Presumptive heir to his family name, Zander Pierce will have it all. Money, power, and more at his fingertips. But on her deathbed, his mother says he must mate before she passes, or else his cousin will get everything. In a race for time, the dragon shifter decides it would be easier to just pretend. All he needs now is the right woman.
Clothing consultant Riss Levion is a human living in a shifter world. But even after living amongst them all her life, she immediately realizes there’s something different about the dragon shifter who just walked into the shop where she works. As he seamlessly inserts himself into her life, Riss begins to let her guard down. After all, who could resist the gorgeous sandy-haired shifter?
But as his secrets begin to emerge and she becomes more familiar with his position as a dragon Guardian of Cadia, Riss wonders if perhaps she’s made a horrible mistake. Can Zander prove to Riss that his feelings for her weren’t faked, or will a meddling third party doom the mates to a life alone?
Amelia Jade loves to write the stories of tall, growly shifter men and the women who come to love them. Living out in the back-country near the mountains, she keeps her own alpha male close by, to keep the bears away and keep her warm. In her down time (which is rare), she loves to read science-fiction with a dash of fantasy. You can often find her curled up in front of the real wood-burning fireplace, her nose firmly buried in a book or her favorite ereader. The cold can't bother her there!
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Zander has had a pretty good life up to this moment. He’s a rare gale dragon, of a linage that is old and high ranking, a Guardian in his own right and an instructor at the Top Scale Academy. Not bad at all. Except for one small detail that his dying mother is pointing out none too subtly… he is alone with no mate in sight, he’s not even looking. Her final request, or demand, is that he find his mate before she passes… or he’ll lose his place as the Pierce heir and all that entails and she will pass the inheritance along to his no good, worthless cousin Kieran. He will not allow that to happen and sets out to plot his way through a pretend romance with a human, well half human half grizzly, woman who works for a rather despicable manager at a clothing store. It should have been easy, and it mostly was right up until he realized his mistake too late… this was far from pretend, and he was about to lose his mate because of his foolishness.
Riss is a human living legally in Cadia since she has one shifter parent. She’s on her own, barely making a living on the commissions from her work at the clothing store, and constantly dealing with a puffed up, arrogant jerk of a store manager. When Zander walks into her life she’s curious, persuaded and interested in seeing where this thing that is between them goes. During an attempted mugging, Riss begins to realize just how helpful it is to have Zander around, even if she simply doesn’t like the way he behaves at times. He’s winning her heart one date at a time… right up until he leaves without a reason and she learns the hard way what their supposed romance was all about. Can she forgive and forget when the true reasons come to light? Right now, the odds are not in Zander’s favor.
I enjoyed this first story in the Dragons of Cadia series where we get a look into the lives of the instructors from Top Scale Academy. I really liked Zander, yes at times he’s a bit puffed up with himself but overall he’s a good guy simply trying to make his mom happy. If he bashes in a few heads, and gets the girl along the way, well so be it. Riss – well, Riss I didn’t connect with as well as I wanted to because Zander deserved an amazing woman and at times Riss fell far short in that for me. But they worked well together, have some very sexy moments and battle the bad guys successfully. So in the end she was right for Zander, and really that’s all that truly matters.
I would recommend Gale Dragon and the Dragons of Cadia series to any Shifter Romance reader. The stories are solid, with believable characters in unusual situations. An added bonus, for me, is getting to run into characters from previous stories. I would strongly suggest, however, that you read the Top Scale Academy series as well or alongside of this series. The connections are obvious and the overlying story line does move forward with each story, in my opinion.
I read this story through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Well Amelia has done another great job with her dragon stories. I picked up this book and did not put it down until I finished it. Oh, this means I read until 2 am and boy was I tired when my alarm went off at 6am.
Having meet Zander Piece briefly in the Top Scale Academy series this book is not part of that series directly. He is one of the younger instructors but he comes from a upper level dragon family. Being the only dragonling of his mother there are expectations he must meet to inherit his family place but he is resistant to complying.
Riss Levion is a human living in a shifter world. She is the product of human/bear pairing but she did not get any of the shifter abilities. She has been discriminated against her whole life but living and working in Cadia will not make her wealthly enough to leave so she stays.
Amelia has woven a story that will keep you wanting to know what is happening next.
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
This book had a slower start than I like but I stuck with it and I'm so glad that I did. One of my most favorite thing to read in a book is the maturing of a hardened character. It was incredible to watch Zander grow from the angry man he was into the man that saw outside of it all. Riss was incredible herself. Strong, intelligent and beautiful. Surprising both of them, they ended up being exactly what each other needed.
Probably my favorite of this series. A slew of grammatical errors, but I couldn't stop reading about Zander and Riss. It's nice that each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone, but I'd like to see the mates interact with each other. They're fun characters, so I'd love to see these women have some Bechdel time.
The story was written in painful detail with nothing left for the reader to figure out. Everything was spelled out as if the reader was a child and could not make inferences. Parts of the story did not make sense, For example, Riss's boss started out a tiger shifter and later was a wolf shifter. I would not recommend.
Zander and Rise' story was O.K. I am hoping the next one is much better though. Zander is a Guardian Tale Dragon and Rise is a spunky human who he meets at a clothing store. He initially has a plan because he n must find a mate or his mother will give her inheritance to his cousin, should he not find a mate prIor to her death. He has a plan for this human.
I wish this author would throw in an epilogue. These stories end so abruptly.
This is the first of three books in a shifter series about dragons. At first, I really was skeptical about shifters that were dragons, this author pulled me in with her magical way of character description which draws you closer to the main characters. Very few misspelled words, and hallelujah, one word used in sexual scenes is actually spelled right! Shocking! Handsome dragon Shifter Zander, is not mated. His mother is at the end of her life and so desperately wants her son married. He finds his mate in a feisty little human named Riss. She a spitfire that just keeps him in awe. Lol. A twisting plot that unless you are really a savvy reader, you might miss those subtle clues the author provides. Definitely a good series to read. The tie in between the three books is awesome. I recommend this for you avid paranormal readers. Sexual scenes and provocative language makes this book inappropriate for those 18 and under.
I love Amelia Jade. Her shifter stories are so good you would almost believe the characters are real. My favorite stories are about dragons. Great reads.
*I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book*
GALE DRAGON
When Zander Pierce gets a ultimatum from ill mother, it's a race against time to find a mate or lose his families fortune. All he has do is pretend, but he needs to find the right woman.
Riss Levion is a clothing consultant and a human who lives amongst the shifters. When a dragon shifter walks into her shop, she knows there is something different about him. Then he smoothly inserts himself into her life and she begins to let her guard down.
But secrets are secrets and when she finds out, she wonders if she's made a terrible mistake. Can Zander turn things around, and prove to Riss that his feelings are genuine and not fake? Or will a little meddling leave them to live their lives alone?
This was a really enjoyable read. I loved the storyline which was very entertaining, and the characters were amazing and sweet. I loved their chemistry and they made a cute couple. Lots of drama, suspense, action, and romance. A fantastic start to a new series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Once again Amelia outdid herself. Zander is faced with the decision to loose his inheritance or find a mate to keep it. Will he choose for the better of himself or for the right to be heir? This is a story that follows the Top Scale Academy books, and gives you the stories of the Guardians that are training the recruits :-) Off to book 2
A very enjoyable read that has Zander meeting a very unusual human woman fpr his HEA, if he doesnt screw it up first. Oh my, what a good read I could not put down, but you knew from the get go Zander was going to regret his actions. Loved Riss, I am always so happy when the heroine comes across as a clever woman and so sensible, so funny when she tasered Zander. A really enjoyable read that did not give us any time with our cadets from the academy but we did get Daxxton knocking some sense into Zander. Would love to see Kieran’s face when he is told the news. This is my honest review of this book.
As I've read the Top Scale Academy books by this author, I was already familiar with the world that is Cadia. This book has it all - Intrigue, chemistry, protectiveness, loyalty, and love. Sometimes it takes a strong willed woman to break through the arrogance of a 'thinks he knows what he needs' man. Its a windy ride for Zander and Riss, but an incredible one none the less.
"I received an ARC of this and voluntarily chose to leave a review"
Quick basic read. Not a bad story the author put effort into their relationship building but the story takes pace over 4-5, maybe 6 days. Not insta love, although they get married at the end which felt rushed. And some of the conversations felt odd, something just felt odd. The fight scene's were very descriptive, but read to slow and boring and there are quite a few. Not bad just, ?
Zander has been told by his dying mother that if he doesn't find a mate before she dies, she will leave everything to his cousin Kieran. He is on the street and decides he needs to buy a suit. Riss is his salesperson and he thinks to use her to save his inheritance. Needless yo say roadblocks are thrown up all over the place. Read this to find out what happens. It is excellent.
This was a really good book that drew me in from the beginning, and kept me hooked until I'd finished it. Riss was a great female lead, strong and independent. Zander was also great, and I really loved how he was with Riss. It was pretty easy to care that he really cared about her. I enjoyed following their story, and was happy where things left off for them. I was gifted a copy.
Excellent book! I have been a big fan of Ms. Jades Genesis Valley series and decided to try this new one when I found it. So glad I did, hope there are many more to come.
Oh my I was so glad you are continuing on with Cadia. I love this place, the characters are so cool and their mates are super tough and strong women who take no crap from anyone. I loved the sword Risa made was cool. She was taking care of herself the only way she could. Real!y liked this story.
I figured that there was more going on than just her boss but it wasn't until the end that I got it right before the bad guy showed up. I loved the letter with the will at the end. Zander's mother was awesome.