Onyx Dragons: Malachite

This was a totally delightful find. I was initially drawn to the cover, and the Kindle Unlimited status, of course. Wow, is this author talented! Malachite is the first book in – happily! – a continuing series of weredragon stories that already has several volumes. I can’t wait to read all of them.

Malachite has a little bit of all the good things – alien dragons, some cultural clashes, a romance that just pulls on your heartstrings until you hit that uplifting HEA. The characterization was fantastic – not only Mal and Cheryl, but all the various characters that peopled the story. What I really loved about the tale, however, were the cultural learning that Mal and Cheryl had to go through, the self-growth both did in their romance, and the heat and believability of their romance itself. Overall, I found very, very little I didn’t love in this story. It had some sex scenes, but the sex wasn’t overwhelming. There were a lot of family characters, but they didn’t take the focus off the story’s main couple. I was so happy to find this delightful gem. I ripped through it in two days, hating to have to put it down to go to sleep. I wholeheartedly recommend this tale, and am so, so happy that Night has so many other adventures out there for me to sink my teeth into!

Detailed, with real struggles and a bit of a language gap for the couple. I just love a happy ending!!

Spoilers

The h is a college senior graphics intern working at the H’s family clothing business. The h is a human and the H is a dragon. They know of each other’s human/dragon disposition. The H has to marry via orders from his mother. He also does not want to be part of an arranged marriage with the female dragon his mother had chosen for him. He picks the h to marry after he consults with his brother as to how to find a mate. She marries him. They encounter some obstacles to a HEA but do get one.

Likes: the story was pretty funny. The H was clueless as to how to find or to pursue a mate. It took him a long time to figure out that he had to put his mate in front of the family business, but he got there. The H was rough around the edges and was a fixer upper mate, but turned out okay. I liked the H’s family and the banter surrounding all the characters. I liked the story with the clothing rival and would have liked to see more of it.

No likes : I had a hard time liking the h. She was not a model h. She was embarrassed by her body and had very low self esteem throughout most the book. She was a sad and pathetic character. She had to beg her mother and the H to attend her graduation. It was difficult to see her together with the H because he was such a strong pushy character while she was a doormat. She didn’t find her spine until the end of the book.

It’s a 3 star recommend. I would look at the next books in the series,