This was a bit too on the erotica side of the romance spectrum for me. And anytime you have magical semen it's a bit of a NOPE, backing away slowly now... Haha. There were several times reading this where I was like "Wait, WHAT? Are you for real?!" I'm also not super into the instalove/instalust concept of mates, which made this book difficult for me as well. If erotica, tons of sex, and the concept of mates is your jam, this is the book for you!

Mark Beteferoce is a SWAT cop and second-eldest of a clutch of dragon shifters who live in eastern Canada. Unlike his younger brothers Jake, Deke and Luke who have recently found their fated mates and bonded, Mark has already had a bonded mate. And, lost him. It's been nearly a century, and Mark has worked hard to overcome his shattering grief. One day he stops into Quincy's bakery and falls into instant lust...with a donut. Oaky, and with the cute baker.That's all it takes for Mark to swoop in and bring Quincy home for the weekend. And let the sexytimes begin... Until Mark overhears Quincy talking in his sleep and using words only ever uttered by his dead mate.

This is essentially a sexfest, with lots of BDSM including pain play. The Dragon shifters find their mates and then claim them by having lots of bareback sex. Their semen has magical powers to gift their mates with good health and long life--to match that of their immortal dragon mates.

I thought there would be more discussion of the demise of Mark's first mate, but we skipped that, unfortunately. Quincy has a tentaive link to Mark's past, but he wants to be seen as Mark's future, a man of his own merit, and that causes a little low-level conflict. Mostly Mark is a jerk to Quincy at first, and spends a lot of time investigating Quincy's past to assure himself that he's not being snowed by a conman. The separation is difficult, because they should be feeding their bond with more sex, and instead they are maintaining a distance. At least until Mark makes amends.

There are some cameos from the other mated Beteferoce brothers, which is fun. Don't expect more of a plot than two men meet and have an unexpected spark...and tons of sex. If that's your jam, and you dig dragons flying with their mates, well this is the book for you.

Born of Air is the fourth book in the Dragon Soul Series. This book is not a standalone title. There are people we have met before and the book assumes you have read the series before.
Mark is a swat cop and dragon shifter.
Quincy makes doughnuts and is a gifted baker. He wants a dominate. Lucky for him Mark is a dom and more than willing to make his fantasies come true.
Fast paced story that has a ton of heart and soul in it. I really enjoyed this read and look forward to more in the series in the future.

did enjoying meeting Mark and Quincy. Quincy stole my heart and my taste-buds from the start. And there was this quite strength behind Mark that lured me in to him. Then the alpha came out and he was so much more. I found that more times that not I was feeling a bit confused. I am not sure if that had anything to do with this was my first read in this series or the way that it was written. I did find that I wanted to know more about the brother of Beteferoce and the mates chosen. I wanted to see more of the world of shifters and their interactions with other. I loved the little surprise connection at the end and the lasting connection for two of the characters that became familiar through the read.

Sex, sex and more sex. Potential spoiler in the 3rd paragraph.

This was my first dragon shifter story and I wish I could say that I found it compelling but it was just OK for me. Born of Air is the 4th book in the Dragon Soul series but it can be read as a standalone story. I haven't read the first three books and I never felt lost while reading it.

I'm a bit conflicted about this one. While I like to read about sex in an MM story this one was a bit over the top for me. I could almost summarize Born of Air as they meet, they have sex, sex and more sex and it ends. There were some pretty heavy BDSM elements between Quincy and Mark and I learned about a new toy that I kind of wish I hadn't researched. (I'd never heard of an anal hook and had to look it up)

Potential spoiler: I kept waiting for the big event; I was certain that something awful was going to happen to Quincy. The ending was very anti-climatic for me.

There was enough of a teaser about the 5th brother that I'll read it if the opportunity comes up through NetGalley but I can't honestly say that I'll care too much if that doesn't happen. So I didn't hate Born of Air but I didn't love it either.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I have read every book in this series and I am just in love with it! I usually only read about wolf shifters but when this series came out I jumped on it because I love most of the author’s work. You do not have to read the previous books in the series, but I think you would understand Mark more if you did. Mark is a cop who goes with another officer who frequents Quincy’s bakery. Mark loves the raisin doughnuts and keeps going back for them and glimpses of Quincy. Quincy knows what he wants and isn't afraid to say it or ask for it. When Mark and Quincy come together it is magic! I don't want to give away anything because I hate spoilers. Just know I laughed and cried and loved it from beginning to end. Low on angst and heavy on sex and lovey dovey mushy stuff. For some reason, I had thought this was the last book in the series, but it is not and I am so flipping happy! Can't wait for the next book.

First and foremost, if you’re not a fan of stories that are heavy on sex and light on story, Dragon Soul is not a series you should consider picking up. All of the books in the series have included BDSM, but Born of Air had even more. Just another friendly warning. I am most definitely not complaining. I’m a patient reader and if I’ve had enough, I just skip over the parts that I’ve had enough of… but I know it isn’t something every reader enjoys, so again, it was worth mentioning.

Born of Air was one book in this series that I wouldn’t have skipped regardless. Readers have known since the beginning of the Dragon Soul series how important and rare a dragon’s soul mate is. We’ve also known that there is only one soul destined for each dragon and Mark Beteferoce had lost his years ago. He had come to terms with the loss, but it just about broke him. He was definitely not ready to open himself up to that type of heartache again. Besides the fact that it was impossible for Quincy to be his soul mate… or so he thought.

One of my issues with the first book in this series was the level of deception in Branded by Flames. That wasn’t a problem in Born of Air. Mark didn’t keep his secret from Quincy any longer than he absolutely had to and because of his dreams, it didn’t take much to convince Quincy. The biggest problem for Quincy was he didn’t want to be a substitute. He was his own person and he wanted to be loved for who he was, not the memory of who Mark had lost.

There were a couple of other stumbling blocks in the way of a HEA for Mark and Quincy, but Sean Michael from some creative ways to get around them. Owned by Fate is next and I can’t wait to see where this series goes from here.

m/m
Dragon shifter Mark Beteferoce lost his soul mate years ago and never expected to find another. Baker Quincy O’Brien was supposed to be a one night stand but turned into so much more. This story is a lot of hot sex with BDSM elements and very little story. It is part of a series but stands on its own.

I haven't read the previous installments of Michael's Dragon Soul series, or any of his other books before Born of Air. I had no problems jumping right in. And I'll definitely be reading more of his work.

Things To Know:

There is a LOT of sex. Kinky BDSM master and baby boy sex.
The world isn't built per say, it just is. It doesn't bother to explain about how they survive or came to be. Because it doesn't matter. They exist, they're searching for their soul mates, and having sex sessions when they do.
The HEA is definitely delivered.
There are apparently lots of different types of paranormal beings running around that I'd be curious to explore in other series.
I'd like to have like a short or novella about Quince's sister side of things just to cement what happened and get a better feel for her as a character.
I'm super curious about the next book, about the fifth dragon doctor that's still mateless at the moment and who fills that void. And what happens when all the brothers are paired up.
I do wish there was more down time together between the two and talked about how the first incarnation of Mark's soul mate died but meh. Not a big deal.
You can skim or skip the sex scenes if you're worn out or not in the mood.


Recommendation: When you want sexy gay guys participating in BDSM with a sweet paranormal twist written by a gay guy.

[rating stars="four-stars"]

A m/m romance where the heroes are a baker and a cop-slash-dragon? A reincarnated mate? While I’m hit or miss with the whole fated mates trope, this sounded too good to pass up. So while this is the fourth in the series, it’s the first I’ve read, and I think it worked fine as a standalone.

“He’d never met a man in a doughnut shop before. But doughnuts and cops went together, so he was taking it as a good omen.”


Quincy and his sister run a family bakery. Quincy’s going through a bit of a dry spell when a new police officer comes in, one who seems to have his eyes on Quincy as well as his famous raisin donuts. After a bit of flirting, they decide to to act on the attraction. The sex is, apparently, fantastic, but Mark flips out when Quincy starts muttering weird things in his sleep – things only Mark’s dead mate could know. Could Quincy be Mark’s mate reincarnated, and if so, can they make their relationship work?

“I love that you know what you want and aren’t afraid to demand it. It’s so hot.”
“I need it. You. You’ll stop me if you didn’t want me.”
“Didn’t want you what?”
“To be…me. To ask. To push.”
“Oh, baby, that’s how I love you.”


If that sounds like not much plot, that’s because it is. Unfortunately, not much else actually happens. Quincy and Mark meet, they have a one-night-stand where Mark freaks out afterwards, they’re apart for a month, then they get back together and have lots of sex. I cannot believe I’m complaining about this, but there is just so much sex. Lots and lots of pretty heavy BDSM sex – Quincy’s into pain and Mark’s into giving it. Though I had to pause and go google things at times, I liked that both men came into this experienced and willing to ask for what they want, without any shame or hesitancy. The only weird thing sex-wise for me was that Mark calls Quincy his “baby boy.” So, once the whole mate thing is settled, what else happens? Not much. The only sort of conflict is over Quincy’s sister and her extremely justifiable worry about him, since once Quincy starts hanging out with Mark he pretty much disappears from her life. There is, eventually, a resolution to the sister issue, as well, but I found it a complete cop-out.

“So you don’t want to see me again.” Mark’s voice was neutral.
“You lost your shit, screamed at me, followed me, and accused me of…something I don’t even pretend to understand, all because I had a dream, man.”


There was a weird bit of consent – not for the sex – but apparently, once Mark and Quincy, uh, do the deed bareback, it starts some sort of transformation, binding the two of them together as mates. Though Mark gets Quincy’s consent before going condomless, and attempts to explain the whole “this will have life changing effects,” it’s literally in the middle of sex, which I think most people would agree is the wrong time to make life-altering decisions. He then waits a couple more days before actually explaining the whole dragon thing. I get it that it’s fated mates and insta-love and all that, but it rubbed me the wrong way that the importance of the decision wasn’t really emphasized to Quincy. Also, after they first have sex, Quincy calls Mark something his dead mate used to call him. Mark, understandably, flips out, thinking that someone’s playing a mean practical joke on him. He goes full-on crazy stalker on Quincy until he figures out that, yes, he could only be his reincarnated mate. Quincy initially pushes back when Mark comes back into his life, but caves pretty easily.

Overall, while the sex scenes are great, but there’s not much else here. This is more like a 2.5 star read for me, but I’ll round up to 3 stars.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Another sexy read from the Dragon Soul series. I loved this one.

Mark is one of the five Beteferoce dragon brothers. He had and lost his soul mate.
Quincy is a baker, his specialty is doughnuts. Together with his sister he runs this shop.
When SWAT cop Mark enters the shop there is a spark. Quincy and Mark have a date at Marks apartment.
They have an unbelievable sexy play night...so good Quincy will stay the whole weekend... until Mark throws him out. Quincy don’t know why or what happened.
He has talks in his sleep and has vivid dreams... about dragons and a partner.... he is hungry and feels awful.
Mark can’t seem to forget about Quincy and he’s drawn to him.

A wonderful dragon story with a lot ... read: a-lot of sexy bdsm scenes.
The yearning and longing is overwhelming. The change of Quincy takes a lot of energy and oh goodness Mark fulfills all Quincy needs... and there are many!
Great read, written with a lot of passion. A very delectable read!!

Kindly received an arc from the publisher

I haven't read the previous 3 books in this series, but aside from seeing those couples near the end of the story, you wouldn't have to have read those to understand this story.

Quincy and his sister own a bakery that's been in the family for years. He meets Mark, a SWAT officer (and also a dragon!) when Mark starts coming in for yummy raisin doughnuts. They meet, the hook-up commences (seriously, it started at 5% into the story and the first scene went until like 16%), and there is supposed to be this whole plot thing somewhere in the multitude of kinky sex scenes? Yep, that's about all I took away from that story.

I skimmed most of it after the 4th sex scene. I didn't feel the connection between Quincy and Mark. And it had a LOT of potential, too! (Seriously, I love reincarnation stories and it has dragon shifters!) Unfortunately, that is lost in the plot, and so is any characterization. Quincy completely loses his identity as a character and an individual and there is so much left unexplained about being soulmates, why the need is so great, etc. that never gets addressed. And the entire thing with Quincy's sister near the end came out of nowhere.

I hate giving a story 1 star, but 2 stars is "it was okay" and honestly, this story wasn't even okay for me. There was waaaaayyyy too much sex that didn't add anything to the story or characters, and what could have been a great story about fated mates, dragon shifters, and cop meets small town baker, is unfortunately just not there.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Okay

I liked Quincy and Mark and the concept behind them finding each other. I was curious to find out how it the story would work out in the end so I stuck with it but some scenes were so over the top I was skimming pages.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy,

Born of Air is book four in the Dragon Soul series and it's everything I have come to expect from Sean Michael! This is Mark's story of finding his soul mate-reinvented!

Mark is a dragon and a cop. He comes into a bakery for some doughnuts and meets Quincy. He is strangely drawn to him-and even though his raisin doughnuts are epic, it's Quincy himself. There are instant sparks and Mark and Quincy agree to a little fun!

When Quincy is dreaming of flying on a silver dragon and is talking in his sleep, Mark takes notice! He calls out Markus-meine and Mark is immediately taken back to his former soul mate who was killed. Mark freaks out immediately believing Quincy has set him up. After a bit of investigating, and stalker-ish behavior, Mark realizes the connection they share is more than just sex. He has a familiarity that he can't rationalize. But he knows what he feels. Now to figure out where Quincy stands with all this and his feelings. He has to believe the impossible has happened!

I have enjoyed this series from the beginning. I loved Mark rediscovering his time-tested soul mate and I loved their journey. Yes, it is very heavy on sex-all the books have been so I knew what to expect! I love the loving touches and the endearing connection between these two. It was an interesting story and kept me intrigued throughout!

Another great entry, and I am looking forward to the last Beteferoce brother to get his story!

reviewed by Deb

Born of Air is book four in the Dragon Soul series and it's everything I have come to expect from Sean Michael! This is Mark's story of finding his soul mate-reinvented!

Mark is a dragon and a cop. He comes into a bakery for some doughnuts and meets Quincy. He is strangely drawn to him-and even though his raisin doughnuts are epic, it's Quincy himself. There are instant sparks and Mark and Quincy agree to a little fun!

When Quincy is dreaming of flying on a silver dragon and is talking in his sleep, Mark takes notice! He calls out Markus-meine and Mark is immediately taken back to his former soul mate who was killed. Mark freaks out immediately believing Quincy has set him up. After a bit of investigating, and stalker-ish behavior, Mark realizes the connection they share is more than just sex. He has a familiarity that he can't rationalize. But he knows what he feels. Now to figure out where Quincy stands with all this and his feelings. He has to believe the impossible has happened!

I have enjoyed this series from the beginning. I loved Mark rediscovering his time-tested soul mate and I loved their journey. Yes, it is very heavy on sex-all the books have been so I knew what to expect! I love the loving touches and the endearing connection between these two. It was an interesting story and kept me intrigued throughout!

Another great entry, and I am looking forward to the last Beteferoce brother to get his story!

•´¸.•*´¨)¸.•*¨)
ღ✿•*3 STAR REVIEWღ✿•*¨

I have been with this series from the first book, and I am still here four books in. This one weighed on my mind quite a lot during my reading. I wanted to love this book, I had such high hopes for it. Here was a brother who had lost his mate and basically went rogue. Now he has found him again and all the questions and angst that I wanted and expected did not show through. But what I got was a whole heap of erotica and little storyline. [Sigh] I felt missing links all over the place, even when they spoke of Mark's former soulmate. Was he or wasn't he? I kept asking myself and it grated on my nerves.

Like the other books, this one was insta everything and hawt!!! These two could not be in the same room without going at it. The concept of not being able to be without one another for too long hindered baker Quincy's job. And only when I reread the synopsis I realised that Mark was SWAT, not merely a cop. Goodness gracious. There was the reveal that barely sparked and appearances from two brothers and their mates. And surprise, a thrill that even I did not see coming.

I quietly wait for the fifth and final[?] book.

This is book 4 in a series about a group of dragon shifter brothers from Sean Michael. Each book is about a particular brother finding his mate. I hadn’t read any of the other books in the series before reading this one, but there is enough background story provided to be read as a standalone. Of course, as is often the case with series’ books…reading one tends to make you want “the rest of the story”, so I’m likely to track down the other books in the series.
This is a pretty quick read, and I enjoyed the dynamic between the two main characters. Big Alpha Dragon Mark is a big of a typical Sean Michael Dom/Alpha, but I loved that he’d once had his mate and that mate was stolen from him via death…and that had messed him up. His heart was deeply wounded and that colored his behavior believably. He was a little up and down for me, but I mostly understood his reasoning. Quincy is a baker and I found him funny and kind of adorable. As to be expected with any Sean Michael offering, there are plenty of hot sex scenes, but there is a pretty well-drawn story behind all the sex going on as well.
I struggled a bit with the neat and tidy ending, but overall, I enjoyed Born of Air and look forward to reading the other brothers’ stories, and to see how it all comes together in the end. Note: This is NOT a cliffhanger, and can absolutely be read as a standalone, but there are some threads that tie the other books in the series together, and I am assuming those will come together in the final book of the series.

Sean Michael is a creative genius as it relates to writing BDSM and in this case primarily Dominance and Bondage. I don’t usually read paranormal/shifting stories but I do read the full range of work by Sean Michael. All work by this author is not alike mastery of applying shifting power in relationships is nearly unparalleled.
This story has so many themes yet the ‘magick’ isn’t recognized until well into the book. We have a muscled SWAT cop who has been in his job for fifteen years and we don’t know much about before that time. When he meets baker Quincy, Mark is immediately drawn to the young man, unlike anything he has felt in many years. Why? He doesn’t really know. Quincy knows why he is attracted to Mark. He is ripe for a man, for a relationship and Mark is just his type. When Quincy dreams and talks in his sleep, speaking words from Marks distant past, Mark immediately responds almost violently, believing that he has been set up, that someone is playing a cruel joke.
Do you believe in reincarnation of any kind? This story carries out the Carina Press Romance Promise with the sizzling encounters that are the trademark of stories of Sean Michael. In addition, we have magick, perhaps reincarnation, and a family of flying dragon shifters. The sex is absolutely NSFW and the journey to HEA spellbinding.

3.5 stars. I've read enough Sean Michael books over the years I can almost *always* recognize one of his based on the language and sex and Born of Air is no exception. Although there's essentially no plot beyond "you're my soul mate, end of story" it's a decent, quick read filled with kinky sex. Copious kinky sex. I hope there's a book 5 in the works to get the last Beteferoce brothers' story.

Born in Air wasn’t the first in the series but it isn’t necessary to read them all to understand what all is going on in this one. That being said, I didn’t particularly enjoy this. There was far too much sex. Then the way Mark talked to Quincy during those scenes felt overly done and fake. I understand there was the BDSM element (and I have no problem with that, at all) but it became a bit off putting and I ended up skimming through a lot of this book because it lost its appeal pretty quickly.

I received Born in Air as a E-Arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.