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Being(s) in Love #7
Treasure for Treasure
In the nineteenth century, the dragon Dìzhèn put the small coastal town of Everlasting under her protection. Her family was supposed to carry on the tradition, but all of Dìzhèn the Great’s heirs eventually left rather than live in the shadow of such a powerful dragon, and to the people of Everlasting, the dragons are more myth than anything to rely upon.
Only the youngest dragon of the current generation remains in the big house hidden among the trees: Zarrin, the softhearted disgrace of his family. He might be weak, small, and afraid, but he is determined to show the humans they have not been forgotten… and he will start with the human he has longed for since they were children. The problem is, Zarrin hasn’t been around any humans much, and can barely get this one human to talk to him.
A lot of the people in Everlasting think grumpy outcast Joe should love to have a dragon trying to get his attention. But Joe refuses to cower in front of the dragons or suck up to Zarrin like everyone else. Yes, Zarrin is sexy, and oddly gentle for a dragon, and stares at Joe with a gaze so hot it makes Joe shiver. But hurt, mistrustful Joe can’t believe Zarrin’s promises and doesn’t realize he is the treasure Zarrin once let slip through his fingers. Now, to win Joe’s trust, and the trust of the town, Zarrin has to learn about humans and love, so he can be as brave and strong as Dìzhèn herself.
Being(s) in Love:
Magical creatures known as beings emerged from hiding amid the destruction of the First World War. Since then they’ve lived on the margins of the human world as misunderstood objects of fear and desire. Some are beautiful, others fearsome and powerful. Yet for all their magic and strength, they are as vulnerable as anyone when it comes to matters of the heart.
Only the youngest dragon of the current generation remains in the big house hidden among the trees: Zarrin, the softhearted disgrace of his family. He might be weak, small, and afraid, but he is determined to show the humans they have not been forgotten… and he will start with the human he has longed for since they were children. The problem is, Zarrin hasn’t been around any humans much, and can barely get this one human to talk to him.
A lot of the people in Everlasting think grumpy outcast Joe should love to have a dragon trying to get his attention. But Joe refuses to cower in front of the dragons or suck up to Zarrin like everyone else. Yes, Zarrin is sexy, and oddly gentle for a dragon, and stares at Joe with a gaze so hot it makes Joe shiver. But hurt, mistrustful Joe can’t believe Zarrin’s promises and doesn’t realize he is the treasure Zarrin once let slip through his fingers. Now, to win Joe’s trust, and the trust of the town, Zarrin has to learn about humans and love, so he can be as brave and strong as Dìzhèn herself.
Being(s) in Love:
Magical creatures known as beings emerged from hiding amid the destruction of the First World War. Since then they’ve lived on the margins of the human world as misunderstood objects of fear and desire. Some are beautiful, others fearsome and powerful. Yet for all their magic and strength, they are as vulnerable as anyone when it comes to matters of the heart.
356 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 12, 2016
44 people are currently reading
389 people want to read
About the author
R. Cooper
81 books996 followersI'm R. Cooper, a somewhat absentminded, often distracted, writer of queer romance. I'm probably most known for the Being(s) in Love series and The Suitable 'Verse stories. Also the occasional story about witches or firefighters in love.
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If you just want book release updates, I have a BookBub profile.
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You can visit my website for updates or sign up for my newsletter . My newsletter is free! And comes out once a month or once every two months or so.
Otherwise... have some social media links if you want updates and whatever the hell else I am talking about.
Tumblr
BlueSky
**With Meta's current policies, I do not use FB or Insta or Threads for anything but the bare minimum.**
Instagram and Threads
You can also support me on Patreon if you like
If you just want book release updates, I have a BookBub profile.
Also, I now have a Storygraph where I will try to track my reading in an organized fashion.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
January 5, 2020
Really, who is responsible for the atrocities committed upon these book covers? Just when you think your eyes have recovered from the last book, bam, the next one in the series comes along and re-assaults your eyes. I mean, come on.
Here's what I imagine happened in the meeting at the publisher:
Boss: "This book stars two men who are so beautiful that one of them is magical and the other has every human in town in love with him. We need a cover to reflect their other-worldly beauty, along with their simmering desire that will grow into everlasting love. As it happens, my child, the third grader with the lazy eye, is an aspiring artist. I'm sure that just because I'm your boss and have been known to fire anyone who crosses me, this will in no way affect your decision on whether or not we will use little Suzie's drawing for the cover. Let's take a vote while I look each of you menacingly in the eye as you tell me your answer."
Okay, so my own daughter who could out-draw Suzie so hard that she will make her cry just came in and said the cover photo looks like a guy holding his ventriloquist's dummy and asking it why nobody loves him and the dummy confesses its undying love to him. I think it looks like a bad caricature artist at an amusement park drew it for you right after he got off the spinning teacup ride. I'm listening to all theories. I'm very intrigued as to what is happening here with the cover art. Is someone in trouble? Is this a cry for help? I feel like I should call the police.
So, why did I give it such a high rating? Because you really can't judge a book by its cover. This was good. Star Wars good. No, not the latest Star Wars, or the prequels. The bar isn't that low. Original, mint Star Wars good. Well, okay, maybe that's setting it too high. Let's say New Hope good, not Empire Strikes Back good. That's perfect. Now you get it.
This was a fun paranormal romance because you totally fall for all of the characters. There is a whole town filled with people who are in this book and the next. You feel like you know them after a while. The romance was cute and simmering. And, best part of all: it had a transgender character and it was done amazingly well. As you all know, I have a transgender person in my life and I am a strong ally for all LGBT people. Trans people deal with a lot of hate and violence against them. It makes me happy when I can see a character who is trans being represented as just a normal person who deserves to be treated as such. It was awesome!
Here's what I imagine happened in the meeting at the publisher:
Boss: "This book stars two men who are so beautiful that one of them is magical and the other has every human in town in love with him. We need a cover to reflect their other-worldly beauty, along with their simmering desire that will grow into everlasting love. As it happens, my child, the third grader with the lazy eye, is an aspiring artist. I'm sure that just because I'm your boss and have been known to fire anyone who crosses me, this will in no way affect your decision on whether or not we will use little Suzie's drawing for the cover. Let's take a vote while I look each of you menacingly in the eye as you tell me your answer."
Okay, so my own daughter who could out-draw Suzie so hard that she will make her cry just came in and said the cover photo looks like a guy holding his ventriloquist's dummy and asking it why nobody loves him and the dummy confesses its undying love to him. I think it looks like a bad caricature artist at an amusement park drew it for you right after he got off the spinning teacup ride. I'm listening to all theories. I'm very intrigued as to what is happening here with the cover art. Is someone in trouble? Is this a cry for help? I feel like I should call the police.
So, why did I give it such a high rating? Because you really can't judge a book by its cover. This was good. Star Wars good. No, not the latest Star Wars, or the prequels. The bar isn't that low. Original, mint Star Wars good. Well, okay, maybe that's setting it too high. Let's say New Hope good, not Empire Strikes Back good. That's perfect. Now you get it.
This was a fun paranormal romance because you totally fall for all of the characters. There is a whole town filled with people who are in this book and the next. You feel like you know them after a while. The romance was cute and simmering. And, best part of all: it had a transgender character and it was done amazingly well. As you all know, I have a transgender person in my life and I am a strong ally for all LGBT people. Trans people deal with a lot of hate and violence against them. It makes me happy when I can see a character who is trans being represented as just a normal person who deserves to be treated as such. It was awesome!
August 12, 2018
.....3.3 Stars.......This is one of my favorite series. However, this was not one of my favorite books. Why? Two reasons.
First, let’s deal with the pacing. It was slow. I’m a big fan of the slow burn, and I don’t mind books that take their time heating up. The problem here was that a good chunk of this book felt repetitive, I didn’t see why we basically had to read the same scene over and over again:
Joe was hurt in high school, had his heart broken after swallowing the lies of a jock. He was later accused of turning this same person gay. That’s most of what we know about his past other than he grew up poor and ostracized for his Mexican and Native American heritage. He’s grumpy all the time. He doesn’t believe Zarrin, the dragon could want him or could mean all the promises he makes him.
We hear this countless times. I liked Joe, but I couldn’t connect with the apparent depth of his hurt.
Zarrin had his own issues of feeling unworthy, but he appeared to actively change his situation and go after what he wanted. Zarrin was the only real catalyst in the story and the one who underwent the most change.
I liked the story, but just felt lit was repetitive and could have easily lost 70 pages.
This is a complete standalone story, like most in this series.
First, let’s deal with the pacing. It was slow. I’m a big fan of the slow burn, and I don’t mind books that take their time heating up. The problem here was that a good chunk of this book felt repetitive, I didn’t see why we basically had to read the same scene over and over again:
Joe was hurt in high school, had his heart broken after swallowing the lies of a jock. He was later accused of turning this same person gay. That’s most of what we know about his past other than he grew up poor and ostracized for his Mexican and Native American heritage. He’s grumpy all the time. He doesn’t believe Zarrin, the dragon could want him or could mean all the promises he makes him.
We hear this countless times. I liked Joe, but I couldn’t connect with the apparent depth of his hurt.
Zarrin had his own issues of feeling unworthy, but he appeared to actively change his situation and go after what he wanted. Zarrin was the only real catalyst in the story and the one who underwent the most change.
I liked the story, but just felt lit was repetitive and could have easily lost 70 pages.
This is a complete standalone story, like most in this series.
September 1, 2020
Struggled with this one a lot. And it's mostly my fault. I think I need more than a few weeks break from this series. I'm into more fast-paced books lately. This series however is leisurely: the story, the writing... it's all so slow. The author is taking the time to write down every detail, discuss every topic not once, but circles around each problem or question, studies it from every angle until all parties are satisfied with the resulting answer or outcome.
The story itself wasn't as satisfying to me as the ones before it. But overall the low rating is my fault.
I wanted to rush through the remaining 2 books I haven't read yet to finally get to the long-awaited Sweet Clematis. I guess I will have to wait a little longer.
The story itself wasn't as satisfying to me as the ones before it. But overall the low rating is my fault.
I wanted to rush through the remaining 2 books I haven't read yet to finally get to the long-awaited Sweet Clematis. I guess I will have to wait a little longer.
April 24, 2020
Although this wasn't my favorite in the series, I still liked it. I have sort of got into a groove with this series and the author's style of writing and it's really grown on me. Their stories always seem to have a lot of longing and wistfulness to them and that is pretty much a common thread through all the stories in this series and it calls to me. I know some people thought this one was boring but because of that commonality of them, I kind of got addicted to them.
Zarrin thinks he's a weak dragon and Joe feels he is the town joke and is tired of being a dirty secret. It's a slow-burn because Zarrin doesn't understand the way of humans or his own worth and Joe is hurt and angry enough that he also doesn't see his self worth. They are a sweet pair and with a little nudge from an unlikely werewolf, they can find their way.
Zarrin thinks he's a weak dragon and Joe feels he is the town joke and is tired of being a dirty secret. It's a slow-burn because Zarrin doesn't understand the way of humans or his own worth and Joe is hurt and angry enough that he also doesn't see his self worth. They are a sweet pair and with a little nudge from an unlikely werewolf, they can find their way.
April 30, 2018
Please please please just ignore the horrible cover art. All of R. Cooper's Being(s) in Love books are so sweet and poignant, with prevailing themes of loneliness and cultural (usually human-to-fae) misunderstandings. Gentle HEAs, understated but lovely sex scenes. You do not have to read this series in order at all, just pick and choose whichever blurb interests you. You'll probably end up reading them all anyway. That's what happened to me. I started with (and loved) Treasure for Treasure, and I am so NOT a dragon shifter person, but I still really enjoyed it.
January 18, 2019
Treasure for Treasure (Beings in Love)
By R. Cooper
Dreamspinner Press, 2016
Five stars
Maybe it’s because my own children are Chinese and Native American/Latinx, but the story arc of this book struck close to home. It had been a while since I’d come across one of Cooper’s magical love stories, books that have a distinct audience in mind and a style that is intensely romantic. The strangely drawn cover put me off a bit, but the story itself readily swept me up in its angst and emotional unease.
In this world of R. Cooper, where magical beings live in the human world – not always easily, sometimes marginalized and ghettoized – nothing should be a surprise. Thus it is not a surprise that the Northwest coastal town of Everlasting should have been put under the protection of a powerful Chinese dragon family named Xu during what I (as a lifelong museum curator) would have called the Gilded Age. Triumphing against the prejudice of the white majority, the matriarch of the clan, Dizhen, became Everlasting’s most powerful citizen, building herself a vast mansion surrounded by a preserve of old-growth redwoods. That Dizhen appeared in human form as a man may have been to assuage the gender prejudice of the era, or maybe not.
But Dizhen is long gone, and the Xu family have drifted away, leaving the house empty and the preserve protected only by the dragon clan’s magic – until their youngest, weakest member, Zarrin Xu, comes home to Everlasting to take up residence in the mysterious mansion that nobody has seen in generations.
We enter the world of Everlasting as another, humbler, native son has returned home after trying to escape to the big city (Seattle? Portland?). Joseph Andres is half Mexican and half Native – the very people who lived on the land where Everlasting was built before white people colonized it. He, too, loves the land, and paints it. Like most artists, he pays for his passion as a barista in the local coffee house (ha – how very northwestern!). It is there he meets Zarrin, of whom he has memories from his own childhood.
What I loved most about this book, right from the title on, is how Cooper takes the ancient dragon lore surrounding “treasure” and spins it in a smart, emotionally pointed way. In our modern world of oligarchs and selfish billionaires, who seem to make money simply for the joy of having more than others, the metaphor of the dragon is all too plain. It goes back to Smaug in Tolkein’s “The Hobbit,” sleeping on his pile of gold inside the Lonely Mountain. But Zarrin seems to have another idea of treasure, and this is what has made him an embarrassment for his powerful, globally wealthy family.
But Zarrin also seems to have something the rest of his family doesn’t: his love of the Xu family preserve seems to be reciprocated. Perhaps there is a reason that he was called back to Everlasting, just as Joe was. Perhaps there is more to treasure than gold and power.
The many local characters who appear in the coffee shop provide a marvelous backdrop against which the awkward pas-de-deux between Zarrin and Joe takes place. Racial prejudice, but also a desire to be cared for, seem to drive this small town and its crop of ordinary white folks trying to get by in a world that doesn’t seem to care. The book is full of little human (and dragon) details that make you smile, and make you feel. Cooper brings the magic of this place alive, while never letting it get too far away from a reality with which many of us can identify.
Take care of what you love.
By R. Cooper
Dreamspinner Press, 2016
Five stars
Maybe it’s because my own children are Chinese and Native American/Latinx, but the story arc of this book struck close to home. It had been a while since I’d come across one of Cooper’s magical love stories, books that have a distinct audience in mind and a style that is intensely romantic. The strangely drawn cover put me off a bit, but the story itself readily swept me up in its angst and emotional unease.
In this world of R. Cooper, where magical beings live in the human world – not always easily, sometimes marginalized and ghettoized – nothing should be a surprise. Thus it is not a surprise that the Northwest coastal town of Everlasting should have been put under the protection of a powerful Chinese dragon family named Xu during what I (as a lifelong museum curator) would have called the Gilded Age. Triumphing against the prejudice of the white majority, the matriarch of the clan, Dizhen, became Everlasting’s most powerful citizen, building herself a vast mansion surrounded by a preserve of old-growth redwoods. That Dizhen appeared in human form as a man may have been to assuage the gender prejudice of the era, or maybe not.
But Dizhen is long gone, and the Xu family have drifted away, leaving the house empty and the preserve protected only by the dragon clan’s magic – until their youngest, weakest member, Zarrin Xu, comes home to Everlasting to take up residence in the mysterious mansion that nobody has seen in generations.
We enter the world of Everlasting as another, humbler, native son has returned home after trying to escape to the big city (Seattle? Portland?). Joseph Andres is half Mexican and half Native – the very people who lived on the land where Everlasting was built before white people colonized it. He, too, loves the land, and paints it. Like most artists, he pays for his passion as a barista in the local coffee house (ha – how very northwestern!). It is there he meets Zarrin, of whom he has memories from his own childhood.
What I loved most about this book, right from the title on, is how Cooper takes the ancient dragon lore surrounding “treasure” and spins it in a smart, emotionally pointed way. In our modern world of oligarchs and selfish billionaires, who seem to make money simply for the joy of having more than others, the metaphor of the dragon is all too plain. It goes back to Smaug in Tolkein’s “The Hobbit,” sleeping on his pile of gold inside the Lonely Mountain. But Zarrin seems to have another idea of treasure, and this is what has made him an embarrassment for his powerful, globally wealthy family.
But Zarrin also seems to have something the rest of his family doesn’t: his love of the Xu family preserve seems to be reciprocated. Perhaps there is a reason that he was called back to Everlasting, just as Joe was. Perhaps there is more to treasure than gold and power.
The many local characters who appear in the coffee shop provide a marvelous backdrop against which the awkward pas-de-deux between Zarrin and Joe takes place. Racial prejudice, but also a desire to be cared for, seem to drive this small town and its crop of ordinary white folks trying to get by in a world that doesn’t seem to care. The book is full of little human (and dragon) details that make you smile, and make you feel. Cooper brings the magic of this place alive, while never letting it get too far away from a reality with which many of us can identify.
Take care of what you love.
April 29, 2018
За ненавязчивый сюжет и милых мне героев поставила бы оценку выше, но манера написания заставила снизить балл. Предложения длинные, разбиваются вводными и описаниями/сторонними мыслями, частая смена фокала- все это заставляло напрягаться и перечитывать один абзац по несколько раз. Поэтому книга показалась затянутой.
September 15, 2017
I love this series. The world building is amazing. This one didn't work well for me. It's just too freaking LONG.
The first half of the book could have been pared down to probably a third of the length it was without losing impact. As it was I think the length of time Joe spent denying and Zarrin spent pining with neither one ever getting anywhere lessened the effect. There were several times that I just thought I'm putting this down, I can't finish it, but given this is R. Cooper I will soldier on.
We are supposed to see why Zarrin views Joe as "treasure" but the descriptions and behaviors that are meant to endear the reader to Joe are very subtle. Almost too subtle, since there were definitely times that he annoyed me. Poor, naive yet toppy Zarrin was much easier to love.
I don't regret finishing the book, but I'm not sure I can fully recommend it. If you are a fan of the series, then by all means pick it up. If you're new to the series, don't start with this one. "Beings in Love" can be read as a series or as standalone books, but this one isn't a good representation of the rest.
The first half of the book could have been pared down to probably a third of the length it was without losing impact. As it was I think the length of time Joe spent denying and Zarrin spent pining with neither one ever getting anywhere lessened the effect. There were several times that I just thought I'm putting this down, I can't finish it, but given this is R. Cooper I will soldier on.
We are supposed to see why Zarrin views Joe as "treasure" but the descriptions and behaviors that are meant to endear the reader to Joe are very subtle. Almost too subtle, since there were definitely times that he annoyed me. Poor, naive yet toppy Zarrin was much easier to love.
I don't regret finishing the book, but I'm not sure I can fully recommend it. If you are a fan of the series, then by all means pick it up. If you're new to the series, don't start with this one. "Beings in Love" can be read as a series or as standalone books, but this one isn't a good representation of the rest.
December 28, 2016
Utterly sweet and most enjoyable. I'm rather surprised few friends have read this. R. Cooper steadily moves up my must-read author listing. Recommend!
August 7, 2017
Another comfortable snuggle in the Being's World :D
February 5, 2017
Joe is kind of an outcast in the small town of Everlasting. His high school “boyfriend” was a bit of a closet-case (with a real asshole of a girlfriend) and Joe ended up being labeled all sorts of horrible things after they were found out. Even years later, after he has come back from his attempts to get away from his hometown by going to college, Joe is seen by everyone as that (mixed race) gay guy who lured that poor (rich) unsuspecting (white) boy into a (half) life of homosexuality with his supposed tricksy poor non-white people’s magics. Even if Joe doesn’t have a magic bone in his body. It has left him with a few trust issues. To say the least.
Which is why he doesn’t respond all that well when one of the town’s dragons comes back to Everlasting. The dragons were supposedly there to guard and protect the city, but from where Joe is standing they have been doing shit all for years now. And yeah, Zarrin doesn’t seem like the kind of asshole-dragon that Joe figures they all are, but then Joe hasn’t had the best luck with trusting his instincts, either. Zarrin has after all been living a life of privilege probably not even the rich white folks of the town can have, so he is bound to be even worse than them, right? And even if he isn’t…well. It’s not like a dragon would want someone like Joe.
A Boy and His Dragon was the first book in this series that I read, and I was thrilled to find out that R. Cooper had decided to do another book based off their take on dragons. I remember happy-sighing my way thru Boy and hoped some of that same feel would come into play here. And boy oh boy did I get that and more.
There is just something about Zarrin and Joe that really just hits all my buttons. Joe, a human with some major trust issues, and Zarrin, a dragon that only wants to be a good and proper (read: fierce) dragon, are such a wonderful pair. I don’t even know how to describe how absolutely wonder, either. Like this book is over 300 pages and I was laughing and crying and sighing and just wanting someone to go buy me a damn latte already (even if I don’t even really like the things, either–which is actually kinda perfect for this book) the whole time.
I don’t know if this book is my favorite, but if it isn’t at the top of the list it is probably in comfortable second place. Seriously, I can’t even describe how much I loved it. Which, is probably a bit of a problem when it comes to writing reviews. I do know that the sheer amount of tension in this book should have been driving me batty, but it never did. I wanted to shake Joe, hug Zarrin, but never once did I want them to stop doing whatever the hell it was they were doing to make this book so damn fun to read.
R. Cooper is just so very good at creating characters that pull on all eleven of my heartstrings. And enjoy every second of it. Even when I was crying I was more than happy to keep reading. Just. Damn. I loved it, ok? These characters had me so tied up in their story that I almost missed getting off the bus at my stop. Twice. I didn’t wanna stop reading.
I fully, truly, and extremely recommend this book. Especially if you have been a fan of this series so far. Ugh, it was so good. Have I said that yet? Yes? Well, it bares repeating anyways.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
Which is why he doesn’t respond all that well when one of the town’s dragons comes back to Everlasting. The dragons were supposedly there to guard and protect the city, but from where Joe is standing they have been doing shit all for years now. And yeah, Zarrin doesn’t seem like the kind of asshole-dragon that Joe figures they all are, but then Joe hasn’t had the best luck with trusting his instincts, either. Zarrin has after all been living a life of privilege probably not even the rich white folks of the town can have, so he is bound to be even worse than them, right? And even if he isn’t…well. It’s not like a dragon would want someone like Joe.
A Boy and His Dragon was the first book in this series that I read, and I was thrilled to find out that R. Cooper had decided to do another book based off their take on dragons. I remember happy-sighing my way thru Boy and hoped some of that same feel would come into play here. And boy oh boy did I get that and more.
There is just something about Zarrin and Joe that really just hits all my buttons. Joe, a human with some major trust issues, and Zarrin, a dragon that only wants to be a good and proper (read: fierce) dragon, are such a wonderful pair. I don’t even know how to describe how absolutely wonder, either. Like this book is over 300 pages and I was laughing and crying and sighing and just wanting someone to go buy me a damn latte already (even if I don’t even really like the things, either–which is actually kinda perfect for this book) the whole time.
I don’t know if this book is my favorite, but if it isn’t at the top of the list it is probably in comfortable second place. Seriously, I can’t even describe how much I loved it. Which, is probably a bit of a problem when it comes to writing reviews. I do know that the sheer amount of tension in this book should have been driving me batty, but it never did. I wanted to shake Joe, hug Zarrin, but never once did I want them to stop doing whatever the hell it was they were doing to make this book so damn fun to read.
R. Cooper is just so very good at creating characters that pull on all eleven of my heartstrings. And enjoy every second of it. Even when I was crying I was more than happy to keep reading. Just. Damn. I loved it, ok? These characters had me so tied up in their story that I almost missed getting off the bus at my stop. Twice. I didn’t wanna stop reading.
I fully, truly, and extremely recommend this book. Especially if you have been a fan of this series so far. Ugh, it was so good. Have I said that yet? Yes? Well, it bares repeating anyways.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
April 29, 2020
Each of the books set in the magical, supernatural world of R. Cooper’s ‘Being(s) In Love’ series is special in its own way. Whether it is fairies or werewolves or dragons or the humans some of them get involved with, I love all of their special rules with unforeseen consequences. Whether their mates are of the same species or whether they have to cope with cross-species rules on top of their personal issues and hang-ups, none of their relationships have been easy. Dragons, however, still hold a somewhat more special place in my heart than any other beings, so I was delighted to find out that ‘Treasure for Treasure’ has a dragon as one of the main characters, and a very unusual one at that.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
July 3, 2017
***3.13 stars***
Okay, who doesn’t love a good paranormal romance, especially when it involves a dragon? I know, right!?! This is a story about two damaged characters destined for one another. Ridiculed and shunned throughout his life, Joe has built a wall around himself, not letting anyone close. Thought of as delicate and soft, Zarrin's family feels that he is a disgrace, which doesn’t bode well for him since he is a dragon.
While I did enjoy this story and all the complications between Zarrin and Joe, I cannot say I loved it. Here is why: For me, when an author weaves a tale about a damaged character(s), and does it right, I feel a connection to said character(s) as the story unfolds.
Here not so much. The only character I gravitated to is Zarrin. That might have something to do with how the townsfolk, including Joe, treated him. Not to mention, his profound lack of knowledge of humans and the world around him is an endearing childlike quality. Whereas with Joe, he was just mean and angry all the time. Granted he did have it rough, but I don’t feel the author did a good job portraying the hardships he endured throughout his life. You know, besides coming from poverty and the contempt he faced in high school.
What I did like was the author’s twist on the dragon being transgender(ish); which is very interesting given the concept and genre (I promise you will know what I mean when you read the book). Don’t worry this really has nothing to do with the true conflict of the story. That being, Joe’s struggle to trust another person and to see his own self-worth.
In the end, I felt I was left with a somewhat fragile feeling HEA. I say this because it seems that Joe begins to let down his carefully constructed wall and accept that he is in fact Zarrin’s boy, his treasure, his mate, his everything.
Side Note: This being my first book by R. Cooper, I feel that the books in this series can be read in any particular order.
I am one of many reviewers at Gay Book Reviews and can be found here: http://gaybook.reviews/author/steph/
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Okay, who doesn’t love a good paranormal romance, especially when it involves a dragon? I know, right!?! This is a story about two damaged characters destined for one another. Ridiculed and shunned throughout his life, Joe has built a wall around himself, not letting anyone close. Thought of as delicate and soft, Zarrin's family feels that he is a disgrace, which doesn’t bode well for him since he is a dragon.
While I did enjoy this story and all the complications between Zarrin and Joe, I cannot say I loved it. Here is why: For me, when an author weaves a tale about a damaged character(s), and does it right, I feel a connection to said character(s) as the story unfolds.
Here not so much. The only character I gravitated to is Zarrin. That might have something to do with how the townsfolk, including Joe, treated him. Not to mention, his profound lack of knowledge of humans and the world around him is an endearing childlike quality. Whereas with Joe, he was just mean and angry all the time. Granted he did have it rough, but I don’t feel the author did a good job portraying the hardships he endured throughout his life. You know, besides coming from poverty and the contempt he faced in high school.
What I did like was the author’s twist on the dragon being transgender(ish); which is very interesting given the concept and genre (I promise you will know what I mean when you read the book). Don’t worry this really has nothing to do with the true conflict of the story. That being, Joe’s struggle to trust another person and to see his own self-worth.
In the end, I felt I was left with a somewhat fragile feeling HEA. I say this because it seems that Joe begins to let down his carefully constructed wall and accept that he is in fact Zarrin’s boy, his treasure, his mate, his everything.
Side Note: This being my first book by R. Cooper, I feel that the books in this series can be read in any particular order.
I am one of many reviewers at Gay Book Reviews and can be found here: http://gaybook.reviews/author/steph/
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 13, 2017
Originally received a preview of this book back in February (the 11th, I believe) and then never got a chance to get back to it or purchase the full thing. Luckily for me, earlier this week Amazon's ebook version of it went on sale and I was able to finally purchase it in its entirety.
And I'm so glad that I did.
While starting off a bit slow and little clunky, it quickly became an enthralling and captivating read that I just couldn't put down! I've spent the last couple days reading bits and pieces of it any chance I can, completely captivated by the story and its utterly lovable and ADORABLE characters. Zarrin is easily the most precious thing I have everseen and he needs to be protected by the world right this instant. (And yeah, Joe grew on me too. I never DISLIKED him, but he definitely want my favorite character to begin with. As he grew and came to trust, I grew to live him as well. Finely two very strong chargers for all their fuck-ups lol)
My biggest and single most important complaint was the ending, which seemed to just come out of nowhere because it was so abrupt. I literally turned the page expecting there to be another chapter, and instead there was nothing. I felt so empty. (What do you mean it's just a fictional story?! How dare you mock my woe!!)
But other than that, this was really a fantastic read and I'd recommend it highly. Especially for those of you who like your M/M Shifter romances a little different than usual. (I won't give anything else away, but you'll be quite shocked - pleasantly so, I hope - when you find out, that much I can tell you.)
4 Stars! (Because, MAN! That ending killed me. I WANT MORE!!!)
And I'm so glad that I did.
While starting off a bit slow and little clunky, it quickly became an enthralling and captivating read that I just couldn't put down! I've spent the last couple days reading bits and pieces of it any chance I can, completely captivated by the story and its utterly lovable and ADORABLE characters. Zarrin is easily the most precious thing I have everseen and he needs to be protected by the world right this instant. (And yeah, Joe grew on me too. I never DISLIKED him, but he definitely want my favorite character to begin with. As he grew and came to trust, I grew to live him as well. Finely two very strong chargers for all their fuck-ups lol)
My biggest and single most important complaint was the ending, which seemed to just come out of nowhere because it was so abrupt. I literally turned the page expecting there to be another chapter, and instead there was nothing. I felt so empty. (What do you mean it's just a fictional story?! How dare you mock my woe!!)
But other than that, this was really a fantastic read and I'd recommend it highly. Especially for those of you who like your M/M Shifter romances a little different than usual. (I won't give anything else away, but you'll be quite shocked - pleasantly so, I hope - when you find out, that much I can tell you.)
4 Stars! (Because, MAN! That ending killed me. I WANT MORE!!!)
November 29, 2022
First off, in many ways, this story reaffirmed my love of this series, after the previous book didn't work for me. It has all the magic and the glow and the shine and the love that I loved of the first few books in the series. It's a dual POV, which is the best because it lets us see both sides of the story.
But, we'll come back to the positive. I want to get the negatives out the way, to explain why it's not the 5 star rating it should have been.
* there is no chapter heading for the prologue, which really irritates me, because the rest of the book has chapter headings. I really don't think a simple one word heading is too much to ask for, here, to make it clear what we're reading.
* there is a huge emphasis on race, sometimes bordering on racist. I also noticed this problem in the previous book, so I'm just going to leave it at this – racism goes both ways. People of colour can be racist against white people and white people can be racist about people of colour. Both of that was evident here, with Joe the POC having a huge issue with white people that really didn't help me like him much.
* the stereotypes, again, are heavy. The poor POC that everyone hates, ignores, treats badly and who is bullied in school; the popular versus the unpopular kids; skin colour dictating privilege; gay people being looked down on. It's all in here, in varying degrees of detail and focus.
* the miscommunication. Again. I get that it's a tried and tested plot arc, but it gets tiresome after a while, especially since I've just spent the last week reading all seven books of this series so far, one after the other. The similarities between them stand out far too starkly, when read that way, and it annoys me because it only goes to show that none of these characters know how to trust, have faith in, care about or even believe their potential “mates” without having huge arguments, misunderstandings and danger in the way. No one ever talks to one another and it gets on my nerves, because the problem is usually so simple to solve and no one notices.
* the first half of the book was weaker than the second. I don't say that lightly, but I quite honestly spent the first half of the novel not liking Joe, one of the MC's, and loving the other, Zarrin, so much that I wanted better for him than Joe. That feeling faded after the halfway mark, but it's honestly how much I disliked Joe as a character. There's actually a quote I highlighted because it perfectly summed him up in the first half: “childishly resentful”
So, back to the continuity of the series, for a moment. I loved that there was a little bit of Diedre's Secret in there, that we meet the wolf, Marie, who was a great character and reminded us that some areas, such as Wolf's Paw was in books 3 and 4, can be secluded from other Beings than the predominant one, in this case dragons. The little addition of her being a Greenleaf was nicely done and also the continued danger of having scales stolen from a dragon for money (first mentioned in A Boy and His Dragon) was a good addition. However, I felt a real trick was missing that there was no mention of, no visit from, not even a hint of Arthur and Bertie, who could have been a real source of inspiration and support for Zarrin.
Onto the positives:
* Joe's past with Russ was nicely explored, taking it's time throughout the story before we found out the full details.
* Zarrin was unusual for a dragon, because he considered everything that he loved, no matter in what way, to be his and part of his treasure. I love that this included Bernard, the elf housekeeper, and I don't doubt that he'll likely have a short of his own eventually.
* I loved Martin. He was an amazing best friend, a nice side plot that kept Joe distracted when he needed it. I loved how he stirred up so much trouble for Joe, for his own good and I hope that he and Forrester have a story of their own, even if it's a short, because I could feel the hints of a little something something brewing between them from the first moment they were on the same page as each other.
* As a main character, I loved Zarrin. He was unappreciated, abandoned and lonely. He was so much like a child; all innocent, wide-eyed and sweetly naïve, with a fierce temper and a belief in things that other people had forgotten were possible. It made me love him right from the start.
* As for Joe, it wasn't until about the halfway mark that I finally appreciated who he really was, because even having his POV, all we ever really saw was someone in total and complete denial, someone being rude and mean to a person that was innocent and getting hurt by his actions without a need for it, and someone who was too selfish and self-involved with his own life and his own beliefs to ever be good enough for Zarrin. Once the second half came, however, he really came into his own. I still saw hints of those flaws, but I hated them less as time went on. He, too, was like a child; all wounded pride, poor kid rebellion, bristling anger and masking hurt with a scowl, while feeling singled out for his race, his sexuality and his lack of wealth.
* Together, Joe and Zarrin had excellent chemistry, even from the start. Once I started to like Joe more, I did begin to root for them and I felt that things progressed nicely from stranger to acquaintance, to rumour mill, to friendship and then dating. It had a nice steady flow and worked really well in the second half.
* I absolutely loved that Zarrin had cats that he called his treasure and that he found one to be Joe's. It was a really nice small thing that meant a lot.
* Zarrin meeting Joe's mother was epic!
* Joe meeting Zarrin's sister was epic!
* The whole 'couple' thing started at about the 50% mark, which was perfect. I was getting a little frustrated that most of the other series books ended after a couple got together, officially. This time, they both felt it, both knew it, both admitted it to themselves and they still had a lot to explore with each other.
Overall, it was a great addition to the series, even if it had a few pitfalls that didn't work for me.
~
Favourite Quote
“He was a dragon. He was mighty. He was the protector of this town, and he wanted nothing in return except for a few words, or simply for Joe to remember his order.”
“I think if one of those deer could talk, it would be his only friend in the world.”
““You don't eat meat? You live in a fishing town and you don't eat fish?”
Zarrin's wrinkled nose was so cute it was terrifying. “They have faces, Joe,” he confided seriously.”
But, we'll come back to the positive. I want to get the negatives out the way, to explain why it's not the 5 star rating it should have been.
* there is no chapter heading for the prologue, which really irritates me, because the rest of the book has chapter headings. I really don't think a simple one word heading is too much to ask for, here, to make it clear what we're reading.
* there is a huge emphasis on race, sometimes bordering on racist. I also noticed this problem in the previous book, so I'm just going to leave it at this – racism goes both ways. People of colour can be racist against white people and white people can be racist about people of colour. Both of that was evident here, with Joe the POC having a huge issue with white people that really didn't help me like him much.
* the stereotypes, again, are heavy. The poor POC that everyone hates, ignores, treats badly and who is bullied in school; the popular versus the unpopular kids; skin colour dictating privilege; gay people being looked down on. It's all in here, in varying degrees of detail and focus.
* the miscommunication. Again. I get that it's a tried and tested plot arc, but it gets tiresome after a while, especially since I've just spent the last week reading all seven books of this series so far, one after the other. The similarities between them stand out far too starkly, when read that way, and it annoys me because it only goes to show that none of these characters know how to trust, have faith in, care about or even believe their potential “mates” without having huge arguments, misunderstandings and danger in the way. No one ever talks to one another and it gets on my nerves, because the problem is usually so simple to solve and no one notices.
* the first half of the book was weaker than the second. I don't say that lightly, but I quite honestly spent the first half of the novel not liking Joe, one of the MC's, and loving the other, Zarrin, so much that I wanted better for him than Joe. That feeling faded after the halfway mark, but it's honestly how much I disliked Joe as a character. There's actually a quote I highlighted because it perfectly summed him up in the first half: “childishly resentful”
So, back to the continuity of the series, for a moment. I loved that there was a little bit of Diedre's Secret in there, that we meet the wolf, Marie, who was a great character and reminded us that some areas, such as Wolf's Paw was in books 3 and 4, can be secluded from other Beings than the predominant one, in this case dragons. The little addition of her being a Greenleaf was nicely done and also the continued danger of having scales stolen from a dragon for money (first mentioned in A Boy and His Dragon) was a good addition. However, I felt a real trick was missing that there was no mention of, no visit from, not even a hint of Arthur and Bertie, who could have been a real source of inspiration and support for Zarrin.
Onto the positives:
* Joe's past with Russ was nicely explored, taking it's time throughout the story before we found out the full details.
* Zarrin was unusual for a dragon, because he considered everything that he loved, no matter in what way, to be his and part of his treasure. I love that this included Bernard, the elf housekeeper, and I don't doubt that he'll likely have a short of his own eventually.
* I loved Martin. He was an amazing best friend, a nice side plot that kept Joe distracted when he needed it. I loved how he stirred up so much trouble for Joe, for his own good and I hope that he and Forrester have a story of their own, even if it's a short, because I could feel the hints of a little something something brewing between them from the first moment they were on the same page as each other.
* As a main character, I loved Zarrin. He was unappreciated, abandoned and lonely. He was so much like a child; all innocent, wide-eyed and sweetly naïve, with a fierce temper and a belief in things that other people had forgotten were possible. It made me love him right from the start.
* As for Joe, it wasn't until about the halfway mark that I finally appreciated who he really was, because even having his POV, all we ever really saw was someone in total and complete denial, someone being rude and mean to a person that was innocent and getting hurt by his actions without a need for it, and someone who was too selfish and self-involved with his own life and his own beliefs to ever be good enough for Zarrin. Once the second half came, however, he really came into his own. I still saw hints of those flaws, but I hated them less as time went on. He, too, was like a child; all wounded pride, poor kid rebellion, bristling anger and masking hurt with a scowl, while feeling singled out for his race, his sexuality and his lack of wealth.
* Together, Joe and Zarrin had excellent chemistry, even from the start. Once I started to like Joe more, I did begin to root for them and I felt that things progressed nicely from stranger to acquaintance, to rumour mill, to friendship and then dating. It had a nice steady flow and worked really well in the second half.
* I absolutely loved that Zarrin had cats that he called his treasure and that he found one to be Joe's. It was a really nice small thing that meant a lot.
* Zarrin meeting Joe's mother was epic!
* Joe meeting Zarrin's sister was epic!
* The whole 'couple' thing started at about the 50% mark, which was perfect. I was getting a little frustrated that most of the other series books ended after a couple got together, officially. This time, they both felt it, both knew it, both admitted it to themselves and they still had a lot to explore with each other.
Overall, it was a great addition to the series, even if it had a few pitfalls that didn't work for me.
~
Favourite Quote
“He was a dragon. He was mighty. He was the protector of this town, and he wanted nothing in return except for a few words, or simply for Joe to remember his order.”
“I think if one of those deer could talk, it would be his only friend in the world.”
““You don't eat meat? You live in a fishing town and you don't eat fish?”
Zarrin's wrinkled nose was so cute it was terrifying. “They have faces, Joe,” he confided seriously.”
dnf
December 20, 2016I had to DNF this one. I was bored out of my mind at 21%, and didn't particularly like anyone! Just not my cuppa I guess, which is too bad because I adored A Boy and His Dragon.
February 7, 2017
So cute, I love all these books, they seriously make me smile. Slow but deep world building, excellent characterization and of course the adorable love.
February 27, 2018
Lovely and sweet. It was delightful to get to be back in this world, and Zarrin and Joe are a great addition to the characters I've loved spending time with here.
Some Favorite Quotes:
"It's safe to hope when you're around the trees. The trees don't judge."
"May I please compliment you without interruption?"
"She let me collect stories about your childhood. They're mine now. Hers and mine," he amended, begrudgingly.
"You're very stupid about this," Zarrin informed him. "But I forgive you because you aren't dragon."
Some Favorite Quotes:
"It's safe to hope when you're around the trees. The trees don't judge."
"May I please compliment you without interruption?"
"She let me collect stories about your childhood. They're mine now. Hers and mine," he amended, begrudgingly.
"You're very stupid about this," Zarrin informed him. "But I forgive you because you aren't dragon."
February 2, 2020
This was sweet but too freaking slow paced..
February 25, 2018
I think I cried for the first half and was misty eyed the second half. Beautiful story and beautiful characters!
April 9, 2017
If you like R Cooper's usual combo of cuteness and pining, and I do, then this is the best of hers yet, with utterly loveable characters and a fantastic setting.
July 10, 2018
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Audiobook Review:
Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5
This was a nice story. Joe has been hurt in the past and isn’t willing to trust that someone would really want him let alone a dragon. Zarrin isn’t sure what he is doing wrong but want to get to know his treasure and he ends up with an unexpected friend to help along the way.
Both Zarrin and Joe were so sweet. Both of them have been hurt before in different ways but it make them both vulnerable and they deserved to find love. I loved watching them find the love and happiness with each other they have always wanted. While I like the stories I have read in this series I get insanely frustrated with how people and beings talk around topics and at the end I just felt that Joe didn’t fully believe he was Zarrin’s forever.
Dominic Carlos did a nice job narrating this story. I think his reading went well with this author’s style of writing. Though his reading was a bit slow for me to keep my attention and I ended up increasing the speed a bit..
Cover art by Paul Richmond is wonderful and I loved the picture of these characters.
Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5
This was a nice story. Joe has been hurt in the past and isn’t willing to trust that someone would really want him let alone a dragon. Zarrin isn’t sure what he is doing wrong but want to get to know his treasure and he ends up with an unexpected friend to help along the way.
Both Zarrin and Joe were so sweet. Both of them have been hurt before in different ways but it make them both vulnerable and they deserved to find love. I loved watching them find the love and happiness with each other they have always wanted. While I like the stories I have read in this series I get insanely frustrated with how people and beings talk around topics and at the end I just felt that Joe didn’t fully believe he was Zarrin’s forever.
Dominic Carlos did a nice job narrating this story. I think his reading went well with this author’s style of writing. Though his reading was a bit slow for me to keep my attention and I ended up increasing the speed a bit..
Cover art by Paul Richmond is wonderful and I loved the picture of these characters.
February 22, 2017
Like the other Being(s) in Love books, Treasure for Treasure uses an urban fantasy backdrop to explore wonderfully romantic boy-meets-boy stories with a bit of a twist. My favorite book in the series before this was A Boy and His Dragon—I adore Cooper’s dragons—and I honestly doubted I’d find something that compared. This one didn’t top that one, but it certainly tied it! That’s very high praise!
Zarrin the dragon is used to being the odd one out. Heir to a line known for wealth and power, he has no interest in either. His only ambition is to take care of the land and people living around his family’s estate, and his “treasure” suits a park ranger much better than a terrible being of ancient lore. He tries with everything in him to live up to his family’s legacy, even though he feels weak and poorly suited to it, and he honestly doesn’t get that people are scared of him.
Joe the human’s line isn’t nearly so lofty. He’s a junior college graduate who works as a barista and paints. He was also treated like a dirty secret by his rich high school boyfriend before he was discarded, and that history is at the forefront whenever Zarrin’s around. Joe’s sensitive and artistic soul is covered by a thick protective armor, and his lack of self-worth leads to him being both confused and intimidated by Zarrin’s interest.
I wanted to cuddle Zarrin from the beginning. He’s adorable. It took me awhile to see in Joe what Zarrin did—Zarrin’s perfect match—but by the end of the story I saw it too.
This is a slow burn, folks. We get to see Zarrin and Joe, two men from two different worlds, slowly and carefully learn to speak to each other. Then we see them begin to feel for each other. Only when we’ve got that foundation established do they come together at all, and it’s beautiful to watch carefully and slowly unfold.
One of the things I most appreciate about Cooper’s writing is the way she approaches emotional revelations for the characters. She doesn’t spell it out. Instead, she references their facial expressions and their responses to things, and lets the reader draw their own conclusions. It’s like we’re there witnessing events with the characters, and we too get to put things together. It draws the reader more into the story, and it makes rereading a pleasure—I usually pick things up the second or third go-round that I missed the first time.
There are some loose ends here that I’d love to see tied up later—specifically Zarrin’s sister and her elf. Are we going to see how that all works out? I bet that would be as achingly sweet and entertaining as the rest of it. What about Joe’s coworker and the deputy? I’m totally here for that, and there are questions about the deputy (and his eye color!) I’m dying to see answered.
Regardless, I’ll be the first in line when the next Being(s) book comes out!
Reviewed by Caer at The Novel Approach Reviews
Zarrin the dragon is used to being the odd one out. Heir to a line known for wealth and power, he has no interest in either. His only ambition is to take care of the land and people living around his family’s estate, and his “treasure” suits a park ranger much better than a terrible being of ancient lore. He tries with everything in him to live up to his family’s legacy, even though he feels weak and poorly suited to it, and he honestly doesn’t get that people are scared of him.
Joe the human’s line isn’t nearly so lofty. He’s a junior college graduate who works as a barista and paints. He was also treated like a dirty secret by his rich high school boyfriend before he was discarded, and that history is at the forefront whenever Zarrin’s around. Joe’s sensitive and artistic soul is covered by a thick protective armor, and his lack of self-worth leads to him being both confused and intimidated by Zarrin’s interest.
I wanted to cuddle Zarrin from the beginning. He’s adorable. It took me awhile to see in Joe what Zarrin did—Zarrin’s perfect match—but by the end of the story I saw it too.
This is a slow burn, folks. We get to see Zarrin and Joe, two men from two different worlds, slowly and carefully learn to speak to each other. Then we see them begin to feel for each other. Only when we’ve got that foundation established do they come together at all, and it’s beautiful to watch carefully and slowly unfold.
One of the things I most appreciate about Cooper’s writing is the way she approaches emotional revelations for the characters. She doesn’t spell it out. Instead, she references their facial expressions and their responses to things, and lets the reader draw their own conclusions. It’s like we’re there witnessing events with the characters, and we too get to put things together. It draws the reader more into the story, and it makes rereading a pleasure—I usually pick things up the second or third go-round that I missed the first time.
There are some loose ends here that I’d love to see tied up later—specifically Zarrin’s sister and her elf. Are we going to see how that all works out? I bet that would be as achingly sweet and entertaining as the rest of it. What about Joe’s coworker and the deputy? I’m totally here for that, and there are questions about the deputy (and his eye color!) I’m dying to see answered.
Regardless, I’ll be the first in line when the next Being(s) book comes out!
Reviewed by Caer at The Novel Approach Reviews
December 9, 2018
Okay, so I have a lot to say, it's late and I don't have much battery, so I need to be quick.
First off, in many ways, this story reaffirmed my love of this series, after the previous book didn't work for me. It has all the magic and the glow and the shine and the love that I loved of the first few books in the series. It's a dual POV, which is the best because it lets us see both sides of the story.
But, we'll come back to the positive. I want to get the negatives out the way, to explain why it's not the 5 star rating it should have been.
* there is no chapter heading for the prologue, which really irritates me, because the rest of the book has chapter headings. I really don't think a simple one word heading is too much to ask for, here, to make it clear what we're reading.
* there is a huge emphasis on race, sometimes bordering on racist. I also noticed this problem in the previous book, so I'm just going to leave it at this – racism goes both ways. People of colour can be racist against white people and white people can be racist about people of colour. Both of that was evident here, with Joe the POC having a huge issue with white people that really didn't help me like him much. I'm also not that hot on Joe being described as “brown”or mixed.
* the stereotypes, again, are heavy. The poor POC that everyone hates, ignores, treats badly and who is bullied in school; the popular versus the unpopular kids; skin colour dictating privilege; gay people being looked down on. It's all in here, in varying degrees of detail and focus.
* the miscommunication. Again. I get that it's a tried and tested plot arc, but it gets tiresome after a while, especially since I've just spent the last week reading all seven books of this series so far, one after the other. The similarities between them stand out far too starkly, when read that way, and it annoys me because it only goes to show that none of these characters know how to trust, have faith in, care about or even believe their potential “mates” without having huge arguments, misunderstandings and danger in the way. No one ever talks to one another and it gets on my nerves, because the problem is usually so simple to solve and no one notices.
* the first half of the book was weaker than the second. I don't say that lightly, but I quite honestly spent the first half of the novel not liking Joe, one of the MC's, and loving the other, Zarrin, so much that I wanted better for him than Joe. That feeling faded after the halfway mark, but it's honestly how much I disliked Joe as a character. There's actually a quote I highlighted because it perfectly summed him up in the first half: “childishly resentful”
So, back to the continuity of the series, for a moment. I loved that there was a little bit of Diedre's Secret in there, that we meet the wolf, Marie, who was a great character and reminded us that some areas, such as Wolf's Paw was in books 3 and 4, can be secluded from other Beings than the predominant one, in this case dragons. The little addition of her being a Greenleaf was nicely done and also the continued danger of having scales stolen from a dragon for money (first mentioned in A Boy and His Dragon) was a good addition. However, I felt a real trick was missing that there was no mention of, no visit from, not even a hint of Arthur and Bertie, who could have been a real source of inspiration and support for Zarrin.
Onto the positives:
* Joe's past with Russ was nicely explored, taking it's time throughout the story before we found out the full details.
* Zarrin was unusual for a dragon, because he considered everything that he loved, no matter in what way, to be his and part of his treasure. I love that this included Bernard, the elf housekeeper, and I don't doubt that he'll likely have a short of his own eventually.
* I loved Martin. He was an amazing best friend, a nice side plot that kept Joe distracted when he needed it. I loved how he stirred up so much trouble for Joe, for his own good and I hope that he and Forrester have a story of their own, even if it's a short, because I could feel the hints of a little something something brewing between them from the first moment they were on the same page as each other.
* As a main character, I loved Zarrin. He was unappreciated, abandoned and lonely. He was so much like a child; all innocent, wide-eyed and sweetly naïve, with a fierce temper and a belief in things that other people had forgotten were possible. It made me love him right from the start.
* As for Joe, it wasn't until about the halfway mark that I finally appreciated who he really was, because even having his POV, all we ever really saw was someone in total and complete denial, someone being rude and mean to a person that was innocent and getting hurt by his actions without a need for it, and someone who was too selfish and self-involved with his own life and his own beliefs to ever be good enough for Zarrin. Once the second half came, however, he really came into his own. I still saw hints of those flaws, but I hated them less as time went on. He, too, was like a child; all wounded pride, poor kid rebellion, bristling anger and masking hurt with a scowl, while feeling singled out for his race, his sexuality and his lack of wealth.
* Together, Joe and Zarrin had excellent chemistry, even from the start. Once I started to like Joe more, I did begin to root for them and I felt that things progressed nicely from stranger to acquaintance, to rumour mill, to friendship and then dating. It had a nice steady flow and worked really well in the second half.
* I absolutely loved that Zarrin had cats that he called his treasure and that he found one to be Joe's. It was a really nice small thing that meant a lot.
* Zarrin meeting Joe's mother was epic!
* Joe meeting Zarrin's sister was epic!
* The whole 'couple' thing started at about the 50% mark, which was perfect. I was getting a little frustrated that most of the other series books ended after a couple got together, officially. This time, they both felt it, both knew it, both admitted it to themselves and they still had a lot to explore with each other.
Overall, it was a great addition to the series, even if it had a few pitfalls that didn't work for me. It's restored my interest in reading more novels which, to be honest, had been flagging after book 6. Now, I'm just as eager to read about more of these side characters as I was before I finished the bundle of Books 1-5.
~
Favourite Quote
“He was a dragon. He was mighty. He was the protector of this town, and he wanted nothing in return except for a few words, or simply for Joe to remember his order.”
“I think if one of those deer could talk, it would be his only friend in the world.”
““You don't eat meat? You live in a fishing town and you don't eat fish?”
Zarrin's wrinkled nose was so cute it was terrifying. “They have faces, Joe,” he confided seriously.”
First off, in many ways, this story reaffirmed my love of this series, after the previous book didn't work for me. It has all the magic and the glow and the shine and the love that I loved of the first few books in the series. It's a dual POV, which is the best because it lets us see both sides of the story.
But, we'll come back to the positive. I want to get the negatives out the way, to explain why it's not the 5 star rating it should have been.
* there is no chapter heading for the prologue, which really irritates me, because the rest of the book has chapter headings. I really don't think a simple one word heading is too much to ask for, here, to make it clear what we're reading.
* there is a huge emphasis on race, sometimes bordering on racist. I also noticed this problem in the previous book, so I'm just going to leave it at this – racism goes both ways. People of colour can be racist against white people and white people can be racist about people of colour. Both of that was evident here, with Joe the POC having a huge issue with white people that really didn't help me like him much. I'm also not that hot on Joe being described as “brown”or mixed.
* the stereotypes, again, are heavy. The poor POC that everyone hates, ignores, treats badly and who is bullied in school; the popular versus the unpopular kids; skin colour dictating privilege; gay people being looked down on. It's all in here, in varying degrees of detail and focus.
* the miscommunication. Again. I get that it's a tried and tested plot arc, but it gets tiresome after a while, especially since I've just spent the last week reading all seven books of this series so far, one after the other. The similarities between them stand out far too starkly, when read that way, and it annoys me because it only goes to show that none of these characters know how to trust, have faith in, care about or even believe their potential “mates” without having huge arguments, misunderstandings and danger in the way. No one ever talks to one another and it gets on my nerves, because the problem is usually so simple to solve and no one notices.
* the first half of the book was weaker than the second. I don't say that lightly, but I quite honestly spent the first half of the novel not liking Joe, one of the MC's, and loving the other, Zarrin, so much that I wanted better for him than Joe. That feeling faded after the halfway mark, but it's honestly how much I disliked Joe as a character. There's actually a quote I highlighted because it perfectly summed him up in the first half: “childishly resentful”
So, back to the continuity of the series, for a moment. I loved that there was a little bit of Diedre's Secret in there, that we meet the wolf, Marie, who was a great character and reminded us that some areas, such as Wolf's Paw was in books 3 and 4, can be secluded from other Beings than the predominant one, in this case dragons. The little addition of her being a Greenleaf was nicely done and also the continued danger of having scales stolen from a dragon for money (first mentioned in A Boy and His Dragon) was a good addition. However, I felt a real trick was missing that there was no mention of, no visit from, not even a hint of Arthur and Bertie, who could have been a real source of inspiration and support for Zarrin.
Onto the positives:
* Joe's past with Russ was nicely explored, taking it's time throughout the story before we found out the full details.
* Zarrin was unusual for a dragon, because he considered everything that he loved, no matter in what way, to be his and part of his treasure. I love that this included Bernard, the elf housekeeper, and I don't doubt that he'll likely have a short of his own eventually.
* I loved Martin. He was an amazing best friend, a nice side plot that kept Joe distracted when he needed it. I loved how he stirred up so much trouble for Joe, for his own good and I hope that he and Forrester have a story of their own, even if it's a short, because I could feel the hints of a little something something brewing between them from the first moment they were on the same page as each other.
* As a main character, I loved Zarrin. He was unappreciated, abandoned and lonely. He was so much like a child; all innocent, wide-eyed and sweetly naïve, with a fierce temper and a belief in things that other people had forgotten were possible. It made me love him right from the start.
* As for Joe, it wasn't until about the halfway mark that I finally appreciated who he really was, because even having his POV, all we ever really saw was someone in total and complete denial, someone being rude and mean to a person that was innocent and getting hurt by his actions without a need for it, and someone who was too selfish and self-involved with his own life and his own beliefs to ever be good enough for Zarrin. Once the second half came, however, he really came into his own. I still saw hints of those flaws, but I hated them less as time went on. He, too, was like a child; all wounded pride, poor kid rebellion, bristling anger and masking hurt with a scowl, while feeling singled out for his race, his sexuality and his lack of wealth.
* Together, Joe and Zarrin had excellent chemistry, even from the start. Once I started to like Joe more, I did begin to root for them and I felt that things progressed nicely from stranger to acquaintance, to rumour mill, to friendship and then dating. It had a nice steady flow and worked really well in the second half.
* I absolutely loved that Zarrin had cats that he called his treasure and that he found one to be Joe's. It was a really nice small thing that meant a lot.
* Zarrin meeting Joe's mother was epic!
* Joe meeting Zarrin's sister was epic!
* The whole 'couple' thing started at about the 50% mark, which was perfect. I was getting a little frustrated that most of the other series books ended after a couple got together, officially. This time, they both felt it, both knew it, both admitted it to themselves and they still had a lot to explore with each other.
Overall, it was a great addition to the series, even if it had a few pitfalls that didn't work for me. It's restored my interest in reading more novels which, to be honest, had been flagging after book 6. Now, I'm just as eager to read about more of these side characters as I was before I finished the bundle of Books 1-5.
~
Favourite Quote
“He was a dragon. He was mighty. He was the protector of this town, and he wanted nothing in return except for a few words, or simply for Joe to remember his order.”
“I think if one of those deer could talk, it would be his only friend in the world.”
““You don't eat meat? You live in a fishing town and you don't eat fish?”
Zarrin's wrinkled nose was so cute it was terrifying. “They have faces, Joe,” he confided seriously.”
March 11, 2017
****Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance®****
4.5 Stars - I love this world of beings among humans and I especially loved this story set among the majestic redwoods. It’s the tale of a dragon finding his place in the world and claiming his poor, lonely boy.
Although I found it felt long compared to the actual length of the book, I did enjoy seeing Zarrin muddle his way through the human world. I loved watching him try and make friends with Joe though it broke my heart when he was so confused by Joe’s reaction.
Joe is very prickly but I could see the tender heart underneath, as could Zarrin. I thought both characters were well portrayed. I loved learning more about the dragons and how they fit in the world.
I felt this book was tender and beautiful and I had a hard time putting it down. I can definitely recommend it.
4.5 Stars - I love this world of beings among humans and I especially loved this story set among the majestic redwoods. It’s the tale of a dragon finding his place in the world and claiming his poor, lonely boy.
Although I found it felt long compared to the actual length of the book, I did enjoy seeing Zarrin muddle his way through the human world. I loved watching him try and make friends with Joe though it broke my heart when he was so confused by Joe’s reaction.
Joe is very prickly but I could see the tender heart underneath, as could Zarrin. I thought both characters were well portrayed. I loved learning more about the dragons and how they fit in the world.
I felt this book was tender and beautiful and I had a hard time putting it down. I can definitely recommend it.
November 17, 2018
I do so love this series. And this book was adorable. I absolutely loved how awkward and unsure Zarrin was, but he was so determined to do right by his town. It's his. He knows he needs to step up and he's determined to do it. He may have been ridiculed by his family for being small and not dragon enough, but he's not going to let his town down. He's going to be their dragon, even if he doesn't think he can live up to his relatives legacy.
Watching Zarrin come in every day to the coffee shop to see his Joe and try to court him was just the cutest thing ever. He just doesn't know how to talk to humans or how to relate to anyone. I loved Maria showing up and adding in her werewolf two cents. Joe is so defensive but still intrigued. Sweetest of sweetness in this one. I want another book with these two to see Zarrin grow and the town get everything they need. Plus gotta say his sister needs her story told. ;)
Watching Zarrin come in every day to the coffee shop to see his Joe and try to court him was just the cutest thing ever. He just doesn't know how to talk to humans or how to relate to anyone. I loved Maria showing up and adding in her werewolf two cents. Joe is so defensive but still intrigued. Sweetest of sweetness in this one. I want another book with these two to see Zarrin grow and the town get everything they need. Plus gotta say his sister needs her story told. ;)
April 29, 2020
Each of the books set in the magical, supernatural world of R. Cooper’s ‘Being(s) In Love’ series is special in its own way. Whether it is fairies or werewolves or dragons or the humans some of them get involved with, I love all of their special rules with unforeseen consequences. Whether their mates are of the same species or whether they have to cope with cross-species rules on top of their personal issues and hang-ups, none of their relationships have been easy. Dragons, however, still hold a somewhat more special place in my heart than any other beings, so I was delighted to find out that ‘Treasure for Treasure’ has a dragon as one of the main characters, and a very unusual one at that.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
October 7, 2023
These two are so awkward and it is hysterical and sweet. Joe has some serious trust issues and a grouchy face, but deep deep down there is a little soft spot that aches for someone to really see him. Zarrin knows a treasure when he sees one and Joe is definitely his treasure. These two stumble around each other for quite a while before something happens that pushes them together. This is such a sweet story.
December 22, 2016
Very slooooow (as in it took me 3 days to finish this book) burn romance between shy dragon and insecure human. The essence of this story was sweet, but it was buried under 129K words. Patience was sorely needed to finish this one.
December 3, 2017
Reviewed on The Blogger Girls
4.5 stars
Joe has lived in Everlasting his entire life. He may have moved away for college but he came back and is now a barista at a coffee shop. Zarrin’s ancestor claimed Everlasting as hers and ever since then, her descendants have been tasked with protecting the small town. Unfortunately, no dragon has really done their duty so when Zarrin takes it upon himself to get to know the town and be there for his humans, it allows him to see a whole new side to things he didn’t know before. Especially when his daily visits bring him into contact with Joe. Zarrin isn’t like other dragons and Joe isn’t like other humans so while the attraction between them is intense, their inability to do anything about it causes gossip throughout the town. But when Zarrin gets injured, Joe is the only one that can help him and it might just be the push they needed to act on the attraction that’s been brewing between them.
This story was….. WOW. I’ve enjoyed and loved some of the other Beings in Love stories in the past but this one is probably my favorite yet! And I wasn’t really expecting it LOL. I admit, I saw it was by R. Cooper and saw it had dragons and just had to read it so I was pleasantly surprised when I started and fell into the story right away. I will say to anyone reading this that the story is definitely a slow burn read. You’re not going to get a relationship right away but what you will get is the struggle both characters have on who they are and who the other is. What you will get is some serious sexual attraction that’s so potent the entire town can see what’s between them before either of them really accept it. And what you will get is some total mine and want and even some holy shit moments.
When I say I adored these characters, though, I honestly mean that Zarrin and Joe are probably my favorite characters yet. I loved that Joe tried so hard to be rude and angry but deep down, he was just hiding his hurt or his soft-heartedness behind those expressions. He may have frowned and scowled but that was usually so others wouldn’t see how much he cared. Zarrin was definitely a treat as well. I loved that, for a dragon, he was so shy and endearing. He had nervous habits and panicked and was a bit insecure. What really made me love this book, though, was the fact that both characters grew in some way. Joe grew to realize he did deserve to be loved and actually let it happen and Zarrin grew into the strong dragon he was always meant to be. The only thing that I had an issue with is that when they finally have sex (which I totally cheered at when it happened), I felt like then it was sex after sex for about 20%, which wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. I mean it was hot but I would have liked it to be broken up and not just back to back sex scenes.
In the end, this was an amazing book. I was sucked in right from the start and the more I read, the more I grew to love the characters and their circumstances. I loved that Zarrin and Joe were complete opposites and I loved that both of them became stronger characters. I’m so glad this was a full-length novel because I felt like they got the story they deserved and one that was thoroughly fleshed out to the point that I was very satisfied with the ending. Now if we could just get Martin and Forresters’ story, that would be awesome! And I hope it’s not the last we see of these two because I’d really like to get little cameos of them in the future. Definitely give this a go if you’re looking for a slow-burn dragon story with a lot of depth and intrigue!
4.5 stars
Joe has lived in Everlasting his entire life. He may have moved away for college but he came back and is now a barista at a coffee shop. Zarrin’s ancestor claimed Everlasting as hers and ever since then, her descendants have been tasked with protecting the small town. Unfortunately, no dragon has really done their duty so when Zarrin takes it upon himself to get to know the town and be there for his humans, it allows him to see a whole new side to things he didn’t know before. Especially when his daily visits bring him into contact with Joe. Zarrin isn’t like other dragons and Joe isn’t like other humans so while the attraction between them is intense, their inability to do anything about it causes gossip throughout the town. But when Zarrin gets injured, Joe is the only one that can help him and it might just be the push they needed to act on the attraction that’s been brewing between them.
This story was….. WOW. I’ve enjoyed and loved some of the other Beings in Love stories in the past but this one is probably my favorite yet! And I wasn’t really expecting it LOL. I admit, I saw it was by R. Cooper and saw it had dragons and just had to read it so I was pleasantly surprised when I started and fell into the story right away. I will say to anyone reading this that the story is definitely a slow burn read. You’re not going to get a relationship right away but what you will get is the struggle both characters have on who they are and who the other is. What you will get is some serious sexual attraction that’s so potent the entire town can see what’s between them before either of them really accept it. And what you will get is some total mine and want and even some holy shit moments.
When I say I adored these characters, though, I honestly mean that Zarrin and Joe are probably my favorite characters yet. I loved that Joe tried so hard to be rude and angry but deep down, he was just hiding his hurt or his soft-heartedness behind those expressions. He may have frowned and scowled but that was usually so others wouldn’t see how much he cared. Zarrin was definitely a treat as well. I loved that, for a dragon, he was so shy and endearing. He had nervous habits and panicked and was a bit insecure. What really made me love this book, though, was the fact that both characters grew in some way. Joe grew to realize he did deserve to be loved and actually let it happen and Zarrin grew into the strong dragon he was always meant to be. The only thing that I had an issue with is that when they finally have sex (which I totally cheered at when it happened), I felt like then it was sex after sex for about 20%, which wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. I mean it was hot but I would have liked it to be broken up and not just back to back sex scenes.
In the end, this was an amazing book. I was sucked in right from the start and the more I read, the more I grew to love the characters and their circumstances. I loved that Zarrin and Joe were complete opposites and I loved that both of them became stronger characters. I’m so glad this was a full-length novel because I felt like they got the story they deserved and one that was thoroughly fleshed out to the point that I was very satisfied with the ending. Now if we could just get Martin and Forresters’ story, that would be awesome! And I hope it’s not the last we see of these two because I’d really like to get little cameos of them in the future. Definitely give this a go if you’re looking for a slow-burn dragon story with a lot of depth and intrigue!
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