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Elemental Dragon Warriors #1

Claimed by the Fire Dragon Prince

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We set out from Earth in search of a new world. I never thought it would end with us crashing on a planet full of dragon shifters.

When I’m taken from my people by a fierce Drakarian warrior, my first thought is of escape. Varus is the Prince of the Fire Clan. He claims the glowing pattern on his chest means that I’m his fated one—his Linaya.

I doubt he's going to just let me go. But what does it mean to be fated to a dragon?

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 20, 2020

225 people are currently reading
456 people want to read

About the author

Aria Winter

50 books194 followers
Aria Winter is the pen name of USA Today bestselling author, Jessica Grayson. She loves to write romance. Especially science fiction and fantasy since that's pretty much all she reads.

She lives with her husband, 2 cats and 1 dog in TX. In addition to reading and writing, she loves biking, travel, and sitting on the deck drinking coffee or tea when it rains. For more information, follow her on www.AriaWinter.com

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5 stars
183 (34%)
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155 (29%)
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139 (26%)
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32 (6%)
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15 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
Profile Image for Lori [semi-hiatus].
276 reviews156 followers
September 29, 2021
Sweetest hero award goes to this guy.
I haven't read a safe SF (and double virgins) in a long time so this was definitely a win.
Profile Image for Jen ♥.
1,756 reviews969 followers
December 29, 2024
Lily and the crew of the human spaceship found themselves under attack by ruthless pirates, but thankfully, they managed to get away in an escape.

They touched down in a vast desert, somewhere unfamiliar. And after a week of their unexpected arrival on the planet, Lily thought it would be a good idea to check out the desert soil. To her surprise, she discovered it was rich enough to nurture crops and help them thrive.

Varus spotted her and immediately felt the connection of their mating bond. Then he saved her from a predator, and then they ended up stuck in a cave for two whole days because of a sandstorm.

It seems this is one of those insta-love situations since they both fell for each other so quickly. But I suppose that’s also due to the strong connection they share.

Anyway, once everything was sorted out, Lily and Varus headed back to the desert to rescue the other humans, and his people welcomed them with open arms into their clan.


Book info:
- Alien x Human
- Fated mates
- Dual V
- Violence (a bit)
- Loss of loved ones
- No cheating, OM/OW, separation
- Open door scenes
- HFN/HEA (weeks later?? Mated and expecting a fledgling)
Profile Image for N.
74 reviews
December 5, 2020
I read the reviews here and I thought this might be a good shape-shifter, paranormal romance with a sci-fi twist. It starts ok. A little bit lacking in emotion given the death and turmoil, to be honest, but maybe it could be that the characters are in shock. Then the timelines get a little funky. The Prince sees what is the escape pods crash and decides to go check it out the next morning. But when he talks to the heroine, she says they’ve been on the planet for a week...except it’s suppose to be the next day, no? Kept reading to give it a chance, some parts were a bit funny but then she falls in love with him in a span of what appears to be two days and one night. Except for most of the first day, she’s unconscious or scared. Okay, maybe she’s feeling the effect of the fated mate bond or something. Fine. Then she meets the parents...this is where I gave up. It suddenly became very 2D from the reaction of the parents to the incident with the translator. I couldn’t read on.

There are other reviews here indicating that a lot of people really enjoyed this book. Just because I didn’t, doesn’t mean it’s not a good book for someone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for kaleigh.
463 reviews230 followers
November 3, 2022
the hero is so cute and is completely devoted to the heroine so i loved it!

hero is set up to have an arranged marriage but there were no feelings or intimacy with her. of course she didn’t have any feelings for him either so no real drama. heroine had a guy hit on her but she doesn’t like him at all since he’s sorta a manwhore on the ship. mentioned that she kissed a few people in the past on dates but nothing further.

both virgins!

also slight language barrier. she doesn’t have a translator chip so she doesn’t understand him at first but they can communicate when they touch. they do that until she gets the translator chip installed.

overall this was a pretty fun read. i would’ve liked to learn a little bit more about what happened with Skye in the end but her book is next. not sure if i will continue reading this series just because my tbr is so long. but if you’re looking for a short-ish, dual virgin, devoted hero with cute moments i would definitely say this is the book for you.
Profile Image for Daphnne.
1,312 reviews8 followers
November 20, 2020
Really fun alien romance

I highly recommend this alien romance if you love funny and cute. In this case the humans are the aliens that have landed on a planet full of elemental dragon shifters. The FMC is rescued by the prince of the fire dragons and it turns out she's his true mate. The hilarity ensues when cultural differences come to play. Luckily it all gets worked out but I enjoyed this read theough the end and look forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Saint Fitz.
270 reviews
Read
February 16, 2022
Cute—reminded me a lot (maybe too much?) of Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbadians, but it lacked the special sauce of her writing style...there was too much perspective from the guy, which felt very stilted and one-dimensional (his voice, i mean). I think, with a premise like crash landing on an alien planet filled with dragon shifters, a little humor would have gone a long way, too...

That being said, it’s a short, happy read that requires little by way of thought. All fun and fluff, and in this terrible state we are in , I’m 100% okay with that.
Profile Image for OneDayI'll.
1,592 reviews43 followers
November 23, 2020
A Lilly in the desert

Lilliana has had the worst run of luck. Humans had to leave Earth, it no longer supported life. They piled into ships to last however many generations it took to find a new home. But a sickness passed through the ships. Humans lives were lost. Then the survivors took another hit. In this new galaxy they're exploring, alien pirates tried to take them over. Those that lived through the invasion, then faced crashing pods into this alien desert. And now, after all that, while looking for soil that would sustain the seeds needed for food before their stores dwindle, a giant predator attacked her. And then a dragon attacked it. Just what kind of crazy world did they crash into?

Spoilers ahead.
Ok, so I pretty much love everything Jade writes. And this is no exception. The miscommunication, misinterpreted culture norms, the shooting down of their respective ideals, are all loaded with humor. She doesn't realize he's the dragon, because he has 2 forms- 1 of them humanoid...ish. She can't understand him unless they're touching. He is understandably upset that she calls his other form hideous, and is terrified that his mate is not able to protect herself. A female of his species has claws, scales and wings. These humans are easily sunburned, have tiny fingernails and soft skin. His poor ego takes several hits, and so does hers. And that's before she finds out about his previous entanglement. But when he discovered her, another Drakarian did, too. And now the race is on. He saw the fate marks, realized there could be more, and isn't daunted by trespassing into another clan's territory to see if one of those humans flares his marks. This series started with a bang, literally, and looks to keep it going.
Jade always does an amazing job world building. We get new culture, we get background on the other Drakarian clans, we get a history of the current conditions, we got the background on why the humans were traveling, and more personal histories on all the main characters. No info dumps, it's all woven in gently where and how it's needed.
Profile Image for Viv “BookVixen” Gutierrez .
1,598 reviews471 followers
September 9, 2021
Awesome series. I’ve been reading them out of order, and this is the first one in The series which I’m only now getting to. Great story, great writing, lots of swoon and heart melting to go along with some steam. The hero was betrothed in an arranged marriage but had no intimacy with her or had any emotional connection to her. No real ow drama.

Totally and wonderfully safe. Double virgins. No sliming around with others, they belong completely to one another.. We need more of this in sci-fi romance.
Profile Image for Serena Nicholls.
341 reviews9 followers
December 14, 2020
Simply fabulous

Loved loved this book. New author for me and this book did not disappoint at all. I loved the growing relationship between Varus and Lily and I look forward to reading more of this series as they get released
Profile Image for Saylor.
212 reviews2 followers
March 22, 2021
Not bad at least the authors gave us good back story before all the weird mating talks became prominent. I have to say calling it Stav is weird, I kept pronouncing it as guStav and I don't think that's sexy at all. Good internal dialogue from the prince his pov made me laugh out loud a lot of times.
Profile Image for Sara.
299 reviews147 followers
October 8, 2021
Very much a meh experience for me.

Lilly I found kind of annoying at the beginning. Calling the hero ugly, assuming that his people most have the same culture as humans (with regards to clothes and such), finding the food gross. Was written to be funny, but just came off as ignorant and narrow-minded to me.
But I will say Lilly grew on me when she held her ground for her people:
"We are not about to become breeders for your people just because you lack women."

She also (rightly) gave them some stink about seeing the humans' misfortune as a miracle for them:
"Your species believe mine are gifts from the Gods. And while that may be true, we are also just people - sentient beings, just like you. We are survivors trying to forge a new life."

Unfortunately, she did come across as a little slut-shamey at the beginning.

Varus was... ok. It was a little more sucessful with the funny of "humans are so weak and weird!". Mostly because while he thought those things, he also worshipped the ground Lilly walked on. It did become really annoying for me when he kept ragging on human males and thinking how much better Drakanian males are.

Both characters were pretty immature, I think. If this book told me they were 19, I'd believe it.

Overall, not bad but not good either. 2,5 stars
Profile Image for Melissa Dickson.
342 reviews25 followers
January 25, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️2.5 rounded to 3.

Not bad for the first book in the series. Def set me up to want to read more. In fact, I’m excited to read the second one tonight.

The differences between the species was hilarious... Verus was wonderful.

The only thing I hated (and no, I didnt take any stars off for this), is that Ive watched Game of Thrones so much that I was saying his name as “Varys” in my head.

description
Profile Image for Kristin .
102 reviews31 followers
December 7, 2020
Love love love

What a great start to this new series. It was such a feel good romance and loved how the elements are involved with the dragons. Just love me a wonderful HEA. Can't wait for the next book!
Profile Image for Amber.
2,213 reviews60 followers
March 16, 2021
👍👍

This was a fun and fast read. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions while getting to know one another. I am looking forward to continuing this series.
346 reviews8 followers
February 7, 2021
Dragon/demon and bad humor

I freely admit others may like this book; I did not.

It was a MASSIVE struggle to finish. I did it by skimming the last 40% of the book.

Lily, the MC is supposed smart enough and mature enough to be the chief botanist in an armada of human colonists who escaped a dead Earth. People look up to her and expect her to lead them when their escape pod crashes on a planet they know nothing about. Yet as soon as she meets the dragon male MC Varas, she proves she’s nothing more than your average, 23 year old, who is neither smart nor mature enough to handle first contact.

Varas is a pampered prince and it shows. He’s a good MC for the MeTo movement and exactly the kind of alien you’d want to meet in real life, at a coffee shop, ordering pretentious coffee. He’s pretty well written as being clueless about first contact, and really devoted to protecting Lily.

Varas is not an Alpha male, and the author wanting to force him to be in certain situations in the book fell flat. He would have been better as a lower ranking individual than a prince. I mean you want William not Harry and this MC is Harry (love ya Harry but not in the lead of my romance novel).

There was really no drama beyond one dragon fight which was well written. You don’t get enough of the side characters to care a lot about the next books in the series but I will admit the next book looks 1000x more interesting than the first.

A more mature MC couple would have been a much better fit. And a few chapters fewer of that old trope “he’s an alien and can’t understand earth stuff” would have really helped.

I can’t recommend this one, but I can see why others can; be cautious and if you think it gets unbelievable and you don’t like it, just abandon ship.
Profile Image for Angie.
363 reviews16 followers
December 5, 2020
Cookie cutter

Immature characters in a cookie cutter dragon story. Reminds me of a very generic version of Miranda Martin's Red Planet Dragons of Tajss
Profile Image for Neha Bhakta.
52 reviews21 followers
February 20, 2021
I'm not going to lie. I was searching for a dragon book and this one popped up in my search results and I clicked on it because of the cover. I judged the book by the cover. To all the book readers who haven't judged a book by the cover, I am truly sorry. When I read the blurb on the back of the book the word Linaya just struck a cord, which had sealed the fate of me reading the book.

The story starts off with a space convoy of humans who are being attached by a savage alien breed. We meet Lilliana who is a botanist on the convoy. In order to save herself and her friends they escape on a escape pod that gets shot at after it detaches from the main convoy. This leads the pod to land on the closest planet to them. Soon Lilliana and the remaining crew find themselves shipwrecked on a similar planet like Earth.

I loved Lilliana's character. She's a bit of a hermit and she doesn't hide the fact. Despite being a hermit she takes the role of leadership that is given to her with class. She goes out into unknown territory and does her job well. Looking after the people who crash landed with her. The story is an enjoyable read. I loved how the authors wore Varus's perspective so literally. This aspect helps with the comedic affect of the story. I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times, and my husband still thinks I'm going insane. One thing that bothered me while reading was the fact that he wasn't conscious of some of his actions. I'm not sure if that was intentionally done or not. I just felt that as a prince he should have had more thought on being responsible when he left the castle the first time. As I read further into the story, I found him to be very responsible in his role a prince, which made me question why he didn't let anyone know that he was going out for a bit.

Overall the book was an enjoyable read. With everything that's going on around in the world right now, the book provided a wonderful escape. I'll be reading the other books in the series so we'll see how this world will capture my interest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1 review
June 11, 2021
This is the first Aria Winter and Jade Waltz book that I read and I love it.

Hero: Prince Varus of the Fire Clan
- I love how gentle he is to Lilly. He did not force her to do something that she did not like.
- The only thing that I did not like was when he first met her, he kinda distance his self away from her a little (but I know that he was just confused since they were different species). Usually, for fated mates, they always show it since they felt that they were meant for each other. He could have observed her first.
- He's adorable. He has cute thoughts about Lily's reactions and about what she said to him

Heroine: Lilliana (Lily)
- I love that she did not overreact when she met Varus. It was normal to be afraid but her reactions was not over the top for me.
- I also like that she listened to Varus explanation and that she did not left his side immediately after knowing Varus hide something.

Overall, it was a good book for me. Though, it doesn't have heavy conflict which was okay.

Book Cover: 5 stars for me. In love with it.

Recommended?: Yes

No ow/om drama (not unless you count H's betrothed or the other Prince), no cheating, virgin hero and virgin heroine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Daisy Sauceda.
1,809 reviews21 followers
August 16, 2021
Varus and Lilliana

This was a great book. So we have Lilliana who goes through something horrific only to crash on a planet with other people. Now the place where they landed is like the Sahara Desert. Just sand as far as the eye can see. Then we have Varus the Prince of the fire clan. Why the fire clan you ask. Well because he can handle the heat of the desert. He gets this gut instinct to find out what fell from the sky. Something tells him that it is life changing. Oh boy is it. So when he finally finds out what fell he did not expect his fate mark to glow. He knew she was meant for him. However, something happens that pushes them together. Now lets also add the fact that Varus shifts into a DRAGON!! Lilliana is trying to help her people to survive this planet. When she meets Varus she gets a feeling of safety but not quite for sure if she can trust him. Well when they are stuck in a cave to ride out a storm, you learn to trust. So will she be able to help her friends out in time. Will Varus convince her that she is her mate. Let's also remember their is a language barrier in the beginning. So how does he speak with her. How does it all end? I can say that there is a happily ever after for these two.
Profile Image for JodyL.
1,644 reviews5 followers
January 31, 2021
Best of both worlds

The last of the humans left on colony ships looking for a new planet as earth died out. Now pirates are attacking their ships.
Lily is one of the humans that boarded an escape pod that crash landed in a desert on an unknown planet.
Varus is the prince of the Fire Clan. A virus killed half of the females of the planet and left a lot of the one that lived, sterile. He is set to marry a princess of the Water Clan in order to maintain a peace treaty and to possibly have children. But she is not his fated mate.
Something is pulling him towards the desert and he must find out what it is.
This book is great! It has dragons that are either fire, wind, earth or water. There are fated mates but they aren't pushy or demanding. The way the males try to preen to get a females attention is funny and cute.
They are both shifters and aliens so we get the best of both worlds within the paranormal romance world!
Profile Image for Carol.
1,228 reviews
April 19, 2021
DNF 56%

Meh, this was boring. It had some potential but the heroine was this twenty three year old virgin who fantasized about the perfect man because of romance books. Etc etc. And truthfully that wouldn't have bothered me much but the way she was written felt too juvenile for me. Honestly I just didn't like or connect with her.

And the hero Varus although somewhat cute with his thoughts at times also felt juvenile as well. I was expecting some alpha vibes from him but there was nada. Very beta.

I didn't feel any chemistry between the two and as of this point in the book nothing had happened between them either.

It read across like a teen romance IMO with how the characters both acted and spoke.

On top of that was the details about Varus' dragon form (draka) and the fact he could speak while in it was odd to me. For as much the author tried to detail everything most of it felt obscure and vague.

So I'm out. ✌️
Profile Image for S. .
40 reviews
December 1, 2020
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 First book hangover I’ve had in a while!

I’m a sucker for sci-fi romance & also for dragons, but I hesitated a bit before reading this because I mostly prefer RH.
Honestly, I’m so glad I hesitated because now I only have to wait 11 days for book 2! Also I’ve been starting series like crazy but only reading the first book, and I know for sure I’m going to read this whole series.
I really liked that the relationship between Varus and Lilliana wasn’t instalove but it also didn’t take forever for them to fall for each other. (& when they did swoon!💖) I also loved the way the Drakarians spoke. I totally get into lil alien communication && looks differences— so much more realistic than all aliens being super humanoid. Basically I loved this whole book and I’ll be waiting very impatiently for that Wind Clan prince 🧡🤍
Profile Image for Jen.
419 reviews9 followers
April 21, 2021
I liked it. Didn't LOVE i but it had a lot of funny bits. I didn't like how the girl read in the beginning. She seemed to feel like he SHOULD KNOW about certain human things he would absolutely have no clue on. NOW he read better, was more understanding of their differences and I just think it was the authors writing that threw her off rather than her intention. It got better and I am hopeful the next book is better. The only downside to the series is that it is APPEARING to be one of those that always takes the couple away from the group to build the story. I LIKE characters! Mains, sides, inbetweens. I like the characters even more in scifi because it helps flesh out the ENTIRE world more.

Anyways decent book with some issues in the beginning half of the book with a bit too many squishy love parts BUT has ALMOST enough humor to kind of help it find a balance.
Profile Image for Spinneretta.
2,855 reviews21 followers
November 27, 2020
Lilliana and Varus

Lilliana is a human on a colony ship when it’s attacked by pirates.
Her escape pod crash lands on a planet, where she is rescued by a dragon-shifting male.
Varus is Prince to the Fire Dragons, and spots his fated mate in the form of an alien he has never seen before.
The two have to overcome language barriers, and cultural differences, after all, they’re fated.

This is a quick sci-fi romance, with dragon-shifting aliens (although since it’s their planet, the aliens are really the humans), and a new world.
First in a series, it ends with a slight cliffhanger/hook for the next book, which will feature a different hero and heroine.

Recommended as a quick read for sci-fi romance lovers.
1,887 reviews5 followers
October 7, 2021
Confused by some parts, wished some same old storyline bits were removed.

I enjoyed most of the book.
Had a problem with the human heroine. Why the heck did author turn a great character to a whiny stereotype human?
And what the heck is with authors saying humans are defenseless and weak?
I do not buy that the “mates” change their mind after getting to know them.
Also did not buy the quick “I love you”, etc.
Or the way he changed from opening. Regretting their species fighting and about to mate another tribe to “heal” feelings. Then threatening like those in the past?
The fight and bad blood between friend was not explained well. Made no sense. It was a sandstorm they were out in, not something he caused.
Profile Image for Crystine Fujimoto.
118 reviews11 followers
December 7, 2020
Dog like devotion.

I enjoyed this story. The characters were great except the fire dragon prince, Varus. His devotion to his fated mate was a little too dog like. Anything for his mate. Otherwise this was an interesting storyline with not enough world building. Things like species successful inter-breeding and female (almost worship) seems a little far fetched. I do like that the females can kick a$$ and would be interested in following up on a relationship between a female Drakarian and another species similar to humans.

I recommend this to those who like light alien romance with sex.
Profile Image for Whitney (whtnymllr).
Author 1 book40 followers
March 10, 2021
Sci-fi dragon shifters!

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Varus and Lilly are both leaders who didn’t ask to be in charge. They do a lot of talking past each other in the beginning, which was pretty silly/funny. I enjoyed watching them try to work out all the cultural/language differences. The world building is fantastic and I have high hopes for the rest of the series after reading this one. Writing was very well done.

Spoilers for nitpickyness: The story is a bit insta-lovey. I was surprised that Lilly falls for Varus as quickly as she does. Varus is nice and all, but I didn’t get a connection from the that necessitated her falling in love within a day.
Profile Image for Faith Shaffer.
223 reviews16 followers
February 24, 2024
I liked it. Recommended.

The story was sweet, and funny with fated/insta-love. It was very predictable, though, following the "human women crash on a planet where the native women have all died or are sterile, and the men are desperate for mates/breeders to save their race" trope. And, don't forget the warring tribes! Even though it was so predictable, I still liked it. This trope is a comforting one for me, like your mom's apple pie or whatever.

This could be read as a stand-alone, but the story arc continues on to the next book (and I am guessing the whole series.)

No angst, super sweet, and HEA.
Profile Image for Louise.
262 reviews2 followers
April 29, 2022
2.5 stars

After encountering alien space pirates and evacuating in an escape pod, Lilliana and some of her fellow colonists crash land on an unknown planet. Varus, a shifter dragon prince and native to this planet, encounters Lilliana and instantly believes her to be his Linaya - his mate.

The book was good. I can't say the concept was anything new to me but it was fine. I did find the story a little simplistic and quick to the point. Slower relationship development would have been my preference.

(¬д¬。)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews

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