The Red Dragon of Oxford

Wings over Albion, Book 1

De: Joy Lynn Fielding

Narrado por: Rufus Love

Dragons aren't real. Or so I used to think.

Oxford isn't exactly what I'd imagined. Sure, the colleges are romantic, and everyone is brilliant enough to trigger my impostor syndrome. I expected that.

The dragon, however, was a big surprise.

I saw him on my first day. The beautiful beast spoke to me, then disappeared. I’ve been looking for him ever since.

When I’m not on a wild dragon chase, I spend my time in the library. I’d like to think I’m only there to study, but who am I kidding? I’m there for him.

Rufus Mortimer is the world’s hottest librarian. He’s strict, enigmatic, and sexy. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. But he has a secret. One that could destroy everything.

So now, all I have to do is find a dragon, earn my doctorate, and try to not to let my new romance burn my life to the ground. Easy, right?

I wish....

The Red Dragon of Oxford, book one in the Wings over Albion series, is a sweet and spicy paranormal m/m romance. Download today, and get ready to fall in love with Mark and Rufus.

©2024 Joy Lynn Fielding (P)2025 Joy Lynn Fielding

I Prefer the Audiobook

I was on the fence for reading this one because it didn't work well for me unfortunately. I was looking forward to read this after reading the blurb but I struggled a lot to finish it. I am glad that I did though. The audiobook helped me enjoy the story enough to round my new rating up from 3.5. Rufus Love brought the story to life and helped it be more interesting.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

Thoroughly delightful read!

This was the first book I have read/listened to by Joy Lynn Feilding but it won't be my last! I absolutely loved Mark and Rufus, and was sucked in from their first encounter. Rufus is something of a book wyrm, his hoard is books! (not a spoiler. You find that out right at the beginning). I thought the pacing was great, and the plot engaging.
Rufus Loves narration pace was a bit slow, but once I bumped that up to 1.2x it was absolutely perfect. I loved his voice and accent. It really brought the story to life. Highly recommend! A+

Great listen

Thoroughly enjoyed this one from a fairly new to me author! It was immersive and held my interest the entire way through. Really liked this new to me narrator too! He did a great job!

Great start to a new series

This is a new to me author, as well as a new to me narrator, but it will not be last. I really enjoyed this one. Rufus is a dragon, but he is not very confident one as most dragons are if you read any shifter books with dragons. When Mark sees the dragon, Rufus is in a bit of a situation and needs Mark to help him out as he can't get free. Mark is sure he has lost his mind by seeing & speaking to a dragon. Mark is a research student & Rufus is the librarian at the college that Mark is an undergrad at. I would have liked them to have not taken so long to really come together as couple, they kind of danced around what they wanted for far too long. There are some things left open that I am assuming will continue on in the next book. I can't wait to read Nate's story; he is Rufus' brother.

Charming!

I highly enjoyed this audiobook. The characters, plot, and setting were a lot of fun. There is plenty of action and mystery with humor, heart and heat.

Rufus and Mark are adorable and they each have some issues with confidence and their place in the world. It is a bit of a slow burn but once things start they heat up pretty quick. With the steamy parts I am surprised with a bit of a stereotype flip. I don't want to five too much away, but there is a tendency for certain character types to have certain roles and certain histories when it involves steamy things. It seems to be a bit of a trend in a lot of books I've read and I am happy that that does NOT happen in this book. It was refreshing to read.

The narration by Rufus Love was well done. His voice was easy to listen to and he brought the book and the characters to life.

I received a copy of this audiobook and this is my honest opinion.

3.8 for my academic boys

The story follows Mark, a new Oxford student trying to pursue a career in academics, and Rufus, a grumpy librarian by day and a hot red dragon by night. Both MCs are sweet and lovable and are drawn to each other immediately.

The story felt like a very cozy read. The combination of Academia, the Oxford setting, and dragon lore gave me a feel-good time.

At the same time, something felt missing; it could be the story's pacing. I just knew I wanted more but felt a bit lacking. The conflict was barely there when it got resolved right away.

I am definitely intrigued to learn more about the Dragos world.

WHAT WE GOT:
- MM romance
- PNR with Dragons shifters
- Oxford setting
- Academia, library, and books
- Slow-burn
- Dragon society
- HEA

I Enjoyed It

I loved this book. Great world building and wonderful characters. The storyline was interesting from the start as Mark spots a dragon curled up in a field one morning and approached thinking it a prop... and quickly realized it wasn't. The beautiful red dragon was injured and could speak to him in his mind, and though a bit fearful, he helped it before watching it soar away. And I was hooked.

I really liked how Mark handled that situation, and kept the sighting a secret, and looked to see the dragon again. Rufus had been injured during a swim and was stuck in dragon form when a human man not only found him and helped him, he appeared to keep him a secret. When the same man was a prospective new student and frequented his library, he was drawn to him.

I loved the way their relationship developed. A slow pace, and walls slowly began to come down. Both attracted to the other, but thought it one-sided. It was cute to see them dance around each other, a little closer each time.

The hierarchy of dragons in this world was interesting- if a little sad. And I was quite sad for Rufus not very accepted and not valued by his clan and family for being a weaker red dragon, for his hoard being books, and being a librarian rather than a banker or working with money. Mark also had pressure on himself to do well and be accepted at the school he'd admired and dreamed of for years.

Apart from the romance, there was some mystery and suspense from a hidden figure targeting the dragons.

Rufus Love did a great job narrating this book and bringing these characters to life. This is my first time hearing him and I hope to continue this series and hear him narrate the next book.

Overall: 4 stars
Performance: 4 stars
Story: 4 stars

A fluffy slow burn romance - by Shana W

This is an enjoyable, fluffy, slow burn romance. The story starts off with a bang, when Mark interacts with a red dragon in a field, then the pace really slows down and doesn't pick up again until after half the book is done. At that point, it picks up speed and then we get some action, some danger, and even some answers. The story is lovely and sweet and a bit meandering as the characters' friendship and relationship develop. The two MCs are quite endearing. Both of them suffer from an inferiority complex, Mark because he feels like he has no business studying at Oxford, and Rufus because he is the only red dragon and different from his whole family. Rufus is a librarian and hoards books rather than money.
I like how they take care of each other and protect each other. Mark doesn't really monitor how he says things, but he is well meaning and a loyal friend. He has a really nice circle of friends at the university. Rufus is a softie who only wants to protect his partner. His extended family isn't very kind to him, but he is very lucky to have his brother Nate who adores him.
There is some preliminary - and original - world building around dragons, but it is not detailed. I'm hoping we will get more information in the second book in the series, which I will definitely read.
I enjoyed the narration by Rufus Love. His voice was pleasant to listen to, and his pacing and expression were excellent.
I received an audiobook copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

entertaining

Rufus and Mark have a very sweet love story. They were lots of fun to learn about. As sweet as thier story was, it was almost strange that this world seems to have some darker political dragon stuff in the not so background. I hope we learn more.
Plus, Rufus Love has a wonderful voice to listen to.

Dragons with Oxford background were a beautiful picture ✨

It was an interesting start of the series and I’m intrigued enough to read the rest sometime. I enjoyed getting to know a grumpy librarian and his future mate :) The side characters were well developed as well. Dragons were detailed, realistic and beautiful 🐉 Oxford as a background was a delight!

What is more, the story itself was interesting, with plot twists I wasn’t really expecting, which is always a good surprise when reading a first book by a new for me author. Spice was good too :)

I’ve been listening to an audiobook version and from the beginning an accent helped me to really dive into the whole British experience 🙌🏼 but.. I straggled to distinguish between POVs. Both MCs seemed like the same person, which was unfortunate, especially because there was switching between characters inside the chapters so it was really difficult for me to keep track of who is doing/thinking/talking at the moment. However, I finished the book and liked it all the same.

So, yes, 3⭐️ as an overall impression.