Um, I absolutely adored this and already can't wait for the second installment of this.
Zephyr and Gawain had a connection from the offset, and were both incredibly sweet and kind, and their love shined throughout the pages, basically from the get go. And I can't even say it was insta-love exactly, because Zephyr was a dragon at first and Gawain was not attracted to a dragon in dragon form. But they did have an affection for each other quickly, that grew and grew as the book went on.
I've never read a dragon shifter book before and this was an amazing introduction to this type of shifter romance. The only thing that made this different than other shifter romances - with like werewolves and werebears and so on and so forth - was that Zephyr is a dragon first and can shift into human form, not the other way around. His true form is a dragon, but he can talk as a dragon and is more than just an animal.
Gawain is the prince of the country they're in, his sister being the Queen and asking/ordering him to go to a village where reports of a dragon sightings have been given, and to deal with the dragon if it is hurting people, or help the dragon if not.
Turns out, Zephyr is just defending himself, because dragons haven't been seen in their country for over a century, so all people have are legends about dragons and all they see is a big, fire breathing dragon and think the worst and try to attack him, even though he hasn't do anything to them. Also, Zephyr is recently escaped from captivity where he was abused and tortured for who knows how long - all we know is that he was taken when he was still a youngling and is now a young adult in dragon years, however long that is.
Gawain is the first person to show him absolute kindness and Zephyr trusts him almost instantly and becomes attached, and Gawain sees Zephyr for who he is - a kind, sweet dragon who has been abused.
They're starting to fall for each other, although there are some communication issues as they're different species and when Zephyr says Gawain is "mine" he means mate, but Gawain didn't understand that. But when Zephyr shape shifts into human form to help after an attack - which he can't do as a dragon - Gawain notices how attractive his human form is, and it allows Gawain to understand he has feelings for Zephyr.
Also, okay, hot damn, the sex between these two was scorching, I loved it.
I just loved this whole story, and I can't wait for more and to see these two grow closer and more in love.
I highly recommend this! Two thumbs up from me!