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High House Draconis #1

Fire Dragon's Bride

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All Olivia Lawton needs to do is buy a property for a new client, and she’s on her way to the biggest payday of her life. It should be easy—after all, she’s the top real-estate agent in Plymouth Falls. But when the same gorgeous stranger that’s been flirting with her all night turns out to have bought it first, she decides it’s game on. Now, all she needs to do is find a way to convince him to sell…

Aaric Drakon is the first dragon to be awakened after a century of deep sleep. Unsure why he’s chosen, he’s desperate to help awaken more of his kin. If he wants to do that, though, Aaric needs a mate. In an effort to find her, he sets himself a mission to open an Outreach Center for his family, in hopes of getting to know the new generation of humans he will protect, but also to find her. And he’s not going to be distracted by anyone, not even by a feisty real-estate agent who’ll try anything to buy his land.

At first it’s nothing but a challenge for Olivia. She will have this property and the big payout coming her way. The only problem is, Olivia’s new partner is proving less than understanding in a terrifying way. When things escalate to a new level, her only hope is to go to Aaric and tell him everything. But it turns out she’s been swept up in a conflict centuries in the making, and that’s just what his enemies intended…

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2019

1158 people are currently reading
540 people want to read

About the author

Riley Storm

90 books195 followers
Riley is one of those early-morning people you love to hate, because she swears she doesn't need caffeine, even though the coffee-maker is connected to her smartphone. She lives in a three-story townhouse by the good graces of a tabby-cat who rules the house, the couch, the table, well, basically everywhere. When she's not groveling for forgiveness for neglecting to pet her kitty enough, Riley is strapped in to her writing chair coming up with crazy worlds where she can make her own decisions of when feeding time is and how much coffee can be drank without her friends--of which she has three--holding yet another intervention that they threaten to post on the internet.

Sign up for her newsletter here: https://my.sendinblue.com/users/subsc...

Or email her: riley@highhousepress.com

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,942 reviews2,675 followers
October 13, 2023
“Dragons, and vampires, and shifters. Oh my.”



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙🖤💜💖
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍🌎
Character development: 🤨😟😳🥰

The Hero: Aaric - he was a fire dragon, scion of High House Draconis, he slept for over a century, and though he was young at only two hundred and four, he was awakened early out of his sleep by the old pair of mates Parre and Elanna. They were both over six hundred years old. They had been out in the world alone for the last century and they felt evil was coming. They had waited for Aaric and the others, including some elders to wake, but when nobody did, Parre and Elanna woke Aaric. With their strength failing, they couldn’t wake anyone older. Aaric must now find his mate so he can awaken the others and deal with the evil that is coming.

The heroine: Olivia - she is the biggest name in the real estate game in all of Plymouth Falls and the surrounding communities. She normally doesn’t deal in industrial properties but she was recently approached by a foreign client for a deal that will make her rich. All she needs to do is buy the warehouse and adjoining manufacturing plant that is currently for sale for her new South American partners and she would be making bank big time. However, when she goes to to meet the bankers she meets the handsome Aaric and finds that the property was just sold to him.

The Story: Olivia is determined to buy the property from Aaric, just as he is determined to keep it for his own needs. He knows the property is important and wants to open an outreach center on the land. They get together more than once to discuss the property, especially since Olivia’s client has become a bit threatening and she is determined not to break the contract she already signed with them. So, the relationship between Aaric and Olivia is contentious, but also, they are attracted to each other, so it gets heated more than once.

“You know better. That’s not the way it works. Dragons are only called upon when the world needs us. When evil is rising and must be countered.”


The story was good, though I caught some inconsistency issues, like the fact that these thugs came to Olivia’s office and made her go after Aaric while they held her assistant captive. They made her leave her cell phone so she couldn’t contact the cops, but as soon as Aaric freed her assistant, the assistant was able to call Olivia on her cell phone, which Olivia had in her pocket.

I liked the main storyline about the new evil coming up in the world and the fact that Aaric didn’t feel like he was the one that should have so much riding on his shoulders. He sometimes felt inadequate but other times he was all arrogant alpha male. So, he was a perfect romantic Hero. Olivia was a bit starchy and driven at first, but she became more relatable as the story progressed.

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Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews131 followers
Want to read
October 5, 2023
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/24/2019)! 🎁
Profile Image for Deb.
686 reviews
October 4, 2021
I enjoyed the story but it didn’t resonate for me as much as it could have. I’m giving it 4 stars ⭐️ but that’s me being generous. I’m just not sure what it was that I didn’t relate to.
Profile Image for Jenni.
6,381 reviews78 followers
February 28, 2025
Fire Dragon's Bride is a fast-paced, action-packed story that will keep your heart racing from start to finish. The narrative is filled with plenty of twists and turns that will keep you on your toes.

In this installment, shifters are pitted against a darkness they long thought gone. Amidst the action and danger, sassy women capture the hearts of these fierce dragon shifters, but in doing so, they find themselves facing threats at their doorstep.
1,281 reviews9 followers
December 3, 2019
Great story premise, but more swearing than I am used to

I loved that these dragons have been asleep and can only be awoken one at a time by mated pairs. The evil that is coming is convincingly evil. Olivia was a surprise, but she grew on me. Aaric is rather different from other Dragon shifters that I have read. Riley Storm has created a fascinating new world. It was great to step into this world. The only problem I have is that I don't care for a lot of f-bomb dropping.

If you can get beyond that and some pretty graphic steamy scenes, you will be fine. The pace is breakneck, the tone is more uncertain and the storyline is character oriented with some action and some very steamy scenes. The characters are vivid. Try it and see what you think. Enjoy!
2,535 reviews87 followers
September 3, 2019
For over a century, the dragons have been gone, but now they are back. Will Aaric realize what's in front of him before it is to late? Will Olivia realize there is more to life then her job?

Definitely a good start to the dragons. I like how despite how he could have used it, Aaric was a lot more of a gentleman then he had to be. I didn't blame Olivia for trying to get her way, but was happy that she stopped before it went to far when it came to securing the property. Good read and cannot wait for the next one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for DoubtFire.
439 reviews17 followers
December 4, 2019
This one is good, I love the addition of the vampire plot, but it feels too similar to Riley Storm's other books. I almost DNF and ended up fast-skimming the last few chapters. I wish there were more variety in character dynamics, the sex, and PLEASE, have someone proofread. There are so many plotholes and little inconsistencies that drive me nuts and really detract from the story, especially in this one. She had her phone taken from the Thrall before she left her office, but she somehow has it at the Keep to call her assistant? Hmmm.
Profile Image for Dallass.
2,233 reviews
February 9, 2020
Didn’t like this much

And it pains me to say that, because dragons!, however I really didn’t care for the mc Olivia, and therefore it spoiled the whole book. If you don’t like or respect the protagonist then it just doesn’t work.

2 stars ⭐️
666 reviews1 follower
December 17, 2019
Struggle to finish

The concept of the storyline was a good one but fell short in the development with the characters that were portrayed. I didn’t like the heroin and he acted more like a teenager instead of a 250+-year-old dragon! Editing was a bit of a problem for me as well! It was a real struggle for me to finish and that is another thing… It just ended! Sorry, I really tried to like it but the more I got into it...it just was hard to finish
Profile Image for Holly Bargo.
Author 42 books145 followers
December 28, 2019
Decent writing, but unlikable protagonist

I can't complain about the quality of the writing. It's good, if neither lyrical nor particularly poetic. My complaint centers upon the insufferable heroine. She's a jerk. The hero is better portrayed, at least at first. I don't know whether he devolves or if the heroine improves, because at 10% I did not care to spend any more time with the "mean girl" heroine. DNF.
Profile Image for Lesley Hernandez.
153 reviews12 followers
December 28, 2019
Wow this book had me from the beginning especially the mysterious Alaric Drakon with buying a property that hot shot Olivia wants. I wonder if Destiny has a funny way of bringing a dragon to you as a future love. I'm just surprised that Olivia took it so well when he told her the truth
1,228 reviews14 followers
March 19, 2022
Boring, plot mistakes and not romantic!

Firstly the mistakes. Quite a few plot errors, but here’s my two favourites. Or should I say the two most annoying?

1. Olivia is trying to buy a property from Charles. When he tells her that he’s already sold it, George shakes her hand and she tells George goodbye. Erm it’s Charles not George! George is stood outside the room, waiting to come in!

2. Olivia and her assistant Angela, are attacked by four men. They hold onto Angela and Olivia’s phone so she can’t phone the police, and Olivia goes to Aaric. Aaric saves Angela and tells her she can phone Olivia now. Olivia’s phone rings in her pocket and it’s Angela. How did she get her phone???

Okay moving onto the plot. Aaric is a dragon who has been in stasis for a hundred years. When he’s woken up to fight evil, he must mate, so they can wake up another dragon.

Olivia is an estate agent, who badly wants the property that Aaric bought. When she isn’t able to convince him, the man that hired her, threatens her and sends his thugs to threaten her and Angela. Olivia turns to Aaric for help. While Angela is being kept hostage, Olivia and Aaric are having amazing sex. Olivia went from being terrified to horny in two seconds! Yeah, that was totally believable. Aaric tells Olivia his mission and that he’s a dragon. They fall in love and the end!

Told you…. It’s boring!! Olivia is horrid! It hints at some dark secret at the beginning of the book, that makes her the way that she is. But it’s never explained. It hints at Olivia having knowledge about the dragons, when she repeats one of their mantras. Again it’s not explained. It was just really annoying. I didn’t enjoy it, sadly.
Profile Image for Mandy.
4,886 reviews46 followers
September 4, 2020
Olivia Lawton is the top real estate agent in Plymouth Falls, and she just has to do her normal thing and buy this one property for a new client when a gorgeous stranger turns out to have already bought it. So it is now game on and she just needs to convince him to sell - after all failure is not an option. After a century of a deep sleep dragon shifter, Aaric Drakon is the first one to be awakened and he knows he has to find his mate in order to wake the rest of his kin who are still asleep. He decides to open an outreach centre for his family which should also help him to find her and so he is not going to be distracted by anyone, not even by a feisty real estate agent who’ll try anything to buy his land. At first, this is just a challenge for Olivia, but the client is not very understanding and is starting to terrify her. When everything escalates to a new level she has no alternative but to go to Alaric and tell him everything, which then sweeps her into a centuries-old conflict - just like the enemies want to. Can Alaric save Olivia and can they realise what is staring them in the face?

This was a really nice dragon-shifter story that had plenty of drama and excitement as the old enemy decided to show their hand and make the first attempt on the Drakon clan. This was a great first book in the series and I am looking forward to how it can develop. Contains some sexual content.
Profile Image for Harlequin Madness.
859 reviews22 followers
September 20, 2020
A great start to this new series. You don’t have to have read “High House Ursa” or “High House Canis” but it will provide a richer experience if you do. There are a few references to the other shifters (bear and wolf) but nothing that would confuse the reader if they hadn’t read the previous series.

I admit that I didn’t like the main female character for the first 1/3 of the book. But then she wasn’t horrible after that. I actually liked reading that she didn’t completely freak out when she learned that Aaric was a dragon shifter. All in all, she was pretty chill, which is odd because she was an uptight bitch at the beginning.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of PNR books.
Profile Image for Sharon Richmond.
1,118 reviews11 followers
March 14, 2021
Oh This Is Gonna Be Good!!!

This is the beginning of a great series about Dragons waking up to save Earth but first having to find their mate. I truly enjoyed losing myself this story and can't wait to grab the next book!!!

Aaric and Olivia had me either shaking my head or laughing out loud. Their character's personality was miles apart and that's what made them so entertaining in this story.
Aaric at first was like an old grumpy Dragon while Olivia was a spitfirel. They gave a whole new meaning to burn baby burn, lol...

I have voluntarily read and I'm voluntarily leaving a review for this book.Reviewer for Nook Books and More Blog.
Profile Image for Rachel.
272 reviews7 followers
March 15, 2022
Absolutely disturbing. After sleeping with Olivia and becoming her knight in shining armor, he thinks to himself that it was a waste of time and he needs to find his mate right away. While his probates are still basically wet from their coupling. He shouldn’t have thoughts of any other after the first kiss. The only good thing is that she is the mate and he didn’t sleep with somebody a day before finding his real mate and that would’ve been disturbing on a whole other level but this still isn’t right and he doesn’t deserve her after sleeping with her and then deciding to go find his mate like she was nothing. He doesn’t respect women or deserve her or a mate.
1,007 reviews9 followers
March 30, 2021
Unsuspecting mate

What's a dragon to do when he gets woken and told he needs to find a mate Evil is coming and Aaric needs to prepare for the fight but first he needs to buy a property that he has been looking at. Olivia is a human real estate agent who wants the property as well. Intrigued by this woman but wanting to get on with what he needs to do what can this dragon shifter do. Readers should enjoy the interaction between the two people involved and I am happy to recommend this book to all.
Profile Image for Ana.
2,038 reviews6 followers
March 28, 2022
I loved this great series about Dragons waking up to save Earth but first having to find their mate. I already made sure to grab the next book and have started reading it!!!

Aaric and Olivia had me shaking my head and laughing. Their personalities are so different and that's what made them so entertaining in this story.

What craziness is going to happen when they finally realize they are mates and try to wake up the elders, without a clue of how to do it.

Lots of mystery and hot passion that at times really had ne fanning myself.
Profile Image for Kevin.
2,661 reviews37 followers
September 15, 2023
Typical shifter and mating fantasy romance adventure, this time with a male dragon and a human woman.
Typos: diffuse for defuse twice, tick for tic twice, laying for lying, zippo for Zippo (lighter brand), some misplaced or incorrect punctuation, apostrophe S plurals. a couple other places with sloppy wording or construction. Also, a continuity error: Olivia was forced to leave her phone at her office, but when Aaric gets to her office, he tells Angela to call Olivia, and Olivia now has her phone with her without any explanation or notice that it had been left behind.
61 reviews
October 12, 2023
Evil rises; Dragons reappear to save the world; CAN THE DRAGONS WIN?!?

A fun read as Aarik is awakened and is the lone dragon to prepare the way to awaken the elder dragons to oppose the growing evil in the world. To accomplish that, he must become updated on modern mankind AND find his mate. How to do that? The search and learning to get his mate and become strong is the adventure told by Riley Storm's FIRE DRAGON'S BRIDE. brace yourself for this exciting thoroughly delightful tale!
Profile Image for JennB.
662 reviews
May 10, 2021
Not bad. The female character seemed like a completely different person at the end of the book, but not in a natural growth through the story kinda way. A bit corny in places, but some super smutty times. Some parts really flowed, but then the romance had to be justified and it felt a bit jerked around.
1,653 reviews
June 26, 2023
Brilliant Series

Fire Dragon’s Bride (High House Draconis Book 1) by Riley Storm. Fire dragon Aric is woken because a threat is sensed coming. To wake up the other dragons he needs to find his mate then he meets Olivia who wants to buy the property Aric has just bought and she will do almost anything to get the property.
Profile Image for Linda Elliott.
1,564 reviews9 followers
September 4, 2023
It started out a little confusing but that better in the end

When I 1st started reading this I was ready to put it down it was confusing. But as a story progressed I saw the other head woven in the history and the current day which is sometimes hard for an author to do but she did really well. I like the characters I like their faults and joking.
105 reviews2 followers
July 17, 2025
A pleasant read.

I love reading about Dragons, they are so unique and gives you a break from our humdrum world.
You never know what to expect from the story.
I am not a fan of explicit sex, I prefer the romantic side of a love affair which blossoms as the storyline unfolds not crudity.
I am looking forward to the next instalment of book 2.
Profile Image for Ginny Drake.
Author 0 books8 followers
June 27, 2020
As much as i love dragons I just couldn't do it. I fast skimmed after i got fed up with how horrible the characters were just to see if it got better. It did not. I will read almost anything and I really never skim but i just hated the characters. Life is to short to read bad books.
1,262 reviews4 followers
July 8, 2020
Good story

I enjoyed this dragon story. Olivia is a piece of work, but Alaric falls in love with her and the rest of the story follows on - with gangsters, vampires and dragons - lots of great story
Profile Image for Connie Harris.
1,532 reviews3 followers
January 15, 2021
The last series! The dragons! Another awesome story.

Aaric and Olivia are an amazing couple. They are so drawn to each other but stubborn at first. I loved this book and can't wait to read more!
Profile Image for Olivia.
549 reviews2 followers
April 10, 2020
Loved it

Absolutely loved this book and the characters. Some of the things the characters got up to made you laugh. Riley is very good at creating world you wished you loved in.
Profile Image for Joseph M Laura.
4 reviews
April 25, 2020
Great resd

This is one of the best books I've read in the last year. The book moved along from start to finish. It was hard to put down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews

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