Dark Embers By Tessa Adams (Dragon Heat #1)
July 6, 2010
Paranormal Romance
Trade Paperback, 320 Pages
NAL Trade

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: "He wanted to dominate her, hadn’t been able to stand the thought of her saying no."

Had Prince Dylan MacLeod listened to his father he would have his mate and locked into his powers. But he didn’t. So now he uses his time and dark sexual appetites to search for his destined mate. His search is put on hold as a deadly disease sweeps through his people killing them off. He finds he has to venture into the human realm to find a cure. There he meets Phoebe Quillum-a biochemist who may be his people’s salvation.  He never imagined that he would find his mate also.

Dylan, now King of the Dragonstars, a strong race of dragon shifters, needs to find his mate soon. But when his clan is attacked and being systematically wiped out by an mysterious disease; Dylan has to go to the humans for help. There he finds Phoebe Quillium-renowned biochemist. She has just been informed that her grant money has fallen through and her lab will fold with out it.

When Dylan comes to her with an offer of $3 million dollars for her to come with him and his people she thinks it’s a dream come true. But she’s also wary of this dark and intimidating stranger. As Phoebe debates over the offer, she finds herself strangely compelled to help him. She agrees to accompany Dylan back to his stronghold and try to help him and his clan. What Phoebe finds is a beautiful and mysterious world that has the power to control and free her.

Dark Embers is a fast erotic paranormal read with plenty of hot dragon loving. *wink* Pssst…there is "mist smex". *fanning myself*

The suspense plot is solid with a clear premise and arc but doesn’t go very far in depth.  Ms Adams, who also writes as Tracy Wolff, creates a world that is tantalizing- a magical world of sexy, passionate mystical dragon shifters.  The book concentrates mainly on Dylan and Phoebe’s love affair; which leads to plenty of hot scorching scenes between them.

Phoebe is a strong heroine who bows to no one. Even though Dylan controls her body through their mutual passion, she gives as good as she gets. I enjoyed her witty dialogue and inner revelations.

Dylan is the Alpha male through and through. Being the King he expects to be obeyed. But Phoebe lets him know under no circumstances does he "rule" her. There are a lot of undercurrents concerning them that we know about but they don’t. It’s all brought out in the end but I felt a little cheated by the whole nonchalance of it. I was also a tad put off by just how dominate Dylan was. This is attributed to the mating instinct but it’s a little rough at times.

We see variety of personality and emotions in the secondary characters created. So much in fact, I wish she would have spent more time on them in the story. There are some riveting scenes involving Dylan’s friends that make the story intense at times. And Ms. Adams does a wonderful job of imparting their emotions to us.The outcome is pretty predictable, but the lead up to it is interesting and keeps you engrossed in the story. I just wish that the villains were given as much face time as the heroes. I was left with a few,"whys?". Hopefully in the next books she will go further in the Dragon’s world and it’s make up.

If your looking for a fast paranormal read featuring suspense, hot shifters and even hotter sex then look no further.

Rating: 3.5/5

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This series includes:
Dark Embers – 7/6/10
Hidden Embers – 2011