Dragon & Flame

Haven City #6

by Zoe Perdita

Rory Sullivan thinks he has it all, until his boyfriend breaks his heart and the new landlord raises the rent on his bar. A chance meeting with Jin Yue, a rich dragon, gives Rory hope. Jin promises Rory he can save the bar and get even with his ex – for a price. All Rory has to do is pretend to be in a relationship with Jin. Rory’s bad boy nature, and the desire for some no-strings-attached sex make the idea way too intriguing. Even if Rory’s brain thinks it’s a bad idea, his cock heartily disagrees. Problem is, Jin Yue might be all kinds of hot, but he’s also Haven City’s one and only crime boss – sexy, powerful and deadly. Now Rory is tied to Jin until the dragon’s mission is complete, regardless of assassination attempts, hunters or the cops. Jin Yue won the gang war, but the battle for Haven City isn’t over. Enter Rory Sullivan – the tatted up fire mage who can help Jin lay claim to his rightful territory. However, things don’t turn out the way Jin plans. Rory pushes all the right buttons and riles up Jin’s dragon instincts. The fire mage is the farthest thing from Jin’s type, but the heat between them sets Jin’s blood on fire. They’re playing a dangerous game that puts both of their hearts and lives on the line. While the passion between Jin and Rory sizzles, can a relationship built on deceit grow into something more?

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Shapeshifters, Magic, Dragons, LGBT

264 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2014

About the author

Zoe Perdita writes (mostly) gay shifter romance because the only thing better than one hot shifter dude is two hot shifter dudes making out. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with a fluffy orange cat and a lively roommate. When she's not writing, Zoe likes to travel, read and play video games.

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Reviews

[R.M. Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon & Flame

Meet Roy Sullivan, bar owner and more! How exciting is Roy and his life—it's about to become very exciting as he's about to lose his bar and boyfriend.

But, Roy's world changes the minute he meets Jin Yue and he'll never be the same again.

I loved this book and all the rest! The introduction of new characters each novel gives me as a reader new characters to love and root for!

Keep them coming!

[Lee Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rory and Jin were explosive, the sexual tension and flirtation was off the charts until it exploded in a party that they could have been caught!

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY!! Considering all the M/M I've read and after reading this book, I just want to scream: that's how you do it!!

This is definitely my favorite one of the series so far, and one of my favorite books of this genre. It had everything I loved (ust, fake relationship, TATTOOS, smartasses, powerful man powerless for the man he loves...I could go on) and it was done so right. It was funny, sexy, sweet, the ust was amazing, the build-up of the pairing was slow and believable, the characters were likable, I loved Rory so much, and reading what Jin really was like was so interesting.

There were no moments when I thought "Well, this doesn't make much sense" or I had the urge to roll my eyes, no, I loved every second of it and it only took me so long to read because I was busy, otherwise I would have ended it all in one day! I mean, apart from the obvious issue with the women in this series, it was a really good book, and I still enjoyed it.

Loved it, loved it, loved it. This book finally showed what this author was hiding inside all along, and what I felt the author was capable of judging by the earlier ones of the series (not that the others were bad but some scenes needed polishing and there was indeed a bit of eye-rolling sometimes. But not this one). It was so good, I'm definitely going to re-read this sometime. UGH!

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of drama

How do mates ever actually find one another in this world? Perhaps fate puts them into place, but having a fated mate, but not recognizing that person as even a potential mate until at least 60% of the way through the story seems to me to be a particularly inefficient way of pairing mates up. I’d have to assume that a lot of matings fall through because it just takes too long for the pair to actually figure it out.

Though this was a fun ending, I almost wish that Jin’s solution could have been a sudden, successful, hostile takeover of Hayward Corp. so that they won the zoning stuff, but he got control of their company and still developed the Flats as he intended.

[Joelle Mendes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read a series out of order but...

This book intrigued me. And now I'm really glad that I took the chance. Jin and Rory were hot. I loved that Rory wasn't a pushover. He was strong and didn't let Jin dictate everything. They were sexy, funny and intense. I loved it. And I literally flew right through this book. I couldn't get enough. I wanted them together and couldn't wait to find out how JIn was going to get Rory on board with that. The scene at the Gala was definitely a favorite. Whew!

I definitely want to read Seth and Connor's story and Fei and Milo's too.

[Melissa Polk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected not to like this one because a) Jin was kind of a jerk in previous books and b) I'm not a fan of dragons. That said, this was one of my favorites of the series so far. Rory is a freaking spitfire and I adore him. His seeming ambivalence re:mates was a little weird given how all the other MCs react (I'm thinking Seth specifically, since he was the only other non-shifter). But it didn't ruin it for me or anything. Was fun seeing the Black Wolves come out to play. Will admit that it's a little strange how close Fei, Milo, and Jin have become, but also not a total out-of-character surprise, I guess.

[joani · Rating 4 out of 5]

All crime bosses should be like Jin Yue

He is am awesome character, both gentle and hard core. He I great to those he cares about and has been greatly misunderstood by those he has tried to help. He is a man of his word, very powerful and uses him power and wealth to give the people of Haven Flats a better way of living. He's not a nice man but he's not a bad man either...Rory is a very real, in your face type of man. He is an honestly good man who wears his heart on his sleeve and tends to get hurt a lot...it makes him the perfect man for Jin to care for.

[Ng · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have not read the previous books in this series. Rory, a fire mage and Jin, a dragon pretend to be in a relationship to take revenge on Rory’s ex who also happens to be a member of a family who is bidding against Jin. The first half was too slow and I had no context for the characters. The second half was fast paced. For a shifter romance, the mate aspect was played with a light touch.

[Finnegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Rory the fire mage, an Jin the dragon shifter and leader of the Chinese triad. It was entertaining enough, and it was nice that characters from previous books made an appearance. But by now I had enough of Haven City and will not continue with the series.

[SH · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad Milo made an appearance. He cracks me up, as does Rory.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of books set in the world of MCs I was drawn to this book as its unique premise set up a world similar to that of the MCs, albeit one that's paranormal based. The war between the different shifter groups is finally starting to wane, and life in the Flats is finally becoming bearable, but one big final push is needed to rid the neighborhood of those truly ruthless individuals still causing trouble. The man to do that is the head of the dragon clan, and ruler over a few of the other shifter clans, the equally ruthless dragon shifter Jin Yue. Jin's a commanding man desperate to end the shifter war and improve the neighborhood once and for all who's not afraid to dirty his hands for the greater good. His latest plan to do that involves bringing down the Hayward family and requires the help of a particular fire mage which leads him to the equally desperate bar owner Rory. His plan becomes complicated though as he's instantly attracted to the tatted and pierced red head and any possible relationship will be put in jeopardy as Jin is using Rory for the greater good. But as their relationship heats up, and as Jin interacts with him on a more personal level, will he really be able to sacrifice the strong bond forming between them or will he willingly go back to being lonely and isolated?

Rory is still reeling from his break-up with rich boy Richard Hayward. He's feeling used and angry and to make matters worse he and his twin sister are barely making ends meet with their bar. His desperation for money leads him to a close encounter with the sexy and powerful Jin which leaves him powerless to fight not only his attraction to the man, but what Jin wants from him too. He's being used as a pawn by Jin to distract Rory's ex and destroy the Hayward family's plan to take over the neighborhood for the rich. He's willing to be that though and smart enough to make Jin pay for the privilege which made him an unexpectedly strong companion to Jin. On the surface you'd expect Rory to be walked on all over by Jin, but that's not the case which made their relationship more equal and sensual with Rory taking command whenever he saw his chance. That's not to say that Jin didn't like controlling Rory, he very much did and it led to a sexy battle of wills.

As they heat up the sheets, and other locations, there are those looking to harm Rory to get to Jin. Jin too is still a target which leads to both men's protective instincts kicking in and a more caring and emotional side of Jin coming out. For so long he's been closed off, portraying only a powerful man with no heart, but being with Rory brings out a softer side and you see someone who really cares about those in his neighborhood. Throughout their relationship Rory's always shown his emotions and been the playful one, unafraid to goad the dragon, and it makes for an entertaining relationship. Theirs is also a super sexy relationship that made for some very torrid reading and I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the story. There's a multitude of characters surrounding them and each one is as engaging as the next. It makes me wish I'd read the previous books in this series so I could've seen the shifter war evolve and its affect on the characters. There were times I felt lost with who was loyal to who and the causes of the emotional scars left on the characters from the war. Though this book can definitely stand on its own it's for these reasons that I recommend this series be read in order as to make this a more satisfying read. Fans of the m/m genre will be drawn to the two compelling male leads who give as good as they get. Their scenes are at times steamy as well as deeply emotional as the story progresses to keep readers immersed in their outcome. Fans of the paranormal will also find the shifter war and its resulting turf war a unique and engaging storyline along with the hierarchy of clans and their abilities. All in all it makes for a compelling read that gives all readers a bit of what they love and I definitely recommend it to those looking for something different.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'm meant to say I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway but I don't remember so just in case: I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

Should I do a detailed account on the story or simply sum up what I enjoyed and a few faults I noticed? Well none of you are going to want to read a long winded account to so lets keep it quick.

The faults out of the way first because it's like spinach and better eaten rapidly first so we can enjoy the good stuff. There were a few spelling errors that were a touch too obvious and a few issues with a couple spots of grammar at one or two spots. The plot is also probably a little cliche, eg. 'Boy meets boy, boy forced to work for other boy, boy falls in love with boy, boy threatened so other boy goes all protective, boys end up happy' kind of thing. Now we take a step to the left and look at the good stuff.

The writing was great, the story moved along at a solid pace, not too quick nor too slow, and we had some very sexy scenes with some of those feel good moments going on. You know the sort, where you sort of sit there sighing thinking it'd be nice for some to look at you with such love. We changed perspectives between Rory Sullivan, the fire mage who runs a bar with his twin sister, and his incredibly rich, handsome and powerful Eastern dragon shifter mob boss lover, Jin Yue. You know, I just now realised just how much Jin has going on. Poor bugger must be incredibly busy. Anyway, the story was a fun read and had a mildly expected but not unsatisfying ending. It leaves room for expanding upon if Ms. Perdita decides to take the story and these characters onward and if not? Well, we can dream up what happens next.

So yes, to the unasked question, it is worth having a look into buying. I think most of them only cost a little over $15 in paperback on a certain website. If anyone wants to know, ask. I'll probably have remembered by then. Although I have no idea what the ebook price is... I was going to write something else but it appears to have slipped away from me again so I shall conclude that I really enjoyed this book and think you might to. =)

[Denise White · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

I soooo love this series... I couldn't get enough of Rory and Jin... I really felt their connection.. And as always I liked to see some of the previous characters as well... I was worried that was the end of the series but to my joy there's another coming out with some new MC's .... Bravo Zoe

[Katze Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm torn between this being my favourite of the HC series, or #5. The chemistry between Rory and Jin is just SUBLIME. I love the banter, the sexual tension, the sex period, and also the darkness creeping throughout the story. 5/5 stars from me -- a definite worthwhile read.

Ps, Dick is a dick.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book made me feel better about purchasing a series in bulk when you've never read the first book. bad ass dragons make everything marginally better.