Rating: 4 out of 5.

Lady Fern is pressured by her family to marry to help the family, but the men gathered to “court” her are awful. She runs away and stumbles upon queen dragon Auren. She has her own family problems. Her father expects her to act as a breeding ground to mate with multiple dragons to add dragons to the family. They are both sick of being pressured and bond in their mutual desire for control over their lives. They go to the capital to get a plot of land from the King to live on, but are told they must join the dragon academy and serve there a year before they can be free.

I loved the bond between Fern and Auren. They are fierce, independent women that know their own minds and will not be controlled. They deal with the new men in their lives trying to control them in the same manner, which cracks me up. Despite being different species, their problems, concerns and desires are the same, bring a universality to the story.

I didn’t realize this was a why-choose story, but I’m there for it.

I received a complimentary story from Hambright PR. All opinions are my own.