Review: Dawn of Flames by Tessa Hale

Dawn of Flames by Tessa Hale

Series: Dragons of Ember Hollow #3

Publication date: July 19th, 2024

Pages: 262

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Ripped from my mates. Taken by an evil who has it out for us all. And it's all I can do to hold on, just hoping that they will find me before it's too late.

Because I'm in the clutches of someone who only wants one thing... power. Power that only I can give them. And I'm a second away from breaking.

But my captor is revealing secrets. Ones that have the potential to bring my world crumbling down. And now just mine but the entire dragon species', too.

Now, we're racing against the clock to keep those secrets buried and me safe. But our enemies are circling. And sometimes the deadliest are the ones you least expect...

Available at:

Review:

I am emboldened to say that the final book in the trilogy was slightly better than the second. Let me explain, I feel like a lot of the plot was fleshed out a lot more. The connections were more fundamental and structured within the various dynamics. Even with Maddox still being a pain in the ass, the bonds were flourishing. Hayden was coming into her own and learning who she was and how she fit within her new life. I was emotionally invested in her captivity and the fact that she took it all so stoically. Before that instance she usually was the damsel in distress that the other dragons would swoop in and save at the last minute. This time she was left on her own for weeks to suffer through it and come out a stronger person. It gave Hayden a lot more depth than she had before for me. I suddenly was rooting for her. 

The medley of villains in the book was a little overwhelming. I feel that if the story had stuck with the Corbett family instead of interjecting this Counsel and the corrupt members of it, then it would have been a much more concise book. There were many avenues where they could flesh out the antagonists and breathe more life into the push and pull of their struggles. It would have been nice, even if unnecessary, to see the inner workings of the Corbett clan a bit more. It seemed like they were more a mosquito than much else. They just kind of showed up, did something to stir up the hornets nest, then retreated only to rinse and repeat. There is the capability of giving villains a back story and some foundation without having the reader's favor sway. 

I feel like as much as they built up Hayden's first heat it was really tame and lackluster. It almost felt as if the author grew tired of writing the smutty scenes and just decided to fade-to-black most of the parts that would have made it seem as intense as they had illuded to it being. There were a lot of instances in the book where I wanted the author to go deeper but she remained at surface level. It took a lot of the appeal away from the book which would have likely given it at the minimum a 4 star review. 

I am intrigued enough by the world the author is writing that I may read the spinoff series featuring Wren somewhere down the line. I will say that this series was not bad. I have read bad series before and this was not one of them. I just wanted more from it. I wanted to lose myself in the characters and their lives but I was unable to achieve that. I would say that my standards can be a little high and I can be a bit more critical than the average reader so I urge others to give it a shot for themselves and feel free to let me know if you catch anything I may have missed. 

Audiobook Blitz with Giveaway: Her Filthy Enemy by Adele Knight @XpressoTours

Her Filthy Enemy by Adele Knight

Series: Her Sweet Seduction

Publication date: November 28th, 2025

Synopsis:

What do you do when snowed in alone with an arrogant flirt?

Don't walk in on him in the shower.

Too late.

I can't look away, and Noah loves the attention.

But it doesn't mean anything...

He's the guy who never goes home alone, and I'm the shy book nerd whose idea of a good time is staying late at the library and binging on red licorice.

Noah thinks I'm so forgettable that he can't remember my name, even though we share the same group of friends. So when the roads clear and our mutual friends finally turn up, including Eric--the sweet guy who wants to be more than friends--I'm determined to forget about water dripping off muscles and fists wrapped around...

But now Noah's acting differently. Sitting close to me, touching me, calling me by my actual name...

It's almost like he's jealous, but that's ridiculous.

Except, I swear the bathroom door was unlocked before I walked in.

Noah didn't leave it open on purpose... or did he?

Contains MF, FF scenes, and an MMC who likes to watch.

This is a short and steamy novella in Her Sweet Seduction Series. Each novella is stand-alone with new characters and spicy scenarios to enjoy anytime--but especially fun as a bedtime treat.

Available at:

ADELE KNIGHT likes her red wine with chocolate and her sweet romances with lots of heat. Her spicy stories are a bedtime treat with enough spark to warm your sheets and alluring characters to make you beg for more.

When she's not writing, Adele can be found lost in other fantasy worlds. Whether it's a hairy beast and a talking candle-stick or black leather and heels, Adele loves her heroines feisty and her heroes irresistible.

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Review: Midnight of Ashes by Tessa Hale

Midnight of Ashes by Tessa Hale

Series: Dragons of Ember Hollow #2

Publication date: April 19th, 2024

Pages: 252
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

One moment changed everything. A split-second decision to try to save one of my five dragon mates nearly cost my life. And now nothing is the same.

Knox, Cáel, and Cillian treat me like I'll break at any moment, while Maddox keeps a careful distance. And Easton won't look at me at all.

We're supposed to be fated by the stars, but we're falling apart. Enemies still lurk around every corner, but the guys vow we'll be ready when they come.

But evil has a way of striking when you least expect it. And none of us are ready for who might be pulling the strings...

Available at:

Review:

When I read the first book I was less than impressed the structure of the story. However, there was enough in the cliffhanger that made me want to know what happened next. So, as soon as I finished my review I delved into the second book and I was pleased to see that the second book was a little better than the first but there was still a few things I got a little burnt out on.

The resistance of Easton and Maddox is good for a little bit of antagonistic play within the protagonists. The choice made it so that the bond was not sunshine and rainbows from the start. However, over time it started to become a little redundant. Easton resists Hayden because he saw how his brother reacted after losing his mate and didn't want to risk losing his mind the say way if anything should happened to Hayden. That can be understandable to an extent. I do feel that being in a bond with 4 other men that he could possibly find some solace in the fact that where he may fail to protect her, they could possibly take up the mantle and ease some of his worry. But, Maddox's issues kind of flip flop around to make them inconsistent. At first, Maddox was all for the bond, except that he knew he couldn't touch her until she had graduated since he was a professor. He seemed open to the bond except for that simple reasoning. Then somewhere along the way it feels like the author realized that would not be able to be maintained so suddenly Maddox had this traumatic past of him losing his girlfriend and not wanting the same to befall Hayden. Similar to Easton but to the point where he was becoming a hindrance to the rest of the bonds. That started to be feel very forced and disingenuous. It brought about a feeling that the author was desperate to keep the resistance in place and knew that him simply not wanting to mess around with a student would not be a strong foundation to stand on. Maddox went from my favorite character to my absolute least since he suddenly just seemed like a jerk for jerk's sake.

I did enjoy seeing the author push past whatever awkwardness she may have felt in writing sex scenes to give a little more detail of what was happening. There were still a few details that made it hard to figure out what was going on. Who was doing what? What position were they in? All that with so little foreplay and zero pain? It still felt a little lacking but perhaps that is my own high standards after reading books from the likes of H.D. Carlton, Leigh Rivers, and Tate James who are heavy on the details. I wouldn't say it was a complete negative because I could see the improvement, but more a personal standard I had hoped would be utilized.

I will say that the fact that Hayden is constantly getting injured and needing rescuing is getting very old. She offers little to no resistance and continues to constantly be the victim. I would like to see her have a little more fight in her. There was an instance where she wasn't even fighting off a supernatural being and she still couldn't seem to hold her own well enough to not need saving. She's a supernatural creature, how many times is she going to almost die? I assume it is an attempt to show how fragile she is to make Easton and Maddox's resistance more believable but in those situations I would think those two would be more apt to pull her closer because she almost kicked off rather than intensify their distance. I can see the reasoning for it, but can the woman please not be mortally wounded almost every other chapter?

I saw the improvement of the book. I recognized the effort the author made to try to expand on the first book and make it better for her readers. For that, I have to improve my rating. But there are still areas where I would have liked to see more (or less) to make the book something that I would proudly display on my shelf and suggest to fellow readers while waxing on and on about how amazing it is. It remains middle of the road, but I will reserve harsher judgement for when I reach the end of the series.

Review: Twilight of Embers by Tessa Hale

 

Twilight of Embers by Tessa Hale

Series: Dragons of Ember Hollow #1

Publication date: January 19th, 2024

Pages: 256

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

I'd always wondered what it would be like to have a family. I just never expected to find it with five mysterious strangers who have more secrets than I could ever imagine.

Getting a scholarship to Evergreen University and majoring in premed means I need to keep my head down and focus on my studies. But campus is full of distractions...

The football god with his golden retriever charm. The tortured one with his vicious tongue. The broken boy with his determined protectiveness. The merciless billionaire with a penchant for spoiling me. And the genius professor with his brilliant mind.

They make me feel like I belong for the first time since my parents were murdered. And when they touch me, my whole world sparks to flame.

But they have enemies. Those who would give anything to harm what they hold dear. And while they'll do whatever it takes to keep me safe, sometimes falling in love will put you right in the line of fire...

Available at:

Review:

Sometimes operating under the 'luck of the draw' method of book selection can work out and other times it leaves you disappointed. I often go into books blind so I know very little about what they are aside from their genre, which is only because I don't want to be assuming there will be multiple love interests if there is only one when I choose to delve into the romance genre. The only things I knew about "Twilight of Embers" was that it was a why choose paranormal romance book that featured dragons. Being a fan of Game of Thrones I thought, "why not?"

I will admit that the story was a little underdeveloped for me. There was a murder mystery that nobody seemed at all concerned about. There was insta-love that not even the FMC questioned despite knowing nothing about the supernatural world she apparently belonged to. The fact that she watches men shift and it doesn't stop her from immediately falling into bed with one of them. It all felt very... unrealistic. Which I know is odd to say about a book submerged in shifter territory. Everything moved at the speed of light and in only 256 pages too much happened that was just shrugged off in a "what are you gonna do?" manner. It took a lot away from the book for me. Being as the book is a series, I would have liked to see the characters delve in more than just the war between the factions. Maybe delve a bit more into Hayden's background? Maybe share a little more of the details of the men's backgrounds? Let their connections simmer and smolder for a bit before completely letting the fire catch? (See what I did there? Dragons and all?)

While the characters themselves needed more depth so did the sex scenes. There was little to no description and I didn't really think the author should have made her guys minute men (poor Hayden). They were one page scenes that you'd miss even happening if you didn't pay attention. An author can't really straddle the line of smut or non-smut like that. If you're going to have sex, give through detail. Make the scenes radiate heat off the pages. Make them come alive. Have the reader consider reaching for that buzzing friend they have in their bedside table. Embrace it and don't skimp on the details. 

When going over what I found appealing in the book for my review so I could offer at least a smidge of a ray of light through it, it was a bit hard to find something that didn't throw up the neon signs that the book was an indie read. I wanted more all around. However, I am curious about the world and the cliffhanger that I was left on will undoubtedly pull me into the second book in the series. I think there is promise to the story if only the author takes more care with her story plotting and interjects heaps more detail. They're dragons! Bring the heat!