Mainly erotica with a little world building. A long time ago a dragon shifter fell in love with a human and got her pregnant, the townspeople freaked out and killed her to make sure the devil wasn't born. The brother of the pregnant girl swore to wipe out all dragons and started the Knights. The dragons started the Brotherhood to protect themselves and the feud was born. Unfortunately that was more or less the end of the world building. The novella is too short to really go into depth and instead it mainly focused on the romance side of things.

Stig has mostly retreated from the human world but for his connection to his best mate Hector, who he served with in the marines. When Hector died, he promised his sister Cora that if she was in trouble she could come to him. She's in trouble, so she comes to him. The romance between them has apparently been built up prior to this encounter, but it's more or less instalove. I liked Stig. Cora was a tiny bit whiny and a bit of an idiot but she wasn't too bad. But neither character was particularly well developed and fell a bit flat. Although there were about three secondary characters introduced, they were minor appearances and I couldn't even tell you their names.

It's not a bad story. The chemistry between them was sizzling and there was a tiny bit of plot development. There's just not enough of it to be really good. But then it's about what you expect from a novella. Overall a lighthearted easy read with paranormal elements and a sexy romance. 3 stars. ( )

Very fast, short, sexy read. If you love dragon erotica, you'll want to read this. It sets up a series, so if you like that--you'll be good to go! Don't pay a lot--it's just a novella. If you want a fun lunch time read, this could be just the thing for you. ( )

The last thing that Stig Wyvern needs is a distraction - especially tonight. He is a dragon shape shifter, minutes away from entering a mating phase, when his dead friend's little sister shows up on his doorstep in tears. Sharing his isolated house with the young woman he's secretly lusted after for quite some time is sure to be a recipe for disaster.

But Cora Cardenas has nowhere else to go. She's gotten herself in deep trouble with some very dangerous people and Stig is the only one who can protect her.That he's seriously sexy and makes her tingle with the simplest of smiles is an added bonus.

Cora quickly realizes Stig is hiding something from her. To make matters worse, she's plagued by breathtakingly vivid dreams starring a shadowed lover who bears a startling resemblance to her gracious host. And just what is going on in the basement at night?

Stig needs to get Cora out of his house as soon as possible, but apparently his inner beast has other ideas. He's found his mate and she's not going anywhere.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I downloaded this particular book from Netgalley. This was actually more of a novella, rather than a fuller length story, in my opinion. I think I just wanted the story to be continued a little bit further. Although I certainly enjoyed reading this novella, and would like to read the next book in the series whenever possible. I give this particular story a B+! ( )

Things I Liked:
- I think the title was probably the best thing about this novella. Love it!
- There was defiantly potential for a good story, had this been a novel and not a novella.
- Dragon shifters. Nuff said.

Things I Wasn't As Crazy About:
Most of my gripes were caused by the short format I think. Like:
- While the actual plot itself had potential, it never really went anywhere. Like Cora's big problem which was dealt with in a rather vague way at the end. Stig's group ended up suggesting that it was time to totally change their rules all of a sudden... to better accommodate Stig and Cora I suppose.
- There weren't enough details about other plot points like the Knights, or Stigs time in the Marines. That lack of details meant that I didn't care when the Knights showed up or when they talk about Stig's friendship with Cora's brother.
- Not enough on the Dragon lore. We're just told he's a dragon. There are some in this organization. They are old and immortal. For some reason when Cora touches Stig in dragon form, he changes, but that's never explained either..The end.
- Also, you would think that there would be some time spent describing how Stig looked as a dragon, but I never got a clear picture in my head. I could never even really tell how big he was, cause from the descriptions of his interactions with Cora, he sounded like a man sized dragon, which might be the case, but I felt fuzzy on those details.

Overall, I just wish the author had either a) spent more time out of the bedroom to make room for the more plot-based details or b) had written a longer book so we would have a happy blend of both.

ARC courtesy of Forever(Grand Central Publishing), via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Dead Sexy Dragon was my first read by this author, and I enjoyed it. The book has an excerpt from book #2 in the series, Red Hot Dragon (TBR February 4th, 2014), and I may actually enjoy that one even more by the sound of it.

The characters had great chemistry due in large to their history/connection. There wasn't exactly a gradual progression of discovering feelings, but rather Stig was the only obstacle because of his secret. Cora was outgoing and brazen enough to make the first move (something I admire in heroines). If you want it, go for it. There's no use being timid and constantly wondering "what if?" I wouldn't say I connected with Cora, but I felt her reactions to each pivotal moment in the story was realistic, both the good and the bad. Stig had a lot more layers to him: his part in the Brotherhood, the duties he fulfilled in the Marines, his very close friendship to a human (Cora's brother), and the vow to keep an eye on her if anything ever happened to her brother. He was a man of honor and a beast with a hint of vulnerability.

I liked the plot too which was interesting in terms of the code of honor among the Brotherhood of the Green Hide. Aside from the secret Stig was keeping from Cora was the added burden that a Brother couldn't stray across species lines. The Brotherhood's duty was to protect other dragons from the Knights (of St. George), a band of dragon slayers. The sex was hot, but I preferred seeing the hero vulnerable to heartache and having the heroine come to an important fork in the road. I wish the hero and heroine had had a little more time to come to terms with the drastic changes in their budding relationship. It just seemed like the bubble burst a bit too soon. Other than that, the rest of the story kept a decent pace and was easy to follow.

A fun, sexy read and if you love dragon shifters, you'll enjoy this.

Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review. ( )