#Review: Smoldering Hunger by Donna Grant - 4 Wine Glasses

Title: SMOLDERING HUNGER
Series: Dark Kings #8
Author: Donna Grant
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
Published: St. Martin's Paperbacks (December 29, 2015)
ISBN: ASIN: B00Z65S6NW
Links:  Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4 out of 5 Wine Glasses

TEMPTING FATE
Darius is back. Edinburg thought it had seen the last of this seductive Dragon King, but that was before Darius found something worthwhile. He just can't stay away from the impossibly beautiful Dr. Sophie Martin-even though he knows that a passion this strong could prove detrimental...for them both.

CRAVING DESIRE
Sophie tried to forget her encounter with smoking-hot Darius to no avail. He's in her dreams, tempting her. But her association with Darius catches the attention of another, putting her
in mortal danger. . .and Darius, who has vowed to protect her, is her only hope. But can she trust the notorious dragon shapeshifter? The only thing she knows for sure is that she cannot resist him...

Linda's Thoughts:
She'd come across a few Highlanders while in Edinburgh, but none compared to Darius. She didn't even have to ask if he was a Highlander.
It was in the way he held himself, the way he spoke. It was a look that couldn't be faked or copied. Whatever made a man a Highlander was in his blood, in his very soul.

SMOLDERING HUNGER by Donna Grant is an ultra intense installment in Donna's fantastic Dark Kings series! I'm addicted to the series and have to say that this cover is my favorite-to-date as I absolutely love the purple, which is the color of the featured dragon king's banished dragons. This story was so good that I had to stay up till the wee hours of the morning finishing it. This is the story of recently-awakened dragon king Darius and human doctor Sophie Martin.

Darius and Sophie were great. Their attraction was hot and steamy from the get-go. They were each passionate, strong and compelling characters. Add in to the mix dark and light fae political intrigue,  fascinating dragon kings' behind-the-scenes espionage, catching up with previous favorite characters and I was captivated.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from this read:

Alone. It was such an insignificant word. Or it had been for centuries. He'd sought out the solitude, had slept away centuries in his cave without hesitation. And now? Now he hated the quiet.
He detested being alone.
---

Sophie had survived on her own for a long time. She knew she didn't need a man, not even Darius.
But she wanted him.
That made all the difference in the end.
---

She looked Con up and down. ... "I went to do your stupid ass a favor. Next time I'll decline."
She started to turn away when his hand wrapped around her arm to hold her. Rhi looked down at his fingers, then at his face.
"I doona trust you."
"You never have," she responded coolly. "This is nothing new."
He yanked her close so that their faces were inches apart. "If you betray us, there's nowhere you can hid where I won't find you. And kill you."
She smiled, briefly debating putting her lips to his and seeing his reaction. Right before she teleported away, she said, "Kiss my grits."

You could read SMOLDERING HUNGER as a standalone if that is is preference as the romance and danger plot are self-contained within this novel. However, I wouldn't recommend it. Someone jumping into this one without having read the previous installments, would not be cognizant of the historical details as far as the Ulrik/Con showdown -  which is pervading all the characters' lives at this point, though Donna is very good about filling in what is absolutely needed from previous installments. This whole series has been wonderfully entertaining and reading it from the beginning would be preferred.

Rhi has been one of my favorite characters in this series  from the beginning and, happily, there is LOTS of Rhi in this. I plan to pick up Donna's new Reaper's books next as Rhi's watcher and the mysterious goings-on in Edinburgh with light and dark and the white-haired man, have my interest piqued. I'm dying, of course, to learn who her mystery dragon king lover was and more about her and Con. I was cheering her on when she gave Con some much-deserved comeuppance herein. You'll find a short snippet from that fantastic scene in my fav quotes in this review.

I hope that Sophie's friend, Claire, gets her own HEA in a future book. Claire has stated that Bob, aka her battery-operated-boyfriend,  is losing steam... so she's in need and I like Claire's spunkiness. She's a fun character.

Donna's writing is mesmerizing and just plain amazing, as always. I simply could not put SMOLDERING HUNGER down once I started reading it and can't wait for the next installment, SMOKE AND FIRE, due to release April 2016! Donna's sexy Scottish dragon kings rock my boat and I look forward to each new installment as, one by one. they're finding their mates. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys hot, suspenseful, action-packed paranormal romances.



Suggested Reading Order:
The Dark Kings series is a spin off Donna's Dark Warriors Series and Dark Sword Series.
DARK CRAVING (Book # 0.1)
NIGHT'S AWAKENING (Book # 0.2)
DAWN'S DESIRE (Book # 0.3)
DARK HEAT (Books # 0.1 - 0.3 plus a bonus story)
DARKEST FLAME (Book #1)
FIRE RISING (Book #2)
BURNING DESIRE (Book #3)
HOT BLOODED (Book #4)
NIGHT'S BLAZE (Book #5)
SOUL SCORCHED (Book #6)
DRAGON KING (Book # 6.25)
PASSION IGNITES (Book #7)
SMOLDERING HUNGER (Book #8)
SMOKE AND FIRE (Book #9)