Grigori: A Royal Dragon Romance

“Here there be dragons” Ever since she was a little girl, Madelyn Haynes has had nightmares when it rains; nightmares about dragons. Madelyn, now a professor in medieval mythology, is determined to prove that dragons once existed. Her university is not so keen on the idea, and Madelyn was told to take a three-month sabbatical and produce some results, or else she can kiss her tenure goodbye. So she flew to Russia where she plans to do some research at the Russian State Library, where she founds the book that had her asking herself more questions. Madelyn’s theory is that dragons once existed, most likely some dinosaurs that had mutated, and are now extinct. But “My Year with Dragons” by James Barrow has her re-evaluating everything, especially after she is kidnapped by a man who looks exactly like one of the supposed dragons in Barrow’s book: Grigori Barinov… Given how Madelyn first encounters Grigori, I was a bit wary of how the romance would develop from there. She is, thankfully level-headed if rather naïve, and she wonders about her attraction to her captor, she’s thinking some twisted Stockholm Syndrome; she’s a bit scared, but intrigued as well. What would a god of a man like him want with an ordinary girl, curvy girl like her? I have to admit, at the beginning the predator in Grigori made me rather uncomfortable; his inner dragon lusts dangerously after the human virgin… However, it made sense when it was explained later on. Madelyn is a pretty intriguing character who grows a lot throughout GRIGORI. From a young and rather timid woman who feels she doesn’t belong to … well, you’ll see when you read it. While the Barinovs’ story is interesting; Grigori is a study in contradictions and I ended up really liking him; he was much more than he first appeared, it’s really Madelyn who captured my imagination. The paranormal sequences were dazzling explosions of colours, the world building is very well done and the possibilities are nearly endless as there are so many angles to explore, such as the Brotherhood of the Blood Moon… Lauren Smith’s flawless writing is well-known, and she lives up to her reputation. GRIGORI is a surprisingly quick read and a very entertaining way to spend an afternoon or a sleepless night! I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

A great story with beautiful language but needs editing as there are some spelling/grammatic errors. An explanation of why some dragons died and others didn't during Madelyn's sonic boom would have helped understanding and why Madelyn didn't die when she was pushed off a cliff..

A sweet story, with a bit of jeopardy, some misunderstandings and you have it, however certainly nothing to get hot under the collar which is a shame as could have been so much more. It does have a HEA, but story features other brothers which lead on the series