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...

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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!