Elaine White's Life in Books

** This review is word-for-word as the one contained within the Being(s) in Love Bundle **

Book 2: A Boy and His Dragon
Length: 11-26%
Star rating: ★★★★★

Another amazing addition to the series. I loved that book 1 focused on the police aspect, with Ray being a detective, and really, really loved that this one took the same idea, but without feeling like a carbon copy. Our dragon, Bertie, is a professor and is writing a book, so fittingly the story focuses on that fact and the human boy, Arthur (our POV) who is his assistant.

I loved how well Arthur and Bertie worked together. Arthur was opinionated, desperate for his job, but also a real loved of books, artifacts and antiques, so much so that he often had a go at Bertie for the proper storage and safety of such items. He was a real firecracker at times. Bertie, on the other hand, was this sort of foppish, flouncy aristocrat at times while also being the badass dragon with a seductive streak. The chemistry between these two jumped right off the page and smacked me in the face, from page one. It was amazingly effective and palpable.

The story covers some difficult topics, like Arthur's sister having been a drug and alcohol abuser at a young age, after their parents died. But I love how it was handled with care and sensitivity, with Arthur revealing what he needed to, to Bertie, but holding back for fear of seeming needy, weak or that he needed taken care of. At the same time, I love how he put her before everything else, even when he didn't realise it.

I love the little slip of the website FangandFur.com and really hope that it pops up in a later story, because it sounded great!

The relationship was slow burning, with a nice, natural progression from strangers to acquaintances, to boss and worker, then towards something much more heated and laced with innuendo. I really loved the way that Bertie had a little bit of the sadness Ray had, in book one, because he knew something that, not being a Being, Arthur didn't understand. Yet, he took the time to teach him slowly, over time, and let Arthur make his own choices. The whole relationship was fraught with tension of a will-they-wont-they heat, while having me on the edge of my seat, wondering how it would all turn out and hoping for the best.

Again, the world building and characterisation were perfect. Despite some book series I've read over the years, this one has a true standalone capability. They're all in the same world, but characters haven't dipped in and out of each other's books (so far), except for a brief mention of a minor character from book 1 that isn't really a tie between the two. That's great, because it means each can be read out of order or as a standalone, without readers missing out on important details or reading a book with constant hints of the previous one and not being able to follow it.

With sizzling chemistry, a great way of humanising Bertie's dragon, while teaching Arthur about Beings, and thanks to an incredible writer who is able to draw me into with every word, there wasn't anything I didn't love about it. The ending, again, killed me! The 'Facts About Dragons' was a perfect addition.

~

Favourite Quote

“Best-case scenario, he wouldn't get the job, and he needed this job; worse case, the dragon might eat him.”

“Love, asking you not to organize would be like asking a siren not to sing.”