Sweet and thoughtful fairy tale retelling — light on the romance, luxurious with the charm. I am always fond of dragons in fiction but this variation was a real treat.

Y'all, this is just too cute. Imagine a dragon accidentally absconding with a baby, falling for said baby, raising him to adulthood, and having to figure out the whole human/dragon thing. Then imagine a baby knight coming to kill said dragon, only to be confronted by the now-grown baby who is pretty handy with a sword.

It's pretty predictable, but that's half the charm. It's just flat out adorable, while still being an entertaining read. It's got a romance, but it isn't really a romance - the focus of the story is more on the relationship between the dragon and his son, and how the son negotiates his human heritage with his dragon upbringing.

4.5 stars

Synopsis: Madfell is a dragon who is the best thief around. One day, while attempting to steal the king's gold, he ends up stealing a basket with a child in it. Madfell plans to return the child for ransom, but he ends up keeping him instead. As Oenyn gets older, he doesn't want Madfell to steal anymore, so Madfell doesn't.
One day Richard, an almost-knight, attempts to kill the dragon, and meets Oenyn instead. Oenyn keeps Richard captive, because he doesn't want Madfell to get hurt. Oenyn is torn, though, because he likes having human company that he can learn from, rather than just briefly interacting with a village when he buys things. When Richard realizes that Oenyn must be the prince who was stolen 17 years ago, Oenyn and Madfell have some choices to make.

What I liked: that Madfell was a dragon, and only a dragon. He changed for Oenyn, because he loved his son. Oenyn wanted to learn about his human heritage, but never let that get in the way of his love for Madfell and the life that they had together. I also liked that Madfell didn't completely reform, even though he was following the spirit of the agreement between himself and Oenyn. Richard wanted to save Oenyn over killing the dragon, which showed character.

What I didn't like: not much. I felt as though the entire story got told, in spite of the length. Richard felt a little bland, but mostly because I compared him to two very strong characters.

Overall impression: Madfell and Oenyn interacted well together, and I enjoyed seeing how they each impacted on each other. The writing was solid, as was the editing. This story was told through the years from first Madfell's perspective, then Oenyn's, then Richard's. Although there is romance in the end, this is more a story of family. I would definitely read another book by this author.

This short story is like a cherry on top. Its soooo sweet and funny, like a nice fairy-tale you read to your kids before you go to bed.
Dragon accidentally steals a baby and decides to keep it, because its cute (and he is lonely). Tbh, I wouldn't mind more dragon-baby adventures!
I really liked the dragon, his human charge and the knight who was sent to kill the dragon only to meet a cute human.
Definitely recommended if you need something to brighten up your day! :)

When Madfall sees a basket he's certain is filled with treasure, he steals it and flies back to his cave, only to discover the treasure is actually a human baby. Madfall decides to raise Oenyn as his own, which works out well until a knight arrives looking to kill Madfall for his crimes.

I did enjoy reading this story. It was cute and short with enough depth to give it real meat. I particularly liked the interactions between Madfall and Oenyn as Oenyn grows up and Madfall figures out how to handle a human child. I laughed out loud at some of their quirkier moments.

This story did come together a little too easily. The conflicts never quite escalated to a real fight and were always solved with a few easy words. The ending, in particular, was too neat. Madfall is introduced to the humans he's been terrorizing and they forgive him and welcome him into their home with nothing more than a few sharp words from Oenyn. It just didn't seem realistic.

This story was a new twist on fairy changeling babies When trying to steal treasure for his hoard from a palace a dragon accidentally steals a baby and then decides to keep him and raise him. Years later a knight comes to kill the dragon and comes across the boy.
I picked up this book expecting a sweet romance but I actually enjoyed the sweet father/son relationship more. The reveal of Oenyn's real parents was predictable. I guessed way before it was mentioned in the book.

This story was adorable, funny, sweet and completely absurd, in the best kind of way. Dragon accidentally kidnaps a baby, decides the baby is better off with him, adopts the baby as his own son and raises him as a dragon. The relationship between Madfall, the dragon, and Oenyn, his human son, is ridiculously sweet. Madfall is a great father and raises a wonderful boy. Richard, the knight sent to slay the dragon, who fails spectacularly, was great too. This story has some minor pacing issues, but I ended up not caring at all.

This was a really tame mm romance between the son of a dragon (non-shifter, but human) and a knight. I loved Madfall in this, but I wish this were a shifter story because that would have made his character that much better. It was weird thinking of him in as a large dragon, rather than a human. This story was really fast paced in some parts and slow in the others. It had a lot of action logistical errors, I think that took away from the overall story. An example being the revelation at the end and how the characters all meshed into one life more seamlessly than it should have been.

Although this is a romance between two male characters, this is more of an innocent first-time romance. No graphic sexual encounters between any of the characters, and when there is romance it happens roughly 3/4ths of the way through. I enjoyed it, but this title I think could have been flushed out way more than it was.

Nice short about monsters aren't neccessarily monsters if you're just willing to change your perspective and about the things that make a family. It's really more about those things than the romance and I liked that a lot. Not that I didn't like the characters involved in the romance but it was nice that the story was about more than just that. It was sweet and full of feeling but also really hilarious at times. A very nice short story!

Madfall is a fearsome dragon. He jealously guards his hoard. His latest theft will be from the Kings palace. He carefully stalks his prey, knowing the basket the girl carries is full of gold. After he successfully steals the basket and returns to his lair, he discovers to his horror that the basket contains a tiny human. A tiny, stinky, hungry human. What follows is 18 years of compromise on the dragons part.

Oenyn is a very determined young man. He decides early on that his father must change his thieving ways. The dragon, while still the master of his domain, makes every effort to please his son. They both learn that love creates the best compromises.

Into their domain comes Richard. A dragon hunter, who has come for the heart of the dragon. He is shocked to find a human in the lair, even more surprised when Oenyn declares the dragon is his father. Their interaction is funny and heartwarming. Richard wanting to kill the dragon for the glory it will bring him. Oenyn wanting to protect his father and explore the feeling he has for Richard. Madfall is shocked when he find the young men together. They all make a decision that will greatly effect their lives. Richard was told to bring back the heart of a dragon and he does so in a way that changes everything.

This books shows that the love between a parent and child is magical, regardless of who or what you are. It does contain sexual situations so not suitable for children. This story was originally part of The Dragon’s Hoard Collection.