Does 'The Dragon'S Bride' Have Spicy Scenes?

This book is intensely sexy compared to the typical fantasy novels such as Mistborn or The Name of the Wind, moderately sexy compared to adult romance novels found in regular bookstore’s adult sections, and mild compared to most fan fiction (note: context, context). Within the genre of New Adult/Adult Romantasy this book is quite steamy. Its sexiness is integral to both the relationships between the characters and the magic in the world. Most books with this much sex use it as an afterthought, but not this book. This book’s sexiness is essential to the story.

First off, the cover art for this novel is simply delightful. I had an idea of what kind of story this would be, based on the artwork. Sweet, a little bit silly, with lots of steamy romance. This novel was exactly that, and so much more. The sex scenes in this novel were as warm and fun to read as the rest of the book. They were never trite or boring, and they had just the right amount of playfulness to them to keep things from getting too serious or hot. I loved this novel because it was so much fun to read. The author never took himself too seriously, but he did take his characters’ feelings very seriously, which was great.

I didn't go into this expecting it to be completely perfect, and of course there are still some hints of political tension left in this story, but for the most part that's handled well, and individual side characters aren't given completely fairy-tale endings. However, the core relationship of the story is given a beautiful, stable, loving ending, and the main characters have developed absolute trust in each other by the end. It's a really satisfying read, and one of the happier endings I've read – it's really about finding your person and your home, and the two main characters in the story manage to achieve both of those things unequivocally.

Look for the older Harlequin category romances in the Heartwarming or Love Inspired lines. These books are written to be sweet and never to include any explicit content. Written to be shorter and more formulaic than the rest of the category books, you know just what you’re getting from authors such as Carol Ross or Anna J. Stewart. Written to be a sweet, short read that will leave you feeling good at the end, these books often have external conflict or miscommunication and then are resolved with a heartfelt declaration. Not a lot of sexy scenes in these books.

I also really appreciated the cost to the dragon of this happy ending. When he finally has the human in his arms as a human, his hands are shaking. This creature who was able to hold up mountains in all their dragonous size and power was shaking. I loved this. It wasn’t about losing power. It was about trading one kind of strength for another. And then the reader got to see just how rich and full this quiet life was of simple joys that he had never even known to want before – like seasons changing, growing his own food, the gossip of the neighbors. This was all so wonderful and it validated the life he had chosen as being just as full and as meaningful as his life in the crystal palace. But the real closing is for the secondary characters as well. His gruff second-in-command weeps uncontrollably as he leaves, as if he has lost a brother. The learned friend of Elara the scholar puts together the definitive treatise on dragon-human relations in memory of them. The closing of the story of this one creature has the ripples of the central story, but it also has the outer rings of change in the world that this creature and this woman have brought about. It is not a closed ‘The End’ but the opening of a new, better world for them. That is why I consider this a hopeful, tearful ending.

I’ve seen tons of people online wax poetic about how much they love fanfiction for really popular fantasy novels, and honestly I can see why. For one, the A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) fandom is HUGEnormous, and so there are thousands of stories about Daenerys and Jon Snow, as well as all sorts of original character/dragon rider pairings. But most particularly, within that huge and dedicated fanbase, there are also tons of really passionately-written novel-length fics that follow the many, many characters in the series through all sorts of scenarios, not least of which is the huge pool of political marriage tropes. I went to Archive of Our Own and searched for the tag “Arranged Marriage” within the A Song of Ice and Fire category, and oh. My. God. There are some seriously, seriously well-written novels there. These writers are operating completely within the parameters of the existing story, and thus are able to be totally immersed in the world and its politics, to craft scenarios that feel completely natural to the characters and the universe in which they reside. And the best part? It’s free. You can read them for yourself, and can see for yourself the incredible amounts of passion and love that the writers have put into these stories.

I sometimes wonder whether readers require lists to determine whether a book is of sufficient value to them (in terms of time and money) – are there sufficient quantities of very hot sex to make the purchase of said book worth while? And my answer to that question for this book is: yes. The quantity of very hot sex is plentiful and of very high quality, but the real value of the book lies in the very well-made cake upon which said icing is placed. You get a complete and well-made story.

The sexy chapters were so brief. I spent so long waiting for them to arrive and they were there and then gone in a matter of pages. It was all so much foreplay and after-play. The acts themselves were summarized very quickly with a lot of emphasis placed on the emotional whirlwind that was happening rather than the physical act itself. The style was surprising and left a lot to the reader’s imagination. If you’re someone who likes to fill in the blanks for yourself, you might enjoy these chapters. Others prefer a lot more detail in the spiciest of scenes, and will likely find these legendary chapters underwhelming if they fall into the latter category.

These scenes are some of the most memorable for romantic moments in the novel because of the captive situation which leads to many instances of forced intimacy that are slowly developed into something real. These scenes include the king tending to the slave’s wounds despite his usual cold nature, a secret escape attempt that forces the slave into a raw confession of his dependence, and a public ceremony where the king surprises everyone by defending the slave against courtly politics. The tension between the two characters in ‘That Prince Is A Girl: The Vicious King’s Captive Slave Mate’ comes from the push-and-pull between the king’s control of the slave and his growing protectiveness of the slave, which ultimately changes their dynamic in terms of power.

Undoubtedly happy. I would recommend this book to anyone who lists ‘must have a happy ending’ as a non-negotiable requirement in their reading preferences. The book is a textbook example of fulfilling that particular reader desire. You won’t be left in tears or in frustration. It’s just so sweet that you could become frustrated by it.