Book Review: The Dragon's Bride by Katee Robert

The Dragon’s Bride (A Deal With a Demon #1) by Katee Robert

Pages: 180
Publish date: March 29, 2022
Publisher: Trinkets and Tales LLC
ISBN: 9781951329471
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Briar Rose might have a name out of a storybook, but she learned at a very young age that no prince was coming to save her. She’ll have to save herself. Unfortunately, even that is an impossible task in her current situation—trapped in a terrifying marriage to a dangerous man.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, which is how she finds herself making a deal with a demon. Freedom from her husband…in return for seven years of service.

She expects the service to be backbreaking and harsh. She doesn’t expect to be put on an auction block in a room full of literal monsters and sold to the highest bidder.

To Sol.

A dragon.

He might seem kinder than his fearsome looks imply, but she knows better than to trust the way he wants to take care of her, or how invested he is in her pleasure. In her experience, if something seems too good to be true, it certainly is.

Falling for Sol is out of the question. She’s suffered enough, and she has no intention of staying in this realm…even if she leaves her heart behind when she returns to her normal life.

The Dragon’s Bride:

I received an e-arc of The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert from the author in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Content warnings via the author: domestic abuse (historical, off-page, but the heroine is dealing with the aftermath of getting out of that relationship), murder (off-page), human/non-human sex, size difference, explicit sex, breeding, pregnancy (epilogue).

I am becoming quite a big fan of Katee Robert as of late. At first, I didn’t know if I was going to pick up The Dragon’s Bride. It’s my usual type of romance. But I also know that I’ve loved nearly all of the Katee Robert books I’ve picked up. I’ve also been trying to read wider in my romance in terms of sub-genres. And let me tell you, this book surprised me so much. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. And now I want more people to try it.

The Dragon’s Bride follows Briar Rose as she makes a deal with a Demon. Briar Rose needs to get out of her marriage, she needs a safe space and someone to protect her. And when she signs her life over to a demon she didn’t know what was going to happen. Sol needs to save his people, and the only way that he thinks that he can is by going along with the demon’s plans. What he doesn’t expect is Briar.

Photo by Kristine Tumanyan on Unsplash

There was a lot I really enjoyed in The Dragon’s Bride, from the characters to the romance. And even the writing itself. Everything felt easy to read, and the world was also very interesting. I would also say that even though it’s a monster romance, it’s actually on the tamer side of Katee’s books. Which I found very interesting. From the start, Katee was able to take me away to her world, and I didn’t want to leave.

Briar was a very interesting protagonist. It did take me a little while to warm up to her. And by a while, I literally mean only a few chapters. But once I did, I was all in. Briar has been hurt. She has been really hurt. And throughout The Dragon’s Bride, we get to see her come to terms with the things that have happened. But we also get to see her grow and fall in love. It’s a really interesting contrast, between who Briar was at the start of the book, to who she becomes. I loved her characterisation and seeing her develop herself outside of who she was when she was married.

Sol is such a contrast to Briar and I kinda loved that. He is this big brute of a monster, but as time goes on he is actually quite soft. There is no way to hide this, Sol is a dragon and not a dragon that can have a human form. Sol is a dragon. It was really interesting being in the prospect of a character that isn’t human at all physically. But Sol’s thoughts and feelings were all humans.

Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash

The romance in The Dragon’s Bride was very interesting. I didn’t know how I was going to feel about it. Monster romances are still very new to me and I was hesitant. But Sol and Briar Rose grabbed my heart. I really enjoyed seeing them fall for one another. There was this instant connection, but the romance was filled with small touches and hidden smiles.

While these two seem very different from one another, they work. So well. Katee Robert has this knack for creating sweet and caring romances that are also hella smutty. As I said before, I found this a lot tamer than her other books, which is such a strange concept. But my gosh all the feels. It’s that type of book that just hits you in the chest. It’s emotional, sweet and gives all those feelings. I mean don’t get me wrong this is a Katee Robert book, it’s still very smutty.

Like all of Katee’s books I really enjoyed the writing style and the world. Katee has this way of writing that just grabs me from the get-go. It makes it easy to understand everything that is happening and I wasn’t once confused. I am really excited to see where this world is taken. The rest of the monsters in this series are quite intriguing.

Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash

Overall, I loved reading The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert. It’s a great start to a new monster series that is both sweet and steamy. Sol and Briar Rose warmed my heart and it was a pleasure seeing them fall for one another. This marriage of convenience, monster romance is fantastic. If you are looking to start something new to you, that isn’t too intense then give this one a go. You already know you are in for a ride.

Have you read The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert yet? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read any other monster romances? Let’s Chat!