While Clayton splits his time between his graduate thesis and being a teaching assistant, he meets dragon and magical teacher Syralis; who is in possession of manuscripts crucial to Clayton’s work. Syralis is intrigued by the magic surrounding Clayton and agrees to teach him how to control his abilities. But there is an obvious attraction between Syralis and Clayton and when a dragon wants you, they want to keep you like any other pretty bauble they possess and Clayton doesn’t want to be a prisoner for the rest of his life.

This story does have a good plot and introduced the reader to an interesting world of magic and magical creatures but the length doesn’t allow the reader to enjoy much of it. This is another short story where I feel the world and characters could use a longer narrative. This is a fun little romp though and is good for readers who may want the titillation of lust but no actual boning. 3.7 out of 5.

Honestly, this book was just so much fun for me. They had me from Graduate School of Magical Studies and it only got more fun from there.

Told from three different PoVs, this story is about Clayton, a university student who lives with Gavin and is brother to the most powerful wizard in the world. He, however, has no magic. This world is very much like ours, and this story is really clever for the way that it puts the main character in the same seat as the reader.

At least, initially it does.

Clayton very quickly comes into contact with Syralis; a dragon who teaches one of Gavin's classes. While Gavin has been striving to become the one apprentice that Syralis is likely to take in a generation, Syralis immediately becomes very interested in Clayton, and agrees to teach him in exchange for knowledge on living a short, human span.

In most chapters, we also get one scene from Syralis' point of view, as well as Gavin's. This shows us the rest of the story that Clayton isn't quite aware of. Syralis seems kind of... shady, honestly, though the writer does a good job of showing us that dragon sensibilities are quite different to human ones, and also that he is willing--if grudgingly--to take on how Clayton feels at the end.

Gavin seems like this self serving bastard, but honestly I quite liked him. Instead of being a two dimensional difficult roommate, Gavin was well fleshed out and his relationship with Clayton was enjoyable to read.

Quite a fun, short read, and not really like anything else I have read.

Not bad for a bit of fluff, but honestly that's all it is. I liked the characters, the world and the writing, but I would have appreciated more to the story than insta-lust, a small misunderstanding and an easy resolution. I don't regret reading it and would read more of Richards' work, but there was nothing here to impress me either. A nice, safe, middle of the road read.

Clayton wants to study a particular artist, but the only way to get access to their work is by talking to Syralis the dragon. Unfortunately, seeing something that is part of a dragon's hoard is almost impossible, until he realizes that love might overrule all of that. Except, falling in love with a dragon can't end well for either of them.

I really liked this story, but the best part was Clayton himself. He's used to magic, so his crazy roommate and brother don't bother him, yet the way he still reacts to Syralis' magic felt so organic. His annoyance over his roommate destroying the kitchen, balanced with the way he swooned around Syralis provided a good look into what he was thinking and feeling, as well as gave a good contrast to the different types of magic he was experiencing.

The only complaint I have about the book isn't really a complaint at all. I really wish there was more world building. The bits we've been given about the school, the different types of magic, the different territories, and even about Clayton's sensitivity were all so interesting. I wanted to see more of the world and to be provided with a better understanding of why the world works the way it does. Basically, I'm hoping Richards is thinking about using this story as a prequel or introduction, and is planning to write another story set in this same wonderful land.

Too short! The book literally stops right when things start getting interesting. If the book were longer I would feel cheated that the author told rather than showed us a lot of character bonding. The non-romantic relationships were the most fleshed out and on screen whereas the romantic relationship happened off screen giving the reader the feeling that the two characters are in lust rather than in world changing love.