Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a newly published dragon-shifter romance from Donna Grant. BLAZE is the 11th book in her Dark Kings series, and really best enjoyed when read in order. I’ve liked SMOKE AND FIRE and FIRESTORM, so I was eager to get closer to the end of this series.

About the book:
His strength, his masculinity brought out something primal within her. In his arms, she felt like the Amazon warrior she’d once pretended to be as a little girl.

Anson is a fierce Dragon King, a dragon shapeshifter born and bred to protect his own. But when a rogue tech company hacks into their world, he must join forces with the unlikeliest of allies: a human female. Her name is Devon Abrams. A rising star at the firm, she has no idea that her boss is in league with the sinister Fae and their secret war against humanity. If Anson gains her trust, he can defeat the enemy from within. But first he must fight his own attraction–to this exquisitely beautiful mortal…

Devon loves her job at the firm. But sometimes she wishes she could find a man–a real man–who isn’t threatened by her success. When she first meets Anson, she’s overwhelmed by his powerful masculine presence and disarmingly gorgeous smile. But when he reveals his true mission–and his ability to transform into a dragon–she’s irresistibly drawn into an epic battle between humans and immortals, magic and technology, danger and desire. Anson vows to protect her from the Fae. But can he control the flames of passion that blaze within his heart, in Blaze, the next sexy Dragon romance in the Dark Kings series from New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant.

My Review:
Anson is a Dragon King who fought beside Ulrik in the Great War centuries ago–to end all humanity. When he saw that the war wasn’t helping his beloved brown dragons survive, he flipped sides and joined Constantine to build the dragon bridge and send his dragons to another, hopefully safer, realm.

Now, his existence, and that of all the Dragon Kings, has been revealed to the human race again, and Kyvor Inc, a tech conglomerate, seems to be at the root of their troubles. We encountered Kyvor’s trickery in SMOKE AND FIRE when Kinsey returned to Ryder–this time at Dreagon Distillery, the home base for all the Dragon Kings. Now, Anson is tasked with helping Kinsey infiltrate her old company, to see who knows what, and how they found out about the Dragon Kings.

Kinsey has identified a possible confederate, Devon Abrams, an up-and-comer at Kyvor who has no idea she’s been shadowed by Kyvor agents for a long time. Anson’s struck by Devon’s beauty and fierceness–and inexplicably wants to protect her almost from the get-go. Is this the pull of a true mate? he wonders…

So, this book is a ramp up to the large showdown. That means there are many points of view all bringing the end of the story into alignment. For this reason, I would not recommend picking up this book first, if you are intrigued by the series. You really need to go back closer to the beginning because it’s choppy and confusing if you haven’t met any of the players before now. This book is a lovestory for Anson, but it’s less fixed on his romance than I would have liked. Devon is a good lead for him, but they don’t have much time to make a connection before they are both captured and tortured. The goal here is to get Anson to reveal his powers, and he’s all too happy to do this, because, well, he has little love for humanity in any case.

For the first time Dragon Kings learn that their main adversary isn’t Ulrik–but also his scheming uncle. And, the forces are marshalled to bring down the ultra-powerful Druid that nobody knew anything about–except the bad guys.

As a romance, BLAZE a little too cluttered with the long-range plot arcs of the series, for me. I really like to experience that high of meeting and falling, and it felt too convenient and too rushed–and too interrupted for me to really latch on. The ending climax is really intense though, and I’m still anxious to see what happens between Constantine, Ulrik, Rhi, and all the other characters–as well as the human mates of the Dragon Kings. So, I’ll look forward to the next book, too.

Interested? You can find BLAZE on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo. I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

About the Author:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features a thrilling combination of dragons, Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her two children and an assortment of animals in Texas.

Catch up with Donna on her website, Facebook, twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Tumblr, Audible, and Tantor.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!