Thank you NetGalley and author Jamila Eoukich copy in exchange of my review.

A captivating royal mate story and enemies-to-lovers all ingredients for a perfect fantasy romance novel that will grab you from the start to the end.Drowning in his thoughts, the king gazed afar, looked over the borders, and wondered if his quest would reach an end and if the clouds, darkening his sky, ever fade to let a new day shine. The foes were sharpening their weapons, a new battle looming on the horizon, and as in several past years, Toran, the king of the Zoran dragons, was still looking for his mate. Refusing to surrender to self-pity, he rose, squared his shoulders, strengthened his resolve, and swore to honor his people's trust. As long as he lived, the dragon king would keep searching for his fated one, holding to the lean hope ties, keeping his soul alive, and seeking the queen and heir his kingdom deserved. But what happens when the missing mate Lyria is the last blue dragon royal, the heir to the high ruler's throne? When she hates dragons and is adamant to avenge her adoptive mother's death? When the other dragon kings deny the mate bond and refuse their marriage? Follow Toran and Lyria in their exceptional journey and discover how the cunning dragon king fights for his mate and finally wins her heart."

This is an easy and quick read. I did enjoy reading this book.

I was going to rate this book with 5 stars, because I really liked the characters and their growth and the plot is a good one. At least I haven't read a book were a human raises a shifter, so I was excited and my excitement was very well rewarded.

As I said, I really liked you're book, until I reach the end. Somehow, it doesn't feel like an ending. Yes, I know this is the first book of a series, but there was nothing to connect or, at least, gave me an easter egg into the next book. The ending was too abrupt for me, it felt like the characters development wan't complete.

Even like that, I really enjoyed reading this book. Every book or fanfic with shifters I've read before ends up being all about the smut leaving the plot behind. I was really pleased to enjoy a shifters clean book.

“The Dragon King’s Missing Mate” by Jamila Eoukich

The King, Toran, has been searching for his mate for so long that he starts losing hope of ever finding her until one day. Lyria has lived her whole life thinking she was a normal human until her mother dies. She discovers she is the last blue dragon and the heir to the throne. She at first hates Toran and denies the mating bond and seeking revenge for her adopted mother’s death.

The premise of the book intrigued me with its blend of fantasy and romance, but I was conflicted with certain aspects that hindered my overall enjoyment. The narrative has multiple POV’s, which unfortunately, left me feeling detached from the characters. The lack of cohesive build-up in their character development and relationship left me wanting more. Initially it was an enemies-to-lovers dynamic, their relationship unexpectedly turned into insta-love without a good build-up. A longer book could have allowed for the more gradual and believable evolution of the romance. The rapid progression of the romance left me wanting a more immersive and emotional story. 2 out of 5 stars.

-Dragons
-Fated Mates
-Enemies To Lovers
-Royalty

Rate - 2
Spice - 1

Honestly don’t know what I expected from this book.

I was kinda hoping for a mind numbing cheesy cliche romance with mates and dragons. I’ve been feeling kinda blah for personal reasons and just needed something to boost my spirits but that was not what I found.

The book was hard to follow, The intervals of time were not explained correctly and got confusing quickly. There were a lot of grammatical errors which doesn’t usually bother me but these were REALLY obvious. The plot wasn’t properly explained and the world building was lacking. There seemed to be a lot of work needed to be done to the novel. It almost seemed like someone made a first write of the book without any reviews and/or corrections.

The bones are there and solid it just needs a lot of editing and explaining. More world building and character development.

I see "dragons", I'm immediately drawn to a book. I just wish the book was longer, which would give the author more time and opportunity to build the world and characters more. Still, it was a quick and enjoyable read.

2.5 stars. This book builds on an interesting premise - a reluctant romance set in a world of dragons plagued by political strife and the threat of war.
These are big topics to tackle, and so what works the most against The Dragon King’s Missing Mate is how short it is. The writing feels quite dense and rushed, not leaving much room world-building (when a world with dragons always benefits from heavy world-building), the characters feel a bit one-dimensional and the plot and dialogue lack flow. I think at least combining the first 7 chapters into an epilogue and starting the story with Lyria being an adult would have given the author more room to breathe and focus on giving the world more depth.
The romance follows some of the common tropes, which is not a bad thing in my book. However, again, enemies-to-lovers tends to require more of a buildup to create the proper swoon-worthy tension, so Toran didn’t feel much of an enemy and there was not much room for buildup.
Overall adding a few hundred pages would have really allowed this story to develop more thoroughly, and some thorough editing and proofreading would really streamline the reading experience.

A captivating fantasy romance novel that weaves together royal mate intrigue and the enemies-to-lovers trope flawlessly. The story follows Toran, the dedicated and determined king of the Zoran dragons, on his quest to find his missing mate, Lyria. The author masterfully crafts a world filled with dragons, magic, and the complexities of love, keeping readers engaged from the very first page. What’s great about this book is its rich character development and the depth of emotion portrayed by the characters, especially Toran and Lyria. Their journey from initial animosity to love is both heartwarming and thrilling. The plot is filled with twists and turns, making it impossible to put down.

Hey, dragon-loving bookworms, listen up! This is the royal mate story you never knew you needed. Toran, the Zoran dragon king, is on a quest to find his mate, and it's a journey that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. But here's the twist – Lyria, the missing mate, is no pushover. She's out for dragon blood, and she's not exactly thrilled about becoming a queen.

So why should you dive into this book? Well, because it's got everything: dragons, romance, magic, and a sizzling enemies-to-lovers vibe that'll make your heart race. The author spins a tale that's as fiery as the dragons themselves, and you won't be able to resist getting lost in this epic fantasy world. Trust me, this is the kind of book that'll have you cheering for love to conquer all, even in a world of scales and flames. Don't miss out on the adventure of a lifetime with this book!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s get to it. I see the vision of this story, I really do. It was a great idea for a story but the execution wasn’t good. There was no depth in the plot nor any character development. The dialogue between the characters was not that good, they were lacking so much. I felt no emotional attachment to Toran or Lyria at all and they fell flat. This story needs at least another 300-400 detailed pages to make it good. I kept saying “Where are the details?” continuously as we were jumping through many different events. I think this is a good start like a rough draft and if more work were to go into it, it could be a great book.

The author went above and beyond with this book. She started with an air of intrigue, and then added a touch of magic, rounding it out with danger, excitement, and heat, keeping me glued to the edge of my seat until the last page. As always her characters are engaging and I felt drawn to their plight. This story was on the darker edge of romance, but it was oh so good. This was a fantastic story and I can’t wait to see what she thinks up next.

I was so excited to read this book as the title and description really drew me in, but unfortunately I had to DNF it. It has great potential and I believe with some additional work, it could be something well received. Where this book lacks is the flow. It was hard to follow, especially considering the first 4-5 chapters were each set ‘several years later.’ The rhythm and poise of the text was lacking severely, making it come across as an incomplete story and more so a bulletin list of a plot. It seemed a bit rushed in the sentence structure, as if the author was in a hurry to build the world and give us all information so that we could be jumpstarted into the romance. I loved the idea and think with a bit more time it will be something I would love to return to, but for now, it’s a solid two stars.

Having delved into this captivating fantasy romance, I followed Toran, the dragon king of Zoran, on his quest to find his mate, Lyria—the last blue dragon royal and heir to the high ruler's throne. Unwavering in his commitment to honor his people's trust, Toran encounters battles and opposition from fellow dragon kings. Lyria, fueled by a profound resentment toward dragons, seeks vengeance for her adoptive mother's death. While the story's concept intrigued me, I must acknowledge some drawbacks, including YA dialogue, minimal world-building, and a lack of character depth. Nevertheless, I found the book engaging, mainly due to its strong female lead, clever dragon king, and passionate romance, making it a compelling choice for fantasy and romance enthusiasts and a promising start to the series.

I really hate to leave negative feedback as I feel awful when I have to but I have to be honest. The premise of this story was great and I was really looking forward to reading it. However I had to DNF very early on.

The prose is very juvenile/basic and was akin to something I would expect to read from my 12 year old daughter when she attempts to write stories which made it very difficult for me to get into.

The world building was non existent and the descriptions were too wordy as if throwing out as many adjectives and metaphors as possible would magically create depth and imagery.

There was no depth to the story and background and I really struggled to connect with any characters or create images in my mind as to the world, the scene, the characters, context.

The story concept was great and I think with a bit more editing and practiced writing it could get better.