Next Door Dragon Daddy

Secret Shifters Next Door #1

by Roxie Ray

Flirting with my hot neighbor is like playing with fire...

Tate is not the sort of neighbor you can ignore. Especially when he walks around half naked for all the world to see. I can't help that I got a weak spot for bad boys. But that was before I became a single mom, and I’m not so weak anymore.

Besides, Tate lights my temper without even trying, and I swear he enjoys teasing me. Well, two can play at that game, and I think it’s time someone teaches him a lesson.

My friends tell me that I’m playing with fire, that I don’t know how dangerous Tate truly is. But I’m not scared of a little heat between neighbors.

But there’s something different about Tate that I can’t put my finger on, and I’m determined to find out what it is. Even if it means getting burned...

Genres: Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Romance, Fantasy, Dragons, Paranormal Romance, Witches

526 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2022

About the author

Roxie Ray is a group of writer friends who love to write Sci Fi Alien Romance and Paranormal Romance. They love to talk, read and write this lovely genre. They hope you love their books and strive to make sure you have a steamy, wonderful experience!

Reviews

[DIVINITY🌙 · Rating 3 out of 5]

✔️ sexy overprotective shifter dragon
✔️ FMC made me think of Elena from Vampire Diaries she needs to be rescued constantly and I’m not in then mood

I read more than 50 percent so I’m going to count this towards my reading goal ..FIGHT ME 🤭

The spice was well written and the plot is somewhat good but I don’t care enough to continue..the slump is slumping

[Kelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you skipped the first chapter and dropped the shifter, this book is an almost exact duplicate to Kristen Ashley's At Peace. There are whole scenes that are IDENTICAL. Even though they are identical, they are nowhere near as well-written. I'm not going to finish this one because of the obvious plagiarism.

I loved At Peace and would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about this book. I would not recommend this one.

[K Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am legitimately confused by some of these reviews.
This book is a shifter/bodyguard/stalker/mafiaaccidental pregnancy/one night stand/supernatural genre? There is a lot going on.

What is NOT going on was Daddy Dom of any kind. I'm guessing the title refers to the accidental pregnancy but that isn't what I thought it was....

Her ex it turns out killed her husband (no info is given on this. Only that he was killed on duty as NYPD and then apparently she didn't know who killed him and it turns out it was her boyfriend who didn't pursue her until 3 years later but had killed him for her ...)
She breaks off with him for cheating but he starts stalking her. Then it turns out his connected to the mob.

So she moves to a house her husband's police partner offers her. We don't hear from him again even with all that happens. And seemingly he never thought to warn her about the mafia ties boyfriend while she was dating him. Apparently his partner either didn't know or didn't care that the guy could have been involved in his partners death and was now dating his widow.

Once she gets there, she is next door to her one night stand/baby daddy that is an ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE to her. Like, just an immature douchebag for no reason.

“Lady, I don’t know why you’re here, but I need to make one thing clear. What we had that night was just that. One night. No replays, no extra fun. I don’t need you getting any ideas about us. If you’re looking for round two, you’re out of luck. He sighed. “You aren’t the first woman to stalk me, and I’m sure you won’t be the last.” He chuckled humorlessly. “This really is a bit much to hook up one more time.”

I'm sorry what? Absolutely not off the get go. The dialogue is pretty juvenile and I honestly wondered if maybe the author was a teen or young adult. But I don't think so.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. We had sex, all right? Fucked, screwed, made the beast of two backs, did the nasty.”

That's ..charming.

The teen girls are interchangeable and unbelievable. They are always fine with everything, they ask to make dinner or do chores, and they talk like an after school special.

"After wiping off her face, Jordyn said, “Okay, I’m going to go add a bunch of my new friends on social media. Bye.”

This is.... Not how teen girls behave.

You really get the impression that without this forced mate bond they never would have gotten together and he wouldn't have had any interest.

The sex is pretty average, for badass security guys they come across as really a bit inept and constantly getting scared, being freaked out, letting the bad guys passed their guard.

The ending makes zero sense. The witch seemed like the most interesting character and she's gone with no fanfare. Her plan of... Making a giant spell for 4 shifters to force them to mate just so she can kill their spouse's when they eventually do? Why??? Why not just kill them and then move on to other shifters to kill. How is this spell efficient? I was so confused.

Anyways, there was too much going on in this book for me to really get into it. However the storylines were not bad, they were the kind of predictable romance themes I like, and maybe just needed to pick one.

[Dotti Elrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
It was an OK read. Predictable in spots. Other parts read very familiar, like I had read them in other books.

A one night stand after breaking up with her cheating ex is what brings Harley and Tate together.
Tate is in town only for one more night, when he’s drawn to the beautiful woman at the end of the bar.
One night, no names, no personal information.
Two months later, one positive pregnancy test, and an ex that isn’t taking no for an answer. It’s time for a change.
Harley contacts her late husband’s partner, he offers up a home for her and her two teenage daughters, thousands of miles away in a tiny Colorado mountain town.
She immediately feels safer, until she discovers her grumpy neighbor is her one night stand. And the possible daddy to her baby.
Tate is shocked to see Harley in his town, living across the street from his house. With the possibility of shifter hunters taking out his kind, it seems to be too much of a coincidence.
I actually liked Harley and her girls. Her youngest was not shy in any respect. She was adorable. Harley was a good mom. Strong for her daughters. Protective.
It was fun to watch the grumpy Tate take so easily to family life. His protective instincts kicked into overdrive when he found out Harley was pregnant.
Overall it was a decent story. It needed another pass through an editor for all of the typos.
There is a serious threat to the shifters in this town that looks like it’s going to run through the series. So while Tate and Harley have their happy ever after, there is a bit of a cliffhanger regarding that threat.

[O’rion Risher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. The writing is awkward and the overexplaining is just too much. The characters all seemed very juvenile, even though the MFC was old enough to be a widow with a 16 year old and 14 year old…
I tried, but I stopped reading after 3 chapters, and I tried skimming… but I was rolling my eyes and decided it’s not worth it.

[Robin]

No lo he leído pero si yo he tenido que leer el título vosotros también

[Angela (Angel's Book Nook) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Next Door Dragon Daddy is book one in the Secret Shifters Next Door series by Roxie Ray.

It was an ok read. Predictable.

I liked Harley and her girls. The youngest was not shy in any respect. She was adorable. The oldest was more mature and had a good head on her. Harley is a good mom, protective of her children, and even with everything happen in her life, she continues on.

Tate is shocked to see his one night stand move in across the street and as the story goes more shocked to learn she's pregnant with his kid. He's protective and after being a dick works to win over Harley and show her he can be a good guy, family man, and will not hurt her.

It was fun to watch Tate change from a loner single man into a family man and find what he's been looking for. The mystery of the hunters going after shifters is not much of a mystery. The added ex-boyfriend causing problems for Harley was, eh. The story is so so. It's been done. Tate and Harley do get they’re happy ever after, but we do have a bit of a cliffhanger regarding that hunter threat and curse on the shifters of Lily Valley.

Next Door Dragon Daddy has a very cool cover. Eye appealing, but the story is predictable. Not sure I'll continue on.

Rated: 3 Stars

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been disappointed with a Roxie Ray story. This one was just as great as I expected. It’s crazy how a once in a life time meeting can go in a whole another direction. Definitely worth ready. I can’t wait to read the next story to follow.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[D. Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for a good Dragon story and this one didn’t disappoint! You’ve got a little of everything in this one. Second chance love, shifters, magic, and fared mates. Can’t wait for the next.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

i am gonna need you guys to be so serious right now

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 Stars - DNF @ 44%

*sigh* Why must the social media ads for these sort of books give the false impression that it's actually interesting?? I do wonder.

So, yeah. I was reeled in by an Instagram ad (I think) with a brief dialogue snippet from the book that grabbed my interest and thought why not check it out. Which is a big deal for me because in recent years I've become near impossible to please when it comes to books. And even more cautious when trying new authors.

To say I was disappointed by this book would be putting it lightly.

I can say what I managed to read was decently written and not *too* overly detailed that it dragged. Perhaps it did focus a little too much on certain scenes or situations that I felt took away from the overall appeal of the story. Otherwise it wasn't actually terrible tbh.

My biggest issue with this book and I guess with the author was that this was supposed to be a shifter themed romance story. Read that again...supposed to be. Because I tell ya what, this story was absolutely NOT that.

What this story was and what it read across like was your average ole contemporary romance where a widower single mom has a one night stand and gets knocked up. Sure we have the whole crazy ex boyfriend and her picking up her and her daughters whole lives to move to bumfuck Colorado where she JUST HAPPENS to move next door to her now future baby daddy. 🙄

Sure said baby daddy is apparently a dragon but that's such a TINY detail in the entire story it might as well not exist. It literally had no presence here. One or two mentions about it waking up and even telling the hero Tate that the heroine Harley is his mate and supposedly it feeling protective of her and her daughters...that about sums it up.

That for me was the absolute most frustrating part of this story. I was expecting a sorta alpha possessive type of dragon shifter. Especially from the snippet the ad teased me with but oh no! Tate is the most average dude. Literally nothing stood out about his personality or how he was described.

Overall this story was boring. It felt too simple and not detailed or inclusive enough in regards to the supposed shifter aspect. It could've easily been written out of the book and you'd never know. That's how little it mattered to the story or characters.

So, I dunno if I trust this author to read anything else. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Lira · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was OK 🤷🏻‍♀️ Not bad but not over the top too. As a pallet cleanser will do :) The plot was interesting enough that I didn’t want to DNF at all although if I did, it wouldn’t make a difference for me.

After the initial one night stand I was hoping for more spicy scenes but they were pretty tame, maybe because of the pregnancy which lasted the whole book (I personally was hoping for pregnancy kink but alas). Here I want to say that the book wasn’t boring, there was a lot happening nevertheless. So take this one for the plot not for smut 🤗

Every time I thought that the story is coming to a conclusion there was a new plot twist that inspired me to keep going. There were some questions that would be answered in the next books but the story of Tate & Harley ended with HFN.

Liked the whole finding a family/pack theme + kids, friendship support and new better beginnings 🙆🏻‍♀️

There was a moment when I wanted to edit the book myself because of the constant repetition of the word ‘slid’. Due to the fact that it was during one smex scene, I wasn’t happy at all 😂 That’s my personal quirk, I want authors to be well-versed, to use synonyms as much as possible otherwise it distracts me from the story itself 🫠 Sorry not sorry.

Overall 3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars. I have seen 3 different covers for this book and only one makes me want to read it asap. Spoiler: its not the douchey looking one...

The story was okay, I went in knowing about the surprise baby but it still made me mad the lack of responsibility that comes with sex with a stranger. No condom, no STD talk but the author redeems it slightly by Harley getting herself checked at a clinic right away.

And even Tate as a shifter with no STD spreading or baby worries unless it's a mate, it is STILL irresponsible to go bareback all over the place. Blech.
And how does this smooth womanizer become a fumbling idiot around Harley?

Spoilers ahead-

Of course Tate had every right to be suspicious about Harley, her moving in was a long shot. I do like her and the girls as characters, that redeemed the story enough.
"The neighbor was pushing a mower across his lawn. His back was turned to us, and it was a hell of a back. He was nothing but rippling muscles, shining with sweat.
We stepped out onto the lawn, ogling him as he cut his grass. I could practically smell the teenage hormones coming off the girls, but honestly, I couldn’t take my eyes off him long enough to scold them."

And this was sooo hypocritical of him, urging her to be truthful:
"Even small secrets can hurt a family. Mine, for example, was big on secrets. It was part of what drove us apart.”

Yes- Emily was weird and the whole Hunters thing doesn't get resolved. I also thought it was weird that she was a web designer yet she never was described as actually working.

When Tate comes for Harley after she is abducted:
Skirting the actual answer, I said, “Well, you’re being super intense. And I have to admit, shit’s a little weird. What did Emily do to the car? How did the four of you take out like a dozen armed guards without getting hurt? And why in the fuck were your eyes glowing? That’s the big one.”
“I love you, and I would never hurt you,” Tate whispered.

and Spoiler- because of the spell Emily placed over the shifters in the town, Harley has to become a dragon now so this was amusing:
"Tate came in seconds after I called. When I told him what I was feeling, his eyes went wide.
“It’s time.”
“Time for what?” I asked.
Without answering, Tate leaned out and called across the hall, “Mariah! I… uh… your mom wants to take a walk in the woods. Can you watch the baby?”
“Yeah, sure. I guess. Weird, but whatever,” Mariah called from her room.

[Cheyyleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ms. Ray. Again with the horribly embarrassing book names that are now on my Goodreads.

2.5, and goodreads has the wrong description for this book. I'm sure another one of this authors books is named similarly but this book does not have a "blaze" or friends warning her about his temper etc.



Overall I think this book just took too long on the plots that went nowhere in this book. Luis is a good plot point to get her out of New York but it became background noise and no one really cared by the end of the book. The shifter and hunter war is interesting, but we dont really get any info on that front in this first book so it just fell flat for me.

Then the romance and family stuff. I didn't really feel their connection. I was told about it, but I didn't see either character give us a strong sense of real connection outside of the mating bond. I wanted more, and I wanted more groveling if I am being honest. He drops these huge bombs on her, is shitty to her, and she is pregnant with his kid. Give me something to work with here.

[Judy Gittleson Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harley and Tate had a one-night in New York. She had left an ex boyfriend three weeks before after finding he was cheating on her, but now he was becoming a maniacal stalker. Moving quickly to a friends house in Colorado, with her two girls, they feel safe for the first time. Now their next door neighbor is Tate - what a coincidence. The characters are various humans and shifter who are so close and like family. The storyline has drama, danger, mafia, shifter hunters, witches, shifters, steam, and much more. Loved Harley and Tates chemistry, backstories and intense feelings. Big decisions and fast action keeps the pages turning. The ending was perfect.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Chaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story. Tate and Harley worked well together, even with all the crazy complications that arose. At first, I did not like tate. He was such a jerk to Harley. I understood why he was taken aback but jeez Louise. He could have been a bit nicer. As time went on, he did grow and apologized for how horrible he was. Tate was so protective of his girls and his family! I hated what happened to Sam and why. Harley and the girls didn't deserve that loss. Plus the betrayal that happened later on too. They all went through so much and still are in danger. At least they only have to worry about the hunters now.

[Jessica Jesinghaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unfortunate title, but a delightful shifter romance

Actual rating: 4.5

Despite a title that had me chuckling, I thoroughly enjoyed the introductory book in this series.

After fleeing a stalker ex-boyfriend, widowed mom to two Harley relocates herself and her teenage daughters to a tiny Colorado town where secrets abound. The chemistry between Harley & Tate was delicious. And the mystery of who is behind all the sinister events transpiring around them kept the tension taut throughout. I’m invested in the rest of the series for sure!

[rosy★彡 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ i guess. i’m indifferent to pregnancy tropes when they happen as a HEA but i don’t like giving birth scenes sorry

[Lilouae · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun, fast paced and entertaining story, even if it was all super predicable.
I didn't like FMC though, she had more or less no personality and took stupid decisions.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen. I got the complete set in one book. I did not know this was the title. I plead not guilty.

[Colleen Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than I expected and enough to keep me up all night to finish it!!

[Melenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The general storyline is good. I didn't enjoy all the internal drama though.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

An enjoyable read, but this author’s style prevents me from reading more of her stories. I liked the story and the characters, but I won’t keep reading the series

[Juliana · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I liked Tate and Harley together... the dialogue was somewhat trite, but I liked the emotional connection they had. Everything else though... the choices made in building the plot, how little nuance there was to how conflict developed and was handled, how the guys talked to each other, and how one-dimensional Emily was. Everything just fell flat and I could not keep investing more of my time on this...
Anyway, loads of people gave this a good review, which is why I started reading to begin with. Just not my cup of tea, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Jacqueline J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent dragon shifter story. There isn't anything really novel about the hero being a dragon though. He could have been a werewolf or any other shifter. Or actually he could have been straight human. Nothing really new and novel. I did appreciate that the heroine was older. I appreciated that they didn't really like or trust each other at first and it took time for their relationship to grow. Characterization was just okay. First person POV.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute and pretty fast paced. I liked how Tate was all in once he realized what was going on. I liked Harely, she was a good mother and I liked her resilience even to stand against Luis. Her daughters were great and it was nice to see Tate form a relationship with them. I'm sad that Emily had to die, but I'm curious how the curse will play out and eventually dissolve? Break?

[Ang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this story to be lacking, wouldn’t reread

Plot/story line: 3/10 Has potential but the execution was poor. The odd mix of crime/gangster/stalker ex with dragon shifter genre didn’t mesh well. Felt like too much random stuff going that didn’t flow

Characters: 2/10 not much character development. Didn’t get to see much of the daughters. Even the main characters we don’t get to know that much. The better character would be Emily and that’s not enough for this story

Story flow: 7.5/10 flowed surprisingly well. Enough things happening and fillers between

Writing style: 6/10 decent

Steamy scenes: 3/10 one night stand is how the MCs met and we didn’t get that.

Overall: Left me wanting more, and not in the good way. One of the things that annoyed me most was that their security crew is depicted as this bad a** group but every time something happened at their home, they continue to stay there anyways. They’re literally sitting ducks waiting on all these antagonists to attack them. Also, the FMC was pregnant for 9 months and we don’t get any interactions with her pregnancy:baby, father-fetus bonding, or even horny hormone moments. The only thing we get is her throwing up and a quick scene of her noticing her body changing. Will not reread this one or continue the series

[Judy Barmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Next Door Dragon Daddt #1 01/23/2023

Harley has just dumped her boyfriend he was cheating on her. She just want a drink and to forget that’s when she see Tate across the bar. Boy what a hot guy and now he’s come over to talk to her. After a hot and sweaty night she didn’t think she would see him again. After escaping New York and her ex nut head she moved her two girls to a little town in Colorado. And guess what the guy across the street is the hot one night stand. And she has a secret. Tate can’t believe what he is seeing that hot chick from the bar in New York across the street moving in. He thinks she is stacking him. So he confronts her and she tells him how could I stack you I didn’t even know you name. But he’s still rude to her. So you should enjoy this read and see how these two work out their trouble and all the other bad stuff coming their way. So enjoy!!

[Hallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw a Facebook advertisement and I don’t wanna talk about it. Also, if you see the rest of the series pop up on here soon, I don’t want to talk about that either lmao.

Honestly it was a decent book with some problematic sentences and scenes. The way Tate asks Harley if she is pregnant was a HELL NO from me. Also she doesn’t find out he’s a dragon until like 400 pages into the 521 page book which was drug out for too long in my opinion. The mob stalker ex boyfriend was a fun little plot twist in the story.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avoiding spoilers; I found the story interesting from the start. I enjoyed all the characters and how the story develops. I found I just couldn’t stop reading except when life forced me to take a break.

I’d recommend this for any fan of Roxie Ray or Paranormal Romance!