Darkest Flame (Dark Kings, #1)

by Donna Grant

From the time of their creation, Kellan has chronicled the exploits of the Dragon Kings. It was a task Kellan had relished even when the humans were created and the time of the dragons shifted to protecting the humans and Kellan was proud of his dragons who sought justice for all. Until the Great War between dragons and humans ended it all. Kellan and the Bronzes were betrayed by humans - by the very people they were protecting - and he would never forget. Denae Lacroix has lost everyone. She's alone in the world, but she's become a survivor because of it. After being recruited by MI5, Denae leaves America and the painful memories behind to go undercover. For years she works her way up the intelligence ladder. Then she's sent on a mission to Dreagan Industries that has her questioning everything. It's been twelve hundred years since Kellan last walked among humans, and when he meets Denae he knows that his life will never be the same again...

• ISBN13: 9781250041364
• Publish Date: 29 April 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 17 May 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

If you’ve read Donna Grant’s Warrior series, then you are already familiar with the Dragon Kings and their dynamic. They are an ancient race. Each Dragon King ruled a specific set of dragons… the Blues, the Reds, the Silvers, etc. Thee Kings had to make the sacrifice and send their dragons away for their own safety when man began hunting them down. In the centuries that have passed man has forgotten dragons ever existed and relegated them to myth and folklore. But there are few that know otherwise.

Hence begins the series of the Dragon Kings, ancient beings that have isolated themselves from humanity, up in their mountain, watching over mankind but not really getting personally involved. Well, not technically the beginning. Although this is marked as the first book in the series, one must note that the true beginning of the series is actually Dark Craving, which combined with the two following prequels were bound into the book Dark Heat. I only mention this so that it is understood how some of the Kings came to already be mated to humans. This however will not impede anyone’s reading of Darkest Flame. Each of the books can be read as a standalone story.

Kellan has no love for the humans. All he and his Bronze dragons had wanted to do was protect the humans. Yet the humans didn’t want the dragons’ protection. Instead the humans betrayed their protectors, killing off as many as they could. Now, Kellan finds himself reluctantly admiring one particular human and not quite sure what to do about it. Denea knew from the moment she got her mission that something was not right. It felt wrong to trespass on Dreagan land. But she had orders and she dare not refuse MI5 orders. These two unlikely people find a lot more to tie them together than either expected and this makes for an action packed story.

There are a couple of things to note with this book. Kellan has an understandable apathy for humans. What I don’t get is how easily he could forget what humans did to his bronze dragons after meeting Denea. I understand love. I just felt that it was too smooth a change for him to suddenly fall for a human. That one issue aside, Grant’s way with words draws you in to Scotland and the world of Dragons and Fae. You can’t help the sudden desire to see it some day in person.

Reviewed by Iris for Cocktails and Books