Working what should have been a typical shift at a customer service phone line for a gaming company, Mike is suddenly asked by a dragon to install the company's entire catalog of games, necessitating the need to stay at the dragon's home for several days. Zali'thurg like any dragon has a horde and games are his collection of choice. Now that Mike has proven himself competent, Zali'thurg insists he maintain and protect his collection not realizing Zali'thurg may want to keep him as well.

I LOVE how our main characters are so damn practical. Mike and Zee sit and talk about how they feel and their boundaries. They take some time to come together and work things out when they have a conflict. They are so damn forthright and honest, it's adorable. And seeing how this is a paranormal romance set in modern day with a dragon that hoards video games, this could have fone VERY wrong and ended up a veritable cringe-fest of references. Thankfully, this book avoids that.

However, this book is hampered by its short length. Clocking in at only 100 pages, Katz has to get these two into the sack at least once before the end and once they do, it's mostly exposition towards the end. But it was still cute! 3.9 out of 5.

When I read the summary, I had no idea what to expect - a dragon who hoards games and is moving into the digital gaming horde? Okay, sure, why not. But the end result is surprisingly sweet! And I can not say how much I love a couple who actually tries to communicate with each other, especially when they have completely different cultures (well, and species).

*~~*ARC kindly provided to me for an honest review *~~*

- Review to come

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

What to do when a full-blown dragon shows up in the lobby of your gaming company’s call center and you are tasked with finding out what will make this unique customer happy! Thus began the novella Smoke Signals by Meredith Katz, complete with a hoarding dragon who loves gaming and the human technical adviser who would be responsible for keeping him happy and up to date on the latest games. The premise of the story was really quite cute, with the idea of a dragon not necessarily hoarding gold, although he did, but it was not his main focus—games were. Mike discovers this extends to all kinds of games, from board games to computer ones. The dragon, or Zee as Mike eventually calls him, is absolutely fascinated with online apps, and Mike is tasked with downloading hundreds of them on the dragon’s home computer. However, that’s not all the dragon wants.

The more time Mike spends with Zee the clearer it becomes that the dragon also has a more than casual interest in Mike himself. But Zee is rather awkward at confessing his emotions and reluctant to expose the fact that he wants Mike to be his. As the two fumble with their attraction for each other and setting appropriate boundaries so that Mike’s life isn’t consumed by the intense dragon, both discover that with a little compromise they might just make this relationship thing work.

There were some very cute moments in this story, particularly when it came to Zee trying to make Mike aware he liked him. The level of miscommunication that takes place for a good portion of this novel made it both funny and frustrating in turns. To see the magnificently groomed dragon shifter become flustered and literally run and hide from Mike made him a very sweet character. Add to that the unique anatomy of the dragon in his human form and you have a very interesting love story all the way round. Unfortunately, those moments were often overshadowed by what felt like a real lack of development when it came to the characters themselves. Because we barely got to know Zee, I felt that Mike did an awful lot of guesswork when it came to seeing the dragon’s real feelings and made some mental leaps that were pretty huge when it came to deciphering Zee’s real motives. I also felt the story resolved much too quickly and a bit too neatly. One moment Zee was offended by the idea that Mike had no idea he was attracted to him, and the next, they were making out and talking about their future and moving in together.

This story needed a bit more page time to develop, particularly when it was so obvious that communicating clearly was not Zee’s strong suit. If there had been more time for the two men to grapple with their feelings and the idea that a dragon, who was more than a bit controlling, could allow his lover to have some freedom and independence, I feel this story would have really been top notch. As it is, Smoke Signals felt incomplete, and that led to Meredith Katz creating a rather cookie cutter paranormal offering rather than breaking the mold and taking us somewhere new.

Book – Smoke Signals
Author – Meredith Katz
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 83
Cover – Cute!
POV – 3rd person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes!
Genre – LGBT, Contemporary, Paranormal/Supernatural, Dragons


** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **



This was all kinds of adorable!
I loved Michael and Zali'thurg, together and apart. They were really well written and well explored characters, with great chemistry that built slowly but was so cute to watch.
The writing was perfectly on point to suit my tastes, with the right amount of description, showing/telling, and attention to detail that I never felt out of place. The world building was great, making it clear from the start that this was a contemporary world that just happened to have real dragons in it.
The game Zali'thurg made for Michael was the most adorable thing I've ever seen.
I loved how open and honest Michael was, even with someone he was intimidated by, and how he was happy in his skin, happy to be himself unashamedly. His knitting was a really nice addition, especially when it came to the slippers, and I loved that he owned that side of him, even in the face of Zali'thurg's attention.
There were some small editing issues, but nothing that impacted my reading or the flow of the story.

Overall, it was an excellently written story about geeks, romance and dragons. And, really, what more can you ask for?

~

Favourite Quote

“It just figured that the exceedingly rich asshole of a customer he had to deal with face to face not only could literally eat him alive, but could also transform at will into the heartthrob of the century. That hardly seemed fair.”

4 stars

Synopsis: Mike works as a customer service rep for a game distribution company. On one of the busiest days of the year, he is asked to deal with a customer, a dragon, who wants the entire back catalogue of games because he hoards them. Mike goes to Zali'thurg's house to download the catalogue and spends several days there. When Zali'thurg wants the newest releases in a couple of months, Mike is sent out again.
As Mike gets to know Zali'thurg and interacts with the autocratic being, he realizes that he might be developing feelings for him.

What I liked: The interactions between Mike and Zali'thurg and how they started to warm up as Zali'thurg came to see Mike as more than someone providing a service. Mike stood up to Zali'thurg and didn't cancel his plans to visit his parents because Zali'thurg wanted him to drop everything and cater to his gaming needs. As they got to know one another a little better, Mike's consideration and politeness rubbed off on Zali'thurg, who didn't treat everyone as though he could buy them.

What I didn't like: I would have liked more of an ending. It felt kind of abrupt, especially with how the story slowly built.

Overall impression: Mike and Zali'thurg were unique characters. This story was well written and interesting.

I found this title a quick, fun read. If anything I wanted the relationship to have a bit more time onscreen together. The reader is told the two main characters have conversations and hang out but it would have been better to have a couple of examples about as well as being told others had happened. I thoroughly enjoyed how Katz wrote the dragon character. I don't know how realistic it was to me to have this dragon as completely out of touch with humanity as he was as the reader isn't given a bigger world but I still really enjoy the magic creature figuring out how humans work trope. And the knitting sub-plot was great and now I want a pair of knitted slippers.

This story was hilarious and adorable. Petulant, grumpy dragon who hoards video games is such a cute concept, I’d love to read more. I loved how Mike and Zali’thurg’s relationship progressed from ‘oh my god this fucking guy’ to love and adoration, but it was so sweet. My gaming soul appreciated how both the protagonists were gaming nerds. My cat loving soul appreciated Josephine the fluffball. This entire story had me aww-ing from the start to finish and I’d love to read more about these guys.

I enjoyed the book up until the end.

The idea - and execution - of dragons living in "our world" and having hoarding habits was fun, and Zali'thurg's choice of hoard was amusing and enjoyable. I thought Mike was a great character and was happy that Zali'thurg's personality grew/became less abrasive as their friendship progressed. I loved the innocence in each of their flirting and the funny way neither realized the other's intent.

SPOILER: Where the book lost me was with the sex scene at the end. I'm not a prude and enjoy plenty of books with sex scenes, but this just wasn't for me. It felt a bit forced/rushed and anthropomorphic stuff just isn't my thing. And that's totally okay! Because to each their own.

Cute cover snagged my attention first, but then… a dragon who hoards games and has just discovered that his hoard is lacking on-line games and the sweet gaming company representative who installs his games? It was too cute! I had to snag it.
Review

So yes, this was a fun, light novella-length story of an average guy, Mike St. George, content to work in his company’s customer service call center, dream of the day his knitting can become an online business for him, enjoy his only relationship is his cat and with his family far away who suddenly finds himself in his own little adventure with a dragon. Zali’thurg is not human and doesn’t look or act human, but he does love games and they are the intense focus of his hoarding. He needs them all and, those golden eyes watch a certain game installer with an acquisitional gleam, too.

It has a sweet and adorable quality as this awkward pair try to figure each other out. It moves along slowly, but surely with the romance pretty much sneaking up on Mike though Zali’thurg seemed to see more than he was telling all along. I loved how the dragon is mysterious and there is a mystique surrounding him while Mike is salt of the earth and just a likeable guy who slowly figures out that he might just have a thing for a dragon.

I had a good time with this one and it brightened an afternoon with a quick, but delightful urban fantasy with a mild plot, a cute guy, and a dragon.

My thanks to Less Than Three Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Meredith Katz books and always look for the next one.
When I saw it for review on NetGalley I knew I was in for a good read.
Michael St George works for a gaming company and is tasked with attending the home of a dragon Zee to help increase his hoard by installing many games which he greatly enjoys playing.
Michael at first is nervous about working with the dragon but doesn’t hide who he is.
Zee seems rude, arrogant and once changes to human a gorgeous man who intrigues Michael very much.
This is a continuation story of the progression from a work based relationship to so much more as they both realise their attraction and learn about each other.
The heat level is warm but very well explained.

Cute, geeky little m/m short and I loved the idea of a dragon hoarding games. I also really liked how the author handled the whole "dragons want to own everything, 'their' humans included"-possessiveness issue and the way she included important discussions about boundaries and open communication in a relationship.