So, first off, I have to state that most of my issues with this book fall into "me not you" category, and most readers seem to really like it, so don't let me be a naysayer. However, I am going to state why I didn't connect with this book.
1. It is not a medieval fairy tale. AGAIN, AS I SAID, THESE ARE ME ISSUES. This one's my own fault because I didn't look at the book description very carefully before picking up the book to read. I just looked at the title, saw "damsel and dragon" and just made that assumption. It's actually a contemporary romance, and while the title does fit the story, I wish that the cover represented the contemporary nature a bit better. Roses are timeless and I didn't notice the barbed wire. I dunno, maybe have the titular dragon trophy on the cover in place of the rose? (Also, while I'm on the topic of the title, does it bother anyone else that every word is capitalized? For this title, that's three words too many. My editor's brain is screaming.)
2. Possibly because it's so short, but most of the characters felt more like caricatures. Especially Sean. He's Irish, and that's the basis for about 90% of his personality.
3. The way that the southern accents were written got annoying sometimes. Now, I'm East Texan, and I know that there are colloquial differences between my own accent and South Carolina (where the book is set), but the constant use of "ya" in place of "you" and "your," among other things, just didn't feel right to me?
4. Lucy's first chapter was a sermon. Look, I don't mind a book with a strong Christian message, but when I get introduced to a character, I want to get to know HER, not hear a sermon from someone else. And looking back over the story, I'm not even sure that it was necessary to the plot. That opening gave me the impression of a girl who was struggling with her faith, but then she 180'd and spent the rest of the book pretty well grounded.
5. The setting just ... I didn't feel it. It was supposed to be contemporary, but my brain kept trying to put the characters in the 70's and earlier, just from interactions and social structure. I know it's a small-town, and again, colloquial differences Texas vs. South Carolina, but there was a naivete to the setting that just didn't feel modern. And then I'd get jarred out of the setting by a reference to a hoodie or a cell phones.
There were things that I did like about the story - the message was brilliant, and the romance was cute, but ... I just didn't connect and this wasn't the book for me. Maybe you'll like it better than I did.