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The Dragon and the Exiled
Six months ago, Dipak was arrested for a horrific crime. He should have been executed, but he's not feeling terribly grateful for the crown's mercy when he's taken to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and left to rot with only the clothes on his back and whatever he could easily carry.
Homeless, friendless, and aimless, he ventures into the Forbidden Forest on the quest for a dragon, because any person who can single-handedly fell a nigh-legendary blue dragon will be granted whatever they wish by decree of the king.
Instead of a dragon, however, Dipak finds the single most annoying man he's ever met in his life, a man who is relentlessly cheerful and carefree, who seems determined to make Dipak his friend—a man entirely too at ease in a forest that has killed thousands of people.
Homeless, friendless, and aimless, he ventures into the Forbidden Forest on the quest for a dragon, because any person who can single-handedly fell a nigh-legendary blue dragon will be granted whatever they wish by decree of the king.
Instead of a dragon, however, Dipak finds the single most annoying man he's ever met in his life, a man who is relentlessly cheerful and carefree, who seems determined to make Dipak his friend—a man entirely too at ease in a forest that has killed thousands of people.
170 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 27, 2026
About the author
Megan Derr
285 books2,974 followersMegan is a long time resident of queer romance and keeps herself busy reading and writing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her wife and cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found all over the internet.
meganderr.com
patreon.com/meganderr
meganderr.blogspot.com
facebook.com/meganaprilderr
meganaderr@gmail.com
@meganaderr
meganderr.com
patreon.com/meganderr
meganderr.blogspot.com
facebook.com/meganaprilderr
meganaderr@gmail.com
@meganaderr
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 22, 2026
3.5
It starts a bit too gloomy to be called a cozy fantasy although the rest of the story would easily fall into this category. There are some obstacles and threats, even an emotionally disturbing comment which would cause some drama in a lot of romances but here everything is solved quite agreeably. There is enough action and adorable characters to balance that smooth path forward and everyone who ever read a Megan Derr fairytale certainly agrees that this serves her writing style quite well.
The ending then was like the start a bit off-beat. Nothing gloomy here, quite the contrary but it felt prolonged, like she's showing off how colorful her world is. Unfortunately it doesn't add anything real to the actual story. Anyway, as someone who started his foray into M/M romance with Megan Derr and enjoyed it, I do the round-up into 4 stars.
It starts a bit too gloomy to be called a cozy fantasy although the rest of the story would easily fall into this category. There are some obstacles and threats, even an emotionally disturbing comment which would cause some drama in a lot of romances but here everything is solved quite agreeably. There is enough action and adorable characters to balance that smooth path forward and everyone who ever read a Megan Derr fairytale certainly agrees that this serves her writing style quite well.
The ending then was like the start a bit off-beat. Nothing gloomy here, quite the contrary but it felt prolonged, like she's showing off how colorful her world is. Unfortunately it doesn't add anything real to the actual story. Anyway, as someone who started his foray into M/M romance with Megan Derr and enjoyed it, I do the round-up into 4 stars.
June 4, 2026
Strong start but fell incredibly flat at the end
June 18, 2026
I haven't read many Megan Derr's novels for a while now - a couple that I read this year were all shorts - maybe because she has written more queer stories rather than M/M and I am not always in the mood for that.
So this one is a delight to find. It features an exiled hunter, a lovely dragon (whom in the majority of the book is in human form though), a cast of characters, and a great forbidden forest. Yes, I enjoyed this one a lot. Euclid was lovely (I said that already) - I loved that he LOVED doing the trades, taking care of other people and his woods. Depak trying to dismiss Euclid was a lost case for sure 😀.
So this one is a delight to find. It features an exiled hunter, a lovely dragon (whom in the majority of the book is in human form though), a cast of characters, and a great forbidden forest. Yes, I enjoyed this one a lot. Euclid was lovely (I said that already) - I loved that he LOVED doing the trades, taking care of other people and his woods. Depak trying to dismiss Euclid was a lost case for sure 😀.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2026
Fairytale perfection
Reads like a fairytale in all the best ways. I love the characters and the worldbuilding. The romance is sweet and spicy. Derr is always a hit and never a miss.
Reads like a fairytale in all the best ways. I love the characters and the worldbuilding. The romance is sweet and spicy. Derr is always a hit and never a miss.
June 13, 2026
Dipak is hunter with excellent archery skills that makes him a valuable member of several mercenary groups over the years. When his country goes to war, he meets the king and the pair of them begin a quiet affair. As the king's lover, Dipak begins to notice the king's erratic behavior which worries him. He suspects it's a blood curse of kind, and he knows it could and will lead to madness and violence. Unfortunately no one around him will believe his warnings, not any of the king's family, advisors, or court. So when the king finally snaps, Dipak has to kill him to save the country from more violence. Unfortunately he's arrested and imprisoned, and abused by his jailers for six months. Then the King's son and now the country's ruler decides Dipak should be exiled for being the Kingslayer. Much of this is repeated mentioned throughout the novel, but glossed over quickly.
The story opens as Dipak is being dragged to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, given a bundle of his possessions, and formally exiled into the woods. He stumbles into the forest only to find himself being followed by a gorgeous and very unusual young man, who keeps smiling, talking to Dipak, and helping him find his way to safety. Euclid keeps finding Dipak and hanging around him, and seems determined to make him his friend. But Dipak is bitter and angry from the circumstances of his exile, and untrusting of strangers. However, over a few days, Euclid eventually wears him down and they become friendly. Then Dipak uncovers Euclid's secret. It's not a surprise, folks.
The remaining two-thirds of the novel quickly devolves into a tedium of Dipak did this, Euclid did that, and clumsy dialogue
This was not Derr's best effort. It read like it needed more rewrites and tightened up considerably. Some of the repetition could have been eliminated, and I felt like the backstory should have been better worked into the novel itself. Many of the background characters were brought in only for a scene or two, then never seen again, leaving awkward scenes with many possibilities undeveloped. Kind of a disappointment since many of her short stories are considerably more tight with less prose.
Two stars, not great.
The story opens as Dipak is being dragged to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, given a bundle of his possessions, and formally exiled into the woods. He stumbles into the forest only to find himself being followed by a gorgeous and very unusual young man, who keeps smiling, talking to Dipak, and helping him find his way to safety. Euclid keeps finding Dipak and hanging around him, and seems determined to make him his friend. But Dipak is bitter and angry from the circumstances of his exile, and untrusting of strangers. However, over a few days, Euclid eventually wears him down and they become friendly. Then Dipak uncovers Euclid's secret. It's not a surprise, folks.
The remaining two-thirds of the novel quickly devolves into a tedium of Dipak did this, Euclid did that, and clumsy dialogue
This was not Derr's best effort. It read like it needed more rewrites and tightened up considerably. Some of the repetition could have been eliminated, and I felt like the backstory should have been better worked into the novel itself. Many of the background characters were brought in only for a scene or two, then never seen again, leaving awkward scenes with many possibilities undeveloped. Kind of a disappointment since many of her short stories are considerably more tight with less prose.
Two stars, not great.
June 14, 2026
This is a very good fantasy romance full of good characters in a rich world. It's single point of view, always my favorite, and the plot was great. It would be fun to read more stories set in this world, hint hint...
May 31, 2026
A tale of found family and purpose
This reads easily and holds the interest throughout. Our hero is a resourceful chap, raised a hunter and capable of living off the land, and trained as a scout, so the Forbidden Forest, whilst populated with nasty beasties, is somewhere he can survive. The nasty beasties play a very small role in the tale, which is about finding love, a community, and peace.
There are no great surprises, for me at least, but the depiction of a forest society living by trade and cooperation is nicely drawn. There’s some explicit sex, in context and utterly consensual, but it doesn’t dominate, and fits the story.
A good way to pass a lazy Sunday!
This reads easily and holds the interest throughout. Our hero is a resourceful chap, raised a hunter and capable of living off the land, and trained as a scout, so the Forbidden Forest, whilst populated with nasty beasties, is somewhere he can survive. The nasty beasties play a very small role in the tale, which is about finding love, a community, and peace.
There are no great surprises, for me at least, but the depiction of a forest society living by trade and cooperation is nicely drawn. There’s some explicit sex, in context and utterly consensual, but it doesn’t dominate, and fits the story.
A good way to pass a lazy Sunday!
June 11, 2026
My reviews are my own. If you enjoyed this book, I’m glad you did. If not, I respect your opinion, so please respect mine. This is simply my view, so let's keep it courteous. My review is honest and voluntary.
Not bad, but I had a hard time caring for the characters. Not because of their personalities or anything, I just couldn't get personally invested in the story.
On to my next adventure, Happy Readings!!!
Not bad, but I had a hard time caring for the characters. Not because of their personalities or anything, I just couldn't get personally invested in the story.
On to my next adventure, Happy Readings!!!
June 3, 2026
I love this story so much. It's so cool!
Dipak is so brave, and capable, and sexy. Euclid is a sweetheart. "Lord Sunshine himself." I love them and their found family. I want to go live in the forest with The Exiled.
"Your territory and the people that you protect became the treasure that you guard."
This book makes me happy. ❤️
Dipak is so brave, and capable, and sexy. Euclid is a sweetheart. "Lord Sunshine himself." I love them and their found family. I want to go live in the forest with The Exiled.
"Your territory and the people that you protect became the treasure that you guard."
This book makes me happy. ❤️
June 16, 2026
fine if predictable
It’s an ok story. The magic doesn’t make much sense and there’s a lot more exposition of thought rather than allowing unready to experience things organically. I also don’t find the speed at which they got together to be reasonable based on the characters own sense of relationships. But can you expect from such a short book
It’s an ok story. The magic doesn’t make much sense and there’s a lot more exposition of thought rather than allowing unready to experience things organically. I also don’t find the speed at which they got together to be reasonable based on the characters own sense of relationships. But can you expect from such a short book
Did Not Finish
June 3, 2026DNFed at 21% because the writing was bad and I got bored. Cool cover tho.
June 7, 2026
Another great book
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it quite absorbing. My only wish is that it was longer although it did take a few hours to read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it quite absorbing. My only wish is that it was longer although it did take a few hours to read.
June 8, 2026
3.75-4 super enjoyable, like her writing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2026
cute and quick read
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews