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Nine-Tenths
Colin Levesque is at loose ends. He's finished university, but has no career; he adores romance novels, but he's crap at relationships; and his prickliness is a detriment at the café where he's making ends meet. He also has a crush on his regular Dav, a homo draconis who comes in every morning to read his newspaper, sip his double-strong coffee, and stare longingly at Colin in return.
So it figures that the day Colin gets up the courage to do something about the sexual tension simmering between them, he also learns that Dav has an embarrassing habit of hiccupping fire when he's nervous. Which, in this case, destroys the fancy custom-made bean roaster. When Dav volunteers to take over the coffee roasting with his fire-breath, being squished together in the hot, cramped kitchen leads to even hotter kisses.
Everything's finally happening for Colin—until people start claiming the dragon-roasted coffee has cured their genetic ailments. As their budding relationship struggles under the scrutiny of scientists and media, the hype around the coffee leads the lovers to be inducted into a centuries-old conspiracy: dragon-roasted food has always healed humans. And the most powerful draconic nobles have been withholding this symbiotic advantage to keep themselves on top. Colin and Dav are determined to expose the truth, but if they're not careful, their objections could goad power-mad monarchs into destroying everything they hold dear.
Including each other.
So it figures that the day Colin gets up the courage to do something about the sexual tension simmering between them, he also learns that Dav has an embarrassing habit of hiccupping fire when he's nervous. Which, in this case, destroys the fancy custom-made bean roaster. When Dav volunteers to take over the coffee roasting with his fire-breath, being squished together in the hot, cramped kitchen leads to even hotter kisses.
Everything's finally happening for Colin—until people start claiming the dragon-roasted coffee has cured their genetic ailments. As their budding relationship struggles under the scrutiny of scientists and media, the hype around the coffee leads the lovers to be inducted into a centuries-old conspiracy: dragon-roasted food has always healed humans. And the most powerful draconic nobles have been withholding this symbiotic advantage to keep themselves on top. Colin and Dav are determined to expose the truth, but if they're not careful, their objections could goad power-mad monarchs into destroying everything they hold dear.
Including each other.
468 pages, Paperback
Published September 27, 2025
10 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Frey
32 books208 followersFrey is an award-winning author and lapsed academic. She spent three years as the entertainment contributor on AMI Radio's Live From Studio 5 morning show, and was an occasional talking head in documentaries and on the SPACE Channel's premier chat show InnerSPACE. She holds a BA in Dramatic Literature and an MA in Communications Culture, and has lectured at conferences and conventions all around the world.
Her debut novel TRIPTYCH was nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards and garnered a place among the Best Books of 2011 from Publishers Weekly, and TIME AND TIDE was named one of The New York Times’ Best Romances of the Year.
She lives in Toronto where she is surrounded by houseplants, because she is allergic to anything with fur. Like her main character in NINE-TENTHS, she is also allergic to chocolate. But not wine.
Her debut novel TRIPTYCH was nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards and garnered a place among the Best Books of 2011 from Publishers Weekly, and TIME AND TIDE was named one of The New York Times’ Best Romances of the Year.
She lives in Toronto where she is surrounded by houseplants, because she is allergic to anything with fur. Like her main character in NINE-TENTHS, she is also allergic to chocolate. But not wine.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 12, 2025
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.
This was a beautiful exploration of grief layered with thoughtful mental health representation that felt both real and necessary. While the world building did confuse me and bring me out of the story at some points the emotional core shines through. At its heart, this is a story about love, its complexity, its cost and what it truly means to choose someone.
This was a beautiful exploration of grief layered with thoughtful mental health representation that felt both real and necessary. While the world building did confuse me and bring me out of the story at some points the emotional core shines through. At its heart, this is a story about love, its complexity, its cost and what it truly means to choose someone.
Displaying 1 of 1 review