Grigori: A Royal Dragon Romance (Brothers of Ash and Fire, #1)

by Lauren Smith

He’s one of the last of a powerful but vanishing bloodline …
Grigori Barinov is the eldest in an ancient line of dragon shifters and the guardian of his family’s lands and fortune. Sworn to protect their history and magic, he won’t rest until he neutralizes any threat to their existence. When he discovers an ancient manuscript that exposes his family and their dragon lineage has fallen into a mortal woman’s hands, he knows he must get the book back by any means necessary. If that means seducing a nosy American woman with an intoxicating scent, he is more than willing to carry her off to his palatial home deep in the heart of Russia.

She’s the one woman who could expose him to the world…
Madelyn Haynes has never fit in. As an adopted child she grew up in a loving home but never felt as though she belonged. Plagued by mysterious dreams she’s had of a silver scaled beast ever since she was a little girl, she is convinced dragons are real. While in Russia working on her PhD in mythology in order to escape the ridicule from fellow professors, she unexpectedly crosses paths with the sexy and dominating Grigori, and after just one night with the man whose eyes seem to burn, she starts to change inside. Isolated in the Russian wilderness Grigori calls home, Madelyn can’t help but fall under his sensual spell, yet something deep inside her calls out that she can’t trust him. She has to show the world dragons are real to salvage academic reputation, even if it means costing her the heart of the dragon she’s falling in love with.

• ISBN10: 1250771374
• ISBN13: 9781250771377
• Publish Date: 3 October 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 August 2021
• Imprint: Swerve
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

This had a great premise, but it definitely needed some deeper world building. Readers can get the gist of what's happening, but I think it would have given more context and depth to the over-arching storyline.

[Eve1972]

Excellent cover on this one. A fantastic representation of the story. Excellent composition (although "I" would have moved the series symbol more to the right. Great use of graphics and title work as well.

I love dragon shifters. I think they may be tied with wolves as my favorite type of shifter in a romance. Although I am also partial to lions...in any case, dragons are center stage in this one, and we have the pleasure of meeting the first of the three Barinov brothers, Grigori and his mate Madelyn. Madelyn is in Russia (seriously this author kicked it up a notch and made the dragons Russian...swoon) to write a paper on dragons. When she requests a book from the royal library, she ends up getting more than she bargained for in the form of a 6 foot 4 smokin hot businessman/dragon who kidnaps her and demands answers. Soon answers are the least of Grigori's problem when he, Madelyn, and his brother are pulled into a dragon war with another clan.



I enjoyed this one a lot. It was well written and well paced. The plot was engaging and kept me turning the pages. The author does an excellent job of world-building without it taking over the story completely. Weaving it with actual history was a nice touch. This is a true mate story, and so the attraction is pretty instant. Therefore there is no OW/OM drama. The heroine was a virgin, and the hero hadn't been with anyone in a long while. It was a slow burn but here are a few sex scenes. I would have liked to have seen a few more spicier scenes. This one wasn't heavy on the secondary characters. The main one being Grigori's brother Rurik. Who I enjoyed very much and can't wait to read about. I have a feeling I know who his heroine is going to be. Both main characters were extremely likable. I adored Grigori. He was sweet and sexy. I would probably label him alpha-lite. I loved Madelyn equally as much. She was sweet and strong when she needed to be. Lastly, it was all wrapped up in a sweet epilogue that gives a hint of what is coming up in the next book.