Three dominant dragon alphas who seemingly have it all… except the one thing they want: me.

My life hasn’t been typical. All I remember is waking up in an alley when I was ten, scrounging for scraps to survive until I was taken to the Bronzeheart estate.

That’s where my life began, where I’ve lived for the past eight years with the ruling family, the Blitz Clan. It’s where I found my best friend Gage, the future leader of this clan.

At the time, I didn’t question my good fortune because I was happy to know I wasn’t alone in this world anymore. But maybe I should have.

After landing a shocking invite to the prestigious Dark Imaginarium Academy, I realized how much of a safe haven the estate was.

The students at this school are out for my blood because somehow I have the attention of not just one, but all three Storm Dragon Clan heirs: Gage Bronzeheart, Breaker Firespell, and Jagger Silvershade.

None of them should have an interest in me, seeing as I’m the only shifter at this academy who hasn’t, you know…shifted. They should want someone powerful at their side. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting them as well.

That is until I find out they’ve been hiding a life-changing secret from me. And now that I know…

You may have noticed I took a break from spicy books after finishing The Bonds That Tie series. That series was everything I didn’t know I needed but I wasn’t quite ready to jump back into that genre. Actually, that’s not right, I did jump back in with another trilogy but it was so underwhelming and it got on my nerves the more I thought about it that it became a DNF series and I lost my mojo a bit.

Between reading the DI Nikki Galena series by Joy Ellis, I decided to dip my toes back in. It was the weekend. It was late. I’d just washed my hair and I had a killer headache. I needed a distraction. Honestly, this book wasn’t in my Kindle library for that long, so not totally shocking that I picked it to read. It is currently on Kindle Unlimited, so grab while you can!

Blitz is the first book in ‘The Storm Dragons’ Mate’ trilogy. Let me start by saying that I read this in one hot sitting. Had I not had work this morning I would have started the second book and stayed up way too late! This is a reverse harem story.

In terms of spiciness, it was hardly there. However, it was brewing under the surface and I can see it emerging full force in books 2 and 3.

Bexley is the MC and most of the book is told through her perspective. Bex is a mystery to the reader but she is also a mystery to herself. She was rescued from an alley aged 10 and doesn’t remember her life before that. She’s in love with her best friend (whose family she lives with) and she’s never shifted. Certain words make her black out in pain and there are lots of unspoken eye conversations.

To say that Bex was intriguing would be an understatement. Before the plot had even got going I was curious about her. I think my curiosity for Bex’s mystery was one of the driving forces behind me devouring this book.

Onto the Dragon’s. The one we’re most familiar with while reading is Gage. Gage is a Bronzeheart. He is the heir apparent. It is actually him and his father who find Bex in the alleyway and she grows up living with that family. Gage is an easy character to love. Seen through the eyes of Bex there seems to be nothing that he can do wrong. Even from the beginning you can see how Bex really feels about him and their dance around is rather endearing.

We meet Jagger and Breaker once we get to school – the school Bex never thought she’d get into because she has never shifted. Jagger personifies the silent type and Breaker personifies the anger type.

It’s apparent right away that the way Bex views the world and the way others view the world is very different. Bex sees herself as mundane and almost unworthy of the attention she receives. The Dragon’s see her as a shining light drawing others like a flame. There is a lot of possessive and protective behaviour from the three Dragons. Yes, that’s trope popular to the spicy genre, but it also works well in the dynamics of this book. Whatever mystery surrounds Bex, it is clear that there are elements of understanding missing and the Dragon’s are trying to manage the situation as best they can.

As Bex doesn’t really interact much with the world outside of the Dragon’s, I thought it would be a bit difficult to feel the plot developing around me, or to see Bex as a strong character. Pleasantly I was wrong in that assessment. Yes, Bex is treated like a treasure and her small stature lends itself to making her look weak and needy but there is a strength and determination there that I wasn’t expecting. It all comes down to Bex needing to know the mystery around her as much as the reader does.

As for the plot, it developed nicely at a steady pace. There is even clear world building, though I don’t know how much of that we’ll see as the trilogy continues. I like the idea of the hierarchy within the shifter community and how each species has their own territory and sector within the school, however, I’m hoping that this segregation doesn’t last forever as it would be quite interesting to see them interact with each other.

The animosity between the Dragon’s and the wolves is palpable and we’re only given vague reasons as to why. Personally, I think it has something to do with Bex’s mystery but I’m not completely sold on that idea yet.

The ending maybe, is the most explosive part in terms of plot development. The ending is what made me want to run onto the next book before I remembered I had to work today! The book itself, slowly climbs up to the point of ending but it’s a subtle climb that while it might have been a theory in my mind, hit me without warning.

This book just missed out on a full five stars for two reasons. The first being the absence of spice. I get that it perhaps didn’t fit with the story being told but don’t advertise yourself as a spicy book and then don’t deliver. That probably sounds confusing coming from me – the reader who enjoys equal plot to spice ratio – but though there were little bits here and there it wasn’t enough to whack me in the face and make me feel the same rush that the character did.

The second reason is that the book felt too contained. What I mean is that the story felt like it was trapped inside a box. When I say this I’m referencing all the different species having their own territories and not interacting with each other. Even at school they are all separated. It makes the book feel like it’s sitting in a bubble. Like someone’s clipped the wings. Obviously, I don’t know what’s in store for the rest of the trilogy but I would like to see the characters expand outside of the comfort zone they’ve been put in.

I give this book: ⭐⭐⭐⭐