I have yet to be disappointed by a Sean Michael book, and this one didn’t disappoint either.

Jake has been searching for his mate for a long time, he has finally started to tire of looking, when his crew is called out to Shae house. Things between Shae and Jake spark immediately, but a tattoo could be the downfall of their relationship before it even gets started. Jake will need to convince Shae to trust him figure out why Shae has Jake’s family crest tattooed on him. Once they are able to overcome this small obstacle it is pretty much smooth sailing for the most part.

Shae and Jake are two very dominate men, who like things rough and they have found the perfect partner in each other.

Dragon shifter with a kink. Shae is a retired Navy welder and currently he is working on a dragon piece. When a neighbor reports a fire at Shae’s house, firefighter and dragon shifter Jake responds to the call and discovers his fated mate.
In this BDSM story Shae is the submissive and Jake is the Dom. It’s an interesting story. I liked it but it wasn’t all I expected it to be. I will probably reread it to see what I missed because I like Sean Michael’s stories.

Michael’s “Branded by Flame” is the first entry in a new M/M dragon shifter series. Michael is an engaging author, and the book was easy to read.

The primary issue was the lack of a plot. The books was comprised of lots of scorching hot sex, but very little on the plot. I enjoy sex scenes as much as the next reader, but I do prefer a book that is plot driven.

Note: This reviewer received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to like this book - hot men, tattoos, piercings and dragons, what's not to like?! Sadly this book just fell flat for me. I don't know specifically what it is about this book but I was... not bored, maybe disinterested? Hmm yeah, that sort of how I felt reading this book. I think if there had more interaction with the brothers, more revealed about their past (rather than just brief mentions about this and that, the most frequent one being the amount of sexual partners that had been had in the past - sorry, can't actually remember the characters' names, nor do I care enough to look them up). Also, not a heck of lot was revealed about the other male's past - he was in the navy (I think, maybe that was the other guy?), he's an artist, a submissive, likes tats and piercings, and has had a bad experience with a previous partner. What about friends, family, anything besides the mostly superficial?
I'm intrigued enough that I may look up future books, just to see what kind of partners the other brothers will have, but considering that they are all supposed to be doms, yeah.... I can just see this being a repeat with different characters, so maybe not.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER!!!! I really like all of Sean Michael’s books, but this one I fricking LOVED!! I don’t even really like shifter books and I had never read anything about a dragon shifter, but good golly Miss Molly this one did it for me! I couldn’t put this book down, didn’t want it to end, and I fell in love with Jake and Shae instantly! This also one of those times I wish the book had pictures so I could see all these hot tattoos on Shae!!! I can’t wait to read about the other brothers in the upcoming books, I can only hope I don’t have to wait too long.

Characters: Well written and connected with them.
Sex: Yes
Religious: No
Would I recommend to others: Yes
More than one book in the series: Yes
Genre: M/M Paranormal/Shifter
Would I read more by this author: Yes


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/M Dragon shifter
Triggers: BDSM – sub is into pain

Jake is a firefighter and dragon shifter. He has kind of given up on ever finding that one person to complete his soul. However, when he comes across Shae, a welding artist, something calls to him. While he knows what it is, he doesn't want to scare Shae off. Instead, he is slightly deceptive about his motives and, I think, breaks a cardinal rule of being a Dom – he lies by omission. I had a difficult time with Jake's constant half-truths or no truths. I think that if this were a true story with a healthy, good BDSM dynamic, none of these communication errors would be happening.

Shae is an older guy – he seems to have some type of a complex about it. He has always been fascinated by dragons and is covered with tattoos and piercings that he derives a lot of pleasure from. Shae, once he realizes what is going on, is almost brought back to his horny teenager days.

Normally I love Sean Michael stories, but this one just didn't quite fit my taste. There was a lot of sex, but I think the characters lacked chemistry and communication. They also didn't really ever have a relationship without the sex – that was their entirety. Now, having said that, I am looking forward to seeing if Shae's good friend gets a story and I am intrigued by the dragon brothers. Hopefully those books are slightly more developed.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆
This is the first of a news series from Michael and I think that the dragon brothers will grow on me as the series develops. Jake is the first to find his mate, but we also get to meet his brothers. I hope that we get to understand better the fae's behaviour, as that remains a mystery, and that now that there is a human mate, future ones will have a less rocky ride.

It is super kinky, and a fun read – loved that Jake worried what would happen if Shae were a veggie! I am looking forward to future installments and seeing how the big picture is filled in.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
The premise behind this new series caught my attention. Dragons are sexy and I enjoy shifter stories and books that straddle the romance/erotica line. This story does what it says on the tin – it is a simple, sexy shifter story with more sex than plot. Relying on familiar shifter tropes, the story is predictable and safe with a tiny bit of BDSM lite thrown in for spice.

Jake is a sexy, ancient dragon shifter masquerading as a sexy twenty-something firefighter. His fated mate, Shae, is an artist who creates dragons. Shae is slightly older than the average erotic hero, but the silver fox is definitely sexy.

There isn’t a great deal of character development in this story and most of the relationship development happens in bed – or at least while naked. This is rightly advertised as erotica. The sex is hot – and constant. There might have even been a little too much sex for me – I did find myself skimming through some of the scenes at times. Personally, I need a little more kink or a wider variety of sexual practises if a book that is mostly sex is to keep my attention.

So – sex and shifters. I enjoyed this simple story but it didn’t entirely capture my imagination. It is an easy read, the writing is solid, and there are some fun fantasy moments here.

The blurb hooked me when it mentioned dragon shifters-which I love, but sadly the book didn't work well for me. It is non-stop repetitive sex with very little plot.
Shae is a welder by trade, taught by the Navy's finest and now uses that skill to craft commissioned metal art. His current project-a larger than life dragon. Shae is a fan of dragons. His body is covered in tats of them. He meets Jake, a firefighter when a neighbor calls in a fire complaint. Jake and Shae have immediate sparks. Jake questions his immediate connection to Shae, but after he sees his name literally tattooed on Shae, he begins to think its fate. His secret of being a dragon shifter is sure to scare Shae, so Jake sets out to woo Shae.

I liked that Shae is totally not falling for Jake in the beginning. He's been burned in a bad relationship and just doesn't want to set himself up for disaster again. Jake feels that after looking for his soul mate for what seems like forever, Shae is the one, and he knows he must foster this connection they have prior to just spilling his secrets and scaring Shae off. I also loved the scene with Jake revealing himself to Shae. It was very emotional and moving. I think I enjoyed that time the most.

What I disliked is that the sex got very repetitive. And it wasn't very inventive. I understand the necessity given the bonding, but it is literally all they did... and eat rare meat! I would've liked to see some everyday activities between them-anything else. There was a lot of pain involved too, but it was totally consensual as Shae loved it. Because of the never-ending sex, I did get bored though. Maybe if it was shorter it would've worked better for me?? I truly don't know. I'm sure its a personal thing and this book may work better for you, than it did for me.

Overall, the Dragon Soul series still intrigues me and I am definitely looking forward to the next brother's book.

reviewed by Deb

http://redzworld.blogspot.com/2017/01/branded-by-flames-by-sean-michael.html

I'm kinda on the fence with this one. I loved the characters, I liked the story, I really think I'm going to like the series, but there was just something...

The thing is, I think the same thing that bothered Shae about the 'secrets' Jake kept from him bothered me. I honestly understand why Jake thought he had to do what he did and it all worked out in the end, but it still kind of bothered me. Other than that, I liked the connection between Shae and Jake and Branded by Flames turned out to be a pretty good start to a new series. I love dragons and this group of brothers is going to be a fun bunch to get to know better. ;)

2.5 stars. I love Mr. Michael's books but I this one, no so much. All we have is sex, eat huge quantities of steak, rinse & repeat. There wasn't really a plot. Shae is a size queen & a pain slut & I would have loved to have seen some deep BDSM scenes but what we have was fairly mild. There were no discussions about really anything. The only thing Shae knows is that Jake is a dragon with 3 brothers and is his mate. Jakes knows that Shae is a size queen & a pain slut but that is about it. I really loved the flying scenes. I would have liked to get more background on Shae & what happened to him in his past. Also would have liked more background on the dragons; how they came to be, are there others etc. The sex was pretty hot. We briefly meet two of Jake's brothers and Shae's neighbor. Even though I didn't really care for this one, I will probably read more in this series.

Post goes live 2 Feb

Review shared on Goodreads. Will post to V's Reads blog, Amazon and Barnes & Noble when it goes live. http://wp.me/p3AKEA-23B

3.5 Stars for this contemporary dragon shifter fated-mates M/M romance.

Shae is a forty-ish artist with a deep and abiding love for all things dragon. He has tons of tattoos featuring the slinky, sexy beasts, and he builds large dragon statues for sale. One afternoon, the fire crew is called out by one of his nosy neighbors. Jake is the head fireman sent to assess Shae's permits, and to make sure he's safe with his blowtorch.

There's an immediate spark, and Jake, a centuries old dragon shifter, makes it a point to return for a more personal inspection. Learning that Shae has Jake's personal seal and dragon-tongue name inked into his skin disrupts the sexytimes. Momentarily. Once Jake checks with the fae tattoo artist and learns that Shae is his fated Mate? These two get it on like...all the freaking time.

Roughly 85% of the book is Jake giving it to Shae. Copiously, and with some BDSM elements (spanking, bondage, orgasm denial, plugging) because Shae is an apologetic pain slut. As their bond solidifies, Shae learns that he needs to eat more, so food prep and eating takes up about 10% of the book. The other five percent is Shae flying on Jake's back, meeting three of Jake's four also-gay dragon brothers, and Shae feeling insecure about his looks/age/kinks and why Jake seemingly trapped him into a fate bond.

The love seemed to happen very quick, but that's nearly acceptable in fated mates stories. I just wished we'd learned a bit more about Shae's history, why he was so isolated, and how Jake's family came into being. The 'rents deets are seriously sketchy.

So much sexytimes--I could have done with less, and liked the book just as well. I'd have liked it better, I think, if there had been a bit more emotions, or conflict, in it. Lots of dominance, but the heart didn't seem to equal out. And, more flying. I loved the flying bits.

That said, the book was an easy read, and I'm eager to spend more time with this dragon-shifter series.

A fun BDSM-ish book. Good one to ease folks into the genre and good enough to satisfy long-time fans. I really liked the shape shifter storyline, I find that unusual for this type of book. It was just interesting enough without taking away from the sexiness. I know lots of folks who will enjoy this.