Awake: Book One of the Happy Never After series

by Milada Morrigan

I am the monster they warn children about.

For a century, I have guarded her sleep—rewriting forbidden magic, bathing her in ritual, staining my claws with blood to keep her breathing. I did not take her to cage her. I took her to save her. But devotion curdles when fate interferes. The bond between us tightens with every passing year, demanding more than vigilance, more than restraint. If I wake her, I may lose her forever. If I don’t, she will die. Either way, I will burn.



I am the princess they seek to save.

I remember everything—the dark, his hands, his voice, the dragon who claimed me while I slept. They say I was cursed. They say I was spared. Now fire coils beneath my skin, desire tangles with rage, and the bond between us refuses to be denied. No prince will save me. No ending will be gentle. Whatever I choose next will be mine—and the monster who loves me may not survive it.

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 2, 2026

Reviews

[Haley Crane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Phew. This was in DESPERATE need of editing. Many, many lines are out of context or out of order, misspellings, things that made no sense and SO. MUCH. REPETITION. A good 30% of this could have been cut out and not affected the plot. This reads like a rough draft. Also this is dual POV if you can consider it that, because the princess’s chapters are just repeats of the dragons chapters with her thoughts imposed. They generally serve no purpose to move the plot forward. At all. Look, I can get behind good monster smut. But I thought the princess would at least be awake for the majority of the book considering the title is AWAKE. Spoiler- she isn’t. She’s asleep and being continually raped by the dragon and suffering from major Stockholm syndrome (or is she? IYKYK) in her sleep paralysis state. There’a very little to even build a relationship between the two main characters. The highlight of their time together is him bathing her, brushing her hair, and raping her at increasingly frequent intervals. When she is finally awake, she gets taken by a prince with major mommy issues where she magically learns how to fight by watching guards training just to make her way back to the dragon to “kill him”. And the cherry on top is pregnancy in the epilogue. This was my first read of 2026 and hopefully it goes up from here… this does however give me hope that I can be published so we’ll see how that goes!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I found the premise to be interesting but I might be bias because I love the story of Sleeping Beauty. It’s beautifully written but often repetitive to the point that I was skim reading in parts. I appreciate that given it’s a short read there’s no real depth to it but some key themes do stand out regarding choice in your own fate and future, which I enjoyed. I liked that the Princess essentially rescues herself and doesn’t forgive the Dragon but the epilogue was insightful in how they move forward as mates.

Overall, enjoyed the read and you’d love it if this is your sort of thing. Will be keeping an eye out for other works from Milada Morrigan :)

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

it gets really good in Act II!

This is a very dark retelling of Sleeping beauty. A tale of desire, obsession, and choice. I thought the first part was very crazy and obsessive (from the dragons POV). In the second act, when Adalaide awakens the story does as well. I really liked how mouthy and strong she is.

[MrsKatattack · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. There were a few editing areas that need to happen. But the main thing that hurts it is the repetition of contradictions. I understand why there are the contradictions, but many times it feels like page fodder. Definitely a Stockholm syndrome love story, but that doesn't really turn me away. Her badasserary in the 3rd act I feel was very rushed and unbelievable.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

To find such devotion...

I devoured this book, I couldn't get enough. I wish it was longer but it was so beautifully written and descriptive. I was transported, I was Adelaide, felt her fury, her pain, her resolution, her hope, her conviction. I was the dragon, felt his devotion, his love, his utter obsession so all consuming, so devastating but oh so satisfying.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this short read! loved the ending, loved the journey. first page had me HOOKED which hasnt happened to me in a long time! I devoured this book in less than a day. would absolutely LOVE more, but, I love where/how the book ended. 10/10 recommend!

[Charmaine Breytenbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story .. wanted to try something diffrent.. enjoyed it alot

[eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Above all else I do unfortunately love a good monster romance. 💘

Fifteen inches is crazy though.