"Wealthy Dragon Seeks Willing Omega" - 1 star Too short, too sweet, too happy. The only character I felt for was the paparazzo. Wish this was longer and more developed, rather than abandoned for additional shorts.
"A Brace of Sapphires" - 3.5 stars Much better than the first story. Not sure why this was a "bonus" instead of the other way around.
I am afraid the blurb is much more tense and interesting than the actual story which is far too short and underdeveloped if sweet. The plot could have used more pages to describe the growing attraction between the two unlikely partners. The HEA comes too early and is not really motivated.
The setup for this story was similar to The Omega Contract by Wolf Specter, although this one was a less steamy and more sweet. The friendship and respect between the two MCs that gradually develops into love is very sweet. I really loved how tender both men were in regards to the pregnancy/baby. We get a full pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding, and all heartwarming details, like the baby kicking under daddy's hand, are lovingly conveyed. No angst or real conflict, just a simple mpreg for hire that leads to much more. For those that especially like it, knotting is included. The edition that I read also includes the authors' other story A Brace of Sapphires which I very much enjoyed (see separate review). I read this on KU for free but immediately bought it to be sure that I'd always be able to have it for a nice short comfort read.
The story has a lot of promise to make it a cute and touching love story but I think it fell short coz of its length...if only some emphasis was given on properly mapping out the growing relationship between the lead characters. I dont get why so many authors are aiming to add "bonus" stories to a book instead of concentrating on developing the main story line which draws the readers in to actually pick up the book. It leaves one feeling so unsatisfied and incomplete coz none of the stories do justice to a reader
Noah and Jack's story is one of my favorites by J.R. Fox. Its certainly not perfect as you'll never get a lot of world building in a story this short but I'm such a sucker for stories like this. And Jack's declaration of love at the end is just the best. All the feels.
I thought that the titular story was ok, but it felt rushed. I would have liked to have seen the development of the relationship rather than to simply skip ahead to the next scene.
The bonus stories were pretty consistently enjoyable.
Around five soft and short but not too short stories. There's not a lot to develop since they are short but there's no real loose end and they feel natural and full of romance which at the end is what you're searching in this kind of books.
He has been chosen to carry this dragon's baby and he is happy. After .meeting him he is glad that this human has agreed to carry his dragon child. They are more than a little attracted to each other. Enjoy I did.
I love that there are shifter/alpha/omega stories out there that have more to them than the overused mindless, sudden and forced romance that happens the second an omega meets his alpha, basically stripping the omega of a will of his own. (Those can be hot too, no doubt, but they get boring!) This author does really cute little stories with strong omegas and sweet, caring alphas!
This story is no exception, there's a strong focus on feelings and a slower developing romance with a happy ending (or HFN since, you know, Jack lives long and Noah is a human?!), with just the right amount of well built-up steamy sexual tension. It's a short story, but the author does a good job at making them satisfying despite their length.
I was disappointed to find it finished at less than 50% of the book. The characters are one dimensional. Noah, a human 'omega' agrees to carry a baby for a dragon shifter for money. He gets needy, because of the hormones and enjoys cuddling with the Dragon. Love and HEA ensues without pause. Book needed to be longer and have some conflict. No explanations are given about how a man can carry a baby, which was rather a shame.
I really enjoyed reading this book it was wonderful. I loved the relationship between Jack and Noah. I have loved all of this author's books that I have read so far. I love the happy ending to this book. I will recommend this book to everybody I know and to all my friends too.
The author is extremely talented. The stories grab you quickly and just pull the reader in. However, the length of all the stories forces the author to skip or simply leave out a lot of detail. This gives ALL this author stories an incompleteness that is extremely unfortunate. If the author took the time to complete these stories properly, they would all be 5 stars.
Not what I was expecting in a shifter mpreg story. It did not focus on the sex or the pregnancy. It focused on their developing feelings. A sweet short story that ended happily.