Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Courting the Dragon Lord
SERIES: The Royal Arrangement
AUTHOR: Gigi Rivers
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 141 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 28. 2025
BLURB:
To end the war, he must marry the enemy.
Prince Ash Rosewood is terrified of the dragons. To him, they mean nothing but dragonfire, forests of ashen remains, and blackened corpses. But after twenty years of war, the only path to peace requires Ash to marry one of them.
At the peace assembly, Ash tries to avoid the dragons—until one collides with him and he finds himself in the arms of Lord Barrett Morton. As he gazes into the dragon lord’s striking green eyes, he can’t help but notice the kindness dwelling within. Ash begins to wonder if marrying a dragon might not be as terrible as he once thought.
Lord Barrett Morton, the low-born bastard son of the king of Draconia, yearns for recognition. And despite his accomplishments during the war, many still look down upon him. When the queen of Botanial offers her son’s hand to the winner of a contest, Barrett sees a chance to not only cement the peace but prove his worth. And after meeting the beautiful nature mage Prince Ash, he’s more than ready to fight for the right to claim him.
But there are forces that seek to unravel the fragile peace and destroy their union. Can Ash and Barrett find love amidst the turmoil? Or will the same powers that fuelled the war tear them apart?
REVIEW:
Oh what a great kickoff to a new fantasy/paranormal series from Gigi Rivers. This time a new world populated with dragon shifters, elemental mages, earth mages, etc.
Ash Rosewood is the afterthought son – the spare so to speak – of the Queen of Botanial. He’s never gotten any attention or love from his mother. His brother Florian is the crown prince and as such, the apple of his mother’s eye. His magic is beautiful while Ash’s magic is beautiful, but deadly. He is sickened by what he was forced to do during the war, even though it did potentially spare more death, his power unleashed deadly poisons that resulted in the death of many creatures besides those fighting the war.
Ash’s family has suffered during the war as well, including the loss of his uncle and cousins. His mother’s sister has been devastated by the loss of her husband and children and she’s none too keen on this peace treaty. She’s particularly upset because Ash’s mother has announced a contest to win the hand of her son Florian and the dragon who completes the quest will win the hand of her son.
Lord Barrett Morton is the bastard son of the king of Draconia, but has acquitted himself well during the war and has now been recognized and given a title and lands. He feels VERY out of place at the peace treaty conference. He accidentally bumps into Ash – quite literally. There is a spark of something there but then Ash’s brother buts in. Ash leaves and then so too does Florian, leaving Barrett confused.
Barrett decides to compete for the prize of the prince of Botanial – but they prince he wants is Ash. Despite some manipulations and and machinations, he does just that. But Ash seems to be cold to idea now and so Barrett thinks maybe he misread the whole thing – that maybe Ash wanted to marry his half brother, Prince Luther.
Needless to say, signals were very much crossed and when they finally get to spend more time together, things begin to thaw again. On the night of their betrothal ball, things finally get heated and physical between them. Of course then Florian has to interfere yet again.
The marriage ceremony begins, but there are those who wish to stop the peace. Ash refuses to give up on his marriage to Barrett though. Motives are revealed and allegiances are redrawn. Maybe Ash and Barrett can have their HEA after all.
This isn’t a long story, but it really nicely sets the stage for this series by introducing the kingdoms and the different royal houses. The nature of each of these different kingdoms will be shared as the series goes on, but I appreciated that there wasn’t a need to go into a lot of details around all these different groups in this story. The arranged marriages between the royal houses will be the key to maintaining the peace after 20 years of devastating war (Empress Maria Theresa anyone???). This story really focuses on the Queen of Botanial and her sons, Ash and Florian and the Dragon kind and his offspring. There was some action and conflict and some pretty villainous characters. Florian is a real jerk and I really really really hope he gets what’s coming to him. Ash is lovely and sweet and definitely comes into his own here as he finds his dragon spouse 🙂 Barrett is also a lovely character. Given his lowly birth, he could have been extremely bitter about his relationship with his father and half-siblings. Luckily he has focused on being a good warrior and defending his country. His alliance with Ash is a delight to him. At first he feels like he doesn’t deserve someone beautiful and sweet and kind like Ash, but he begins to believe it when clearly Ash is happy to be with him. They truly work as a team and it’s sweet and sexy too 🙂 It’s an arrange marriage and the I love yous come pretty fast, but it felt right for the story. I’m really looking forward to the next book and the other stories in this series. Recommended!
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
