First in a new fantasy historical series from Isabel Cooper, Highland Dragon Warrior focuses on Sophia, an alchemist who is in hopes of making new discoveries and adding to her knowledge of the alchemical world and, Cathal MacAlasdair, one of the ruling members of his clan of Scotsmen who also happen to be warrior dragons. While Sophia comes seeking knowledge, Alasdair is in need of someone to help one of his men after an attack by an evil magically endowed enemy. He makes bargain with Sophia; if she will help his fellow soldier, Cathal will give her the dragon scales she seeks for her work. Sophia is an unusual woman for her time of 1304 in that she is a scientist working in a nontraditional female role. Cathal is the youngest in his dragon family who live for centuries. While working together they find despite their vastly different backgrounds and even species, love begins to slowly bloom for the two brave and courageous people who are willing to sacrifice themselves to save others.

Dragons in Cathal’s family are not just fire breathing menaces, but have compassion and care for the humans who belong to their castle keep. A studious woman such as Sophia, immersed in her work, finds love and romance to have an alchemy all its own. Their world is full of magical creatures and men who would rule by using evil wizardry as well as the Scot’s wars with the English during that time period.

This story is a slow burn type of romance, no pun intended dragonwise. Quite a bit of the story is spent on Sophia’s work with a lot of details of the alchemical processes. Sophia, being a rather cerebral person, spends a lot of time thinking…about everything, especially her reaction to and feelings for Cathal. From Cathal’s point of view, you learn about his family and background, how dragons function in this world, and his growing feelings for Sophia. The pacing is slower than some readers might enjoy; however, it is a well told tale especially for fantasy readers who appreciate attention to detail and interesting world building.

I was expecting this to be a dragon shifter romance so I was disappointed that the focus was more on alchemy rather than dragons and shifting. I also found myself getting bored because I found the pacing of the story to be quite slow/dragging. This book isn't for me. Sorry.

I picked this up thinking that it was a followup to the author’s earlier Highland Dragons series, the one that starts wonderfully with Legend of the Highland Dragon, continues marvelously in The Highland Dragon’s Lady and comes to its awesome conclusion in Night of the Highland Dragon.

But Highland Dragon Warrior isn’t a followup. Instead, it’s the beginning of a prequel series. Instead of the very tail end of the 19th century, this story is set at the very beginning of the 14th century. The world is a very different place. Thinking about it, this series might be the story of that “legend” that Legend of the Highland Dragon barely touches on.

This feels like a bit of an alternate 14th century. Dragons aren’t the only otherworldly creatures that walk (or fly, in this case) the earth we know from history. Magic works as well, and there are both good and evil practitioners of it. And, possibly because this is the 14th century and mysticism of all sorts existed in real history, alchemy works too.

Our heroine is an alchemist. She is also a world traveler in an era when travel was very difficult at the best of times and women seldom traveled at all. But Sophia Metzger is an exception in a number of ways. She’s a woman, she’s a practicing alchemist, and she’s Jewish at a time when Jews were systematically being expelled from every country in Europe.

It is dangerous for her to travel, particularly through England, where the Jews were expelled only a century before. (This is real history, not fabricated for this story) Sophia hides who she is at every turn, because exposure will mean censure at best, and death at worst. But she has heard a rumor that the MacAlasdairs are dragons, and she wants to see if their scales can provide powerful catalysts for her alchemical potions.

When Sophia and her friend and chaperone Alice arrive at Loch Arrach, she comes at just the right time for Cathal MacAlasdair. He’s had an unfortunate encounter with an evil wizard, who has taken the spirit of his best friend hostage. All the mage wants in return is Cathal’s service. The service of a powerful dragon. Cathal knows that he can’t give in, and doesn’t want to. He recognizes evil when he sees it. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to save his best friend if he can do it without submitting to the wizard.

And that’s where Sophia comes in. He’ll give her a few of his scales for her experiments, if she promises to do her best to save his friend. He’s not even half as unreasonable as he could be. Cathal knows the odds are stacked against them. He only asks that she try, and that she be honest about those trials.

Sophia can’t resist the challenge. And when the wizard starts coming for her, she meets that challenge as well, with every ounce of skill and intelligence at her disposal.

But when Cathal comes for her heart, she resists at every turn. She knows it’s not possible for a laird’s son to marry a Jew, and she is, above all, an honorable woman. But neither of them can resist what’s meant to be, no matter what stands in their way.

Escape Rating B: Highland Dragon Warrior, in spite of its hard-charging title, is a slow-burn, slow-build kind of story on every front. The plot takes a long time to develop, and so does the romance.

The pacing resembles that of Sophia’s alchemical potion-making. Everything has to happen at the right time, in the right place, under the right influences. This isn’t Harry Potter, where potions seem to brew in minutes or at most hours. All of Sophia’s potions take days and even weeks to come to fruition, and the story moves at that pace.

So as much as I liked Highland Dragon Warrior, I can’t claim that it’s a page-turner, at least not until the final 15% of the story, where Sophia confronts the evil wizard.

But I really did like this story. I think one of the big reasons for that is the character of Sophia. We don’t see many Jewish characters in mainstream fiction, and we particularly don’t see many Jewish heroines in romance, neither contemporary nor historical. So one of the reasons that I really liked being inside Sophia’s head was that I could see myself in her in ways that don’t happen often.

As difficult as it was for a woman to be an intellectual, or to travel in her time, for Sophia there is always an added layer of danger because of her faith. And she is always aware that some people will always be prejudiced against her, for her gender, for her intellect, for her profession and for her Judaism. She tries to keep her faith hidden, as much as she can, while not betraying it. Her fears are real, and particularly real for me, in ways that may not resonate with other readers, but do for this one, especially now.

Another thing that made this book so interesting for me is that it is Sophia’s journey. She’s the real warrior in this story, and not the dragon-shifter (and very male) Cathal. She’s the only person with the knowledge and skill to take the fight to the wizard, and the only one who has a chance to prevail. Cathal (and his family) provide much needed support, but Sophia is the skilled warrior on this battlefield, and there is not one moment of doubt that she is the right person to fight this foe.

Cathal wants to protect her, but it always feels like it is in the sense that we all want to protect those we love, and not in the strong man protecting weaker woman sense. He doesn’t see her as weak except in the strictly physical sense, but then, this battle will not be fought by strictly physical, or even mostly physical, means. And while his attitude feels out of his time, it is not outside the way his family functions. Female dragons are every bit as powerful, if not a bit more so, than the males.

And I liked that the difficulties between them were not swept under the carpet in a wave of romantic fluff. Or even obscured by a cloud of lust. There are real issues, and those have to be dealt with in order to arrive at a happy ever after. They successfully compromise, but not in a way where she gives up everything for him. They meet in a negotiated middle, and it works.

I’m looking forward to the next story in this series, Highland Dragon Rebel, to see where those dragons fly next.

Highland Dragon Warrior is the 1st book in Isabel Cooper Dawn of the Highland Dragon series. Nothing too exciting really happens in this book, since it was just setting the foundation for the series, and an introduction of the characters of sorts. The story was slow in some place but really picked up as the story unfolds. The banter between Cathal and Sophia was cute. I personally couldn’t get into the story. When Sophia talked about alchemy it was like she was talking a foreign language.

Paranormal and historical are my two favorite romance genres. Highland Dragon Warrior is an great blend of them both. The author managed to keep an accurate historical feel while adding magic and dragons to the time of Robert the Bruce. The female lead was a breath of fresh air in many ways. Not only was she intelligent, but she had a passion for science. On top of that, she was Jewish. Not at all you usual noble woman from romance novels.

While I can appreciate that it was the woman who saved the day, I was disappointed too not see the Dragon in action more. I also felt some of the alchemy specifics slowed the plot down. I found myself skipping paragraphs of her work.

Book: Highland Dragon Warrior by Isabel Cooper

Series: Dawn of the Highland Warrior, Book #1

Reviewed by Barb Massabrook (of)

1)Tartan Book Reviews - Administrator & Creator

2)Purple Tulip Book Reviews - Administrator

3)Celtic Barb’s Tartan Book Review Blog - Blogger

Heat Rating: 🔥

Overall Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



This is the story of Cathal MacAlasdair and Sophie Metzger.

1304, Scotland

Laird Cathal MacAlasdair is a dragon/human shapeshifter, the dragon laird. He is furious the Sassenach controls the highlands ever since Scotland fell to their rule.

As legend claims the highland dragon's took an oath ”Freedom at any Price!” Yet he's frustrated that not even he can keep his people safe.

He needs a ferocious, relentless, savage, warrior, that won't fear anything or anyone! This would keep his clan safe from enemies. Yet also a warrior clever enough to outsmart his foes, be more beast than human.


Than shortly after her meets Sophie he realizes she is exactly what he both needs and wants. He and Sophia have joined together to battle, win and conquer over evil and darkness! Will they also join in the carnal sense as well or part company. Will they Dragon lift his claws and hot breath to even allow it!

Sophia Metzger is a scholar and an alchemist, but can feel the land at Loch Arach is rejecting her and wants her gone. She came here to learn, not to fight as a warrior does. Of course she never expected to be attracted to a dragon or ride in the clouds on his back!

This captivating book has all the elements Scottish historical paranormal romance readers love. It is filled with murder, magic mystery, shape-shifting, fantasy, healing, faith, passion, betrayal and love. An attraction that grows from respect to love.

A spellbinding enchanting story from start to finish. Absolutely delightful read, loved it.

I received an advance reader copy from the publisher. I voluntarily agreed to do a fair review and blog through netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

Highland Dragon Warrior (Dawn of the Highland ... - Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Highland-Dragon-Warrior-Dawn/dp/1492632031

DNF - this story never seemed to move forward,. No intrigue, chemistry or anything remotely interesting. After trying several times, I stopped reading.

I'm a new reader of Miss Cooper, what I enjoyed most about Highland Dragon Warriors was the sensuality of the premise, and the hot chemistry between the heroine and the protagonist. The story was very fluid, lots of anticipation as I moved chapters to chapters, and finally - a woman with the strength of a warrior who captured the heart of a dragon. Legends, myths, an exciting tale sending readers on an adrenaline rush - definitely a MUST-READ for all historical romance fans!

Author brews up a tincture of the paranormal and wizardry in a Scottish castle. All the elements of a good novel. Sadly, for me, the story didn't grab my interest as I could not feel empathy for the characters enough to get lost in the book.

Cathal MacAlasdair is the youngest in a long line of dragon shifters. He’s currently managing the family’s lands while the rest of his family is away at war, but he’s unhappy. He kinda wants to be back fighting but also kinda doesn’t, and he is feeling the immense pressure of being responsible for the entire clan. When alchemist Sophia Metzger arrives seeking a favor, he thinks she may be able to help him solve a particularly painful crisis involving his childhood friend and some dark magic. Sophia has to work to figure out how to save Cathal’s friend, which ends up being a more dangerous task than anyone anticipated.

This book was kind of a mixed bag for me. One thing that definitely worked was Sophia. She had a confidence that was just wonderful to read about. She’s very, very good at her profession, and while she isn’t afraid to admit when she doesn’t know something, she’s confident in what she does know and isn’t afraid to trust herself. Even better, Sophia was just as self-assured in her personal life as well. She is honest and open with Cathal once she decides what she wants, and she isn’t afraid to make decisions about what is best for her life. This kind of confidence could easily stray into cockiness or impetuousness, but instead Sophia is extremely thoughtful, never making decisions without first turning the problem over her mind and examining it from all angles. It’s her intelligence, instinct, and bravery that save the day in the end.

She and Cathal were a lovely pair, too. He has learned to develop that same confidence in his decisions as a leader of armies and son of a lord, and while he doesn’t relish leadership he does what must be done. Most importantly, he trusts Sophia. While he wants her to be safe and worries that he can’t keep her that way, he still lets her make her own choices about dangerous situations and respects her authority. They had some great chemistry too, and the slow build up of their relationship ensured lots of steamy tension. I kept thinking these two were going to make a really dynamite pair in whatever they choose to do with their lives in the future.

But some things definitely didn’t work for me. Probably the biggest was the magic system, I guess you’d call it. It was kind of a mix between physical potions, woo-woo spiritualism, and some undefined “magic”. I was mildly intrigued, especially by the way it tied into religion in some places, but the descriptions of things like brewing potions were intense and overly detailed. (First book info dump? Perhaps this problem will be resolved in future books in the series.) Frankly, I was bored with most of it and by the end I was skimming some of that stuff, especially because there were so many long, draggy stretches of time where it was just Sophia working. There were also a lot of real historical details thrown in, and my knowledge of medieval European history is minimal at best. While I was interested in the bits about Jewish history (Sophia is Jewish, which is so rare in romances), overall I found the history tedious. To top it off, I also was not a huge fan of the writing style. It’s not technically flawed, but I found the writing to be dense and more of a slog than I prefer.

While I liked reading about Sophia and Cathal, I was probably not the ideal reader for this book. If you’re a fan of medieval romances with some magic thrown in and don’t mind denser prose, this might work even better for you.

Grade: 3 out of 5

A lovely magical take on a historical Highlands romance book!!

This was a very good fantasy novel. I have enjoyed Ms. Cooper's works in the past and I really enjoyed this one. It seemed to move a bit slowly but that's only because I wanted it to keep going and going.

another awesome paranormal romance by MS. Cooper. enjoyed!

I really liked Sophia, I found her to be cute, “I should… I want to touch you,” she said, and her hands were sliding down over his chest, twin flames through his shirt. Her tongue crept out of her mouth and circled her lips. “ You’re very hard ,” she said, and then laughed and blushed, not too innocent for the innuendo. “Not… I didn’t mean like that.” Sophia has no problem asking Cathal tough questions, “can you… can we, er, couple again tonight? If it wouldn’t be… I don’t want to damage you, and I’ve read philosophers who say that men—” I really liked this book, Sophia was just so honest.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a very hard read for me. It took me forever to get into the story. We had Sophia an alchemist and Cathal is a shapeshifting dragon. They have joined forces in order to fight a great evil. The story plot was well done. I just couldn't get over the scientific lingo and processes that were used. It just made for a very hard read.