When his sister is stricken with a strange illness, Gabriel is tasked by the local healer to seek out the help of a dragon named Kym. Kym insists Gabriel bring his sister to him to treat her directly and while living together, Kym and Gabriel grow closer knowing they will have to part once Gabriel's sister is cured.

If you're looking for a sweet, low smut, low angst gay paranormal romance, this will absolutely fit the bill. Even though Vand could have skipped it, every character - including our leads - has a distinct, believable personality; especially Gabriel's sister, Ashley; a strong stubborn woman. Everyone was quite practical, kind, and level-headed; a rarity in a lot of emotionally charged romances. A great story! 3.9 out of 5.

Book – Evergreen
Author – Geneva Vand
Star rating - ★★☆☆☆
No. of Pages – 126
Cover – Pretty and clever!
POV – 1st person, one character
Would I read it again – No
Genre – LGBT, Paranormal, Dragon, MM, Romance, Fantasy


** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **


DNF'd at 37%
Unfortunately, despite being in the mood for dragons, I couldn't finish this one.
Almost immediately, it reminded me of a short story I loved, Frostbite by Alexandria Bellaflour. It was an almost identical plot and, sadly, this one just didn't live up to the other.
The writing wasn't to my taste, with too much telling and not enough showing. There was also an overabundance of detail and description. From the mass two-page journey to Karen's house that wasn't necessary, to the repetitions of what was wrong with Ashley, every time he met someone who wanted to hear the story, there was a whole lot of small events that we didn't really need to experience or have in so much detail. The mountain of things that went wrong on the journey were squared away in less than half a page, while things like the description of Mary's tavern took nearly a page and a half. It would have been far more interesting if it was the other way about. Then there was this statement “Kym drummed his fingers on the book cover, making a drumming sound” and I just knew that I wasn't going to be able to enjoy it. I'd been bored for most of the book that I'd read so far and I'm afraid that I've just become less forgiving over the last year. If I'm not enjoying a book, I just don't have the time to push myself to finish it when I have a million other things to do.

This story was simply adorable. The serious theme of the story made me somewhat wary in the beginning, but those fears were quickly drowned out. All the characters were so sweet, with beautiful relationships, especially the sibling bond between Gabriel and Ashley, who absolutely stole the show. Kym the dragon was funny, warm and mischievous and I fell in love with him immediately. The entire story had a beautiful, soft and cozy atmosphere and I wouldn’t mind more from them.

Another one of the shorts/novellas in Less Than Three Press' "For the Hoard" collection and another one I really liked, though it's not my favourite. The dragon was cute, the protagonist was cute, but honestly? The protagonist's sister was cutest ^^

*Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Look, I love dragons. I love that they hoard. love that people are generally terrified of them, yet most book dragons are more deadly with their burning wit rather than real flames. I just love adore them so much I can’t handle it.

The fact that Kym’s dragon form is described as having kitten-esque features as well? Sign me up for the adventure to visit the Wise One in the forest because I need to see this adorable kitten-dragon IMMEDIATELY.

In regards to the actual story, the sibling love gave me a real case of the feels. Gabriel and Ashley were orphaned when they were teenagers and have been leaning on each other ever since the town’s healing woman took them. They’re each other’s rock. When Ashley falls ill from a mysterious illness, Karen, the town’s healer, directs Gabriel into the forest to visit her friend the Wise One, also known as the dragon of the forest. Gabe is hesitant, because hello, dragon, but he’ll do anything to help his sister, even if it means potentially risking his life.

After a troublesome journey, he arrives at the dragon’s cave and makes a startling discovery: the dragon is more than he appears to be. Luckily, the dragon is willing to help Gabe’s sister on the condition that Gabe ventures back out to town, and returns with Ashley so that Kym, the dragon, can see Ashley in person (er, dragon?). Upon the siblings return, Gabe and Kym’s relationship steadily heats up until even the dragon is burning up.

Since this is a novella, our two male protagonists do fall in love rather quickly, but it’s done tastefully and in an enjoyable manner without them immediately falling into bed together and *then* developing feelings.

Overall, 4 stars 5 for this cute novella!