Winter Dragon

Dragon Sanctuary #1

by Minerva Howe

Snowboarder Justin is just having a fun weekend in the Utah mountains with his childhood bestie when they have a terrible snowmobile accident. When he wakes up, he knows somehow that his whole life has changed, because the first thing he sees is a beautiful, silvery man named Samuel.

Samuel is a winter dragon, isolated from humans in both distance and appearance. With his icy blue, faceted dragon eyes, he can't go into the human world without inspiring fear or awe. So he and his two brothers and two cousins have created a dragon sanctuary. When he finds Justin in the ice and snow, he knows he has to take him and his friend home and help them, but it's Justin who catches his attention, and Samuel knows he's found something special.

As Justin and Samuel begin their mating dance, Justin finds himself changing in ways he never expected. Samuel and his family are so magical, and Justin wants to be a part of it. He has no idea what he's in for, or of how much he'll become a part of the dragons he's coming to love. Will Justin be willing to leave his very modern life behind to stay in Samuel's world and be the mate Samuel longs for?

A dragon shifter mpreg tale!

Genres: M M Romance, Dragons, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Romance, Fantasy, Omegaverse

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 27, 2021

About the author

Minerva Howe is the kinky alter ego of author Julia Talbot. Julia lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia has been published by Samhain as well as other publishing houses. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved.

Reviews

[SC · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was … weird.

New to me author. Went in with an open mind but left knowing I will not be reading any more books from her.

The dialogue is so dang weird. The phrasing, the expressions, the flow. None of it worked for me. I had no sense at all of who the characters were, they had bland personalities. In fact the only one I actually liked was Zeke, a secondary character. At least he showed some dimension.

Nose quivering - no idea what that is. A brother NEEDING his brothers to hear and know how good he was giving it. That was odd. The dialogue was a little painful to read to be honest. There really was no conflict, nothing super exciting, it was a tad boring. I get it, I have been spoiled by fantastic M/M authors, and it’s not fair to compare this author to those (Piper Scott for the win in this specific trope). It’s a shame really, because this book could have been better.

[Audi♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 69%
I love dragons and magic. I love fluffy stories with mates, knots, and slippery buttholes. What I don't like is awkward dialogue. I tried to push through this bc it was kinda cute, but dang! the interactions they had with each other were so cringy n weird... even the way they talked was silly..
I think yall call it flow? Idk. I didn't like it. it didn't sound right.
My last straw was Dragon Boy calling his dick "puffy" for Justin... right after dude finds out he's pregnant and falls off a cliff..
Lmao what.

[Ronie Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is the Winter Dragons abode a sanctuary? Why are Wolf shifters patrolling said space? Also attacking any that gets close. Who has the, "Big Book of Dragon lore?" Cause I don't understand how all these dragon children are without parental guidance. While other Dragons mate wirh humans, only to have their progeny end up in orphanages or group homes.

You provide a lot of questions, than answers. Should have catalogue this as a dragon mpreg story. Getting a lot of ," mates dropping by, while magic does magic!" Type of vibe. It us utter boredom.

Where did his twin go? What about the Hoarders? If this is suppose to be a universe. Shouldn't one get a shout out to the other group?

[Leelah🍁♋️ Orion · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first

This is my first dragon shifter book and I really liked it. I love the brotherhood. I love the world building. I love the way this dragon shifter works. I really loved that other magical things appeared in the story. I loved how just because they were mates didn’t mean they jumped right in. I’m also happy to see that there were moments of panic when finding out about the world. Moments of confusion, fear, but most of all love. I loved the MC’s but I also really enjoyed the side characters and I’m excited to see the other brothers find their mates. The writing of the story wasn’t the best but the story was good. The smexy was hawt and the side characters got enough story so when they got their own stories you’d know their personalities.

[KittyKat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate it when I just want a book to be good and then it just disappoints... this author have been writing books for 2 decades, and still writes like a teenager and the quality is so extremely bad. I just looked at the 1 star and 2 star review for this one, and maybe the author should look at it too and learn something. after 2 decades and her writing isn't better than this? She needs to evolve as an author if she want's to continue this charade. There are even spelling errors on her website. She spits out so many books every year, that I hardly think they have had a developmental editor, beta readers, copy editor, or proofreader.
I read the sample (4 chapters) and I'm happy that I didn't buy it. Here's some examples why.

**Spoilers for the first 4 chapters**

Typo's and there was several times where I was confused of who was speaking. And the dialogue is so unnatural and stupid most of the time. And I quicky got irritated at hearing "Dude" and "man". Its funny that some women think that's how men should talk.
Too much tell and not much show, like almost nothing, making it very boring to read.
I had no idea what their house or cave looked like. There was not much explained.
And I have no idea how Justin looks like other than his eye colour. Samuel is easy, I just looked at the cover... and Justin says he looked lean, thats it.
Justin gets too comfy with the entire situation too fast.



Chapter 2, POV change from Justin back to Samuel then back to Justin again. (“I am.” Samuel’s heart thudded beneath his ear, and then he was on the bed-thing again.) In this sentence in Justin's POV it goes from Samuel and back to Justin, in the same sentence!!
(“Yes. He’s resting. Owen gave him something to help take some of the swelling down, and he’s better off staying asleep for a while as he heals.”) here Justin doesn't know what happened to his friend yet, what kind of injury, so why talk so bluntly?
(Maybe this was like, a cave. A clinic in a cave? What was up with that?) Why would he think that? It's dark, he can't see shit..


Chapter 3
(“Yes. One of my cousins took a page from the ancients and uses mirrors to bring light in, but I prefer lamps.” He helped Justin prop up when he tried.) What?? Why share this? Justin still doesn't know where he is.
(“It’s fine. I promise. It was just so far to a hospital.” He could have taken the chance and flown them down and left them, but the wolves would have tried to stop him, and Declan might have died on the way from exposure.) How could the wolves have stopped them? They flew to their home, so what's the fucking difference? I just think this is a stupid plot device and not thought through.
(He had heard they were called unflattering things these days like survivalists. Why that was bad, he didn’t know. But he knew fashions changed.) What?!
(“Are you a serial killer?” - “Nope. I do have a cousin who’s grumpy enough to be, but he generally keeps to himself.” Zeke spent a lot of time panning, digging, and hunting for precious metals and gems.) What has Zeke's hobby to do with anything??
(Speaking formally compared to him.) I'm fucking laughing!! I have not gotten the impression of him speaking formally at all!!! Is this a joke? Samuel seriously said to Justin "Holler if you need me before then." A few sentences ago. That's not formal. The dictionary even says "holler" is informal.

Chapter 4
(“Underground steam. The water might smell a little like minerals. You get used to it.”) Samuel doesn't know much about the human world so why does he comment on this? To Samuel that would just be the ordinary way water smells, so he wouldn't know to tell them they get used to it.....

[Ana Nimity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't often read fantasy or mpreg, but I got the opportunity for an advance copy of this book and thought it sounded interesting. It was offered under Minerva Howe's other pen name, Julia Talbot, which I recognized from reading her wife, BA Tortuga's work with Jodi Payne, so I took a closer look than I probably otherwise would have.

It begins a spinoff series from her Dragon Hoard books, but not having read them didn't keep me from enjoying this sweet fated-mates journey into the world of dragons. I'll probably pick up at least one from the previous series to find out what happened to one of the MCs in this book's twin, but Winter Dragon stands alone nicely.

For those who care about such things, it's told in third-person dual POV while following the story of "human" Justin and his fated mate, dragon Samuel. It's quite sexy, with lots of knotting, and it follows Justin's entire pregnancy, which is unlike any other I've read about - but then I've not read dragon mpreg before, so maybe it's typical? I don't know, but it's fun and sweet, and was exactly the diversion I needed at the time.

[Aziza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more but not much really happens in it. It's a LOT of mundane daily stuff then sex in between. I started skimming to finish. It seemed like every other page someones "eyes wheeled" which just got annoying to me. In the beginning Justin and Declan come off as adventurous guys living their best life. By the end they are like domesticated females. This book felt more M/F than M/M to me. Also I wasn't aware that people said rad anymore. Anyway I will be giving the next book a try because I'm hoping something will happen in that one.

[DebbieReadsBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlimited read August 2021

I love dragons, M/M and M/preg so I expected to love this one.

But nah! Only reason I'm starring it 3 stars is because I did finish it! Will I read any more?? Probably not.

3 stars

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a cute sweet story... good characters.. good writing.. fun things going on. it made me smile and laugh and happy.

[Moumita Roy]

Very poorly written.
Dnf.

[Xanthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter Dragon is the first book of Minerva Howe's Dragon Sanctuary series and its a lovely, easy introduction to the characters and world that's been created.
Justin and his best friend, Declan, find themselves in serious trouble when their snowmobiles crash but Samuel is out flying and finds them before the wolves are able to cause more trouble. They're taken back to his mountain abode that he shares with his two brothers, Seth and Owen, and his two cousins, Zeke and Abe. Here they stay whilst the two young men recover but, upon their first meeting, Samuel got a sense that Justin was something.....more.
The two get to know each other whilst Justin is healing and quickly form a bond, a connection that was easy to sense from the beginning. Samuel's joy at finding his mate is contagious through his family as its a sign that changes are coming, though Zeke takes an entertaining moment to join everyone else on that thought.
This is such an easy and fun romance to enjoy between the two MC's. All of the men are involved throughout the story and its quite an array of personalities that clash on occasion but clearly love and will protect each other. Justin's sunny disposition doesn't take long to win everyone over and he and Sam are ridiculously sweet together.
My one thing about the story is that nothing is every really explained to Justin. There's a lot for him to learn and understand about the world that he's fallen into but I was surprised there's no sit down conversation laying everything out as it's some pretty big news to discor dragons are real and, oh yes, men can get pregnant.....
The cast fully pull this off and I loved them all from the start. Strong bonds shine through and I loved reading them share in the special moments just as much as the everyday. Definitely a recommended read and I'm very interested to see where the overall series story arc goes as well as how things work out for the other men deserving of their mates and HEA's.
I received ARC and am happily giving a review.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

Winter Dragon is the first book in Minerva Howe’s (the “kinky alter-ego” of Julia Talbot) Dragon Sanctuary series, which itself is part of her Dragon Veil universe. Our two MCs, Justin and Samuel, offer a saccharine sweet get-together relationship. For the most part, I enjoyed how Justin pretty much rolls with the punches. He accepts Samuel when he thinks his faceted eyes are some kind of genetic mutation. He goes along with Samuel’s references to dragons, though he first assumes they’re more metaphorical, but gradually accepts them as truth. It’s all a gentle build up to when Just is finally confronted with proof that he and his new lover truly are dragon shifters. Samuel, for his part, comes across largely as a doting and devoted lover. He’s talked about as an “alpha” and Justin as an “omega,” so if that dynamic is your jam, that trope is clear and present.

Read Camille’s review in its entirety here.

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm honestly not sure what I read.
I keep trying to read books by this author but they always end up being disappointing.
The whole plot is just weird. The beginning of the book is like jumping into something that is already mid-story. There are many questions that are not answered or explained. But the worse was the conversations which were ackward . They MCs seemed to just jump from one topic to the next in just seconds and they way they talked... The human just kept repeating "dude" and the dragon was supposed to sound from another time but he just sounded like English wasn't his first language.
I think I'm done now with this author. This book was a waste of time.

[kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

You had me at dragons! Winter Dragon was such a pleasure to read. I really enjoyed this fated mates love story.
This is a low angst, steamy read that I gobbled up.
Justin and Samuel are quite literally made for each other. Neither can ignore the mating pull and find themselves smitten!
The chemistry between them is outstanding and so hot. I loved seeing them get their HEA and I can't wait for the next book in this series.

[James Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justin and his best friend Declan are snowmobiling while on vacation. They are attacked by wolves. When he regains consciousness, he is greeted by a silvered haired man named Samuel. After a while he and Justin develop stronger feelings for each other and Samuel tells Justin some strange truths. There are dragons and Justin is one as well. So now justin and Declan have to adjust to a new reality in the modern world. There is also danger right outside because of the werewolves. This book is good.

[Someone · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so disappointed! I really wanted to like this book, I thought that it could have been a great series but it was just so weird! The dialogue didn't make any sense and it was just so confusing. I started reading because of the high rating, but now I honestly don't know why it was so high. It was not the worst thing I have read but it still makes me feel like I am reading some teenager's essay or something.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey so here I am reading my first omegaverse book, I’m going to try avoid critique on anything omegaverse lore related and just go with logical responses, because I don’t know much on omegaverse lore I decided to give this 3 stars because while I do have some critiques to the book, I did enjoy it, I actually passed this book on Audiable several times contemplating whether I should get it or not because I had my own concerns it would be all romance and no plot or poorly written, but yeah below are my critiques and be warned there could be spoilers, highly recommend the audio book the narrator does a great job

P.s if you want to make this read interesting then turn it into a drinking game rules are as follows

- every time Justin gets unwarranted complements take a sip
- Every time the word knot is mentioned take a sip
- Every time there is a sex scene take a sip
- Every time the word mate is mentioned take a shot

So let’s start

1. Choppy writing - so from times it seems to swap from Justin’s pov to Sam and vice versa it can get a little confusing if your not focused on the story even on Audiable by all means I am not saying it’s poorly written because I believe everyone has different styles of writing,

2. There are reviews where they say oh I like it because they don’t jump into the whole mating thing that’s a lie samual knew right away that was his mate

3. Too much sex, not enough plot, if you want to read sex go for it, the sex isn’t too descriptive but it happens a lot, it feels like it’s about 85% of the book so far, l wonder if it is because the author was running out of ideas or if she was really just into smut, what I would have done is expand more on Sam from Justin’s perspective, Justin was a human so I would have had Justin ask Sam what it’s like being a dragon (all he basically does is ask if he will get to fly over and over) and what Sam’s life has been like, why did they end up at the mountain and such like that too.

4. It is disappointing how everyone just instantly loves Justin, it makes Justin out to be a Mary sue character I mean you could say ezikel hated Justin but as soon as they have their second encounter he seems to accept Justin and that’s just disappointing because he was stated to be the dragon that has separated himself from humans the longest, if that was the case I would prefer he have bad social skills and be awkward as hell, and even take a lot longer to accept Justin even if Justin is what he is, just for the fact that social development doesn’t just happen at the snap of the fingers and this is disappointing because this seemed to be 99% of the major conflict of the book as nothing else happens, the wolves get forgotten easily with mere mentions here and there and no real explanation of why they acted the way they did If I was the author I would have probably left this character development until much later in the series, if he was going to be a MC in future I would have had him meet someone that introduced him to the concept of humanity so he could go from being angry & bitter, to being awkward as hell, and then develop to how he is portrayed in the rest of book 1, and just have him be the anti hero/ douche of book 1 and there would be nothing wrong with that because it’s fun to see characters grow and evolve into better people…dragons in this case

5. It is really disappointing how Justin dragon progression goes, he gets told in psychic dreams in which he and Sam share, and he thinks it’s just a dream, but when he is told irl he doesn’t really question it sure he doesn’t believe it but where is the realism you grew up a normal human and when some dragon comes up using the word “mate” and saying that he is his and all that, super strong attractions or not I would be at least questioning it, to which this is something Justin doesn’t seem to question it he pretty much believed it instantly

6. Sam keeps saying how amazing and brave Justin is and all this other stuff, and I mean the most Justin has done is sleep, give oral & get plowed he hasn’t really done anything to warrant such complements and praise

7. Seth is meant to be older than samual, but he really gives off youngest brother vibes, don’t get me wrong I don’t hate the character he just doesn’t act like a big brother would in the traditional sense

8. Declan what are the odds that both Justin and Declan are dragons, I’m trying to figure it out because it just seems so lame I guess, it feels like Declan was a crutch, a way for the book to have more content, honestly I would have kept Declan a human and in book 2 have him get lost in the mountains and turned into a werewolf, it would have been interesting to see how own would take it

9. Justin finding out he was pregnant was handled really well, i was worried that just based on the pattern of how Justin acted in this book how the writer made him, that he would be all lovey dovey and be like “yes im going to be a dragon mama” lol, but he handled it in a logical way with denial, anger and fear it was all processed really fast but still i give the writer props for how it was handled

10. This isn’t an epic love story where it’s life or death, where everything is put on the line in the name of love, if that’s what you’re looking for this isn’t it, they try to make werewolves a big bad towards the end of the book, but they are ignored most of the book so it’s hard to view them as a threat it just feels like they are there for the hell of it, truthfully this is more of a slice of life love story I might look into getting book 2 but I doubt I would do it right away, just because there is like omg I’m dying to know what happens next factor

[Levi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hell no...! An other damsel story!!! DNF! At 10% ...
Maaan i swear ppl need to research human behavior patterns before they start to write. And keep to MF!!!!!!! bcs this, whatever it is, has nothing to do with adrenaline seeking men behavior...maybe a 5 year old, but even those are more brave!

Do not recommend!

[JD Waggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded down because I'm frustrated by how much I wanted to like this and just couldn't. This is the epitome of "tell don't show," which makes for very dull writing. Everything of import happens off-screen, the dialogue is choppy and off, and the whole rhythm of the book felt a bit like being in the passenger seat of someone just learning how to drive--speed up, stop suddenly, jerk forward, repeat.

We open on Declan and Justin (who call each other Dec and Just, which, there are worse nicknames but not many) who have taken a vacation. From what? No idea. Do we ever learn more than the most generic of overviews of their employment, living situations, or lives outside of this plot? No. These intrepid humans taking a vacation from...humanity? are attacked by wolves. Why are the wolves around? Balance. Balance of what? No idea. Also, the attack happens off-screen because it is non-sexy action.

We are introduced to the dragon family, who apparently don't do tech or modernity. Why? No idea. None of their language supports this; Howe writes in several times that their speech is adorably old-fashioned but that never made sense to me; I speak with a more oldey-timey cadence than any of the dragons. ("They were fine. Just real fine," is one example of "the old west" that is also 1980s Texas and everything Bones from Star Trek said, so no, that's not how linguistics work, they change much faster, what even [76]). All of the dragons are men because "our family hasn't thrown a girl in...centuries" (173). Why? No idea. (Are you seeing the theme yet?) There's an encounter with the wolves that happens in a fade to black, an entente offscreen, a whole family we never truly meet--the book is focused only on the mpreg, which is itself hilariously off even for mpreg.

I do keep an eye on how the sex works in explicit romance, especially M/M, because I think it matters that the things that are fantasy are obviously fantasy. Sure, I'll roll with you on dragon sex and pregnant men because that's decidedly not real, but trying to sell me on the main couple doing a 69 when one is the equivalent of seven months pregnant just makes me wonder if you've met a human before (227). And the language itself is so flat as to be accidentally hilarious; I had to put this down to finish laughing when I hit this gem: "He had the knot. Justin had the slick. Together, they connected like a key in a lock" (114).

I'm sorry, what? That's...it's teen-level writing, is what that is, and decidedly unsexy to boot. If you can't write sex scenes, don't write them. Romance novels can be delightful without them.

Also there was zero sense of truly informed consent or any chemistry because all of it was FATED MATES ZOMG and again, I'll get on board with the plot if you actually sell it to me. Simply telling me they're fated and never showing anything beyond "and then they sexed" means I don't care about the characters, the relationship, the world, or the continuing series. Which is a shame, because dragon sexy times could be marvelous.

[Trouble89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A New Dragon Series

I received an ARC of this book, for an honest review.

If you don’t love dragon shifters, fated mates, mpreg and knotting, this is not the book for you. Walk away. Luckily for me, I love all of the above, so I was very excited to see a new series come out. Winter Dragon is the first book in the new Dragon Sanctuary series by the author, and features ice dragons. I’m not a fan of snow and ice, but I can get behind ice dragons.

Justin and his friend, Declan, are on vacation, and love nothing more than sports that involve snow. While snowmobiling, they are surrounded by a pack of wolves, and wreck. The wolves have pushed them through a magical ward, into the ice dragons territory, which they shouldn’t have been able to do.

Samuel, an ice dragon, comes upon the accident, and he and his brother’s and cousins rescue the two men. Samuel is drawn to Justin, and soon realizes he is his fated mate, a prophecy none of them believed in. Like with most fated mates, this was almost an insta-love, most definitely an insta-lust, pairing. It didn’t take Justin and Sam long to get their clothes off, and soon Justin finds himself carrying a baby dragon.

This is a low angst, steamy book, and I really enjoyed it. I loved all the dragons different personalities, even Zeke, who is rather grumpy. Really he’s a big marshmallow who just likes to growl a lot. I also loved the things we learned about Justin, and his past, along with his twin brother, but I don’t like giving spoilers away, so I’ll leave it at that. There was a little drama with the wolves, which was resolved quickly, though I feel like we may see more from them in future books.

This was a great start to a new series, and I’m looking forward to the next book.

[Shana_Bobana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve only read a few shifter books but the blurb of this one instantly drew me in. After reading the blurb I needed to know more about this world. Once I started the story I did not want to stop reading. After finishing this one I can’t wait until the next book in the Dragon Sanctuary series comes out.

Samuel lives with his two brothers, and two cousins up in the mountains. Even when they are not in dragon form they can’t pass as humans. All the dragons think they won’t get mates because they’ve been around so long without them. All the changes the moment Samuel finds an injured Justin and Declan in the snow. He’s two far away from a hospital to even try and get them to one, so he takes them home. At first he doesn’t know why he is drawn to Justin but soon he realizes Justin is his mate. His next step is to see if he can show Justin how great life together can be.

Justin was out snowmobiling with his best friend and the next thing he knows, he is in the house of a gorgeous man and his family. Justin knows something different is going on with Samuel but he doesn’t know what. The more time he spends with Samuel the more he grows to need him. He keeps dreaming him and Samuel are dragons but he knows that can’t be true. While Declan continues to heal Justin starts to change and he doesn’t know what to think.

Can Samuel show Justin how great they can be together, and can? Justin come to believe all the myths he’s read before?

I did receive a free ARC of this book but that did not influence my review.

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s some great world building here: dragons who live like a cross between Medieval monks and modern day survivalists in an awesome cave compound with plenty of books and delicious foodstuffs, and, oddly, goats; werewolves with shadowy motivations; and mysterious Fae benefactors. Also included: dragon mates, instalove, and mpreg. There’s plenty of steam, and there are definitely some sweet moments between the dragon family members and their “guests” as well (I’m putting that in quotation marks, because it’s pretty clear they can’t leave, even if they wanted to. They don’t, which is convenient, but still). From my perspective, this book was way too casual about the level of manipulation and control the dragons exert over Justin and Declan. From casually drugging them to not informing Justin he was pregnant until they absolutely had to, but happily celebrating it amongst themselves while he remained clueless, it just felt like a lot of boundaries were crossed, and transgressions forgiven, in the name of “mates” and all that entails. That Sam kinda sorta feels bad after the fact, and acknowledges, at least to himself, that “Justin should have had a choice in all this and he just hadn’t” is something, but it wasn’t enough to completely erase the ick feeling for me. This isn’t the kind of story where that has serious repercussions however: it’s all sweetness and fluff and happily ever after, and if that sounds like a good fit for you, give this book a try.

*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 40-ish% of this book is…problematic. The writing is poorly done, the characters are not distinct and feel like caricatures, and the whole storyline is over the top. I’ve started this book at least twice before and DNFd each time. However, I was determined to give it one more try after enjoying a connected trilogy in which these characters were referenced. I really wanted their background stories. I’m glad I stuck it out, because the second half was much more what I have come to expect from a Minerva Howe story. It’s still outlandish, but a dragon shifter, mpreg story is going to be. It just gets outlandish in a much more enjoyable way.

Justin and Samuel’s story was somewhat shortchanged due to the mess of a beginning and the overshadowing of their relationship by future couple setups, but when their mating was allowed to be the central focus, I found myself enjoying their (not always straightforward) progress in coming together as two individuals with very different backgrounds. There was a strong sense of hand waving away potential issues at times that seemed too easy (Justin can just disappear from his life and nobody notices?) But then I stopped looking for logic and just let myself enjoy the flow of the story and it was fine.

I am sincerely hopeful that the next four books will not be such a struggle in the beginning or I might have to abandon this series after all. I am just thankful this book was not my introduction to the author…if this had been my first book by Ms. Howe, it would also have been my last.

[L H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justin and Declan are on vacation enjoying winter sports, snowboarding, snowmobiling, in a high altitude remote area in Utah when they have an accident. They are rescued by Samuel, a winter dragon, who immediately senses something about Justin that draws him. Samuel and his family/clutch also are puzzled about how Justin and Declan were able to make it on to their land past their wards. As most of the dragons work to help these humans heal, while also making sure that no one comes looking too close from the human society, Samuel and Justin spark a courtship that has consequences beyond feelings. Justin is not simply a human who was herded to their land by the werewolves that their land borders. He is more their kind than he or they were expecting and so is Declan. And he is Samuel's mate. Their courtship and the evolution of their relationship is beautiful and tender and it is not just confined to them but impacts Samuel's two brothers and his cousins. As everybody has to recalibrate to incorporate these nascent dragons into their sanctuary they all get a lovely bonus when Justin gets pregnant and for the first time in a very long time a child is to be born to be nurtured by them. I am so hooked on this series and looking forward to seeing how Declan and Owen's relationship evolves and curious about how Brandon will also be folded into their clutch.
I received an ARC from GRR for an honest review.

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragons, babies and cuddles - is there anything better?

I was really looking forward to this series (it's all part of the same world as the Dragon Hoard series) and it didn't disappoint. As always with Minerva Howe you get a wonderful, magical world with lots of love, family and downright sweetness. What's more, you get the writing style that Minerva has which I think suits shifters perfectly.

Samuel and Justin were adorable, plain and simple. There were some nice hot moments, but honestly, what I love about these books is how warm they are. Reading them is like a great big hug. All the characters feel so deeply and you really get to understand how they're feeling because of how it's written. Justin was a sweetie. He was so confused (poor thing went through a lot at the beginning) but once he accepted what was happening he was all in. Samuel, sigh, he was just the cutest. So happy to have found his mate but so intent on making sure Justin was happy, even if it meant Samuel might get hurt.

I'm super excited for the other brothers/cousins. I know Zeke didn't show his best side initially but for all his grumpy growliness he's just a total fluff ball (I could just melt with how sweet he is about babies). Owen and Declan are up next and I so want to see them trust each other and just be together - they're going to be adorable!

[Raven and Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooh a clan of frost or ice dragons! Too cool. This is the first book in a new series called Dragon Sanctuary. I also feel like an idiot for not realizing at first that this series is set in the same world as the author’s other pen name series: the Dragon Hoard series by Minerva Howe. They are all connected in the Dragon Veil universe. Duh! Anyway this author is one I tend to grab on name alone because I love her characters and the family units she creates. This book is no exception. I loved Justin and Sam’s story and can’t wait to see how this clan of dragons meet their mates. I also look forward to this clan meeting my favorite clan of dragons out in CO. Ice dragons, meet fire, earth and water dragons! I can’t wait! Justin and his best friend Declan get injured snowmobiling high in the UT mountains and find themselves rescued by a group of very different men who live off the grid. Samuel finds his mate in Justin and it quickly becomes apparent that Dec and Justin are not just your regular humans, but have dragon blood in their veins. I look forward to meeting Justin’s twin Brandon, hopefully soon in a future book.

[LJ Henley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved reading about shifters, and dragons in particular. Minerva Howe has been a favorite writer of mine, especially when she writes about wonderful flying creatures who are strong and special. Who doesn't want to fly? And Winter dragons... my favorite! Justin and his friend, Declan are winter sports enthusiasts! They go on a trip to do some major snowboarding when they get lost and are attacked by a group of wolves. Barely alive, they are taken to the home of Samuel and his family, all winter dragons. From the start, Sam realizes that Justin is his mate and that Justin doesn't realize he is also a winter dragon. The other dragons are so interesting with each having really different personalities and looks. I realized pretty quickly that Declan and Owen are also mates but Declan was so injured by the wolves that Owen is taking it slow in showing Declan he cares for him. I felt that Ms. Howe did an excellent job in writing this story and am looking forward to reading her next book in the Dragon Sanctuary series. This book does contain MM and Male pregnancy.

I received an ARC copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter Dragon is a paranormal romance with dragon shifters, fate mate and is a mpeg story….Snowboarder Justin and his best friend are having a fun snowboarding when they have a snowmobile accident, he wakes up and doesn’t know how he got there, his rescuer is a silver man named Samuel, he can’t explain why he is so drawn to him.

Samuel lives isolated from humans, he and his brothers and cousins are winter dragons, they have created a place where they have everything they need to survive, when he finds Justin he knows that he have to helps them and knows that Justin is special that maybe he is his mate.

Justin and Samuel begin to know each other and both feel the mating pull but Justin doesn’t know that everything is about to change for him, Justin is staring to having dreams of flying and dragons and is intrigued and wants to stay with Samuel. I like the chemistry between them and both are adorable together, the brothers and cousins are great, but just one is affair of the new changes but at the end he accept them and became good friends, overall is a good story and how doesn’t like dragons shifters!

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little irritated with Justin in a good deal of this book. You might be able to not realize things are happening after the first time, but the fact that he and Sam had sex several times without him clueing in that the slick was coming from him was just unbelievable. I can understand that he was denying that his life was changing, but it just didn’t feel real, or reasonable, with his reactions.

I also have questions about how the dragons are vulnerable to, or are in any way inhibited by the werewolves. But since this is the first in the series, perhaps we will learn more as the series progresses. I’m also a little wary of this whole “prophecy” thing. The Dragon Hoard books also had a prophecy that took up a huge amount of real estate, only to turn out to be a children’s fairy tale at best, and pure rubbish, at worst.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and I’m excited to read Owen & Declan’s story, as well as finding out more about Brandon, and who the others will end up being mated to.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justin and his best friend, Declan, are delighted to have some time to snowboard and try out the snowmobiles when a terrible accident changes their lives forever. They are rescued by a silvery man called Samuel, a man with beautiful faceted eyes. Samuel is a winter dragon, who lives in a sanctuary with his two brothers and two cousins. He knows he must save Justin and Declan and takes them to their home. Samuel also knows that there is something special about Justin. Justin is his mate and as they begin a dance around each other, Justin finds himself changing into something special. Will he stay or will he leave? Leaving means giving up some modern conveniences but staying means Samuel.

I love this new take on dragons. There are more than the magical dragons in the area and shaky truce is in place. It is easy to see how more stories are coming and I know I am delighted. Dragons are amazing and these have everything you could want for a satisfying story. Pick this one up and be prepared to be amazed.