Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Dragon Glass is the second book in the Dragon Triplets trilogy, and probably best enjoyed when read in order, but it is also readable on its own.
Alexi Petrov is an ancient dragon, one of three very sexy triplets in his hatch. His younger brother, Dima, found his fated mate not long ago, and this has Aleks on alert. Aleks is a gifted glass-blowing artist, using his dragonfire to help make intricate and valuable sculptures, but he usually avoids the public. His brother’s mate, Kam, insists Aleks meet the determined young man who’s desperate to obtain Aleks’ help with a youth art show. Zach is nervous, homeless and sweet—and Aleks’ knows immediately he must help this man, and claim him as his mate.
Zach had a good job in an LA gallery, but was fired when he refused to bow to his lecherous boss’ desires. A mentor at a youth program has taken Zach on as a protégé. His mission is to get reclusive Aleks to donate a piece of art for auction, as well as maybe help with the show judging, and he’s operating on sheer hope and willpower at this point. He won’t leave Aleks’ studio without at least asking for the help he’s promised his mentor to obtain. It’s a long shot, but if Aleks agrees, Zach might actually get a paying job out of the deal. He has no idea this meeting will change the course of his young life forever.
Aleks recognizes his mate from their first meeting, and he’s not going to let Zach go for anything. He’s able to provide a safe living arrangement, and food, since Zach’s dwindling funds left him hungry. Kam is a great buffer, being younger and newer to the magic of dragon shifting. He befriends Zach easily, because Zach is as hungry for relationships as he is for food. Zach initially doesn’t believe he’s a dragon, or that he’s “good enough” for such a talented and sexy man, but he senses the magic within Aleks and trusts that he and his brothers are good people.
This is a fated-mates, dragon shifter story, so it didn’t surprise me that Aleks and Zach had a nearly immediate connection. Aleks begins by tenderly caring for Zach, building bonds and desires quickly. Aleks and his brothers are Ukrainian-hatched, and spent many centuries in that land, so they all have an Eastern European dialect and pragmatic sensibility. Aleks doesn’t entertain a lot of questioning regarding his finding or claiming of Zach. He only wants to please his mate, and help him feel desired. Zach has always wanted to be an artist, but his dreams had been disparaged by others. Aleks’ nurturing, support, and bolstering help Zach to find media that will reveal his talents, and also his inner dragon that’s just maturing enough to emerge.
This is a novella, and the series features a plot arc of trafficked magical young men (Kam was one of them). There isn’t a lot of focus on this until the very end of this book. Instead, the story really focuses on Zach trusting Aleks, falling for him, and discovering his innate powers as an Omega dragon. We get some new insights into the eldest triplet, and how lonely he’s feeling now that two of his brothers have found mates. All four men—the brothers and their mates—are now focused on two goals for book three: finding Nik’s mate and bringing the human traffickers to justice.
This is a compact story, with the bulk of the events occurring within a week, so a lot happens in a short period of time. For readers who like fated mate’s stories, this timeline will likely be reasonable, but it otherwise feels really fast for a romance. If you like dragon shifters, and fated mates, this will likely be a hit for you.
