The Dragon's Bride: A Deal with a Demon, Book 1

(Might contain spoilers idk)Ok. Initially I thought I would throw away this book and never pick it up again. But when crossing halfway I got a whole different perspective.At first I got the impression that this was another beauty and the beast retelling with loads of smut. And I wasn't entirely wrong. It was only when I came halfway and started to wonder where the conflict and the plot would be that I realised I had been reading it all along.This is not some good vs evil fantasy book, nor a romance where someone swoops in and tries to break apart the main couple. In fact, the only villain here is the one that died within the first pages. The conflict is a constant, the trauma that the main character, Briar, carries from said villain.I was initially not really on board with the dragon-man and the more steamy scenes. Because it is simply not my thing. But you know what? It's someone's thing, and that's OK.Through Briar and Sol I got to read the beginning of a healing journey. Briar constantly deals with the aftermath of being abused by her late husband, and the reader gets to experience her thoughts navigating a new relationship. The obvious challenge is the fact that it is a different world entirely and the man being another species! However, the things she has the most difficulty understanding is the kindness and grace she is given.Briar is always on her toes, expecting the worst. She is apologising to anyone and no-one for literally everything. It truly dawned on me the shame that has controlled her when she expressed her fear of losing Sol's interest simply because she was reading and enjoying herself and not doing anything 'useful' for a day. And though I've not been in an abusive marriage, this was something I, and probably others, can relate to.After my realisation, it became truly heartwarming to read both perspectives. Briar, who struggled to overcome her past demons: fear and shame. And Sol, who worked so hard to support Briar through her nightmares, always caring for her and actively trying to not frighten or pressure her. His perspective too shows how one can put in work to create a safe space for someone who's gone through hell, and help them to get back.In the end this book became a pleasant surprise. The only depressing thing being that Briar actually had to go to a different world to find someone who wouldn't shame her for the things she likes, the things she does or the things she can't.I don't know of I'll read the rest of the series though, seeing that Kraken-man is up next 😂

What a spicy monster romance I recommend this story if you like romance fantasy books. There was a story here and these are some of the nicest and polite demons I have ever read about. Also its a fast read I wish it was longer.

This is the first book I’ve read by Katee Roberts.I enjoy how this book starts off with the negotiation between Azazel and Briar for him to get her freedom from an abusive husband but as the negotiation is over she agrees and Azazel does something out of his norm. He finishes his part of the contract before taking Briar to the demon realm. All Briar has to do is allow her new dragon husband Sol a chance to seduce her and after seven years she will be free to return to the human realm.Grab your copy today and happy reading.

Things you need to know before reading this that are not trigger warnings:1. Communication is really important to the characters here. They acknowledge that they will mess up and try to talk about how they can do better.2. Consent is really important. No one is shamed for what they like, they only require communication and consent ahead of time.3. Past trauma is respected, acknowledged, and dealt with realistically.4. When a problem arises, both characters know they play a part in its outcome.So yes, it’s about a dragon and his bride that he gets from a deal with a demon. But it’s probably a more realistic depiction of a healthy relationship than a lot of contemporary romance I’ve read.

"The consequences are too dire. It’s not worth it for simple curiosity."I couldn't disagree more! Curiosity got the best of me on this one, and Katee did NOT disappoint.Don't knock it til you try it. Dragon Prince Charming? Sign me up!

I was torn between giving this 2 stars or 3 stars. This is my first Katee Robert book, I’ve always wanted to read her Neon Gods series but have been nervous to so I thought this would be a good book to dip my toes in, 180 pages of smut with little plot. What could go wrong? So much. So so much. But at least the smut was good, I guess? I apologize now for the length of this review nowSPOILERS!!!!:--First off, it took me 3 days to read a 180 page book, I knew going into this it was not going to be a deep, lore and detailed filled book, and I was ok with that, but so much was said without actually saying anything. It felt like the author was trying to hit a word count in an essay. It made some things hard to read, so much so that I had to reread certain paragraphs, which took me out of the story. Here are a few of examples:"I don’t know whether to try to melt into the ground or make excuses or maybe just expire on the spot. The path ends before I decide. "Nothing happens in this, or maybe it could have been written better"I reach down and grab his wrists. My fingers don’t meet on the other sides, but that’s fine."That's fine? What does that mean. Could it have been a deal breaker?"He dangles a tempting fruit in front of us and withholds the true possibility of more than just a taste. The presence of so many humans when travel between the realms is rare is a tempting fruit, but Azazel’s lineage is littered with humans." Why mention tempting fruit like this twiceAnother thing I had thing I had a problem with is the contradicting that happened in this book, and I'm not even talking about the wishy washy thing between Sol and Briar. Here are some of those examples:"My chair is tall enough that I have to hop to get into it,"but then the author contradicts this with"He sits back and picks up his goblet, which is when I realize that, like the chair, mine has been sized to me."If the chair was sized sized to Briar, why did she have to hop to get into it?“What are these?” They’re plants, but not ones I recognize. Then again, why would I? Even if they were plants in my world, I’m hardly someone who knows them on sight."And then Briar says this like a paragraph later“I see. Oh, I recognize this one! Hyacinth.”This is the last thing, I promise. It might just be the biggest though. Honestly, Briar is pretty toxic, ok sure she has trauma from her past relationship but that doesnt excuse her almost manipulating Sol,“Are you sure?” No. “Yes.” Bless him, but he takes me at my word."What does this mean, how else would Sol know that Briar is lying? Its said multiple times that he cant read human emotions and its not like he could read minds"I can’t tell him yes…but I won’t tell him no, either." Sol hisses and then jerks back. The pendant snaps and flings off into the distance."Honestly this is on both of them, Briar had literally said a million times she did not want kidsQuick bonus round, Sol says “You have nothing to fear from me.” quite a few times but then literally does this"I stop short with my hand inches from her throat.""I want to promise her that if she’d told me to stop, I wouldn’t have snapped off that pendant and tossed it away. I want to tell her that I wouldn’t have f***ed her without that protection if she hadn’t run from me a second time. I want to…but I’m not certain it’s the truth."

Writing quality was good. Few errors. There was so much potential here for world-building but a third of the way in I had no idea what the place she was in was supposed to even look like. No real secondary characters to flesh out the world either. Major missed opportunity. I couldn’t gel with the fmc and miscommunication is rife, (and quickly becoming one of my biggest pet peeves in books, which got worse after reading this). I was going to tough it out because of the spice (reading other reviews apparently he doesn’t even use the 2 aubergines for what you’re hoping for) but the addition of multiple non-binary characters also just made the entire thing so confusing that I gave up. They/them pronouns just don’t work in real life or fiction. Every time I read them I was thinking a whole horde of Ramanus or Anikas was coming round the corner. I wish this had been on KU so I could’ve just tried it out and returned it. I won’t ever 1 star a book because I appreciate how much effort goes into writing them, but this must be one of the closest calls…

I really enjoyed this overall, but I'll start with the negatives - this was too short with not enough world building, and ended up being a bit bland.Other than that, I have few bad things to say.Well written hot smut, with dirty talk, praise kink and a sexy, kind dragon? Yes please.I like the overall message, that Briar is finally with someone who will support her so that she can heal from what happened in the past and acknowledge that she's a surviver. But I did think that it was a bit quick - it would take longer than a month to recover from 10+ years of abuse, no matter how good the sex or how supportive the partner is. I guess this was a light take on that, but if you're going to make your MC a victim/surviver of domestic abuse, I think you need to go into more depth.I think if this was longer, it wouldn't feel as rushed and we'd get more insight into Briar and Sol's relationship, and her overall journey. But it was still good - and I really love the cover.

This is the first book i have read by Katee Roberts and I was pleasantly surprised!This story focuses on our main character called Briar who is escaping an abusive life from her husband. To do this, she makes a deal with a Demon where she bargains away 7 years of her life to be married to a leader of a realm and in exchange the Demon helps her to escape the dangerous situation she is in. The monster that she ends up being married is a humanoid dragon called Sol and that's where our story begins.What I loved about The Dragons Bride:• Briar is just so feisty but what I really loved about her is that she takes responsibility for her own feelings, actions and ideas• The trauma that Briar goes through at the beginning with her (abusive) husband is not trivialised and that being a victim of abuse does not make you weak but instead makes you strong and a survivor. That message I think was important and I am glad Katee Roberts included it.• Sol is the most sweetest love interest who is so torn between his instincts and doing what is right.• I think the passion conveyed well between Briar and Sol especially during those scenes 😏• I loved how the rest of the realms was set up, which I cannot wait to visit in the rest of the series. I am also really interested in seeing what Katee Roberts does with the different mythology of all of the creatures!My only gripe with the story is that I wished it was longer, I hope we get to come back to Briar and Sol. I really loved reading this story, and I cannot wait to check out more of Katee Roberts books!

This is a case of being exactly what it says on the tin, a monster romance, nothing more and nothing less. The writing style is simple and easy to consume and the smut was very good!! My only gripe is that I do wish this was a deeper, novel-length romance. It felt like it was missing some key elements, for example, I think as a human suddenly in a realm she didn't know existed, married off to a completely different species in the shape of a dragon-man, Briar could have had a bit of a lengthier adjustment period, during which we could have experienced a bit more tension.Worst part of this story was the sheer amount of times Briar wanted to slap her hand over her mouth after she said something she deemed bad. It made her seem unrealistic and cartoonish at times.Overall, I would recommend this read to other MR lovers and will continue in the series. The covers are also amazing.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Spice Level: 🌶🌶🌶Darkness Level: 0.5⚠️ Mention of DV (off page). Slight mental health from DV. Monster 🍆This is my first book by the author. After seeing loads of her TT videos, decided it was time to move one of her books up my TBR.I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as I'm relatively new to monster romance. What I got was a sweet, spicy romance with plenty of Beauty and the Beast vibes.I enjoyed it. It was a feel-good, easy read, perfect for when I need a break from the darker books I usually read. Will definitely read more of the series.