance meeting introduces him to a spunky young woman.  Sianna yearns for adventure knowing that she will probably never be allowed to experience it.  I found that both Bane and Sianna had been hurt and were heart sick, just for very different reasons.  I almost felt like I was watching a slow moving train wreck while watching Bane and Sianna working on and fighting their bonding and overcoming their hurt hearts.  But I knew that if they were meant to bond, then the way to heal their hearts would come, never expecting just what would bring them together.  For a second time, Ms. Rayne captured me in her world of dragons, riders and their overwhelming passion for each other.  Reluctant Hearts brought two heart-wounded souls together and showed them the way to not only heal each other but to also have a full and loving life.