When I started reading romance again two years ago, I discovered two surprising things. One, I love historical romance, even though I’m not really a history person, and two, I fucking love dragons. Specifically dragon shifters, magical men (or women) who become dragons and bone down in human form. I enjoy other shifters, but dragons are special to me. I think it’s because the furry animal shifter books are often so serious (with exceptions, of course), and the dragon books I’ve read are full of humor and whimsy and magic. All things I love dearly. So I’ve decided to write this post to share my dragon love with the world and tell you about my favorite dragon-shifter reads.
- Dragon, Actually by G.A. Aiken. This is the first dragon shifter book I read, and it kicks ass. The heroine is Annwyl the Bloody, a strong, smart, funny warrior with some vulnerability and self doubt but also unshakeable confidence. She crosses paths with Feargus, a huge black dragon, who saves her from being killed by her brother’s army. Annwyl has to defeat her brother and become Queen if she wants to live. Feargus the dragon tends to Annwyl’s wounds and sets her up to train with a very strong warrior who just happens to have hair similar to the dragon. (Yes, the dragon has hair. I was surprised too.) Annwyl is hella attracted to the warrior and kind of falling in a nonsexual love with the dragon. Realizing they are one and the same pisses her off and Feargus has to get a big grovel on to win her back. Feargus is the grumpy cinnamon roll of dragonkind. I love him. And Annwyl is a badass. This book kicks off the Dragon Kin series and I’ve read 5 of the 9 or 10 books that are out. I fell off the series as the world got too big for me to keep tabs on. I’m not here for high fantasy, just the dragon boning down.
2. Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison. This is the story of Pia, an indeterminately magical lady who gets blackmailed to steal from a dragon’s hoard. She takes a penny. The dragon in question, Dragos, tracks her down and attraction ensues. He wants to keep her immediately, kinda like a pet, but Pia is no one’s plaything. There’s excellent banter and hot sexytimes. Dragos is a huge motherfucker, like seven feet tall, and I’m all about that. Pia ends up being a shifter too and the reveal of her form is really cool. I was surprised, but I felt like I should have seen it coming. This is also the first in a series about all types of shifters and Fae and magicalness, and I’ve read a couple of the following books. There are several novellas that follow up with Dragos and Pia and I’ve read all of those. None of them match the magicalness of this book, but they’re cute.
3. Not His Dragon by Annie Nicholas. Another series starter that is funny and adorable and magical. Eoin is a hella old dragon and he has no mate. There are no lady dragons in his town. One day, he smells a lady dragon and decides that she’s his fated mate. Only problem is, this lady, Angie, thinks she’s human. Her only other-wordly quality is freakishly long, sharp nails so she owns a shifter back-scratching business. Eoin woos Angie and then drops a bombshell, telling her she’s a dragon. But will she shift? This series is funny and whimsical and there’s a Christmas story follow up about Eoin and Angie that is super cute.
4. The Forbidden Desires Series by Piper Scott and Virginia Kelly. Clutch, Bond, and Mate make up this trilogy, and they are all funny, steamy, bananapants crazy books. There’s dragons. There’s alphas. There’s omegas. There’s betas who become omegas. There’s a triad. There’s mpreg – dudes getting knocked up and laying eggs. And lots of wordplay and boning down. I’m here for all of it. I’ve read this series twice already and bought one of them on audio. I enjoyed the narrator’s voices for everyone. There’s a spin-off series as well so more dragon, male pregnancy high jinks will ensue.
These are just my favorites. I’ve read more dragon shifters, and in chasing the dragon (hahaha), I’ve discovered that some are a little doomy and gloomy for me. So if you’re looking for serious dragon romance (can you say that with a straight face?), this list is not for you. But if you want to spend some time in some goofy, magical, sexy worlds, check out any of these books. And if you ever want to talk dragon romance, hit me up in the comments or on twitter as @heaorgtfo.
HEA or GTFO 