Mark of the Dragon (Urban Dragon, #1)

by J W Troemner

[layawaydragon]

The Good
+EVERYTHING

The Bad & The Other
=It’s short & it ends & I need to know everything that happens next…

I’m white, attracted to men, and not a dragon, but this feels like a ‘me’ book because I’ve been homeless and in shelters. It’s so rare to find books with characters like these and it’s done so well. It’s the main reason I immediately signed up to review this book. With or without the dragons. And ya’ll know how much I love dragons.

There is the threat of sexual violence and just violence in general in their day to day survival. Their constant moving, their packing habits, the tent cities…. It resonates with me, my experience, my mother’s and every homeless person we’ve known.


For them to be strong and not pitiful addicts or broken souls in need of salvation is great, but for them to be heroes? Their OWN heroes? Oh gods, I’m so fucking happy. I feel like crying, even now, just thinking about it. I just want to hold this book up and shout “READ THIS DAMNIT.”

I don’t need an explanation why they don’t bother with shelters. Some are more dangerous than the streets (if you can even get in one in the first place) and the employees/volunteers…There’s plenty of damn good reasons not to be in one and everyone has their horror stories to prove it.

I also don’t need to know exactly how they wound up on the streets either. Everyone has their story, but one the street, people don’t talk about it much. It’s all about survival. And it doesn’t matter anyways. People like to grill us for whys and hows, as if that will reveal what we’ve done to deserve this. Which is bullshit. Ask for answers and you’re immediately suspect.

So, a preemptive fuck you to anyone wondering and questioning Arkay and Rosario’s life on the street. This shit is real. If you have a hard time believing and accepting it, that’s on you and your privilege.

Nobody needs your clueless ass second guessing our life choices like you’d be able to do so much fucking better on your high horse. And don’t even try to defend it with “just trying to help” nonsense either. We see you, even if you’re too blinded by your own asshole to do so.



Mark of the Dragon is amazing. I loved every.single.thing. I was immediately swept up and hooked in the story. I FLEW through it.

But it’s impossible to talk about because it’s so damn short! The storyline bad dude is wrapped and all, but there’s no closure. What do these girls do next? What about the new sorta bad people? The problems with the cops? It just stops. I triple checked my copy and the page numbers and it’s still hard to believe it just ends there.

Grrrr, give me more! I will obviously be continuing. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Arkay and Rosario.

I’ve read the blurb for the next installment, Shadow and Steel, and it says they’re moving forward with their lives. Great, fantastic! But that’s not how Mark ended so it sounds like there’s a time jump and then the next story starts. I need to know damnit!

Read the excerpt here, preview Mark of the Dragon on the Amazon page, and get it.

Yes, it’s short. Yes, it’s $3 if you don’t have Kindle Unlimited or Prime. BUT. IT IS SO GOOD. If you love paranormal fantasy, non-white, non-heterosexual financially screwed characters, dragons, dark, interesting, and different fantasy…just get it now. It’s absolutely positively worth it.

And if you don’t like it, don’t tell me.